Springing Into Learning Blog Hop!

 I'm hooking up with Elementary Antics for this fabulous blog hop.  Grab some great ideas and goodies along the way!

The official start date to spring, March 20th is almost here! The weather is much warmer and the threat of snow is behind us (I hope!)  Don’t forget to ‘spring ahead’ and turn your clocks ahead this weekend!  

Below are some great ideas, a freebie, and a fabulous free virtual field trip!

Since Dr. Seuss’s Birthday was this month, I thought I’d share another activity we did.  If you didn’t get a chance to grab my Thing1 & Thing 2 activity, feel free to grab it as well.

This craftivity goes with Oh! The Places You’ll Go, which is one of my favorite books from Dr. Seuss.  

You can get this craftivity  here ! 

Your feedback is always appreciated!

I love this book because it takes on a deeper meaning no matter how old you are.  It also  looks great on a bulletin board!

After reading the book, the kids wrote about the people they would want to meet (or would have wanted to meet), places they would want to go, accomplishments they hope to achieve, and what they want to be when they grew up. They also had to justify their choices.

I was impressed with their choices of people that they’d want to meet as it ranged from Malala Yousafzai to Justin Bieber. The places they wanted to visit ranged from Italy to see their family to Disney World.  It was an eye opening activity. 

We decided to decorate the balloons with strips of tissue paper and the kids glued it down with a mixture of glue and water.  When it dried, they cut it out.  I also copied the balloon on card stock which made it more durable.  We stapled their book to a piece of brown construction paper for the basket and attached it with pipe cleaners and tape. 

Feel free to have the kids decorate their own balloons with crayons/markers or if you have another idea for decorating it, I’d love to hear it.

Here’s one way we did it but there is a NO prep version as well for those of you who prefer 'less mess' =)

Another way you can do it is use paint for the balloons and back them on construction paper and add a few clouds.

Here’s are the finished projects!

No Prep Version               Tissue paper        

                                       Paint

Next, if you're a Dr. Suess fan, you'll want to grab this free activity packet from Energy Star- it would be a great packet for Earth Day. It's aimed for k-2. You can sign up for your free workbooks here!

Mine just arrived- so excited!

With spring around the corner, my Word Families create a word center would make a great spring center - just print and go! 

This activity is differentiated for the different levels of learners for many possible word choices.  
You can grab it on sale here or enter to win one for FREE!  

Enter to win one FREE!

CONGRATS TO MARY L. for winning!

My last spring idea is this virtual field trip to an egg farm.  It's great when you can't get to a real farm and it''s live on March 14th.  The kids enjoy it and your class is able to submit questions ahead of time.  
It's free, but you do need to register. You can register at the link above!

An InLinkz Link-up

Dr. Seuss's Birthday! Thing 1 and Thing 2 Activities

Are you ever too old to enjoy a good book from Dr. Seuss?  No matter what your age is, you can always take away something from one of his books.  A favorite of mine is Oh, the Places You’ll Go!  We made these adorable books and hot air balloons to create goals for ourselves. It's perfect for all ages. You can grab it here and do it with your class! I've added a variety of pattered balloons for those who prefer no paint or glue.

 We used strips of tissue paper with a glue/water mix, but you can paint them or just use markers to color them in.

If you know me, I'm obsessed with creating fun/creative writing paper. This design comes from  my March Writing paper collection but you can download it for FREE here. 

Below is the writing paper and a simple project for the book, The Cat in the Hat.  Enjoy!  Our final projects are posted below.  We added Thing 1 or 2 (although they look exactly the same!) to the top of the paper.  You can get the tracers and everything you need from the download above. 

 I made the hair tracer on a manila folder for durability.

Our second graders made these...

and we helped our kindergarten buddies make these:

Here's a simple craft. First, cut out a small red rectangle. Have students trim the sides off the top two corners to create a shoulder effect. Cut a small square of blue tissue paper and make small cuts at the top and glue it on.  Make a circle tracer and add the words. Draw a face/add googly eyes and you're done!

