Seasonal - The Mommy Teacher

Share Your Valentine Ideas With Other Mommy Teachers …

Okay, I need to know….. how many of you are the kind of moms who have your valentine’s bought weeks ahead of the Valentine Day Parties and how many of you are moms who are going to be up late on the 13th?

Well, here in Louisiana, we are out of school several days for Mardi Gras on Valentine week this year. So, our parties were early, and the next picture might give you an idea of the kind of mom I am….. coffee cup, everything spread out on the table, morning light….. yep, Sean Patrick and I put the finishing touches on our little happies the MORNING OF!

I found this cute valentine printable for free online that reminded me of one of Sean Patrick’s favorite YouTube videos. I just printed it onto white cardstock and they came out so cute.

Each Valentine is for “You” because it was the easiest honestly, but I think personalized Valentines are great, but some teachers specify not to write the names because of time limitations and I felt like “you” was appropriate :

All they needed was to be cut, punched, and stuck with a Valentine’s Day pencil to give them that extra umph.

And conveniently, there was room when you flipped it over, to slide a pack of skittles right between the pencil and the valentine. (This is obviously the best part.)

And of course…. we couldn’t forget about his teacher! We cut out a valentine, personalized it to his teacher (because “you” wasn’t as appropriate in this case), cut it out, and slipped it in her tumbler.

And there you have it folks, with 5 minutes to spare….

Please please share your valentine ideas with me via email jessica @ the mommy teacher (dot) com so that I can share them here for other moms who might need last minute ideas!

Or quick upload pictures to share on my facebook page !

February 8, 2013 by Jessica | 0 comments

What I Have Been Up To lately…

I will probably be bombarding you with lots and lots of things I have been up to in the last month…

My first trimester had me bed-ridden after work, but I am 13 weeks now and feeling SO much better!

I used a lot of fun pinterest activities to gear up for Thanksgiving, so check out my Pinterest board “November Activities” to see a little of what I was up to.

We also made a classbook called “Save a Turkey” where each child drew a picture to brainstorm things that a turkey might say to get others to stay away: Eat more chicken, eat more beef, eat more fish, etc.

We did a lot of different activities about what we were thankful for.

We did math stories on a barn template to find out how many turkeys there were all together “4 on the barn, 1 on the ground….5 all together” re-stated “4 AND 1 IS 5.”

We played Gobble! Where we had words we know by site on turkeys that we flipped over to read and keep if we knew them, but if someone drew the word “Gobble” they had to put all their cards back.

We made Fall trees by painting with q-tips and fall colors.

And a lot of other little things here and there that I may add to this post (with pictures) soon….if I can gear up for it.

I will share my December activities soon 🙂

Glad to be back!

December 8, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Reading To A Pumpkin

So, as you might know, I am a Kindergarten Teacher AND a Mommy Teacher. I like to share classroom ideas that are practical for Mommy (and Daddy) Teachers that WANT to have some supplemental learning fun with their kids at home…..

Or, maybe you are a homeschooler and you tie these fun activities into what you are already doing…..either way, don’t stop! You are making such a difference!

So, you might find this interesting…

We have a pumpkin in our class that a Reading Friend gave us. We call him Frank (short for Frankenstein) and we read to him, write to him, and teach him his ABC’s and numbers.

He has kind of become a member of our class…the kids tell him “goodbye” when they walk out the door at the end of the day. He has also given our class a sense of responsibility because he takes the role of class keeper who keeps an eye out for hard-workers and good friends.

I recommend painting a face on your family pumpkin and give him a role or two that might encourage your little ones to take ownership of their chores or homework. 🙂 Enjoy!

October 19, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Napkin Book

This is just so fun and so versatile!

A friend of mine and retired Kindergarten teacher named Joy helps me in my classroom and has introduced me to one of many of my new favorite things!

A NAPKIN BOOK…. I mean, how many fun seasonal and themed napkins can you find at dollar tree or even leftover from birthday parties of ages past?!?

All you need to do is make labels with a chosen title and a space for your little “author” like “By ___________” and stick it on the front….. Unless you find an awesome napkin like Joy found that says “Boo!” which is the title of our frist napkin book.

Then print a fun sentence that coordinates with the book like “Boo said the __________.” multiple times on a single page, Cut it out, and staple it inside the napkin.

To make it that much more fun, Joy found Halloween themed stickers and that is going to be the illustration of each page of the book.

She even made a legend so the kids will know how to write the words in the free space of their sentence.

I love love this activity and will be making lots of books like it 🙂

October 18, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Adorable, DIY, No Sew, Easter Baskets & Liners For Under $10

For the last two years I really wanted to order Pottery Barn Baskets and Liners because I thought they were so cute, but SO expensive…even on sale! So, I attempted to make my own by going to my friend and neighbor’s house who could teach me how to sew elastic on the end of fabric to attach to a basket. But, she helped me pull together a GREAT idea instead….all thanks to a MISTAKE my husband made!!!

I saw these super cute, SUPER cheapbaskets on a stand at the PRODUCE market nearby:

And I chose this one for JUST $6!!!!:

I sent my husband to the store to buy pastel blue and pink FABRIC and he came back withBANDANAS because he thought they were “cooler” and only cost $1.79 a piece!!!

So, I brought them to my friends and said “What can I do with a basket + a bandana?”

And this is what she came up with:

1) Place the bandana in the basket with the corner’s lining up AROUND the basket handle.

2) Place something in the basket to weigh the center down.

3) Tie knots around both handles using the corners of the bandana, adjusting as needed after both sides are tied.

4) Tuck the extra material through the basket handle and hot glue it to the underside of the knot.

5 ) “PIN IT!” and “share it” if you like it 🙂

April 6, 2012 by Jessica | 1 Comment