Blog - Pencils to Pigtails

The Pumpkin Smasher Freebie – Prediction and Writing

October 22, 2019

The Pumpkin Smasher is the perfect book to work on prediction and writing skills with young students. I’m sharing this freebie with all newsletter subscribers this week and how we use this adorable Halloween craft and the activities to study essential skills!

The Pumpkin Smasher

Have you read this book? I like to say it is an oldie but a goodie!

It’s the cutest story. It was first published in 1972 and written by Anita Bernarde. The story revolves around a small town where all of the pumpkins keep getting smashed. The townsfolk finally figure out that the pumpkin smasher is a witch and they find a way to trick her out of messing up the pumpkins again.

The Pumpkin Smasher Prediction

I like to pause on the page before the culprit is revealed for the kids to complete the writing page. While it isn’t necessary to have, it does make this freebie even more fun for your students!

First, I put these word wall cards up.

I like using this apple pocket chart at the front of the room. All of my students can easily see the words and pull the words down as needed.

Prediction Writing Practice

Students make predictions about who they think the pumpkin smasher is. I like to display a sample like the one above.

I teach kindergarten so I often have students simply write one word at this point in the school year.

Other students attempt to write the entire sentence following my example.

Testing our Predictions

I bring the students back together to reread the entire book. I always read it again starting from the beginning. The kids are so excited to find out that it was a witch!

Pumpkin “Carving”

Next, we create our own pumpkins. Students choose between 2 options.

I ask students to color their pumpkins and cut them out. They really enjoy this simple art project. I like to give them an example to follow but also give them the freedom to color it whatever color desired.

You always have some students who follow your lead and others who go their own way!

The Fun Part

While the students are out of the room, I quickly cut the pumpkins into about 5 or 6 pieces. I also like to place a piece of candy on top of each pile.

The candy is important because some of your kids will get upset that their pumpkin has been “smashed”!

You can place the pieces in a pile or around their prediction writing.

The Surprise

I wrote up this funny little poem for you to display when your students return. As you can imagine, the kids are quite shocked and some are even jumping up and down with excitement!

I captured this look on my daughter’s face. (Yes, she’s in my kindergarten class!)

Putting the Pieces Together

Next I show them how we can put our pumpkins back together in the same way that we work on puzzles.

I give each student a piece of construction paper and encourage them to piece their pumpkins back together by gluing them onto the purple sheet.

Some will have no trouble figuring it out.

Some have orange pumpkins and some have colorful pumpkins!

I actually get a kick out of the ones who mess a piece or two up. I think it really shows what happened to our pumpkins!

Here’s another one who might have a piece or two in the wrong spot.

The kids really enjoy this part. You might also notice a few smudges from all of the candy they were devouring!

Hallway Display Craft

I show the students the examples above. In the newsletter freebie, you will find these words for students to trace and cut out.

I encourage students to use the word wall cards as needed to write who they think the pumpkin smasher is in the last box.

If you really wanted to keep things neat, you could precut the words for them. I like for my students to get cutting practice and I’m all about saving my own time. The messiness of it doesn’t bother me a bit.

Finished Products

Here’s a look at some of the finished crafts!

If you read the book first, you will have plenty of kids who truly believe the Pumpkin Smasher Witch came to your classroom!

This one turned out to be one of my favorites!

I typically have a few students write that they think it was Mrs. Statum or another teacher in the building.

Family Time

Speaking of pumpkins, my family had the best time at the pumpkin patch last weekend!

I hope you’re enjoying this Fall weather too. It’s my favorite season!

What do you think? Will you enjoy using this freebie with your students? Let me know in the comments!

Are you looking for more Halloween activities to do with your students?

I know your kids will love learning about The Chocolate Chip Ghost! It is one of my favorite units of the year!

Have you studied The 5 Little Pumpkins yet? Check out this unit, it works especially good if you need to stay away from non-Halloween type stories.

You could try making these easy and adorable Jack-O-Lantern candleholders!

This Room on the Broom Freebie is another reader favorite!

Happy Teaching & Mommy-ing this week friends!

Make October Exciting with The Chocolate Chip Ghost

October 20, 2019

This Chocolate Chip Ghost unit will have your students engaged and excited for Halloween! My students love the friendly, non-spooky, and predictable nature of this adorable story.

The Chocolate Chip Ghost

We’ve been gearing up for Halloween with one of my favorite units about the 5 Little Pumpkins. I can’t wait to share how this next unit went over with my students!

Have you ever heard of The Chocolate Chip Ghost? It is the sweetest story passed down by preschool teachers using flannel boards. Basically the mommy ghost heads to the store for more vanilla ice cream and white milk. She warns the ghosts not to eat anything while she is gone. The first little ghost eats grapes causing her to turn purple. I bet you can guess what happens to the 5th little ghost!

Books have been created based on this story but you don’t need one for this unit. I’ve included my own retelling that you will be able to read aloud.

My children love predicting what will happen to the second, third, fourth, and fifth ghosts after hearing what happens to the first one!

Reading The Chocolate Chip Ghost

You can read the story using this unique paper towel retell craft. I always include one in color for you to use as a sample and one in black and white in case your students would like to make one.

You begin with all of the ghosts pulled to the white side. As you retell the story, you twist the pieces to the food picture before turning it to the color side. It works out perfectly!

Recently I asked my students to lay on their bellies while I used the house retell craft to tell the story.

This unconventional way of telling the story was so fun!

As you can see, the back of the house has a pocket to store all of your pieces. I begin with the white ghosts and flip them over to their color side when they eat the corresponding food.