Finish your day off with a fun treat!

Enjoy! 

 If you have these colors in your class and are looking for a decor pack to compliment it, check out 

Whimsical Decor HUGE EDITABLE Bundle, or feel free to check out the different individual packs 

or view them all here.

Grab your free READ banner too! CLICK HERE!

Editable labels:

Shape Posters:

Presidents' Day, February Activities, & a Birthday Sale-A-Bration!

It’s my birthday and I thought I’d celebrate with you!
First, with a sale at my store this weekend and I'd like to share my newest freebie below!!

Click here for my store

Here's my newest freebie which is just in time to celebrate another special birthday in February.  It’s a short reading passage on Abraham Lincoln’s early years. Have your students compare and contrast themselves with young Abe Lincoln . You can help students by giving them topics such as family, schooling, siblings, chores, pets, activities, etc., to compare and contrast.  Click here for the FREEBIE! 

For a Presidents’ Day craft, I updated George from last year to make him even more regal.  After making the stick Presidents, I read off  facts and ask the students which president they think it is and to hold up the correct president.  I found some obvious and not so obvious fun facts about the Presidents that the kids might enjoy. 

Feel free to add additional fun facts in the comments section about either of these presidents.

George

He started school at 6 and left when he was 15 to become a surveyor.

He married Martha Custis.

He was the 1^st president.

He was 6ft. 2 in. tall.

He loved to eat cream of peanut soup and mashed sweet potatoes with coconut.

He bred hound dogs.

He was 57 when he had all his teeth pulled and wore false teeth.

He was born on February 22, 1732.

He was born in Virginia.

He is on a quarter and a dollar bill.

He is known as the ‘Father of Our Country’.

Abe

He was and inventor and the only president to hold a patent.

He was born on February 12^th, 1809.

He was born in Kentucky.

He was the 16^th president.

He married Mary Todd.

He loved animals and kids.

He is on a penny and a five dollar bill.

He loved to wrestle and have foot races.

He kept important documents in his hat.

He was 6 ft. 4 inches tall.

Facts collected from Scholastic.com and other sources.

On my b-day I  got a fabulous gift in an equally fabulous bag. I loved the pattern on it and thought it would be perfect to decorate for the 100th day.  I cut it into a giant 100 (using the side for the 1 and the back and front to make two 0s), added some streamers and put it outside my door.  My husband, 'the recycler' in the house, would definitely approve of this.  I loved how it came out and it helped make their entrance into the class a bit fancier.

I thought I’d also share another fun activity we did this month.  I was inspired by the original watercolor pin below and loved how the  paintings came out and decided to incorporate it in our poem for Valentine’s Day. The kids loved using the pink, yellow, and blue paints to create additional colors. They came out great!

Click here for original pin

Last but not least you might be interested in this Writing Paper and Prompt Growing Bundle which is 70% off- just a buck a month until the bundle is closer to completion!  Check it out by clicking here!

February Pinterest Ideas

 

 

I'm linking up with Pawsitively Teaching, Just Reed and the Inspired Owl! for this month’s Pinterest Pick 3 to give us some fun ideas for February.


February is one of the craziest months!  It’s the shortest month with so many fun holidays to learn about and celebrate! It’s nuts—there’s so much to do -- Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Valentine’s Day and the 100^th day of school! I shouldn't leave out vacation and my b-day!! Woo hoo!

Hope these ideas will help you out!

The day is over, but how cute is this idea for next year? Cheers to an early spring!

Click here for the original post.

I’m loving the toilet paper crafts lately so I thought I’d include one for the Abe & George.

 

 Click here for the original post.

 

I love these next two crafts. This bookmark totally inspired me for a parent gift for Valentine’s Day and the card will be perfect!

 

Click here for the original post.

Click here for the original post.

Here's a great freebie I came across that is  perfect for indoor recess which seems to happen quite often in February!
  Enjoy!

  click here for the book!

An InLinkz Link-up