Building Self-Esteem By Giving Achievement Awards!

Are you looking for end of the year awards for your kiddo’s, certificates, candy bar wrappers etc.?

Do you want a nice end of they year note home to parents or a poem?

To same you time and energy, I’ve designed some, and then did some surfing so you don’t have to!

I found several poems and notes, and revamped them to come up with two of my own. 

Click on the links to view/download them: End of the year poem: Adieu To You, End of the Year Note Home to Families

Here are some great links:

For candy wrappers I made an "Owl miss you!" packet complete with activities and a candy bar wrapper. click on the following links for other candy bar wrappers:

 Billy Bear  &  ABC Teach,

For certificates: I've designed a graduation packet filled with 16 certificates for a variety of awards, + over 100 certificates in my certificate packet.

Other sites with more certificates can be found by clicking on the following links:

Innovative classrooms offers 30 certificates!

Family education has 19 certificates

KidBibs can even send your award via e-mail! How cool is that.

dltk kids helps you create your own portrait or landscape awards using their software program and clip art.  Click on the link to check it out.

I hope you find something that suits your needs.  It doesn't take long to make a lasting impression on a child.  A simple certificate does wonders for their self-esteem.  Put a smile on a little one's face today!

Do you have a certificate or helpful website that you'd like to share? 

If we all take a moment to add to everyone's bag of tricks, how easy our lives would be.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   or feel free to post a comment here.

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Even though we were not in school for Father’s Day, I did not want to leave dads out of my Y5’s keepsake things that they did, so the last week of school I always plugged in some sort of “craftivity” that they could easily do in a short amount of time.

I save cans that chicken came in all year long, (tuna cans, or cat food cans) also work well.

I have a Magic Chef tool that you run along the edge of an opened can and it flattens the sharp edge down so that it is smooth. I then don’t have to worry about little fingers getting cut.

My students rip and tear masking tape and slap it on the cans.  When they’re done they don a pair of rubber gloves and rub brown shoe polish over the tape.

The cans have the look of leather and make a wonderful coin/key holder for daddy.

I write their name on the bottom, and they set them in the sun to “dry” for a day.

I’ve also designed some “paper love” as well.  These make great activities for your writing center or Daily 5 time.

There’s nothing like a special coupon to give dad.

My students enjoy using their imaginations to dream up their own, as well as trace and sign the pre-made ones, stapling them into a coupon booklet and then tucking them into the I love you card.

These items can be found in  Fun Stuff To Do For Summer  Click on the link to view/download it.   Also included in this packet is a cute writing prompt about dads that makes a sweet class book.

Comparing themselves to their dad is an interesting and fun activity.  Have students do it with a Venn diagram, which can be found in Summer Fun Writing.

Click on the link to view/download it.

Finally, since the easy reader My Mom booklet, that reinforced adjectives and verbs, was so popular for Mother’s Day, I revamped it for Father’s Day.

Click on the link to view/download the My Dad easy reader booklet.

I hope you find time to remember the daddies in your students’ lives and plug in some of these fun activities.

May the rest of your time with your students be filled with sweet summer sunshine and smiles!  

PIN to your heart's content if you see anything that you feel will be useful to others!

Hope you can breeze on by tomorrow for more fun activities to help you fly through the end of the year.

Summer Sunshine And Sunflowers

When I think of summer, I think of sunflowers.

When my children were little we always left sunflower seeds out for the birds.  They were a favorite of cardinals, one of my favorite birds.

The problem with the bird feeders tho’ is the squirrels made a virtual mess of them, so I had sunflowers popping up all over the place.

They are easy to grow and will sprout in just a few weeks, so I decided to see if we could grow some and make a sunflower “hideout” in the back 40.

It was a wonderful jungle and they loved playing in it.

I got the idea from Eve Bunting’s book, Sunflower House.  That book and Backyard Giant, are my two favorite sunflower books.

They are terrific read aloud’s for your kiddo’s.  Afterwards, compare and contrast the books and do a graphing extension.

I’ve included a graph in my Sunflower Packet, along with all sorts of other fun activities.

Click on the link to view/download the Sunflower Packet.

Where Is The Sunflower is an easy reader that works on spatial directions.  Students cut out the sunflowers and glue them to the appropriate places on the page.

Click on the link to view/download the Where Is The Sunflower easy reader booklet.

The Seeds On My Sunflower is another easy reader where students get practice counting to 10, reading, tracing, writing, cutting and gluing, as they match the appropriate numbered seeds to their sunflower.

I’ve included word-wall word flashcards, a math skill sheet, a graphing extension, and certificate of praise.

Click on the link to view/download the easy reader booklet The Seeds On My Sunflower.

Finally, 123 Count Sunflowers With Me, is the newest addition in the Count With Me collection of easy readers.

As with all the Count With Me booklets, this packet includes: a graphing extension, 40 word-wall word and number traceable cards, covers for the flashcards so you can make Itty Bitty booklets, a plus 1 more math worksheet and a certificate of praise.

