ski day #4

Reporting back from my fab weekend of skiing. These pictures are from day #4 on the ski day count - there was a #3, but I'll post those another day... I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat! :)

Mr. L proposed to me - in nearly this exact location - so many months ago.
5 to be exact...













Now, I'm Mrs. L...

pretty wild, huh?!

Mr. L doesn't usually look back to check on me...












because he knows I'm one tough cookie.

busy hands

matching pictures

Have you noticed how into matching I am lately?

The children LOVE matching lessons.

Especially this one...

I cut apart a calendar that I discovered last weekend...

hidden at the bottom of a box full of random treasures.
Is it strange to save calendars for multiple years past their expiration date?

I think not! Look at what a perfect use I finally found for it!

How to make it:

1. Cut apart all the mini pictures from the back of the calendar.

2. Cut apart the main pages of the calendar.
3. Laminate the whole lot of it.
4. Stick a square of velcro (rought side) to one corner of each big picture.
5. Stick a smaller square (soft side) to the center of each mini picture.
6. Hang the big pictures everywhere and put the mini pictures in a
a basket that's fun to carry.
7. Watch the children carry the basket...

all over the classroom
matching pictures
all morning long!

* You might want to check cubbies before the children go home for the day - the mini pictures proved to be quite swipe-able! :)

I love my home...

I'm in a foggy, groggy, stuffy-nosed funk...

Our school celebrated its own Native American Day...

I was in charge of the buffalo taco bar.







I didn't have the heart to tell the children that in my foggy, groggy, stuffy-nosed state-of-mind,

I had bought beef,

not buffalo.










They proclaimed that the language area of the classroom should always be a taco bar. I would no longer be their teacher, but their waitress.

Eeek!



I finally made it home, after a white-knuckle, snow-storm drive in the dark.

Daylight savings time isn't always that incredible.

Now, I'm curled-up on the couch, with my darling husband taking care of me, reading a book about vampires.

home = love

turkey art

There are so many adorable turkey art projects out there - it was tough deciding which ones would work best on the art shelf! We teachers strive to set up an environment where the children can do things independently, and this little gobbler from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman fit the bill. I didn't set this lesson up, but Beth, one of my fab co-teachers, did. Yea, Beth! :)

First the child chooses a cup. When Beth preped the lesson, she drew three lines down the inside of the cup and cut a chunk out. The child cuts along each of the lines and then folds the sections back. Now he can decorate the "feathers" with markers. Next, the child chooses a pompom, googly eyes, beak and legs (made from pipe cleaners) and glues them to the center of the cup.



Here's our second turkey art project. I'm not sure who set this one up... possibly X-tine. It has been supremely popular since it made its art shelf debut on November 3. :)


The children also are able to do this lesson independently. First, the child traces his hand on a piece of construction paper. This is the challenging part: the child must cut this hand out. After it's been cut out, the child glues it to another piece of construction paper. I love seeing their little hands awkwardly traced and cut out. :) The older ones love helping the younger ones with this part of the project. Lastly, the child chooses feathers to glue to his fingers and a googly eye to glue on his thumb.

gobble, gobble, gobble!