O is for Ocean and Octopus

We just wrapped up or second week of summer school! :) During the summer, we don't have school on Fridays so I try and make Thursdays fun days! This week, all of our activities revolved around the letter  O. 

During literacy time, we made "pudding oceans" and wrote a numbered list of how to make them. The kids LOVED making these and they are soooooo EASY to do! All you need is vanilla pudding cups, food coloring, a spoon, and some sort of "gummy fish".

First, we added blue food coloring to our vanilla pudding cups.

Next, we stirred like crazy!

Then, we added our little fish!

Looks really appetizing doesn't it? ;)  

Here is one of my sweet little guys writing. 

1. Open Pudding 

2. Make it blue

3. Stir

4. Add fish

5. Eat 

I am so proud of them and how far they have come this year!

In math, we created Octopus Pattern Hats. I pre-cut 8 strips of construction paper and 1 octopus "head" for each student.  Using bingo dotters, students created 8 different patterns on their paper "tentacles" and I stapled them to a sentence strip. Anytime they can wear their product, they think it is amazing (and I think it is adorable)!

During science, we created Oceans in a Bottle. For this, we used bottles of water, glitter, vegetable oil, foam sea creature stickers, and these weird little plastic beans I found in the art closet. Obviously, you can put whatever you want in there! 

 I let students drink some of the water (to make room for the oil) and added glitter with a funnel.

Then, students added food coloring, sea creatures, and the little beans. Although many students wanted to squirt as much food coloring as possible into their bottles, I found that if you only squirt 1 drop you can see everything in the bottle much better. 

Next, we made predictions about what would happen when we added the vegetable oil to the water and tested out our hypothesis. 

Finally, it was time for the kids favorite part....

SHHHAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKE!

And watch everything dance and swirl around until it all settles back to the way it started. 

It was a fun week and I can't wait to start on all of our "W" activities tomorrow!

Made it Monday

Today may be back to business but last week was our Spring Break! For me, that meant a lot of relaxing, time with friends and family, and getting a few projects done that I have been putting off! Sooo I figured I would share a few things I have been working on :)

My first little project is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I have always wanted one of those cute "teacher stools" for my classroom! 

Now I have to tell you, my Dad is the BEST at finding things. He loves going to thrift stores, flea markets, you name it! Every now and then I will ask him to keep an eye out for a good deal on something and he always finds it. Always! So when I asked him to find an inexpensive stool (sturdy enough to be in a classroom), to please get it for me. And like always, he delivered! 

TADA! haha I am really happy with the way it came out!

It was actually very easy to complete! First, I spray painted it a fun color. Then, I had some leftover fabric from this project so I modpodged it to the horizontal foot rest parts. I also painted big gray polka dots down the legs. 

Next, I used a Tupperware lid (a very scientific form of measurement) to measure a fabric circle for the top of the stool. I Mod Podged that on the top and then used my handy dandy Cameo to dicut a big 'ol letter A. Finally I, you guessed it, modpoged that to the top. Isn't Mod Podge great?! :)

My next project is something that I have put off for a loooooong time. It is not technically something that I "made" but I did make it more organized! ;)

The dreaded bathroom drawer (dun dun duuuuuuuuun!)

I know. It is a hot mess. So embarrassing! But I have to show that so I can show this:

Quite the improvement huh? I can actually find things without rummaging around in the drawer for 5 minutes! After completing something like this I alway think, why in the world did I put this off for so long?!?   

Finally....

my last Spring Break project  is one that is special to me because it is something I used to do with my mom when I was little. Long before there was Pinterest (how did we know what to wear, cook, teach, etc?!? lol) my mom was a total "pinterest mom," cooking, sewing, crafting, and creating smilie face shaped lunches for us. I gotta say, my childhood was pretty awesome :) We used to take all of our old, warn down crayons and make "Rainbow Muffin Tin" crayons! Did anyone else used to do this when they were a kid? 

Now, thanks to Ikea and all of the different fun shaped silicone ice trays they have created, we are no longer limited to muffin shaped crayons! I created mine using this sweet little heart tray :) 

All you have to do is take those crayon rejects that all of your students refuse to use and peel the paper off of them. Kids really like to do this for some reason but it is great for fine motor (plus I have no interest in doing it) so let have at it!