My students always love creating their own house craft.

Lots of parents have told me how much they enjoyed hearing their children retell the story at home!

I even hear students going over the sequence of events during recess!

Making Masks

Because it’s such a simple story, it’s perfect for working on identifying the characters, setting, and events.

Do you use masks to retell stories? We love to color these, cut them out, and attach them to popsicle sticks. Quick hack for your teacher sample: Make a pocket on the back of the mask to slide the craft stick or ruler into. Then you can slide it out and pack it away easily for the next year!

Creating Headbands

The kids also look so cute wearing these headbands down the hall. So simple, especially if you just staple them to sentence strips.

Word Wall Cards

I think these word wall cards are so helpful when my students are learning to write! Do you use word wall cards in your classroom? I’d love to know!

Color Words

This story is ideal for working on color word recognition and spelling. There are many sheets included so students can practice sight words, such as “is” or “see” while also practicing color words and writing sentences.

You can see some examples of the sheets we used in the thumbnail below.

I love the sheet in the middle. Students practice writing “see” and a color word. Then they color the ghost accordingly. This is such a nice way to build confidence in writing sentences. The kids love that all of their papers look different depending on what color they chose.

Hallway Display

If you look at the last image, you will see the simple page I use to display a painting and writing craft in the hallway. Students choose a food that their ghost might eat, write it on the line, and write what color it would change their ghost into.

Then they paint their ghosts the correct color using water paints. It’s such a simple way to get painting practice in!

After they dry, the kids cut out their ghosts and add them to a piece of black paper. Aren’t these adorable?

I love the BROCCOLI one!

When they are assembled they look PERFECT in the hallway. This is EXACTLY what kindergarten students should be working on at this time of year. If you have first or second grade students, a different writing page included in the packet would work for you.

I think this would be great for preschool too with a little more guidance!

Chocolate Chip Ghost STEM

Have you been waiting to read about the STEM project? It’s probably my students’ favorite part of the week.

The planning and reflection sheets are so important and included in the product. I speak at a lot of conferences about STEM and this is something I repeatedly hear from people who have struggled to implement STEM in their classrooms.

Give your students time to think first and THEN plan before you even start to pass out materials.

The set-up for this one is super simple and it is seriously one of the most popular projects of the year. You can find more info in the resource!

I love this photo that caught their tower in the middle of tumbling down!

This one was really tall!

With parent permission, I’ll share this photo of these two. After I took these photos I went back and laughed so hard about all of the facial expressions this little boy had when they were trying to build their tower!

What do you think about this unit? Would your kids love it as much as mine do? The image below shows the class and individual books and math worksheets that I didn’t even get to tell you about!

Pin this image so you can find this post later!

Looking for more Halloween activities?

Make sure to read about our fun with The 5 Little Pumpkins and grab this freebie to go along with the Room on the Broom book!

You might also like reading about our easy DIY jack-o-lantern candleholders!

What do you think about this unit? Would your kids love it as much as mine do? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Mommy-ing & Teaching this week friends!

Room on the Broom Sequencing Freebie for Halloween

October 14, 2019

Your students will love these Room on the Broom sequencing activities. Work on retelling the story, identifying characters, and more with this freebie I’m sharing today!

Julia Donaldson – A Favorite Author!

Aw! Julia Donaldson is one of my favorite authors. It all began when I read the Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child for the first time. I fell in love with her rhyme, rhythm, and unique stories. So much so that I spend a whole unit over these two books incorporating lots of writing, math, and reading practice! There are several blog posts I’ve written about these. You can begin here if you want to find out more about those.

Room on the Broom is one of the sweetest Halloween books. I’m not one to go for anything scary in my classroom but Julia is spot on with this story about a friendly witch who helps others and is returned the favor at the end of the book.

Optional Accessories and Props for Room on the Broom Sequencing

I found this sequin hat and witch’s broom that I just knew would be the perfect addition to our read-aloud this year. Right before I began, I tugged the hat on, mounted the broom, and rode around the room pretending to be a happy witch and talking to the kids. They thought that was quite hilarious and I had their interest peaked immediately!

It was so nice to have the hat because as I read that part of the book, my hat went flying off. I acted out some of the book as I read and the kids really ate that up.

Room on the Broom Sequencing

You will receive all of these pages that go along with the book. We started with this Room on the Broom sequencing sheet. The students color the characters from the book. Then they cut out the squares and glue them in the correct order to retell the story.

Since we haven’t been in kindergarten too long, I walk around encouraging students. I show them how to hold their hands when coloring, using scissors, and glueing.

The kids really enjoyed this activity. I’ve also included a writing page if you would like to create your own prompt. It’s always fun to ask the students to design their own magnificent broom. Consider asking them to make predictions before reading the book or to write about their favorite part of the story.

Now on to the really fun part. You should hear the squeals of excitement when they find out they get to create their own brooms!

I’ve included a color version so you can create a sample in no time. I precut the broom handles. I use the long construction paper and cut it once long ways down the middle and then I cut those 2 pieces down the middle long ways. This gives me 4 sections from each sheet. I like that I only use up about 5 long pieces for my whole class.

Is this making sense? You can watch an IGTV video I made of the process. Head here to follow me on instagram and to find the fast-paced video in my IGTV videos!

For the head of the broom, you just curve the edges of one short side of a regular sheet of yellow construction paper. Then I let the kids cut the pages to about the midpoint to create the bristles by themselves! They really enjoy this part.

Students color and cut out the characters, trace the words to label the pieces, and then assemble the broom! You will find more detailed instructions in the freebie on TPT. I hope your students absolutely love making these!

