The Teacher Has A Snow Day!

Have you ever braved the snow and ice to go to school because your district was not closed?  Then halfway there the car radio announces that your school had decided to cancel.  Don't you wish you knew that BEFORE you got out of your pajamas?  The latest snowfall left no room for doubt that there was going to be a snow day.  Or maybe two or three snow days!   

Sunset on one of winter's last days. 

 It's hard to believe that daylight savings has begun and winter is almost over but it was nice to say one last farewell to the cold weather. . . in a big way.  Here are a few more snapshots.

It looked so beautiful from my kitchen window.

But then I had to contend with this!

Here's my attempt at making a snow cave.

Time to conduct an investigation.  What do you get when you combine Kool-Aid with snow?

Snow, plus Kool-Aid equals sensory fun for kids!

It's fun to make "Snow Cones" from Kool-Aid.  Don't eat these!



I'm melting!

Farewell Mr. Snowman. I hope to see you again next winter.



It's time to go back inside and have the final cup of hot chocolate for the season.   Marshmallows are a "Must Have"!





The first day of spring is on March 20th.  That's just in ten days!  Are you ready for spring?  Here's a freebie to help you get prepared.  It's a copy of the nursery rhyme poem called, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.  I've also included the words in isolation which can be printed, cut and laminated for use in a pocket chart or as a table center.  There are sample pages from the freebie shown below.  If you don't know the poem, you can learn it with this link to Youtube.  For another perspective, try this link to Youtube.  Then click the words "Nursery Rhyme:  Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" to get the free item.   Thanks for stopping by!

Lessons by Molly © 2013  All rights reserved.



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.

You might like this other post:  Valentine Cards

© 2013 Lessons by Molly, All Rights Reserved 

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.

                     

If you'd like, check out the complete set of Valentine cards by tapping the image shown below.                                                                

© Lessons by Molly