Then, break them up into small pieces

and just toss them into whatever silicone container you are using! Preheat the oven to about 200 degrees F and let them melt in there for about 15 minutes. 

When they look all melty and marbley like this, take them out and let them cool. I tossed mine in the freezer to speed up the cooling process a little.

When they are all cool, pop 'em out and you have some rainbow scribblers! 

Now I just have to decide if I am going to pass these out to my kids now, or wait until we are talk about  reduce, reuse, and recycle and loving our Earth. Hmmm.... 

Dallas trip and Monday Made It

This past weekend was SO. MUCH. FUN! 

My mother in law got married on Friday so the Hubs and I went up to Dallas for the ceremony and to spend some QT with family! 

Here is my handsome husband and I killing some time before the ceremony:

I just love this goofy man!

A quick pic of the happy couple saying their nuptials

And the Mr. and I with his sisters and brother in law

This group is a good time, let me tell you! :) 

It is always so great seeing family and I wish we could go up there more! Although, we ate out a LOT. Seriously, amazing food! I am talking so full you can barely walk out of the restaurant amazing food!! So maybe it is a good things we only make it up there a few times a year ;) 

 As you can see, the trip took a toll on my boys. This is them on the ride home, ha! 

Ok ok now enough about my weekend. It is time for (drum roll please) another addition of 

4th Grade Frolics is so awesome for hosting this every week! I just love getting ideas from so many creative teachers and seeing what everyone has been crafting over the week!! 

So my 1st made it is more of an "assisted made it" if you will. ;) If you have never seen my blog before, first, Welcome!! Second, as of my last "Made it Monday" this is what my blog looked like...

Veerrrrrrrry different right? The old one was simple. Kinda boring. Nothing special. 

I was so over it!

Luckily for me, I just so happen to follow this amazing teacher, blog designer, and all around great person Lindsey on Instagram! After I saw some of her work and checked out her amazing prices, I just knew I had to strike while the iron was hot!

If you are thinking about starting a blog or you have one and it needs a major facelift (like mine) you should go check out Lindsey at Blog Designs with the Teacher in Mind. I cannot say enough about how great working with her was! She is THE most affordable designer I found, every single blog design of hers looks different because they are based on exactly what the customer wants. Plus, she respond back to e-mails crazy fast which, being extremely eager about the whole blog makeover, I really appreciated! 

I am telling you, go check her out! Then come back and thank me when you are as in love with your new blog as I am with mine ;) 

Now this I made alllllllll by myself :) 

About 2 weeks ago I got these Plain Jane clipboards (that I wrote about in my Dollar Store Treasures post) and knew I wanted to decorate them! I reserved a few to glam up for my brand new team this year, but I wanted to share the one I made for myself!

*Disclaimer: I am not a planner, a measurer, or a perfectionist. When I make things, I kinda just "go for it". So, if you find yourself being slightly anal retentive when working on projects, my way of going about this may make you cringe! You have been warned ;) 

First, I picked through some papers from my old scrap booking days and found a couple I wanted to use. 

Next, I traced the outer edge of the clip board onto the scrap book paper and cut it out. I then laid the top paper under the clip and drew how wide a cut out I needed to make. Next, I took a piece of scrap paper to "measure" how deep of a cut I need to make for the clip. This is what I ended up with for the top paper: 

Because I knew my paper would not fit perfectly around the clip or outer edges, I painted the top portion and edges of my clip board.

Once the paint was dry, I went to town with some Mod Podge! (love that stuff!) Mine dries clear with a  little bit of a glossy finish but you could use the matte finish too. 

I laid the scrapbook paper down and starting from the middle, I smoothed the paper out to avoid wrinkles and bubbles. I always use some type of plastic card (in this case, a Staples gift card) to flatten it and it works just fine! 

I repeated the same process for the back and added an extra strip of scrapbook paper in the middle on both sides. Then, I put my name to the back and a cute little white, burlap "bow" over the clip on the front. Voila! 

I just love the way it came out! I can't wait to make a few more!

My last made it is about a little Meet the Teacher (yes already!) prep work.

