Leaping Lily Pads... Frogs Eat Mushrooms?

Did you know frogs eat mushrooms?  I didn't either, but I didn't have any other erasers... what?!  HAHA, let me explain... so I made a frog math game and planned to put little bug erasers inside the frogs that I bought at Walmart, but they didn't have any at the store.  I thought that someone might have some fake bugs at work, but no luck there either.  I had these cute mushrooms erasers from Oriental Trading, so I decided that frogs eat mushrooms (I have since Googled this fact, and some sites say yes... some say no...).  Here is my "Leaping Lily Pad Lineup" game!

Students choose a frog from the "pond" (made with scented, YES scented, iridescent blue Easter grass) and count the mushrooms inside.  They write the number in the frog's tummy on the worksheet and then write the next four numbers that come after their chosen number on the lily pads.  We're still working on adding and subtracting, so this was great practice for number writing and counting. You can buy this worksheet at my TpT store!

I was finally able to test out my "Build a Bunny" game with the kids today!

Bunnies... All Day, Everyday

It's been all about bunnies since my trip to Walmart where I found Easter egg carrots (which led to many other purchases... picture me running through the Easter aisles throwing things into my cart... laughing a crazy teacher laugh... mwah haha)!  I knew they'd be perfect as a center for my students, and since we're working on addition and subtraction I went with that.  Here is the game I came up with!

 

Along with the carrot eggs (haha ew) I bought a bunny jacks game.  I wrote numbers on the feet of all the bunnies (1-8).  A bunny went into each carrot ( a little ironic, huh?) and the carrots went into a basket that looks like a picket fence with green Easter grass.  The kids had to pick 2 carrots and write the numbers on the bunnies in the boxes.  They used red bingo chips to help them add the numbers, and the answer was written on the last bunny.  The kids really liked it, it always makes me happy when they ask if they can do another worksheet.  I have a subtraction version that I haven't used in the classroom yet. 

Sticking with the bunny theme I made another addition game.  This one uses dice, or cards, and the students have to "build a bunny".  Each sum that they roll represents a bunny body part that they have to draw onto their bunny.   The student that gets each every number and completes their bunny first is the winner!

I am going to use this on Monday, so I'll let everyone know how it goes!  You  can always check out my TpT store!

Do you have any fun holiday activities that you're excited about?!

UPDATE!!
I used my "Build a Bunny" worksheet with my students! They turned out really cute!

Worksheet Wednesday: Plant Growth Observations

Spring has sprung... kinda... more like it's waking up slowly.  This is the time that classrooms will start units on plants.  My students did a science experiment with lima beans growing in bags, and a lot of them started to grow.  Instead of just throwing the plants out (like the curriculum said), we decided to plant them (having a boyfriend that works at Lowe's comes in handy... especially during our simple machines unit...).  I made a plant growth observation worksheet so that the students could track the growth of their beans.  So far they are great!  When we're done I plan to hang them in our science center.

 You can pick up this worksheet on Teachers pay Teachers!

 Do you have any planting plans?

Teacher Tuesday: Growing the Alphabet

Happy Spring!  I just made a spring themed alphabet worksheet.  This worksheet is meant to help students write their lowercase letters from memory.  There is an uppercase letter on a flower, and the student has to write the corresponding lowercase letter on the flower pot.  I plan on making one with lowercase letters on the flowers soon!  If you're interested in these worksheets check them out on Teachers pay Teachers.

What projects do you have planned for spring?

Manicure Monday: Leopard

I went away this weekend for my 11 year anniversary with the boyfriend! We went to the Finger Lakes in New York because we LOVE wineries... more to come about the trip at another time.  I  brought along some nail polish to the hotel so I could do my nails because I didn't have time the Wednesday before we left (my nails were naked for a day! eek... the kids in my class told me I "look different" without my nails done).  Even though I didn't have everything with me, I still wanted to do some nail art because we were away and I just didn't want boring nails.  This is what I came up with:

 

Leopard nails are pretty easy and I love the cool wintery color combo.  You may recognize some polishes I used last Manicure Monday, along with a few new ones. 

• OPI Skull and Glossbones (grey)
• Color Club Platinum Record (glitter) 
• Urban Decay Perversion (black)
• Sally Hansen 220 Celeb City (silver)

Okay, so you're wondering how to do the leopard nails yourself.  

 

1. Make dots and place them randomly on your nail.  I used a larger dotting tool, but you can use the actual nail polish brush or even a tooth pick.
2. Add "c's" and "parentheses" around the dots.  They don't have to be perfect because leopard spots aren't perfect either! I used a smaller dotting tool for these so the black part did not cover up the spots made in step 1. 
3. Add small dots to fill in spaces in between the leopard spots.  I used the same smaller dotting tool that was used in step 2.   

And there you have it!  I actually did leopard nails for my first nail art project and was pleasantly surprised at how easy they are.  Hope they never go out of style, because they are definitely go-to nails when I can't think of anything else.

Have you done leopard nails?... I want to see!

I'm a Business Woman Now...

I just uploaded my first worksheet to Teachers pay Teachers!! I thought it would be appropriate to upload a worksheet about money as I am hoping that I will earn money from the site.  Just kidding, I just made that connection right now. 

If you are trying to teach your students about coin money, download my free worksheet.  It's a simple worksheet that I used as part of a homework packet when my kindergarteners starting learning about coins.   The site requires that the first uploaded document is free, so I didn't want to just give away something fancy ;)

Manicure Monday: Chevron and Turquoise

I am done with classes... I have my Masters and certification... and I have been seriously neglecting this blog!  I think its because I haven't been procrastinating on anything... because, again, I AM ALL DONE!! YAY!

Which leads me to this post's topic!  Since I have had more time on my hands, I decided to work on my hands... ha ha ha!  I have stopped going to the salon (partly to save money... mostly because Tammy, my nail lady, left me) and I have discovered a hidden talent/ fun hobby!  Now, wish me luck on keeping up with Manicure Monday!

For my first Manicure Monday, I have chevron and turquoise... and of course, some sparkle!  I have been wanting to do chevron nails for forever, but I was too nervous to ask Tammy because if the lines weren't perfect I'd have a 3-4 week long panic attack.  When I started doing my own nails, I attempted chevron with scotch tape and the zig zag scissors, but it was HORRIBLE!  Then I found these awesome stickers on Etsy from Make it Stick (I bought some bow stickers from them too).  For the chevron ones, you peel the decals off and they are stuck to a clear sheet so all three rows can all be applied at once.    When I got them positioned in the right spot I used an Exacto knife to peel part of them off the clear backing.  I did this because I did not cut the strips before hand so they hung over onto my finger and could not fully stick to the sides. I think the clear backing would be able to be removed without the help of the Exacto knife if the decals were pre-cut and were fully stuck on the nail.  Then I used the Exacto knife to cut the excess off the sides and the top of my nail.  Any little pieces left hanging over the top were easy to file away.  I used one of my rounded dotting tools to press the decals down without ruining the nail polish.

chevron decals I used, bow decals I mentioned, and the polishes I used

I used OPI's Skull and Glossbones under the white chevron decals, Color Club's Blue-Ming (from the blossoming collection I scored at TJMaxx for $9) for 3 nails, and Color Club's Platinum Record for the sparkly nail (I put a coat of silver under this).  I always top with Seche Vite because it makes it super shiny and while it dries it has a sort of slippery texture that keeps me from messing up my nails.  I usually top my manicures with one or two coats of UV cured clear gel polish the next day, but that's for another post. 

Are there any manicures you've really been wanting to try?