Hop over here to grab your FREE resource and please pin this image for future reference!

Fun Halloween Units

Let me know if this will be helpful in your classroom or homeschool group.

If you need MORE ideas for fun Halloween units, head over here to read about all of the activities we use to study the beloved 5 Little Pumpkins poem!

Two of my other favorite Halloween units are all about The Chocolate Chip Ghost and The Hallo-weiner. Make sure to check those out for lots of fun during this time of year!

Happy Mommy-ing & Teaching this week friends!

How to Get Free Items for Your Classroom

September 22, 2019

Free Items for Your Classroom through Donor's Choose

Pin the image above so you can easily come back to these tips!

Free Items for Your Classroom - Flex Chairs and Donor's Choose Thank You Notes

Top Tips to Get Free Items for Your Classroom

Today I’m sharing my top tips to help you receive thousands of dollars worth of classroom supplies for free! You’ll find Donor’s Choose ideas, thank you notes, and the best ways to ensure your project receives funding!

Table Transformation

Did you read my recent table transformation post? I’m sharing with you how I upgraded this old table for only $8!

Be sure to read the post to see how to makeover the top of the table. One key detail I mention is that those beautiful blue chairs are in my classroom now at no cost to me through a Donor’s Choose project.

Free Items for Your Classroom

Our classroom is full of thousands of dollars worth of supplies donated for my students to use through the website Donor’s Choose!

See all of these adorable center activities, ink pads, stamps, magnets, and the cloth alphabet book? Those alpha-bots are a HUGE hit with my kids and the Launch and Learn games are so much fun!

This beautiful rug is in our classroom because of Donor’s Choose. I have always wanted one of these but was never able to afford one because of the cost. I am so grateful that we’ve now had this one for a couple of years thanks to all the generous donors!

How To Get Free Resources for Your Classroom through Donor’s Choose

Have you used Donor’s Choose before? The first time I submitted a project it was not funded. In fact, the first few times I tried to submit a project, they were not funded.

I can’t wait to share several secrets with you to ensure you receive funding! Here are my top tips!

First, use this link or any of the links in this post to sign up! If you do, we both receive $25 towards a project of our choice!
Second, after receiving signed permission from parents, upload a photo of your students. I think this really helps grab their attention as they are scrolling through the site.
Then write an accurate description of the struggles your students face. Do you have a high number of free or reduced lunch students? Do you teach in a Title 1 school? Have a high number of ESL learners? Make sure to include that information when describing your classroom!
Next, be specific about why you need each item and how you will use it (daily if possible).
Consider breaking large projects into smaller ones. For example, if you want $500 worth of books to add to your classroom library, consider breaking that into 2 or 3 projects. List one project and start another after your first receives funding.
Share your link with friends and family without being pushy. You will be surprised how many people would love to help add to your classroom!
Finally, when your project is funded, make sure your thank you notes shine to show how grateful you are possibly have repeat donors!

Thank You Dilemma

Rug and Soft Seats funded through Donor's Choose grant

This year I received these 4 super comfy, super nice floor chairs to add to our classroom through a Donor’s Choose grant. The rainbow soft seats cushions also came from this project.

I knew it was time for my students to write thank you notes but the problem is that I teach kindergarten, it’s the beginning of the year, and I know they can’t really write too much yet.

Taking Pictures

Donor's Choose Thank You Pictures — With parent permission, I’m posting a few of the thank you pictures I submitted for our Donor to see!

I began by explaining to my students how generous and kind the lady was that bought all of these nice floor seats so we could fully implement flexible seating this year. (Many times it will be several people donating together to fund your project. Fortunately, the first lady to donate decided to fund the entire project this summer!)

I began by writing the words “soft seats” on the board and the students were instructed to copy those two words and write their names at the bottom of the sheet I provided. As they got to work, I went around taking pictures of where they naturally decided to sit. Guess what? Students always select the rainbow cushions and blue flex chairs first!

Thank You Pictures for Donor's Choose Projects

My daughter even added her cushion to another chair to make it extra comfy!

Soft Seats funded by Donor's Choose Project

I quickly uploaded the pictures to my project page on Donor’s Choose. After I finished, I walked around to see what my students were coming up with.

Finished Thank You Notes

Thank You Letters for Kindergarten created by Pencils to Pigtails

My kids really impressed me! How adorable are the drawings?

Thank You Letters for Donor's Choose or other donors

I cut around the edges of the page and added cardstock to the back. I think you will love this resource on TPT where you can find a variety of differentiated Thank You Note templates to choose from. These thank you notes work for anyone who gives to your classroom whether that be through time, money, or resources!

Teacher Thank You for Donor's Choose projects or others who give to the classroom

Afterwards, I also wrote a personalized thank you note to our generous donor. Of course, you can find the teacher thank you in my TPT resource too.

All you have to do is print out a free shipping label, attach it to an envelope. and slide these thank you notes inside. It makes the whole process so easy. One of my favorite things about Donor’s Choose is that they save much of your information for the next project you submit so it’s much easier the next time around!

Free Items for Your Classroom - Thank You Letters for Donor's Choose Projects

What do you think? Have you used Donor’s Choose in your classroom or do you intend to? Leave a comment or question for me below!

Before you leave, pin the image below so you always have these tips on hand!

Happy Teaching & Mommy-ing this week friends!

Easy Classroom Table Transformation

September 12, 2019

Flexible Seating Options

A classroom table transformation is easy with these simple and inexpensive makeover ideas! I was thrilled with how this old dingy brown table turned out with just a little bit of love. Today I’m sharing the how-to!

