My blog is having a birthday!

This week is the 1 year mark for my teaching blog! (My classroom blog will be 5 years old this summer!) I am terrible when it comes to holding back my love for celebrations...I can never wait until the actual day and love to start the gift giving early. ;-)
True to that statement I am offering a FREEBIE  now as a Blog Birthday Gift to you. I am thrilled to have met so many talented and wonderful teachers through my blog and appreciate that you take time to visit and see what's happening "In The Teachers' Lounge".
In my classroom we are beginning our SEA LIFE unit and my freebie goes along with the unit. It's called FISH STICKS! (not the edible kind though....boy, they were a favorite of mine as a kid...but I digress...LOL!) Anyway, the freebie helps students as they learn to make tally marks to match numbers. Please visit my Teachers Notebook Shop to get a copy. I hope your students will enjoy playing with the Fish Sticks! ;-)

(Look for more freebies later this week)
 

Template for Mother's Day Stationary

Hi,
I was asked to share my template and here it is...

Not sure why this looks this way! But didn't want to take the time to figure it out, right now! ;-)

Again, I have the kids use a black Flair pen to draw. Each child makes 4 different pictures. They sign each card (I removed the year from this template). Then I make copies on cardstock. The stationary gets cut and the children fold all 12 of their cards. They count out 12 envelopes and stack the stationary on top of the envelopes.
This year I used colored paper strips to wrap the sets (rather than ribbon). We cut out scalloped circles (with my Stampin' Up punches) and wrote "MOM" inside the center circle.
Here's a picture of the final project. Have fun!

Mother's Day Linky Party

I thought it might be fun to share project ideas for Mother's Day. I know everyone sends something home to the moms that's really nice. So feel free to share here in the lounge!

 Typically, I have each child make a set of hand-drawn note cards. Each set has 12 cards and envelopes. The children use black felt tipped markers to draw four different pictures. I copy them on cardstock and cut apart.  (Note; we do NOT color them, I think they look better as simple line drawings).
The children fold the notecards and count out envelopes. Folding correctly can be a challenge for some of my kinders, but they manage!
I lay a couple of strips of masking tape along the edge of a table for the kids to use as a measuring guide for ribbon. We tie off the ribbon to hold the cards together. (although this year we may use a strip of scrapbook paper to hold them together). The kids make a Mother's Day card, choose a colorful bag with matching tissue paper and voila! ;) Each mom gets a set of 12 cards with 4 different designs. Some Moms will frame them a set and hang them on the wall. I will post images and share my template soon. (Everything is at school) ;-) Check back here because they are ADORABLE!
So.... Link us to your blog you can share what do you have your students do for their Mom for Mother's Day!

Party in the Lounge

A linky party that is! I am seeing all sorts of great teacher-made projects, worksheets, units and such with BEAUTIFUL graphics. I would like to get started  creating projects to share, but am not really sure where to look for the graphics. Hadar suggested I have a GRAPHICS LINKY PARTY to learn more. SOoooo here we go...Where do you go to get your cute graphics? Remember the more tools we have, the more cretive we can be!
 Don't be shy, for those of you that sell your graphics...speak up! ;-)

My First Freebie

 I have really been inspired by the outstanding work I have seen from teachers at Teaching Blog Addict. I am a little nervous about sharing, but here I go...
 I am attempting my very first FREEBIE! This is a lesson for my Kindergartners to help with Non-Standard Measurement. It has a Sea Life/ Beach theme.I printed the pictures on card stock and laminated them.  Students can use a variety of small items  beans, Uni-Fix Cubes, small erasers, bottle caps, etc. as measuring tools. They just lay the measuring tool on the bold black line on each picture and record their findings on the recording sheet.
This is perfect for my Math Center!
If you are teaching in the classroom, or Home School, your Kids can have fun measuring.
I hope you like this lesson and find it useful.