When I pinned this adorable idea for Meet the Teacher from First Grade with a cherry on top I knew that I wanted to use it this year for meet the teacher! 

My sweet sweet husband cut out all of the tags and I tied them on to 21 little bubble bottles. Now from past experience, I know good and well that I will probably only have about 10 families (at the very most) show up for meet the teacher... but a girl can hope right! 

I also whipped up these little apples for my Meet the Teacher "Giving Tree" 

I did a couple of each item juuuuuuuuust incase I have lots of parents who want to make donations!

I still cannot believe it is almost August! I am hoping to get into my classroom this week so that I can get started and try to ease into the school year this year! 

Made it Monday

Well I am back to link up with the fabulous 4th Grade Frolics for another Made it Monday! 

This past week I did not really make anything for the classroom (and the countdown for back to school is on - eek!) but I have made a few gifts and some yummy healthy food! 

I even attempted my first freebie via google docs :) We shall see how that goes... 

This first little somethin somethin was for one of my best friend's housewarming party. Well actually, she insisted that it was not a housewarming party and that it was a "Hey everyone come see this house we bought and swim in our pool!!" party and insisted on no gifts! Who doesn't want gifts?!? 

Well I did not want to go against her wishes but I wasn't about to show up empty handed either! So I compromised... I made her favorite cookies in a pretty cute jar, if I do say so myself :) 

In hindsight, I wish I had put a bow on the top but eh, what are ya gonna do? 

My next made it was a belated birthday gift for my "baby" brother. We couldn't get together on his actual b-day due to conflicting work schedules but here is us FINALLY celebrating at my parents' house last night:

After my brother shaved his head everyone says we looks alike. Thanks...I guess? (I still don't see it!) 

Aaaaanyway, I don't know about anyone else out there, but the men in my family are notoriously difficult to shop for. I considered about 5 different things to get him before finally going with something I knew he would love....CASH! :) 

Now I feel bad giving cash because while I think everyone enjoys receiving it, it just doesn't strike me as that thoughtful of a gift. It's like, "Here, I like you enough to take the 2 minutes to stop by an ATM on the way here to get this for you." Whomp whomp...

So to jazz it up a bit, I went to everyone's #1 source of inspiration: PINTEREST! I am sure everyone has probably seen this idea by now, but I love the "something special hidden inside a jar of candy" tick. And by trick of course I mean gift ;) 

Here is mine: 

Aaaand because I am totally lame creative, I decided to rev it up a bit by adding a little riddle to the tag:

I love this idea so much because you can use it for ANY kind of gift (Christmas, graduation, anniversary, just because, etc) and there are so many different things you could hide inside (concert tickets, plane tickets, event tickets, maybe a gift card - although not in the tube, jewelry...)

If you like the little card I made, you can get it by clicking on the picture (fingers crossed)! I have that blue tag and then a pink tag as well. :) 

***This is my 1st attempt at using google docs so if you try and click it and it doesn't work, please let me know!!***

While I was out getting candy for the brother I of course had to get candy for the hubster too:

He gets cheesy notes and puns from me all of the time so he is pretty used to it :) 

My last made it of the week is actually a recipe I found on pinterest and I am really excited about! I am not really a "breakfast person" so when I find a food I can easily have for breakfast and that will keep me somewhat satisfied until lunch, it makes me happy happy happy! 

Here are my yummy little Mini Veggie Frattatas that I made and they are sooo good!! 

Ok ok I know I am no food photographer so please don't judge the recipe by my horrible picture! I promise you they taste reallllly good!

 Just take this into consideration - super easy to make, make them Sunday and store them in the fridge for the week, and you have a nice, warm, filling breakfast every morning after only 20 seconds in the microwave! 

Have I sold you yet? ;)

Be forewarned though, if you are not a fan of goat cheese you might not like these (and we probably can't be friends...jk I will probably still like you!). Now I am no chef, but I bet if there is another type of soft cheese you do like, it would probably work just as well...but don't hold me to that! 

You can find the recipe for these little guys by clicking here

Hopefully I will have a few more school related "made its" to post this time next week and can finally start checking some things off of my ever growing to do list!