Donor’s Choose to the Rescue!

This summer I attended Kindergarten Smorgasbord’s Elevate conference. He finally convinced me to give full-on flexible seating a try. When I was laying in bed that night, I couldn’t sleep and decided to post a project on Donor’s Choose. I was thrilled when our Donor’s Choose project was funded within just a matter of days!

Have you ever used this incredible website? It costs the teacher nothing but can be SO BENEFICIAL for your classroom! In fact, that big classroom rug you also see in the picture was fully funded by donor’s using Donor’s Choose. If you click on one of the links above, we BOTH get $25 towards a project of our choice!

I was absolutely thrilled with these chairs that I picked out from Lakeshore Learning. (This is all done THROUGH Donor’s Choose when you fill out your project.) They can sit straight up, lean back, lay flat, AND they have a zip-off washable cover! My kids love them and even I LOVE to sit in them! If you don’t want to use Donor’s Choose, these ones from Amazon look very similar.

I was also really happy with the little rainbow pillows. The kids ALWAYS grab them to sit on, lay on, and even place them on top of other chairs with a hard surface to make them a little more comfy. They are so colorful and wipeable which makes them easy to clean!

I will be sharing a classroom reveal soon and can’t wait to share how these “rainbow” pillows brighten up one of our couches!

Flexible Seating Options from a Donor's Choose Grant

I could go on and on about these lovely seating options, the generous donor who purchased them for us, and how much we love them. I really encourage you to give Donor’s Choose a try!

On a side note, my students recently finished their thank you notes for the chairs. I knew I needed something simple at the beginning of the year for them to fill out. My “Thank You Resource” worked perfectly. I filled in a letter and each student was asked to write the words “soft seats” on the line. They also wrote their names and drew a picture of the new chairs in our classroom. The resource is packed with differentiated writing pages and a variety of options. I love how they turned out and my students appreciate their new comfy pillows and chairs even more!

Easy Classroom Table Transformation – The Before

Curious what the table looked like before?

Before the Easy Classroom Table Transformation

We’ve ALL had these in our room at some point. That drab brown just really bugs me. I’m pretty sure this table was here when I was a student at Westwood!

Another teacher had already removed the legs and pushed them into tennis balls so that part was ready. I just knew that this table would be the perfect height to use with my new flex chairs but I HATED the top of it!

Contact Paper

I decided to purchase this contact paper from Amazon. (This is an affiliate link. If you purchase using this link, I will earn a SMALL commission from your purchase at NO additional cost to you!)

I could tell right away that I was going to LOVE the result! How much better does it look already???

What Else You Need!

Contact Paper? CHECK
Dingy Ugly Table? CHECK
Scissors? CHECK
Pencil? CHECK
Super Cute Assistant? CHECK!!!

Seriously though, this process is MUCH easier if you have some help. My 5 year old daughter was a huge help to me. For an extra long strip you may want to get an adult. My husband helped with the larger pieces and it kept me sane.

The How-To

Here’s the good news… It’s super simple to do!

Lay your contact paper across the middle of the table or along the edge of one side. Cut a few extra inches in case you misjudged a little bit.

Now, flip the contact paper over and just a pencil to draw an outline of the table like this:

You can see that I started on the side of the table. I promise that wherever you choose to start will work just fine.

You can then cut along the pencil marks and flip it back over. When you have it all lined up the way you want, you are ready to slowly start peeling off the back liner while another person helps to smooth it out.

Yes, you may get some bubbles but it’s no big deal. Try not to pull it up to try and fix it too many times. If you do, it may get worse!

The easiest way is to have someone smoothing as you remove the paper or vice versa.

Aniston really enjoyed helping me with this. She wanted it to be our little secret so the other students didn’t know that this beautiful white table used to be an ugly brown color!

Table Transformation Uses

To be honest, this might not be something you want to do if your kids are constantly doing artwork on it or having water bottles or other drinks around it.

That’s why I decided this would be a perfect computer and iPad table! I asked our tech guys to remove 2 computers from our room. We go to the computer lab for 20 minutes daily and we just honestly don’t use them that much.

I loved the way it looked with our little fake flowers!

A few days later, I placed our iPads on this storage rack that I grabbed from Amazon. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I love using this for our “Tech Table” because the contact paper looks good as new after a couple of months into the school year.

The contact paper is such an inexpensive update that it’s no big deal if you did end up having to replace a little or at the end of the year.

Easy Classroom Table Transformation

Isn’t it just beautiful?

I think the chairs around it are absolutely perfect!

What do you think? Would you try this easy classroom table transformation in your classroom? Let me know in the comments!

And pin this image to come back to when you are ready to begin!

In the meantime, have you tried this 2 ingredient frosting play dough yet with your students?

Are you looking for more classroom makeover ideas?

Happy Teaching & Mommy-ing this week friends!

Grandparents Day in the Primary Classroom

September 7, 2019

Grandparents Day can be celebrated in the kindergarten, preschool, or first grade classroom with keepsake crafts, writing prompts, informative books, interviews, and so much more!

Today I’m sharing how we honor Grandparents each year using pieces from my Grandparents resource! I don’t think anyone has impacted my life more than my grandparents. They are absolutely my heroes! This makes Grandparents Day especially meaningful to me.

Grandparents Day Introduction

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you purchase I make a small commission at no additional cost to you!

Do you remember the Berenstain books? They can seem so long now but I love that they are building our students’ listening stamina!

