Free December Newsletter Template - ALL grades!

 This is a freebie printable template for all grades. You can also type straight into the boxes as I have made it and editable PDF. Enjoy! Click here to download.

November, Fall Sensory Bin for Preschool and Pre-K!

 Happy November! I love changing out my sensory table for different holidays and seasons. This month we used corn kernels as the main item. I also added measuring scoops, pine cones, leaves and fun laminated numbers. This gives the kiddos lots of choices with how to use the table. Some of them find all the numbers, most of them love scooping, and others bury the items. These tables are a huge hit so far!

These also align well with TSGold standards. They allow for the students to explore together, identify numerals, use measuring skills, and make connections. 

Apple Orchard Dramatic Play

 My students are THRILLED with my change to our dramatic play area. We changed it up and created an apple orchard and bakery. We also added raking leaves to our block area. Some kiddo sized rakes and fake leaves did the trick!

Their favorite thing in dramatic play is definitely the pie baking! They use the pom-poms as apples and put them in the pie tin. Then they add the felt strips to make their crust. 

I got all the printables here and here and it was super easy! 

Pre-K and Kindergarten October Poem

 It's almost Halloween! My kiddos have decided on Harry Potter and a Vampire Bat. I asked my five year old what he wanted to be and, without any hesitation, he said "a vampire bat!" Where does he come up with these things? Apparently from Wild Kratts, what do I know? 

Here is a fun freebie for you! October printable poem and coloring! This is perfect for teachers that do poetry notebooks with their kiddos!

Click to download!

Pinecone Painting, Fall Art Project for Kinder and Pre-K - TS Gold and Creative Curriculum Aligned!

 Super easy art project for this season! 

I use TS Gold in my classroom and this activity lines up with several of the standards: 

8b. Follows Directions

11a. Attends and Engages

33. Explores the Visual Arts

There are probably even more that I'm missing or that you can add if you change up this activity or use questioning techniques, counting, etc. 

We had the kiddos choose their paint colors and how many pinecones. Then, we just put in the paper and pine cones, they squirted in some paint and shook it up! It turned into an awesome process art piece.

This activity is also great if you use Creative Curriculum and are starting the tree unit! 

I'm Back!

 I have realized I miss blogging! Now that I am back in the Early Childhood world, I have things to share again! I get so into making things and all of these fun activities for my littles. I'm starting off small with a new freebie! Just a basic newsletter template for all my teacher friends. Happy Sunday!

Click here to download the editable PDF

Have an Awesome Day With a Substitute in Your Classroom!

Happy Halloween! This year my team and I were "candy rappers"--- hilarious!! My teammates did an amazing job and really went all out! The kiddos ate this up! We wore baggy pants, candy logos, sideways hats, chains and even had temporary tattoos! So much fun!! Now, onto the topic for today.... some tips to have an awesome day with a substitute in the classroom.

Kids can be really thrown off by a sub. This isn't all their fault. They should definitely be respectful to adults but, with the whole routine thrown off, a stranger where there is usually a trusted role model, and twenty-something other confused kids, it's bound to be a little strange. You will also have the overly helpful friends who are really trying to help the sub but, end up causing more issues than they fix. I tell my kiddos to just roll with it and do what the sub says, even if it is different. I think I also have a good perspective on this since I was a sub myself. Tips to a sub --- please try to clean up the classroom when you leave. I always did and this makes a huge difference. That's like coming to my house, trashing the place, and then just leaving it. Teachers, try to make it as welcoming as possible and set those kiddos up for success!

Most of these tips are for a prepared day out but, you could tweak some of these to work for emergency days too! You could always put the notes in your emergency sub binder along with a "Sprinkles from the Sub" poster.


1. First tip is "Sprinkles from the Sub"

I make a poster like the one shown above. It's pretty self-explanatory.. the sub can give sprinkles then, the class earns a reward if they get their sprinkles. I actually bought my class donuts for getting their sprinkles!



2. Notes for the kiddos

When I have a planned sub, I always leave notes for my students. Yes, I write them each a note, yes this takes awhile. I cannot tell you how much they love these notes! It truly shows them that you care about them as individuals. If you do any of these tips, this is the one I recognize the most.

3. Emergency Sub Binder

I was a former sub and let me tell you, having sub plans is so important. Especially for unplanned absences. If you search on TPT you will find a TON of emergency no-prep sub plans. No need for your team to run around like crazy to whip up a plan for you. Usually these plans are also fun and project-based which the kiddos love! Win, win!


4. Sub plan in "kid friendly" language for the students

This is a recent change that I read about on Twitter and implemented in my class. I take whatever sub plans I made for the adult and tweak them into kid friendly language. That way the kiddos can see what's coming, there won't be surprises AND they know that I actually said to do something and the sub isn't making it up. I can't tell you how often I heard as a sub "but, we never do that!" This will help eliminate that problem. 😀


5. Sub note template

One last tip, I created this Sub Note template. As a sub I always left a note using this template. I actually would have teachers text to tell me how much they appreciated it. As a classroom teacher, I am SHOCKED with how many subs don't leave a note. That just leaves us wondering about the day and not knowing what we should talk to the class about. I would suggest leaving this on your desk. That way, the sub sees it and knows you expect a note.

Try to relax on your day off and let your students show you how awesome they are when you come back!