The Kissing Hand: No Prep Freebie!

Now that my new air conditioner is installed and up and running (YES- I lost air at the start of the summer! EEK!), and I've gotten my fair share of good reads in at the pool (was I the last one to read Me Before You?) I've got another bundle that I'm really excited for!

One of my FAVORITE read alouds for the little ones is The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn! It is the sweetest story about little Chester Raccoon and his first day of school. His Momma kisses his hand and tells him her kiss is always with him! I'm not even a mom yet, and it makes my heart melt!

Since I read it EVERY year, I figured it's about time I began to add some new activities to go along with the beloved read aloud. And now, the best news of all, it's NO PREP and.. drumroll please.. FREE!

The pack includes these First Day of School Certificates- they look fantastic printed on neon paper!

This sweet poem can go with any handprint art you may make!

You can find my craftivity that goes with it here!

Color by numbers are some of my favorite things to do in the first week of school. It's fairly straightforward, fairly independent, and coloring is a great way to ease nerves for the little bubba staring up at you! Plus- instant fridge art for home!

From my own experience, children tend to be fascinated by the fact that Chester Raccoon goes to school at night. I figured this year I would go into nocturnal animals just a bit to help them understand better and give them great knowledge to share at home! Plus- another coloring page for independence and calming butterflies in the stomach!

You can download the whole freebie here!

If you're riding The Kissing Hand train like I am, take a peek at my other Kissing Hand products! 

(I'll be blogging about them throughout the week!)

Keep your head in the clouds!

(and your toes in the sand! Summer is flying by!!)

xo

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Cooking Up a Great Year in Kindergarten! - {A Back to School, All About Me Unit!}

I know, I know. Summer vacation should be about rest and relaxation, but I'm already getting inspiration for beginning of the year activities! I have had a Cooking Themed classroom for the last few years, so this only seemed fitting for me to create:

Cooking Up a Great Year in Kindergarten!

Check out the major craftivity of the unit below: A Menu of Me Lap Book!

The Menu of Me is a lift the flap craftivity that allows kiddos to share about themselves: What makes them special, Their house, Their teacher, Their Family, What they want to be when they grow up, What they do outside of school, and their favorite subject!

How fun are those "Favorites" flaps?! 

There's also this adorable Hopes and Dreams craftivity. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Responsive Classroom, students start the year documenting their hopes and dreams for the school year, sharing, and displaying them in the classroom. Keeping with the theme, the lift the flap plate cover allows for an adorable way to display your student's hopes and dreams around the classroom! These are so sweet, I may keep them up all year!

There's also Chef Self Portraits! There is a boy and girl version with the face already done- just needs to be colored as well as a boy and girl version with a blank face for students to draw their own. As an integrated teacher, it's always important to me to try to develop ways for all students to participate in the activities despite their learning styles. (There's differentiated options for the hopes and dreams as well!)

And of course, how do you end the first day without creating your own chef hat to wear while holding this first day of school sign?! I cannot wait to hang them up and compare them to our future last day of school pics! Cute factor overload!

Check out your own copy of Cooking Up a Great Year in Kindergarten!

As for me, I'll be at the pool! (I can't create ALL Summer Vacation, can I?!)

PS. This also goes great with my

Keep your head in the clouds!

xo

Catch a Wave to Summer!

Am I the only one counting down the days to summer vacation? (four weeks, three days...) In an effort to keep my head in the zone and continue to give my 100% for the remaining four weeks (and three days!), I decided to make some summer themed activities I can contribute to my classroom.  So let's hang ten and Catch a Wave to Summer!

Recently I've been working on grade specific summer and end of year work, but the more I look at my kiddos, the more I see they are all on their own individualized levels. Why not work on making activities that can vary for the different skill sets in my classroom?  Personally, I think it's best for preschool, Kindergarten, and First Grade, but ultimately, if it's your student's level, go for it!

Now- how adorable are these popsicles?! I may or may not have asked my fiancé to bring me a grape popsicle after making this activity. Yum!

Activities are varied through literacy and mathematics and are very hands on! Take a peek below!

You can see the entire product here in my TPT store!

Keep your head in the clouds!

xo

Sea You in First Grade!

Sea You in Kindergarten was such a great hit, by popular demand, I just had to bring you Sea You in First Grade!

You can download it here.

See You in First Grade is intended to be a summer packet for students exiting Kindergarten and getting ready for First Grade. It could also be used as great review for the end of Kindergarten or even as baseline data for the start of First Grade!

Check out some samples below and see if it looks like something you'd want to check out!

You can download it in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!

Keep your head in the clouds! 

xo

Shine in Kindergarten! {freebie}

Okay friends, I can't help myself. I am loving the Kindergarten readiness skills in my Sea You in Kindergarten bundle, that I cannot help but share parts of it with you FOR FREE!

Check out Shine in Kindergarten!

You'll get the parent letter and Kindergarten Readiness Skill List FOR FREE!

Download them here!

And remember, if you like those, you'll LOVE the complete packet!

Download it here!

Keep your head in the clouds!

xo

Summer On My Mind

With the cool air, and misty skies, it's hard to believe we are only 7 weeks away from the last day of school! Of course, it may not feel like summer is right around the corner, but sunny beach days are on my mind nonetheless! That's why I decided to start working on my summer packets for my students! 

Check out the details below!

I am trying to get my preschool kiddos ready for Kindergarten and to maintain their skills we've worked so hard on this year! Not only does it include skill practice, but parent resources as well! 

These are two of my favorite parent resources below:

How cute is this Shine Bright checklist?

The packet has everything from fine motor practice, to math skills, to literacy skills!

Check out some of the fun!

You can download the entire packet in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store here!

Keep your head in the clouds!

xo

The Very Hungry Caterpillar {Part 3}

I am so enjoying my time teaching The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I had to share this freebie!

I originally saw the inspiration picture on Pinterest, but it just linked to the picture and not the source. Then, the lovely people at Libraryland gave a tutorial, but still no template. Alas, I found that primary teachers needed a template for this hat, and what better way to get it in their hands than as a freebie!

I just cut extra long red construction paper in thirds, and stapled two thirds together to create the base of this headband. You may want to use red sentence strips if you can find them! (and if you can, send that link my way! I'd love to purchase them!)

Now, besides the awesome freebie, I have to brag about my kiddos for a moment. We were super excited to come back from the weekend to discover that our caterpillars have grown big and fat just like the very hungry caterpillar! Take a look below! (Squeamish stomachs, beware!)

WHOA.

However, as you know, most children LOVE this kind of growth and my class was no different.

Check out their awesome Week 2 Observations! What great preschool scientists!

Now, for tomorrow's work: teaching them that it is not a web, but the exoskeleton shedding! Awesome science!

If you want to try out these observation sheets with your kiddos, buy them here with The Very Hungry Caterpillar No Prep Pack!

Keep your head in the clouds!

xo