I have a dream of being a children’s picture book author one day and in my research discovered that most picture book companies will not accept manuscripts with over 500 words. Most Berenstain Bear books have well over 1,000!

This book is such a cute way to introduce your unit about Grandparents Day. I also like to play the video of this episode which you can usually find on youtube.

This is another favorite of mine! I LOVE Llama Llama books and I was completely devastated when I heard Anna Dewdney passed away. Her gift for rhyme and rhythm is unmatched in my opinion.

The picture in the book when they look at the stars? Simply magical!

Grandparents Day Book by Pencils to Pigtails

Nonfiction Book

Have you ever asked students what the name of their Grandma or Grandpa is? Some shrug their shoulders and say they don’t have one. While it may be the case that a few haven’t met their grandparents, for the most part, it is simply that they call them by a different name.

I made sure to make this clear in the book. I also like to discuss how my Hispanic children may call their grandma “abuela” or their grandpa “abuelo”. This is usually met with nods of excitement!

This is just a sample of some of the pages in the book. I also explain when Grandparents Day takes place and how to celebrate with homemade gifts and quality time together!

Nonfiction Grandparents Book by Pencils to Pigtails

Grandparents Day Interviews

We all need quick & easy, especially at the beginning of the school year! I love to send these interviews home for the kids to complete with help from their parents.

A parent letter is included so all you have to do is print the pages and add the parent explanation. They are so proud of these when they bring them back in.

Grandparents Day Interview by Pencils to Pigtails

I helped Aniston fill these out as she interviewed my mom and dad over the phone. She was really fascinated by their answers and loved explaining them in more detail to the class.

After each student has shared the interviews they conducted, I add a piece of yardstick paper to the back to really make them a nice keepsake for the students and grandparents to cherish.

Grandparents Day Photo Frames

This is just one of the frames included. How hilarious is it that I asked the custodian to leave the lawn mower out at school so I could have each of my students pose with it? I think these turned out SO CUTE!

All About My Grandparents

I absolutely LOVE seeing what my students know about their grandparents. It’s always so cute to see how old they think their grandparent are.

I’ve included these for grandmas, grandpas, and with alternate wording to use as needed. With kindergarten, I like to ask them the questions and then write their answers for them. Later in the year, they could write their own.

Add a piece of construction paper or cardstock to the back and you will cherish this forever!

Handprint Keepsakes

Pair your “All About Grandparents” page with these adorable handprint crafts for the perfect gifts!

How cute are these? I lay out all of the handprint crafts I want to use and do them all at once. My assistant is alway so helpful with them. I get lots of questions about the help I receive in the classroom. In my school district, kindergarten teachers receive an assistant for an hour per day.

This would also be the perfect craft if you have parent volunteers to help!

What else is included?

I’ve just started to touch on everything included in the resource. One of my favorite things about this unit is that so much is included, I can pick and choose what I want to use each year. For example, last year we made the large grandparents for a hallway display craft but this year we ran out of time for that!

Let me share the product covers in case you would like to use this with your kids!

Grandparents Day Resource by Pencils to Pigtails

Grandparents Day Unit by Pencils to Pigtails

I want to hear from you!

Do you do much for Grandparents Day with your students? At my school, we typically invite the grandparents in for breakfast or lunch. It is so special and I want my students to always cherish these relationships!

Let me know your plans!

Did you try this easy 2 ingredient homemade play dough? It’s perfect for practicing letter formation!

You will love these adorable graham cracker pencil snacks too!

Pin this post to save it!

Happy Teaching & Mommy-ing this week friends!

Easy and Edible Frosting Play Dough

September 3, 2019

This two ingredient easy and edible frosting play dough recipe is amazing! You know what the best part is? It’s really tasty! In fact, it’s so delicious that your kids will be absolutely drooling over it while you mix it up!

Did you make these adorable graham cracker pencils? If so, the leftover frosting is just what you need for this simple to make and fun play dough!

Leftover Frosting from the Adorable Graham Cracker Pencil Snacks

I had put the frosting in the refrigerator at school for a couple of days and just knew I had to find something to do with all of that leftover frosting… I mean if I didn’t then where exactly do you think it would end up? The idea crossed my mind that mixing the frosting with flour would make a play dough type manipulative. A quick search on Pinterest showed me that you can mix frosting with powdered sugar to make a delicious EDIBLE and super easy frosting play dough!

2 Ingredients for Easy Frosting Play Dough

Hopefully you have some frosting left from the graham cracker pencils, if not then here is a quick list of what you will need!

(These are affiliate links, which means if you purchase using the link I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you!)

Pink Whipped Frosting (Of course, any color or flavor will work!)
Powdered Sugar
(Just kidding with this bullet! I mean, you really only need those 2 ingredients! How easy is this?!?!)

These were the 2 frostings I had left from the graham cracker pencils. Either works fine although I prefer the pink whipped. You can also see my container of powdered sugar above.

Process for Making Easy Frosting Play Dough

Powdered Sugar and Frosting Play Dough Recipe

All you have to do is dump your leftover (or entire can) of frosting into a bowl. Add powdered sugar until you get the consistency you desire. I could stir for a bit with a wooden spoon but soon needed to use my fingers.

This is the consistency you are looking for. When it’s no longer sticking to your fingers, you are golden! My students were sitting around me in a circle and just begging to try some!

Easy and Edible Frosting Play Dough for Letter Formation

Doesn’t this just make you want to try it? I demonstrated how to roll the play dough into a ball, form various letters, and shapes.

Letter Formation using Edible Play Dough Recipe

Time to Practice Letter & Shape Formations

We made this during the first week of kindergarten so there was a little lesson about how we don’t throw the play dough and how to clean it up.

