Time to Shop for School Supplies for home

If you didn't grab supplies during the summer sales then now is the time to shop for school supplies, a few weeks after school starts. The stores are starting to make room for Halloween stuff, I know hard to believe it's already here.  My favorite spot, Target, has just marked down a large portion of their supplies 50% off and I'm sure they will go to 75% soon if there are any left.  I'm sure other products will be added soon. 

If you haven't made a Teacher Supply Box like I posted here, but are still interested, now is a great time to gather your supplies.


During my shopping trip I grabbed a bunch of Colored Construction Paper, White Construction Paper and Drawing Paper for making crafts with my girls throughout the year.  I also found a large pencil box to create our Homework Station for my Kindergartner.  Plan to post more about her Homework Station in my next post. I found some School stickers to donate to my daughter's classroom too.  They even had some cute die cute letters I plan to use to help my little one with her sight words this year. 

Teacher Tip...

I always grab a few extra boxes of crayons, markers, pencils and glue during the sales to keep on supply at home throughout the year.

Here is a super cute unit on School Supplies to do with your little ones. 

2 Teacing Mommies

School Supplies Preschool Unit at 2 teachingmommies.com
 






For more Back to School Tips Check out
Top Ten Tips for Back to School at Home
First Day of School Magic Dust
ABC's of Open House
After School Express Back to School Week
Simple Solutions for School Lunches and Snacks
Helping your Child with Back to School Worries

 

 

Back to School Bookshelf

I LOVE reading with my kids and have amassed quite a few books over the years.  Every few weeks I change this book display shelf (made by my hubbie) to feature a new collection of books.  Often we will pick a theme: dogs, oceans, spring, winter, animals and the list continues.  This month we have a collection of back-to-school books. 

The book, "The Big in my Teacher's Coffee" is a cute collection of silly poems about school.  My five year old thinks they are hilarious and we have read it at least once a day for the past 10 days. 

I am using the book, "The Playground Problem," to teach her about the importance of playing with both boys and girls. In the story, the boys will not one of the girls play soccer on their team, so she rallies the girls to create their own team.  When the boys realize they are good players they invite her to join them, but she politely refuses and asks them to think about why she didn't want to join.  In the end, they figure out that they can all play together and have fun.

The book "School Days" is another favorite as it has a collection of poems for 2 voices.  The sentences are color coded for you read, I read, and we both read together.  Lots of fun for repetitive reading and developing fluency with a more confident reader.

The biggest disappointment was the book "Cool Dog, School Dog."  I ordered this specifically because the reviews were great, the dog on the cover is SO cute, and has the best GLASSES! (I don't usually order many books, rather get them from Garage Sales)  Elly has had glasses since she was 1 and I like to make sure that we have books that represent a part of who she is.  Imagine my surprise when there are NO pictures in the book with the dog wearing glasses.  I was SO disappointed.  Although the words are cute, I much prefer Biscuit's version of a dog visiting school and I think this book will be passed on in our donation box. =(  Sorry Tim Bowers - your cover illustration sold me, but I wish you wouldn't have teased me with those cute red framed glasses.

First Day of School Magic Dust

As you prepare for your child to go to school for the very first time it can be very exciting but it’s also an anxious time for both parents and your little ones.  It’s a great opportunity to talk about feelings and what we do when we feel a certain way.  My daughter and I talked about school a lot this summer to help prepare her for her Kindergarten experience.  We made a special “Going to School” Book by writing the text together about different parts of a school day and illustrating it together.  You can print your own {HERE}

To help make this transition go smoothly my daughter received a special First Day of School Poem from her teacher that was so precious I wanted to share with you.  She was so excited about putting her magic dust from her teacher under her pillow all week long that we even had to make a special Count Down to School for the First Day of School. 

Here a PRINTABLE Version of the First Day of School Poem

Here are the directions

Checkout this video for tips about the First Day of School Reading and my daughter reading the poem the night before school started.  

Book Recommendations for Preparing for the First Day of School

                       

Hope this helps your little one feel confident as they begin their school experience. 

Websites for Ideas for Back to School Fairies
Makes and Takes

Happy Home Fairy
Happiness Is
First Day of School Fairy

What are you going to do at your house to get ready for school?

Sewing with young kids

I love to sew!  Forget Naptime crafts...sewing, baking, and gardening are all a close tie for my all time favorite activities to do with kids.  They learn SO much by measuring, pinning, and choosing fabrics with me.  We have LOTS of friends having babies this and next month, so we are busy making gifties like these! I like to combine some home-made with some store-bought to round out our gifts!

My projects may not be the cutest or the most perfect, but they are definately made with love!  My 5 year old is now sewing her own creations and only needs me to help thread and tie her needle and thread.  She will not only help me, but is at the stage to work alongside me on her own projects.  My one year old on the other hand, has just started to "help."  Here are some things that the kids can do.

For a 1 year old

1. Help to choose the fabrics and lay them flat before cutting.
2. Help pin the pieces together.  Most often they end up perpendicular, but will get better with practice
3. Sit on my lap and help me guide the fabric as I sew.
4. Take the pins out after I am done sewing
5. Fluff, stuff, or shake depending on the project.

