Back to School Giveaway and FREEBIE!

Getting ready to go back to school? Enjoy a few back to school FREEBIES, ideas, favorite back to school must haves, and enter a giveaway for a $10 TPT gift card! 

When school approaches, I scour the local dollar stores to collect bins, bins, and more bins for the classroom.  I find I use them for everything! Some ideas are turn in bins for work, scrap bins for the artsy days, and to hold our library books since it’s one less item in their desk. 
I also love to plan out my week with a bin to hold the work for each day of the week. Did you know that you can order from the Dollar Store online and they deliver it to your local store?  So easy!

For my book bins, I love to label them.  If you’re looking for some great labels, check out the Editable Labes in my TPTstore.  Here’s a sample of some of the labels in my Ultimate Edition. 

Additional themed and solid color

 labels as available as well. 

I also create custom labels- just ask!

Bee Theme

Solid Colors

Zoo Theme

 Purple Labels

When students enter on the first day, I find it helpful to have a coloring sheet or something for kids to do while I’m collecting supplies. 

Enjoy these FREE Welcome to Our Class Coloring Sheets.

There are sheets for Pre-K through Third Grade and a generic Welcome to Our Class! 

My favorite back to school item: 

Paper-mate Mechanical Pencils with 1.3 lead 

Seriously a game- changer for those who hate goinbg through pencils at a ridiculous rate.  They are always sharp and kids never want to lose their fancy pencil!

My a-ha moment and new must have: 

    Click here  to find out 

how to make glue sponges  for your class!

Now for the fun part!  Enter for a chance to win a $10 Tpt card to get you started for the new school year!  

Have a great one!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

July Pinterest Pick 3 Linky!

I’m joining up with Marissa from the Inspired Owl's Corner, Lisa from PAWSitively Teaching, and  Ashley from Just Reed! for the Pinterest Pick 3 Linky.  Come join the fun in finding some fresh ideas for July!

Since most of us are already out of school, I choose a combination of fun/school items that will be great to kick off to the summer.

For those of you with kids, nieces, nephews, etc…  Here’s a fun calendar with lots of great ideas for summer activities to keep the little ones occupied.  

Click for original pin

I also saw this shark game which was too cute not to share!

 Click for original pin

Here’s a little something for you to sit back and enjoy the summer.  It’s perfect for July 4^th!

 Click for original pin

Here's a fun drink for the kids!

 Click for original pin

Even though summer might be in full swing, I know there’s a little part of you that’s still thinking about getting ready for school in September. So, when I saw these bags, I thought they would be an easy-to-make welcome back bag to fill with goodies of your choice!

 Click for original pin

An InLinkz Link-up

June Pinterest Pick 3 Linky

I'm linking up with  Inspired Owl's Corner, PAWSitively Teaching,  and Just Reed! for this month's linky party! 

Here are some great Pinterest ideas to help inspire you for the month of June.  For those of us still in school, there’s Father’s Day, Flag Day, and those last few days when you just want to do some fun activities. Hope these ideas help!

Although we just finished up our Father’s Day key chains for this year, this next gift looks like a lot of fun to design and the Dads would enjoy it! You don’t even have to buy new ones as you could recycle golf balls. 

 Click here for the original pin

I also love this free coloring sheet that they can color to go with it! 

  Click here for the original pin

Flag Day is June 14^th and it’s a perfect time to make flags.  Here’s a fun collaborative poster for your kids to work on together. 

                                   Click for the original pin 

Below, my kids are creating their own flag to bring home as well.

With school coming to an end, I’m always looking for a fun way to say thanks to the room parents for all their help!  How great are these gifts?  

Click here for the original pin

Click for the original pin

An InLinkz Link-up

Fun Father's Day Gift and Activity

Father’s Day is almost here and I'm usually up late trying to find some fun gift for my kiddies to give to their dad.  Once we created a BBQ rub which in the end had a little too much cayenne pepper and a lot of ‘heat’ to it.  It probably should have come with a disclaimer, but it was the thought that counts. Right?  I guess that’s what happens when there are 24  seven year olds  measuring the spices. Not this year... I got an early start and it feels GREAT!

We created key chains using Shrinky Dinks and the kids and I loved how they came out.  The kids used the frosted Shrinky Dinks and a template of a star or a tie  or they were able to create their own.  It’s super simple.

I cut each sheet into 4 pieces (each piece was 4x5) so you'll just need one pack.

We used Sharpies (on the rough side of the shrinky dink) to outline the shape and  colored pencils to color it in.  Since the shrinky dink has a shiny/dull side when done, my kids wrote the DAD in reverse so it would look right on the shiny side and it would be the ‘front’ of the keychain. They practiced on a post-it and then traced it in the keychain.

This is what it looked like on the rough side.

Cut out the shape and make sure there are no sharp edges- they will become sharper when shrunk.

Most important: PUNCH THE KEYHOLE (larger than you want it since it will shrink too!) BEFORE BAKING!!!   It will NOT work after- I know this by experience!

We shrank them in the classroom and used a toaster set at 325 for 1-3 mins- colored side up. I used the toaster tray and put a piece of cut up paper bag on top so it wouldn’t stick.  So many of them hadn’t used them before so it was a hoot to watch their reaction. 

Prior to baking:

After a few minutes, take it out, pop them onto a table and if needed, flatten them out by using another piece of paper.

I sprayed them with a clear spray (just on the dull side) and added the steel rings when they were done. 

We wrapped them up in tissue paper and added them to our gift bag along with our Father’s Day book, acrostic poem, and card. You can create this book and card with your class by clicking here. We are ready to go!

  

I also love this year's cast of characters... too cute!

 These also make a great June snack- what a fun way to start the summer!

Here's what you'll need:
Bun- Nilla Cookies
Burger-Grasshopper Cookies
Lettuce- Coconut (add a touch of green 
food coloring and toss in a ziploc)
Mustard and Ketchup- red and yellow icing (the kind you squirt)