• Teacher halloween

    Halloween must-haves for teachers

    My love of all holidays is no secret – truly one of my favorite things about teaching is the excuse to go all in when it comes to celebrations. Halloween is no exception! From my wardrobe to classroom supplies, I’ve been scoping out all of the Halloween fun. Here’s what is currently on my Amazon wish list (all links are affiliates). Ghost earrings – How cute are these?! I love that they dangle a little, but won’t be too heavy to wear all day. They’re pretty small, so they also won’t be too easy for little hands to grab. Polka Dot Tote – When it comes to celebrations at school…

  • 4th of July lesson plans

    Patriotic Resource Round Up

    Summer might’ve just started, but I’m thinking 4th of July lesson plans already! I’ve added a ton of patriotic materials to my TPT store over the last couple of weeks so it felt like a good time to share all of these so that you can start planning for the holiday. Patriotic 4th of July Alphabet Book for Preschool and Kindergarten – This book is a great way to celebrate the 4th of July while encouraging literacy. Each letter corresponds with an American themed vocabulary word which will help children practice letter sounds. Print one for each child, or a few for a center. You could also have children create…

  • Preschool holiday celebrations

    Processing a holiday before moving on to the next one

    The month of February might have the fewest days, but it packs in all of the holidays – Groundhog day, Valentine’s day, President’s day, and Mardi Gras. If you look at March and April you’re often adding St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Earth day too. It’s a lot to explore over a fairly short amount of time. We usually think of the time between Halloween and Christmas as the “holiday season,” but October, November, and December don’t have nearly as many holidays squeezed into them as the spring months do! This can make late winter and early spring pass pretty quickly, but it can also be really overwhelming, especially for…

  • Valentine provocation

    Loose Parts for Valentine’s Day

    There’s something about tiny little pieces of pretty much anything that little ones just can’t resist – and I’m here for it because it keeps their attention forever! When it comes to Valentine’s day, I dive all the way into the red, pink, and glittery. Here are some of the loose parts that I love for a Valentine provocation: I put them all on a heart tray, and that helped make them even more enticing – don’t you want to play with all of this?! Here are some of the beautiful images that we created with these pieces – After I made a heart with a necklace that became the…

  • Valentine's Day crafting

    Valentine Crafting for Kids

    We had a snow day this week! As a teacher, that’s always welcome – as a parent it’s a bit of a scramble to find things to keep my girl busy all day. I had a good feeling that this particular snow day was coming, so I tried to plan ahead. Art projects are always a good option! After working on some of my own projects on Tuesday, I put my leftover supplies (along with some others from our craft stash) together so that they’d be all ready for some Valentine’s Day crafting. I started with this tray. It’s been one of my all-time-favorite purchases – it’s a heavy melamine,…

  • easy preschool valentine gift

    Easy Preschool Valentine Gift

    I love to make a nice gift for families on Valentine’s Day – but after the chaos of trying to finish Christmas gifts quick and inexpensive are my main requirements! Here’s an idea that meets those characteristics and is super fun too. Try this easy preschool Valentine gift with your class this year. I started with a thin wooden heart from the Dollar Tree – they come natural and you could definitely leave them that way, but I used a couple of coats of old house paint to paint mine white. I also removed the twine hanger. When these were dry I took some washable Crayola paint (affiliate link) and…

  • Christmas clearance finds in the classroom

    Using Christmas Clearance Finds in the Classroom

    Christmas clearance sales are some of the best of the year – and they can really help you head into the rest of the winter with a good plan for your classroom! On Monday I shared a list of some of my favorite items to pick up for preschool while you’re shopping these sales. Today, let’s talk about some ways to use your Christmas clearance finds in the classroom. The sensory bin is a great place to start – fake snow with little animal figurines, cutting different kinds of ribbon, a bag of bows and little boxes – you get the idea. The great thing about Christmas clearance items is…

  • Christmas clearance for preschool

    Christmas Clearance for the Classroom

    I love a good sale – who doesn’t?! When it comes to after-Christmas clearance sales, there are so many things that can be used in the classroom. Check out some of the materials that I love to scoop up on Christmas clearance for preschool! Anything that doesn’t scream Christmas can be a great supply for the rest of the year. This includes: Ornaments can be repurposed as figurines for play areas and sensory bins. look for: There are so many different options for sensory play, like: After Christmas, there’s still the rest of the winter season – so anything that supports exploring snow and winter themes is fair game: I…

  • christmas favorites

    Christmas Favorites Printable

    I had so much fun sharing my Christmas favorites earlier this week that I made a quick printable so that you can do the same. This would be so fun for a staff bulletin board or party game! You could even send it home with your families to learn a little more about them, or use it with your own family over the holidays. Click on the photo below to download the printable.

  • holiday favorites

    About Me: Christmas Version

    Hi, I’m Erin and I love, love, love Christmas. I haven’t done an introduction in a VERY long time, so I thought it might be fun to do one with a Christmas spin! Here are some of my holiday favorites – along with some quirky preferences and products that I can’t do Christmas without! If you were a Christmas movie character, who would you be? I’m a hopeless romantic, so I’d pick any lead female from a Hallmark movie. What is your favorite Christmas song? I literally cannot pick just one. I love Christmas music of all types – but my heart holds a special place for Mariah Carey and…