For a 5 year old
All of the above and...

1. Select their own projects to make
2. Assist in reading the directions prior to begining
3. Cut out the pattern (this paper is tough, but if you go slow it is not too hard)
4. Cut the fabric after the pattern has been pinned on.
5. Cut ribbon to a specific length.
6. Place embelishments on in the correct place
7. Turn projects inside-out if needed
8. Sew on buttons

I have figured out that sewing with kids takes an extra amount of time and patience, so I try to limit myself to cute, fun, and simple projects.  The 10 " taggie is a favorite of mine to make and my 5 year old can do over 75% of the tasks needed to make it.  I usually choose a cotton for one side and a texture fabric for the other.  All my ribbon taggies have been stitched over a minimum of 3 times.  We have also adapted the new Simplicity Gator Bib pattern to be more baby friendly (who designs bibs for babies with buttons???) and think they are a great addition! 

C is for Cowpoke - Tot School 21 months

 Tot school in our house was a lot of fun this week.  We put down 2 pieces of twine and played jump the brook, gradually spacing the rope further and further apart.  Nicholas was hilarious and tried very hard to "jump the brook."  We also rode our pony (horse on a stick) all around yelling, "Yee haw."
We made cowboy hats at story time and worked on our cutting.  I just drew a quick pair of boots, star, horse, and hat and had him cut them out.  He is getting much better with the scissors!

We sang this Cowpoke song and practiced the actions that go along with it.  A friend gave it to me with "Author Unknown" so I am not sure who to give credit.  Whoever you are, it is cute!

We also read some cowboy books.  It seems like most are geared for pre-school and up.  My 5 year old thought the book Clarence Goes Out West & Meets a Purple Horse by Jean Ekman Adams was great and asked to read it over and over again.  It is a story about a pig headed out west for a vacation.  His tour guide is a purple horse who shows him the ropes of being a cowboy.  When Clarence (the pig) finds out the purple horse is old and will be out of work, he uses all the money he has left to buy the Purple Horse and the ride off into the West together.  If you have read any cute ones, please share!

First day of Kindergarten and best advice from Papa

Today was my daughter's first day of kindergarten.  We were planning on homeschooling this year as our school of choice did not have any openings.  They called us late last week and said a spot had opened up and we said "Yes!"  Although I am not excited about a full day kindergarten, I am happy at the opportunities she will have.  The school believes in educating the "whole child" and starts the day with Yoga, allows only healthy foods and gives children the opportunity to play.

We have read many stories in the last couple days about starting school and have tried to answer her questions and talk to her about what kindergarten is like.  I think the best advice was when she asked her Papa, "What do I do if I miss mommy and am sad?"  His response, "Cry!"  I was shocked, but my daughter busted out laughing.  I don't think either of us expected that.  But he followed it up with an explanation, "If you are sad, it is OK to cry.  Sometimes it may help you feel better and then you will have an awesome day."  WOW - isn't that the truth and I don't think I could have given her any better advice.  Go Dad!!!

At meet the teacher,  I volunteered to cut any and all projects that the teacher may need help with and was put to work right away cutting out these giant tag board starts for each student (only 16!!! isn't that wonderful!)

 We put together this little plant for her teacher on the first day of school.

 Personalized her Yoga mat, backpack, lunchbox and change of clothes.  A google search said that the acrylic paint lasts the longest on Yoga mats.  I didn't want lots of peeling and cracking, so I only added a little color to each corner. 

 Here is her classroom!

 Some of the work shelves for classroom learning.

I love the way that her teacher combines Montessori and Traditional Education.  She is just the sweetest teacher and I feel like my baby will have many opportunities to learn and grow in a safe and caring environment.  Here is to a fun, successful year!

Welcome Banner for Grandparents

We are so lucky to have family that lives in India. My 5 year old daughter was so excited about her grandparents’ arrival this summer. In order to accommodate them we had to move things around and change our house a bit due to our little one’s arrival. To help ease any anxieties about this change and prepare her, I encouraged my daughter to make something for her Grandparents. (Also Mommy needed a little extra time to get the house ready.) We talked about what would be a good way to make them feel loved we they arrived. She said she wanted to make a sign for them. So we figured out how many papers we needed and I gave her the materials and let her be creative. She copied the text from an index card with the word Welcome that we sounded out together.

Teacher's Spin… stamping and whole punching is great for fine motor skills and eye hand coordination.

 After she wrote all the letters I gave her a box of stamps and glitter glue and told her to decorate each letter for the banner.

She had so much fun coming up with her own designs.

Then she used the whole punch to make the wholes and string the ribbon through. She got the tape out and asked me to help her hang it onto the fireplace.

Once we hung it up she thought about making a picture for their new bedroom door and front door. She was so proud of her work and her grandparents loved them so much they’ve left them up for quite sometime. What a special way to be greeted by your grandchildren and to teach your children that text has meaning.

Update! Look what her grandparents made for her upon our arrival from vacation.
She was so excited!

You could easily adapt this project for any special occasion in your family from Birthdays, Anniversaries, Baby Showers, Little Brother or Sister's Arrival and even the First Day of School!