And then it was time to head outside! I gave each student a paper plate and a handful. I asked them to form letters and then try some as they pleased. I did make sure to warn them not to eat too much or they would have a tummy ache!

You can see that they got busy practicing letter formation.

You should have heard the giggles as they tried bites of their play dough!

After I gave them the go ahead, the students LOVED making snowmen. We made these in August but snowmen are always a hit!

Can you believe that this is made out of just 2 EDIBLE ingredients?

What do you think? Will you try this easy frosting play dough recipe with your children? Let me know how it goes!

Pin this image to save this recipe for later reference!

Happy Teaching & Mommy-ing this week Friends!

Graham Cracker Pencil Snacks – Easy and Unique!

September 2, 2019

Easy Graham Cracker Pencil School Snacks

Looking for school snack ideas for kindergarten or another grade level? These adorable graham cracker pencil snacks are super tasty and today I’m sharing an easy way to create these for children!

I couldn’t resist creating these for my kindergarten students after seeing several variations all over Pinterest! I’ve seen them made out of sugar wafers and sugar cookies. The graham cracker ones were definitely the most appealing to me.

Ingredients

You just need a few easy to find inexpensive items to make these! (These are affiliate links, which means if you purchase I earn a small amount at no additional cost to you!)

Graham Crackers
Pin k and Whit e Whipped Frosting (Just 1 jar of each. I prefer whipped but either kind would be fine!)
Mini Chocolate Chips

First Things First

Let me save you A LOT of frustration! Yes, the skinny pencil is cute. HOWEVER, we wasted almost an entire box of graham crackers trying to break them in half long ways. I even tried using a very sharp kitchen knife! Every time that you try to cut them, they crumble. The skinny one below was the best one I came up with out of a whole box!

I wish I had taken a picture of the pile of crumbs we were left with! Thinking back, if you really want the skinny pencil, you could try microwaving them to see if that makes them softer and easier to break or cut in half…

Graham Cracker Pencil Shapes with Sharpened Area

But my suggestion is to make these large pencils! All you have to do is use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut the point. The larger shape equals a more substantial snack AND they are so much easier to make!

How to Assemble Graham Cracker Pencils for School Snacks

When you have the graham crackers cut to the correct shape, simply add white frosting to create the sharpened portion of the pencil.

Then, add pink frosting to the bottom to make the eraser.

Finally, add a mini chocolate chip to create the pencil point.

My kids were such good sports about eating the short stubby pencils I started out with before I discovered the “whole cracker” pencil.

My daughter was hanging out with me after school and was the taste-tester of the big pencil. She whole-heartedly approved!

So what do you think? Would you give these adorable graham cracker pencil snacks a try?

Pin this to try later!

Up next, I’m sharing what to do with that leftover frosting because believe me – you will have some! HINT – It’s a delicious HANDS-ON activity!

Looking for more classroom fun? Head over here to read about one of my favorite days EVER!

Happy Teaching & Mommy-ing this week friends!

The Best Teddy Bear Picnic Day and Sleepover Ever

August 14, 2019

This Teddy Bear Unit was a major hit in my classroom and the kids had NO idea they were practicing so many essential ELA and Math skills! I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces when I told them they would be bringing a teddy bear or stuffed friend to school! Today I’m sharing all of my tips for planning the best Teddy Bear Picnic Day ever! Make sure to read through to the end. My favorite part was all of the mischief the bears got into during the sleepover!

Teddy Bear Picnic Day Planning

First, I planned our Teddy Bear Picnic Day. We did ours towards the end of the school year but I may move it up next year. The beauty of this event is that it works well anytime you can fit it in your busy calendar!

I told students they would need to bring a teddy bear or other stuffed animal in for this special day. The students were encouraged to color an invitation and “give” it to their very favorite teddy bear or other stuffed friend. (A “friend” option was included in case some students didn’t have a teddy bear. I also brought several extras in just in case a student wanted to trade his or her “friend” in for an actual teddy bear.) The kids also took home a parent letter (it’s editable for you!) so that the parents understood our plan.

Editable Teddy Bear Invitation and Parent Letter

All About My Teddy

When the students arrived, they were instructed to carry their friends with them throughout the day. They began by filling out a writing sheet entitled “All About My Teddy” or “All About My Friend“. I’ve included these in color or B & W for you. I like to fill one out in color as an example to demonstrate expectations. Then my students color the B & W version and fill it in. They also colored the bear’s head and I stapled them to a sentence strip to make the most adorable headbands!

We settled at the carpet and I let each student come up to share about his or her stuffed friend. This led into the perfect time to complete the Teddy Bear Comparison page. The kids love seeing the other stuffed friends brought in. We were able to discuss various measurement terms, descriptive words, and sentence formation all with this one activity.

Teddy Bear Graphing & Color Words

The gummy bear graphing activity was an absolute hit! Walmart had a large bag of gummy bears for just a few dollars. Around 20 were placed in each snack size plastic bag and handed out along with the adorable gummy bear graphs.

I asked each student to lay the gummy bears on the correct spot on the graph. This was a great way to get in extra color word practice while visualizing the graph. After I checked each one, students were allowed to pick one bear up at a time to eat and color that spot using the same color crayon. As you can imagine, the kids went wild for this!

Another favorite graphing activity came to life with the help of our classroom rug. We used the labels across the bottom of the rug. Each child took a turn placing his or her friend or teddy bear on the rug. The rest of the class was quick to help the child decide what column to place him or her in. We used the results to create another individual bar graph.

