Saturday, February 16, 2013

Teaching Resources Giveaway from Mrs. B's Nook!

I am happy to get to join with mrsbsnook as she celebrates a milestone in the blogging world.  She has been blogging for less than a year and already has over 100 blog followers.  Mrs. B's Nook's is having a "100 Follower Giveaway" to celebrate this milestone.   Enter the giveaway for a chance to win some fabulous teaching resources from TeacherspayTeachers stores.  She's organized her giveaway by grade levels.  Select the grade levels that fit your classroom needs.  I've donated my Sight Word Flash Cards with Beatrix Bee High Frequency Words 1-96 packet.  It's a great feeling to get to share, especially when sharing with other teachers.  Hurry over to Mrs. B's Nook!  It ends on Sunday, February 16, 2013 or at the stroke of midnight, (EST) TONIGHT.  Click on the picture below to go to the giveaway. 


Lessons by Molly © 2013  All rights reserved.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Valentine's Day Word Play

Word play is a concept that develops at the upper elementary level.  Children's word vocabulary repertoire needs to be adequate enough to make sense of word play.  Once the understanding of word play starts to spark in their brains, children light up and love it!  Valentine's Day cards provide a wealth of material for having fun with corny, catchy and cute phrases which are created through word play.  I had some birthday party favors for children, some prizes, and some toys that were specifically marketed for Valentine's day.  I made up a few puns and word play phrases to go with the party favors and toys.  I used colored cardstock paper to print the hearts.  If you have any of the same toys and want to make some heart shaped Valentine cards, grab the FREE PATTERNS at the end of this post.   

I used some toy watches and toy compasses to create a time related and direction related Valentine.  "Will you be my Valen-TIME?"  Get it?



I used some erasers and crayons for two more phrases.



I used pennies and toy magnifying glasses to tell the children that they are "MAG-nifi-CENT".


I used some toy mazes because kids should know that they "a-MAZE" their teachers!



We all have our "ups and downs" and directional movement of the toy yo-yos was perfect for an "ups and downs" Valentine card.  Children love the toy disguises!  I knew I could have fun with the word disguise.



I had some shells that I collected at the beach and used them to substitute the word, "shall" for the word "shell".


I had some toy tops so I took the opportunity to let them know that they are "TOP-notch".

 

There are many things to do with words to make a fun and silly Valentine card.

What about you?  Have you created any catch, corny, or cute Valentine phrases.  Please share them in the comments section and Happy Valentine's Day!

Click on the freebie shown below.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yva_uFuN_wshdkuZfFiCER_AkaTBBPK-/view?usp=sharing

You might like this other post:  Valentine Cards

© 2013 Lessons by Molly, All Rights Reserved 








Sunday, February 3, 2013

Teachers Pay Teachers is Having a Super Sale!

The big day has finally come!  And, no, I'm not talking about football.  It's SALE day!  I'm looking forward to getting big discounts today.  Last night I was dreaming of new clip art sets and planning my budget for the sale.  I was running through the wishlist in my head.  Then I thought to myself, "I better do my shopping early while supplies last."  Wait a minute!  These are primarily digital downloads.  The supplies won't run out!  Hurray!  I was having brain-glitch because I'm still not used to the idea of purchasing online.  Does that make me a techno-dinosaur?  Still, I'm going shopping early before the computers explode from data overload.  

Are you going shopping?  I plan to "Shop Until I Drop!"  Oh, that's right!  I'll be sitting down sipping on hot tea while I'm shopping.  The most important thing to remember is to use the promo code:  "Super" when going through check-out.  And don't miss the step that says, "Apply".  Press that before you enter "Submit".  Without it, you don't get the extra discount.


I have to go shopping now!


Don't forget the promo code!  "Super"

Lessons by Molly © 2013  All rights reserved.


Friday, February 1, 2013

Valentine's Day Cards for the Classroom: Fun Phrases They'll Love

Valentine's Day is a great opportunity for kids to experience reading with a real-to-life situation as they try to decipher the silly phrases on the Valentine's cards they've received from their classmates.  Preschoolers and kindergartners might challenge themselves to read their classmates' names when they pass out the cards.  Later on, the teacher is busy reading a zillion phrases to satisfy the answer to this infamous question:  "What does it say?"  Before any cards are passed out, the strategic teacher will say, "Pick two for me to read and enjoy the pictures on the other cards.  The homework assignment is fun tonight.  Read the other cards with an adult."  

I came across a website called, My Cute Graphics.  Laura Strickland has created tons of adorable graphics.  At the present time, she is offering her graphics free of charge for teachers to use.  Her only condition is that her terms of use are followed.  I like using the animal graphics because they tend to have a gender neutral appearance.  Additionally, children all over the world enjoy animals and creatures regardless of their ethnicity or faith.  It was a pleasure to create Valentine's Day cards with her graphics.  I thought up a few silly puns to go with the images.  I used a font from Fonts 4 Teachers.  

Since I don't always have access to a color printer I made the cards with a color version and a black and white version.  I don't take time to color in the black and white cards.  I just allow the recipient of the card to color it in themselves.  

The promotional video below also has directions about how to make the cards.  After the video, click the next image to get free sample cards.


Click the image below to download free printable Valentine's Day cards.
                     
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nNj6xcmHKrTJePYn9L15VT049-fQHvmL/view?usp=sharing

If you'd like, check out the complete set of Valentine cards by tapping the image shown below.                                                                
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/valentine-cards-531416

© Lessons by Molly