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

SaveSave

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