Teddy Bear Graphing Activity using Classroom Rug

Picnic and Photos

By this point our teddy bears were getting quite hungry and I knew it was time to start the main event of the Teddy Bear Picnic Day. We made a Teddy Bear Trail Mix using the provided food labels and recipe. When we had our food, we sat together in a circle with our teddy bears to recite and sing 2 of the cutest little poems.

The kids looked so cute “feeding” their teddy bears before sneaking it into their own mouths! While the kids were eating, we pulled them over to make these quick teddy bear handprint keepsakes and snap a photo with their stuffed friend for the provided picture “frames”.

As some kids finished, they pulled out the plates and food center activity to work on one to one correspondence and number recognition. The kids loved filling each plate with the correct amount of food. The food really started to pile up!

Teddy Bear Picnic One to One Correspondence and Number Recognition Activity

Teddy Bear Picnic Activity for Number Recognition and Counting Practice

After our snack it was time for a bear comparison. How do real bears compare to our stuffed friends? We watched some videos about real bears and read a couple of books I checked out from the library. The kids had so much fun with this and found all of the information about real bears quite fascinating! Just a hint to view the videos beforehand to make sure there is not anything that your children would find scary!

Teddy Bear Sleepover

At the end of the day, the students took their teddy bears out to play. Since we usually don’t let them bring toys to school, this was a real treat and they were quite the envy of every other student!

I explained that our friends were getting sleepy so it was time to tuck them into bed. The children took this so seriously! We sang them a lullaby before tucking them under our picnic tablecloth in a circle. I turned out the lights and the kids snuck out so they didn’t wake the bears. I wish I could show you this. It was the cutest thing ever!

After they left, I went around staging the friends in all kinds of mischief. Some were getting drinks of water, some playing legos, others reading books, and they even spilled popcorn all over the floor! Those naughty bears!

As you can imagine, the kids were so surprised to see their bears in these positions! We created class books and completed some of the writing during our ELA block. Making class books is one of my favorite things to do. I choose one child to color the cover, each kid fills out a page for the book, and then we staple it and add it to our class library. They are always the first books to be checked out!

Page toppers are another favorite of mine. It’s a simple craft that provides just the motivation the kids need to work hard on a writing assignment. When they know they get to glue a bear’s head and paws to the top and hang it in the hallway, they are bound to try their best!

I’m also sharing this freebie with you! It is the perfect activity to use during your Bear Unit while reading the book “Going on a Bear Hunt!” Click on the photo below!

Going on a Bear Hunt Free Activity for Retell and Sequencing

What are Teachers Saying?

Take a look at what other teachers have to say about this unit!

“As usual, another amazing product from the one and only Pencils to Pigtails!! My sweet kinders (and their teacher) were totally engaged with all the activities you created in this hands-on resource! Thank you!

– Kelly A.

“Planning to use this pack to have a 2 day teddy bear celebration with my students. Can’t wait to use it, love how many choices are in this pack.”

-Carrie K.

“My students loved their Teddy Bear Day! I especially enjoyed that there were options for non teddy bears. Can’t wait to use it again this year!”

-Lauren S.

Your Turn!

Your children are so lucky that you are considering a Teddy Bear Day for them! I look forward to hearing all about your experience!

Click on the product cover below if you are interested in this resource for your classroom!

Teddy Bear Day Resource for Kindergarten, Preschool, and First Grade Students

Pin this so you can always find your Teddy Bear Picnic Day ideas!

Looking for more fun for your littles? Head over here to read about one of my very favorite units!

Happy teaching & mommy-ing this week friends!

Valentine’s Day in the Classroom – New Product & 2 Freebies!

February 16, 2019

Valentine's Day Centers, Games, Freebies, and More

Phew! It seems like January and February are so busy! I like to discuss Dental Health Month with my students. We kick that off with our study of the Tooth Fairy & El Ráton Pérez. If you haven’t had a chance to read my most recent blog post about that unit – make sure you do!

Of course, we are trying to get to Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day and just wrapped up a unit all about MLK Jr. We also just finished our 100th Day of School celebration. Busy! Busy!

I wanted to share some tips for making your Valentine’s celebration run as smoothly as possible and tell you about a couple of new FREEBIES in my store and a new product that I’m super excited about! Make sure to read the entire post so you can see the FREE CVC, CCVC, & Rhyming game I’m sharing with you today!

First up is a parent letter. After many years in Kindergarten, I’ve decided that THIS is the best way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your kids and continue on addressing standards as needed. I’ve included color or black & white options as well as a couple of options for you to use depending on whether or not your want your students to bring in a mailbox from home. You can grab the free letters by clicking on the resource below! (Also as a side note, if you enjoy using a FREEBIE from my store, please take just a minute leave feedback. It just takes a second but helps me know if I need to continue making FREEBIES for you!)

Free Valentine's Celebration Letter for Parents from the Pencils to Pigtails TPT Store

We made these lovely heart wands using pipe cleaners and beads that I had on hand. I’ve seen them done with pony beads too. I had smaller beads which just meant that the kids got some extra fine-motor practice. I know some teachers shape the hearts for their students before-hand. I demonstrate how to create one heart for the class then set an example at my station. I think this gives them a chance to really try one for themselves.

Those were so simple and fun! We also had tons of fun with our Valentine centers! I have a HUGE pack of Valentine centers that you can use all during the month of February to work on syllables, CVC words, rhyming, addition, greater than/less than, and so much more! You can click on the product cover below to find the resource on TPT.

