Thursday, June 30, 2011

Summer

We're in summer mode here, thus the lack of blogging.









Stayed tuned...I hope to be back to blogging regularly within the next couple of weeks. For now, enjoy your summer. We are!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Wordles

I first heard about Wordles from Marylea, and now I am hooked. They make such great gifts and the best thing...they're free! I had some students leaving this year so I made each of them a Wordle. We had done some activities with them throughout the year, so they were familiar with them. I think they were pleased with their personalized gifts. I bought some inexpensive frames from Michael's (with a 20% off coupon) and the gifts were complete.





With input from Little Miss and E I also made some Wordles for Father's Day...this is Uncle Glen's which is still hanging around here because we haven't seen him yet.





The turtle tag is handmade. Evan painted a turtle onto a large piece of paper. I scanned it and made tags for all the gifts.



The possibilities for Wordles are endless...go check it out.... www.wordle.net







The giving of love is an education in itself.




Eleanor Roosevelt







Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Tubers and Zots

Have you ever heard of them? Such a fun toy...for all ages! Here is a link where you can get more details about them.

Let the creativity begin.

"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun."
-Mary Lou Cook


Monday, June 20, 2011

Looking Back

I have a problem....I like to save things. Although I am getting better and do throw more things away, it is still in me to save, especially when it comes to things my kids have done. Last year E started Kindergarten and as he brought home work, I stored everything in a rectangular picnic basket under the hutch in my dining room. At the end of the school year, I sorted through everything and only kept a handful of papers and artwork. I used a binding machine (not sure of the technical term) and put it all together in a "manageable" book that we can look back on in years to come.

This is the bottom half of the front cover. The top half has the class picture.


For the larger work, I just folded the paper in half.

I plan on doing the same thing this year...it's a quick, easy way to organize all the work that is too hard to part with.

"I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework."
-- Edith Ann


PS What is going on with blogger? I select specific fonts and colors and when I post, it all goes away. Is anyone else have trouble with this?


I'm linking up with Heather today.




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Sunday, June 19, 2011

The finished product

So, here is my hubby's finished Father's Day present. The kids drew pictures on a mat...pictures that represent their Daddy. Then we put it all together in a frame, one that we already had in the house...even better. (I have a link to the printable on my previous post.)



Happy Father's Day to all the Dads, Grandfathers and Birthfathers in my life. I am grateful for each and every one of you. Have a Blessed Day.

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. ~Bill Cosby

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.~Johann Schiller

Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever. ~Author Unknown


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Father's Day (Victor, Please do not read this post)

Father's Day is fast approaching and once again, I'm scurrying to put together a gift. After searching Pinterest for a bit today. I found a link to this printable.


Although you can make it into a great gift just by framing it, I tried to have the kids personalize it more by doing some artwork on a mat. I outlined it with black sharpie. I don't have a photo yet because it's not quite complete. If I waited until it was complete before posting about it, it would be after Father's Day.

E also drew this turtle that we'll be making into cards for all the fathers, uncles, and grandfathers in his life.



I also think will be creating some "wordle" gifts.

Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. ~Author Unknown

I'm Alive

It's been an entire week since I've posted. June gets really crazy for me, especially as a teacher when I have to wrap things up for the year. I'll be back very soon with a post, but for now I just wanted you to know...yes, I'm alive!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Treasure Jar

If you have kids, and they're anything like mine, then you probably have a pile of trinkets and various little crafty projects they've made for you. My nightstand started getting a bit cluttered with the treasures they like to give me on a daily basis, so I decided to make something to contain them all. I decorated a jar (very simply) and put all the treasures inside. Now I have all the little handmade items in one spot and the jar can sit on my nightstand. Every time I look at it, it makes me smile. Someday it will be especially fun to go through it and see what is inside.

Ideally, I would've used a jar with a bigger opening, but I used what I had and it works just fine.





"The home should be the treasure chest of living."
LeCorbusier




I'm linking up with Heather
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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Blog Header

So, I was all excited about my new blog banner. When I was making it, I thought it was pretty cute, and then, I posted it. I'm not liking it so much anymore. It looks drab and boring compared to last month's.







But, guess what....we have to deal with it for a few days because I'm not starting another one right now.


"Always live up to your standards - by lowering them, if necessary."




~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966




PS Stayed tuned...new blog header coming Monday.





***Edited*** Now that's better! Definitely brighter than this.