Past & Present

Can y'all believe it's already MAY?!?!  As in we only have 25 more days of school left?!?!  WHEN did that happen?!  Seems like I was just welcoming 18 new 5-year-olds into my tidy and organized classroom.  Now those 18 not-so-new 5 & 6 year olds are a little bit older, a WHOLE lot smarter, and my classroom is anything but tidy and organized.  I know I'm not the only one!

April was a BUSY month for my little family.  Birthday parties.  Sleepovers.  Easter.  Family visits.  Out of town guests.  Trip to Dallas.  And a little bit of everything in between.  And even thought it was a few weeks ago, I thought I'd share a few little things we did around the Easter holiday.  I like to use this little blog as a virtual scrapbook and will go back through old posts each year to remember what I did.  So humor me while I flash back :)

We read "The Best Easter Eggs Ever" and then I had the kids decorate their own eggs.  Then I had them write letters to the Easter Bunny persuading him to choose their egg as THE Easter egg of the season :)  They LOVED it!  And I loved to read their writing.  I love that I can hear their little accents and voice when I read their writing.  And it floors me every time I read their writing to think about the gains and progress they've all made this year.  **warm fuzzies**

Jennifer from First Grade Blue Skies was the inspiration behind this bulletin board. Of course, hers turned out MUCH cuter, but I couldn't resist taking a stab at it!  My kids thought this was the "best craft ever!!!"  Ha!!!  I set the pieces out for them to assemble for morning work one day and they were SO excited to just create :)  Love that about this age!

Of course, we studied oviparous animals and our favorite was the chickens.  We made this fun little craftivity and had the kids label the life cycle of a chicken.

We also did these fun little directed drawings.  SO I saw THIS pin on Pinterest and thought it was the cutest thing.  Since I knew I just didn't have it in me to have the kids make little canvases, I knew I wanted to turn it into some kind of lesson.  As you can imagine, this time of year in Kindergarten is nothing short of...well...chaotic.  Spring fever has officially set in and I thought it was the perfect time to reinforce our listening standard :)  Wow.  These directed art activities teach you SO much!!!!

I love being able to incorporate and reinforce vocabulary during this time.  It's also a quick way for me to assess who can and who has trouble following one-step directions.  I also LOVE to see their individuality on display.  I used to be that teacher that thought it was important for all craftivities to look the same.  You know, neat and cute.  Without much distinction.  Sadsville.  I can't tell you how much I LOVE to see their little stamp of individuality on everything they do...especially craftivities.  Sure...some lend themselves to looking identical...but these directed drawings are the perfect activity for me to see THEIR perspective and ability.  And I LOVE it.

SO...we read The Easter Bunny's Assistant and then I had the kids write about why they would make a good assistant to the Easter Bunny.  Their responses kinda cracked me up.  And look at those drawings.  LOOK AT THEM!!  Are they not the cutest things you've ever seen?!?!  All so different and unique, but still the same.  Absolutely PRECIOUS!

Now moving on to the present...

We're working on getting ready for Mother's Day.  I've done lots of things in the past.  Everything from painted pots, to fingerprint canvases, to scrapbooks, to coasters.  There are some AMAZING ideas out there and I sorta want to do them all.  I mean, why can't I get an extra 8 hours a day to do all that "fun" stuff ?!?!  We made these fun little gift bags for our moms last year...

Her little arms open up and pull apart the gift box and on the inside the kids write to finish the prompt, "If I could give my mom any gift in the world, I would give her..."  They turned out precious.  Then we filled the bags with Mother's Day coupons, drawings, and a few other little goodies. Then we tied the bags up with cute little ribbon for an extra something special :)

The kids had fun making this one, too!!

In addition to the cute craftivities, I send home these Mother's Day coupons with each of my kids in their gift bags.  I'll often let them choose the coupons they want to include (there are lots from which to choose!!!).

And if we have time, they can also complete a Mother's Day Simile Booklet to put in the gift bags as well :)

The best activity we do this time of the year is our Mother's Day keepsake booklet!  I LOVE THIS ONE!!!! Hilarity always ensues while reading the kids' responses :)  LOL.  I have my kids complete these writing prompts during our guided writing portion of guided reading small group.  Works perfectly!

You can grab your free copy of the keepsake booklet below!

You can grab the template, coupons, and a few other Mother's Day {& Father's Day} crafts& printables by clicking the pic below...

Whew.  Quite the catch up.  

Now it's time to get on with the last 25 days.   I can hardly stand it.  My babies are BIG kids now.  And even though 25 days is a pretty short amount of time in the grand scheme of things, I know my kids will continue to do BIG things and make BIG progress until the very last day :)