Click on the link to view/download 123 Count Sunflowers With Me.

I hope your remaining days are filled with sunshine as warm and lovely as these yellow sunflowers.

Do you have a sunflower idea you’d like to share?  I’d enjoy hearing from you. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas!  Thanks in advance for making the time to do that; you’ll make my day.  I enjoy hearing from visitors.

PIN away if you think others might find anything on our site that is interesting or useful.

I hope you can skip on over tomorrow for more teaching tips that add fun to learning. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Let's Get To The Point: Edible Pencils!

Even easier than the “Owl Miss You” gift for students, is this pencil treat.

I first saw it last September on Pinterest as a back to school lunch box tuck in, as well as a teacher gift.

So if you are looking for a teacher appreciation gift, or wanting to make something for all of the volunteers that helped you, this would fit the bill for that too.

Again, I saw it pinned about a dozen times, tweaked in different ways, by different people, being used for different things, so if this was your original idea, please let me know and I will give you credit and link to your site.

I too, am tweaking it, to be used as an end-of-the-year gift for your kiddo’s, and adding a poetic note that you can attach.

The above people all used Rolo’s, but I found that there are several other rolls of things that you can wrap with yellow construction paper to make the pencil.

I used Sweetarts, because I found them at Walgreens on special 2 for $1.

You can buy the 2 different flavors of Mentos as well as Rolo’s by the box at Sam’s Club too.

If you use card stock instead of construction paper and pre-make the rolls instead of wrapping a candy roll, you can really cut down the cost, by dropping 7-8 Hershey kisses down the tube, or bubble gum or whatever other candy you find on sale.

If you do use a roll of candy, measure your candy roll so that you can wrap it.

Leave enough room at the “pencil writing end” to insert a Hershey’s kiss.  The eraser end will simply remain open.

Cut strips of pink construction paper for the eraser part and glue the strip to the end of the pencil BEFORE you wrap the candy.

Snip off the flag of the kiss and put it at the other end of the pencil.

Just an FYI, when you are making your rolls, make sure that you are not wrapping them too tightly around the roll of candy, otherwise the kiss will not fit in the end.

I had a hard time shoving my kiss into the point after I wrapped the sweetarts.

The Mentos were a bit wider, but still not as wide as a kiss.  You also don’t want it too loose, or the kiss will drop out.

I ended up adding a glue dot to the end to make sure the kisses stayed put.

For a bit more pizzazz, print off the U R Sharp! labels.  Put a sheet of Avery (30-on-a-page) labels in your printer.  Trim and press on the pencils.

Run off the notes, sign them and tuck everything in a Baggie.  You may even want to include a real pencil. 

I also made "You're sharp!" 10-on-a-page praise cards that you can cut 2 slits in and insert a pencil.  This is the sweet clip art of Laura Strickland from My Cute Graphics.

Click on the link to view/download U R Sharp Candy Pencil Gift

Do you have an end-of-the-year gift that you give your students?  I’d enjoy hearing from you! This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or post a comment here.

Feel free to PIN anything you think others might enjoy or find useful.

Thanks for visiting; hope you can pop in tomorrow for more interesting teaching tips.

1-2-3 Come Make a Memory Book With Me

Thanks For The Memories…

Are you looking for a nice keepsake for your students or an interesting end-of-the-year writing prompt?

How about making a school days memory book?

This makes a nice Daily 5 activity, or do the booklet as a whole group for your writing or reading block.

You can also send it home to be worked on during the summer.

Whether you send this home for students to work on with their families, or do a page or 2 each day during the last week of school, this booklet is sure to make a wonderful keepsake of the year your students were in your grade.

I've included cover pages for pre-school, young fives, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades, + a blank page for others to fill in their grade level.

Add photographs of students and their best friends to make the booklet even more special and allow time for children to pass their booklets around to gather autographs.

To expedite things, why not run off an extra copy of the master autograph pages and have everyone, including yourself, sign the page and then simply run off enough copies for each student to include in their booklet. 

Click on the link to view/download School Memories Keepsake Booklet

I also have an owl-themed memory book if you'd like to give your students a choice. Click on the link to check it out.

Thanks for visiting today. I hope all of your memories are marvelous!

Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find useful.

"When you get, give.  When you learn, teach." -Maya Angelou

Learning With Owies!

It’s that time of year to haul out the Band-Aide box as children are coming in from the playground with scraped knees and elbows and a variety of other boo-boo’s.

It’s also a nice time to review all of the letters of the alphabet to make sure your students are retaining what you’ve taught them.

What better way to do that than with Band-Aides!

I made a boo-boo alphabet, using that “must-have” first aid equipment that a teacher simply can’t be without, and decided to turn the letters into an alphabet booklet that would reinforce parts of the body, which is a Y5 report card standard.

I had to get a little creative with some of the letters, but I think you’ll find this unique ABC book interesting and fun.