Our favorite center from the pack is this Valentine Fairies one where students “shoot” their arrows at the correct heart target depending on how many syllables are in the word. The kids LOVE this one. The best thing about this resource is that EVERY center comes with extension activities that will keep early-finishers engaged giving you more time to meet with your small groups!

Students love this rhyming words center where they are putting the puzzles together if they rhyme. If they finish before the allotted time is up, they simply begin to write rhyming words on the printable included. Rhyming is such an important skill for kindergarten but it can be so challenging for my students, especially my ESL learners. I love having any new activities to work on this skill with them and the Valentine’s theme really kept them engaged.

Valentine's Day Puzzles for Kindergarten Students

This Tally Marks and Ten Frames Memory Game was a hit with my kids. They LOVED that they could play it by searching for 2 cards or 3 cards at a time. (They called it a set instead of simply a match.) The included printable really gave them the practice they needed writing out tally marks to correspond to a given number. They are always wanting to make a cross over the marks even when they haven’t reached the fifth tally yet!

Valentine's Day Math Centers for Kindergarten or First Grade

Clip cards are always a great way to get some sneaky fine-motor practice in and the kids had so much fun with these Honey Bear Clip Cards. The counters really helped keep them motivated to solve the equations.

Next up we worked on Greater Than & Less Than concepts using the “chomping” gator. In TN we are required to submit a lengthy portfolio to demonstrate how much our students have learned each year and this is one of the standards that we will be addressing. I really enjoyed sitting on the floor with them while they worked on this little game so I could hear how they are progressing with this skill. It’s a tough one for 5 year-olds!

Valentine's Day Greater Than/ Less Than Number Comparison Center

As I mentioned, this is just a few of the games you will find in the resource. There are actually 10 centers included. My kids loved the writing centers too. Click on any of the above photos to head over to TPT and see what all you can use in your classroom. I love that mine are now printed on cardstock (or laminated if you prefer) and ready for me to pull out EVERY year!

Have you ever made heart kites with your kids? So much fun and so simple to do using paper that you already have in your classroom. I just tell my students to make 2 chains and then connect them. I write several fact families on the board that they can write on the big heart or I let them challenge themselves with bigger numbers if they please. As you can see, some students really go above and beyond!

I love how they look in the hall. Anything with that 3-D aspect gets all the heart eyes from me! While we are discussing Valentine’s Day, can I show you the ridiculous Valentine boxes Dustin and I created for the girls? 🙂

I made the mistake of letting them scroll through Pinterest & pick anything they wanted and they chose Unicorn Sisters. We will never forget the time and effort we put into these! 🙂 We really got a kick out of them when we lined them up next to the others. They were way over the top but the girls were so proud of them and I guess that’s what matters.

Let me be clear that the girls did “help” by painting the horns, wings, ears, etc but if you are thinking of tackling these for your children, be sure you understand that you may end up doing the majority of the work!

I had ordered a heart sweatshirt & when the girls saw mine, they HAD to have a matching one with Mommy!

I always buy them big so we can get 2 uses out of them!

Back to the classroom (or if you have little ones at home) – Have you ever taught them how to make a heart using the classic construction paper fold. I was surprised that NONE of my k kids knew how to do this and you should have hear the oohs & ahas that occurred when I demonstrated it for them. So simple but really motivated them to write. Of course, this is great for Valentine’s Day but they love making them any time of the year.

(They really loved that you could make a heart “hole” too!)

I promised you another FREEBIE and I’m telling you it was worth hanging on until the end for! I hope your kids LOVE this Valentine Candy Hunt game! My kids beg me to play it over and over again with them and I know yours will too!

Valentine's Day Free CVC, CCVC, and Rhyming Game

Click on the cover above to head over to TPT to download it for free!

Happy Valentine’s Day friends!

The Pumpkin Smasher

The Pumpkin Smasher Prediction

Prediction Writing Practice

Testing our Predictions

Pumpkin “Carving”

The Fun Part

The Surprise

Putting the Pieces Together

Hallway Display Craft

Finished Products

Family Time

The Chocolate Chip Ghost

Reading The Chocolate Chip Ghost

Making Masks

Creating Headbands

Word Wall Cards

Color Words

Hallway Display

Chocolate Chip Ghost STEM

Julia Donaldson – A Favorite Author!

Optional Accessories and Props for Room on the Broom Sequencing

Room on the Broom Sequencing

Fun Halloween Units

Top Tips to Get Free Items for Your Classroom

Table Transformation

Free Items for Your Classroom

How To Get Free Resources for Your Classroom through Donor’s Choose

Thank You Dilemma

Taking Pictures

Finished Thank You Notes

Flexible Seating Options

Donor’s Choose to the Rescue!

Easy Classroom Table Transformation – The Before

Contact Paper

What Else You Need!

The How-To

Table Transformation Uses

Easy Classroom Table Transformation

Grandparents Day Introduction

Nonfiction Book

Grandparents Day Interviews

Grandparents Day Photo Frames

All About My Grandparents

Handprint Keepsakes

What else is included?

I want to hear from you!

Leftover Frosting from the Adorable Graham Cracker Pencil Snacks

2 Ingredients for Easy Frosting Play Dough

Process for Making Easy Frosting Play Dough

Time to Practice Letter & Shape Formations

Ingredients

First Things First

How to Assemble Graham Cracker Pencils for School Snacks

Teddy Bear Picnic Day Planning

All About My Teddy

Teddy Bear Graphing & Color Words

Picnic and Photos

Teddy Bear Sleepover

What are Teachers Saying?

Your Turn!

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