Simply make one for yourself as a teacher’s copy, and read it to your students or use them as flashcards, or print off copies for your entire class and use as a whole group writing/reading center.

It’s also a fun activity to send home for the summer.

Click on the link to view/download Band-Aide Alphabet booklet

A great companion to this is My Owie booklet.

Students cut and glue the matching numbered pictures to the correct boxes in their booklet.

This is a nice way to review parts of the body.

It's also a cute booklet to send home with a child who has gotten hurt on the playground.

Also includes:

• A graphing extension
• 3 skill sheets
• Dr. Simon Says Game
• 2 songs to review body parts
• 9 word-wall word flashcards with 7 picture cards and a cover-card to make an Itty Bitty booklet
• An Accident Report-form letter to send home to parents +
• An art Band-Aide activity to make, to use as a manipulative to use with the songs and game to learn/review parts of the body.

Click on the link to view/download My Owie booklet packet

Thanks for visiting.  Do try and pop in tomorrow for more ideas and tips.  How do you handle boo-boo's when they happen in your class?  I'd enjoy hearing from you! This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or feel free to post a comment here. Thanks in advance for making the time to do that.

PIN away if there's anything you feel might excite parents or teachers as well.  I think sharing is so important!

Until next time may all of your boo-boo's truly be healed with a kiss and hug!

Sweet Summer Dreamin' Pillowcases

Another fun project I like to do with my students at the end of the year I call "Sweet Summer Dreamin' Pillowcases."

Just about every month we have practiced the art of stamping something with a foam stamp. 

I have collected them through out the years to use for our science units.  They make fun art projects and are great for math extensions as well. 

My Y5's self-esteem is also built, because the process is quite easy and the results are simply smashing.  They pat paint on a foam stamp and then press it onto paper and a lovely print of something is left. 

They make beautiful collages, paintings and patterns and are quiet proud of their projects. They have become quite skilled at this technique. 

Instead of doing an autograph book, I thought it would be fun for my students to autograph a pillowcase that they have stamped with all of the various foam stamps, depicting everything they have studied throughout the year.  This  makes a wonderful keepsake for them. 

I send a letter home to parents asking them to send in a plain, light-colored pillowcase and ask if they would be able to volunteer to help. 

I've found that having 4 helpers makes the process go faster and stay organized, but I've done it with only one daddy as well. 

One year I asked several 5th graders if they could come and help during their study hour when I was short on parents and they worked well with the little ones too. 

They all had been my Y5 students so that made it extra fun as they even remembered doing the project when they were little! 

I do this project on the floor in our entry hall atrium so that the children can spread out.  Lay plastic down in case of spills.  There are very few, but The Dollar Store plastic tablecloths make clean up a breeze.  I put 5 children in a row and make a large square. 

Insert a piece of tag board (I recycle them each year) inside of their pillow case so that the paint does not bleed through.  I write their name in large print on the edge of their pillowcase. 

I buy primary and pastel colors of the acrylic permanent paints that are only .59 cents at a hobby/craft store and spill a dollop of one color on a paper plate.

That paper plate, a foam brush and a stamp is given to a helper who pats the paint on the stamp and hands it to a child, they press that stamp anywhere on their pillowcase and then wait for the next stamp. 

We rotate all of the stamps in this assembly line fashion until everyone has done every stamp and every color. 

This takes about 45 minutes if I have help.  Afterwards, the children go wash up and they go outside for recess. 

When they come back in the paint is dry.  We flip the pillowcases over and everyone is given a permanent marker. 

I have 10 different colors. I remind them that they cannot rest the markers on the pillowcase as they will start to bleed into the material and run. 

I also tell them that it is hard to write on fabric so that they need to hold the fabric taught.  I demonstrate this as I "autograph" a pillowcase. 

Everyone signs their own pillowcase first, then they stand up when they are done so that I can see when everyone is finished; when everyone is standing, they move to the next pillowcase and sign their name; when they are done, they stand up again. 

We do this until they are back to their own pillowcase and have signed everyone's.  Make sure you remind them that they are writing THEIR name and "autographing" eachother's pillowcases. 

I had one little guy who was trying to write each person's name on the pillowcases instead of his own! 

In the beginning I had the children sign the fronts of the pillowcases where the stamps were, then a mom thought it would look nicer, since the children wrote so big, to sign the backs!  I've done it that way ever since. 

I don't paint the backs of the pillowcases, because the paint is scratchy when it dries. 

I type up a little note about washing directions which reads: When your child brings their pillowcase home, turn it inside out and toss in the dryer on high .  This will set the paint.  Wash in cold water on gentle cycle for years of wear.  Sleep on the side that is not painted.  I hope you enjoy your sweet summer dreamin' pillowcase and that it helps you to remember all of the fun we had learning and making these wonderful friends!

I've gotten lots of positive feedback about this project, and my students absolutely love making these pillowcases.