Love is in the Air

In a few short weeks, my first graders will be making their Valentine sacks.  This is always such a fun time for them and I enjoy watching their creative juices flow.  Oriental Trading has so many things to pick from that I think will be perfect for their creations!

They will start with the traditional white sack, and from there it will be totally their creation.  Water coloring, buttons, strings, jewels and scrapbooking paper.  How much fun is this going to be for them!!!!

 To go with our classroom theme, I chose some cute valentine cards with spiral suckers! 

During our party, the kiddos will be able to take pictures of each other with the adorable valentine heart photo props!

Samson is always ready to step up to the plate and do a bit of modeling!  As long as we don't make him put down his stuffed animal of the day!  

I might even have to take my adorable Samson to school with me on that day!  And yes... I know he is probably the cutest thing you have seen all day.  

I’ll send them home with all their goodies and their pick of several heart tattoos.  It’s going to be a fun day.

You are running out of time to get your order in at Oriental Trading!  Hurry! Hurry!  Hurry!  There are just too many cute things that you won’t be able to resist.  

Disclaimer:  I received the above products from Oriental Trading in exchange for my honest opinion of their products.

100th Day Fun with Oriental Trading

The 100^th day of school was here before I knew it!  It is always a day full of learning and fun.  My kiddos had  been looking forward to this day for a long time!  I plan for this day way in advance and Oriental Trading is always my first choice for many items used for our 100th day celebration!   

One of the first thing they spotted when they hurried into the room were these Hanging Paper Lanterns.  So cute, and they added some a little extra to our classroom! 

They were so excited when they saw them hanging from the ceiling that it took the a few minutes to notice they each had a few surprises waiting for them on each of their desks.   

Here are just a few of the surprises I had waiting for them!  The 100th day of school pencils, stickers, slap bracelets and colorful eraser made each of their eyes lit up with excitement!

This was the creative writing that we did today!  They spent quite a bit of their time  coloring and writing on these  "If I Live To Be 100" posters!  They came in a package of 30 and are very large!  Definitely plenty of space for them to get creative!  

I usually hide 100 chocolate kisses around the room for the students to find and put on our 100 chart.  This year I decided to do something just a tiny bit different.  I numbered these Huge Black Googly Eyes (comes in a package of 100) and the kiddos had so much fun finding them.  I'm definitely doing this again next year.  

I sent them all home with a colorful tattoo!  They were so easy to put on and stayed on all day long!  I must admit I was sort of nervous about putting them on without the permission of the parents, but I also sent home the directions on how to take them off easily.  

Since we had indoor recess, this was the perfect activity to work together and they absolutely loved it.   They had 100 items to find in this big picture.  They did not want to quit.  Who doesn't love Hidden Pictures...  Fun! Fun! Fun! I loved that were finding things in a classroom.  

Our day was packed full of lots of fun activities but the most difficult was this art project that we needed some help from our 3rd grade buddies! I love how the colors just "POPPED" in this 100 day Weaving!

At the end of the day we had a photo booth!   They took turns helping each other holding their props and taking their pictures on the iPad!  They had fun being goofy with these!  

They had a wonderful day... Thank you Oriental Trading for making the day even more special for each of my firsties!

Disclaimer:  I received the above items in exchange for writing this post.  I love their products and find it a wonderful place to shop for so many of my classroom WANTS & NEEDS! 

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Monster Party with Oriental Trading

Every year I try to do something fun for our fall party in my first grade classroom.  This year I decided to have a MONSTER DAY!!!  I had so much fun trying to find fun ideas (that can be made educational) from Oriental Trading that I think they are going to LOVE!  They have so many monster ideas and it was so hard to pick.  I finally decided on these fun things.

Monster Bean Bag Toss Game – I am going to set this game up at a math center.  Students will throw a bean bag to knock over the plastic cans.  Students will add up the number of cans they knock over using the color key for the different colors of the cans.  Aren’t these little monster cans CUTE!  I will be using these for several other activities during the school year as well.  

Monster Weaving Mat Craft Kit – These will be a perfect addition to our Monster Party.  The only preparation I will need to do is it tear the perforated paper apart  and put in a container at our art center.  Easy Peasy…Lemon Squeezy!  I'm so glad that I did one of these ahead of time... Now I know I need to tear these apart before the party.  

Monster Piñata – It doesn’t get much cuter than this to use for decorating my classroom for our Monster Party.  I just have to figure out how to make sure all 24 of my students get a chance at hitting it before it breaks.  Instead of filling it with candy, I’m painting 24 small film canisters (Yeah! I finally found a way to use them!!) and then adding a Tattoo monsters into each of them.  

  

Monster Pencils – We will start our day by writing a monster story using the Tattoo Monster from our Piñata and a cute Monster Pencil!! These pencils are hard to sharpen in my regular pencil sharpener because of the coating that is on them.  But I have a hand turned pencil sharpener that works great on these pencils.  There are 6 different designs for the Tattoos and I'm sure my kiddos will have a favorite.

And of course… what party would be complete without food & decoractions.

Goofy Monster Head Lollipops – Super cute!  I really want to try them…but I only have 2 boxes (12 in a box)… and I have exactly 24 students.  There are 6 different designs and they are different flavors.  Yummo!

 

Mini Monster Luncheon Napkins & Monster

 Party Paper Dinner Plates – A monster party definitely needs to have monster napkins and plates!!!  They are so cute!  My kiddos are going to be so excited to use them. I love that they are very sturdy and the napkins were bigger than I was expecting.  

Mini Monster Cupcake Liners with Picks – I have a friend that makes awesome cakes and she has volunteered to make the cupcakes for my party. All I have to do it add these monster picks when I get them to school.  I think I will be more excited than the kiddos!!!  The liners are different colors and go perfectly with the monster theme.

Eyeball Gummy Candy – Monsters and eyeballs... they go together RIGHT!!!  I had to have someone try them out... Isn't he about the cutest thing you have seen all day!  He said they were delicious and wanted more!

That's it!  I am so excited about this party and can hardly wait to see the expressions on the faces of my students when they walk into our classroom on MONSTER DAY!    

You still have a littler over a month to get ready for you Halloween Party!  Please give  Oriental Trading a quick look... you will love their variety as well as quick deliveries.  
  

 Disclaimer:  I recieved the above products from Oriental Trading in exchange for my honest opinion of their products.

So Many Choices for Costumes at Oriental Trading!!!

It’s Fall Y’al!!!l  I am so totally ready for the cool weather!

Halloween is going to be here before you know it!  Have you started thinking about costumes yet?  I have the perfect place for you to shop. ORIENTAL TRADING!!!  Head on over there to see their huge selection for children and adults alike. 

My niece has always felt like she missed out by now being a part of the hippi generation.  She found this costume and now (for a day!) she is going to live the life of an adorable hippi.  I’m pretty sure that when she wears this outfit  to work at the Nursing Home, here patients are going to love it!!! 

Her little boy doesn’t even know what a hippi is and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what a Whoppie Cushion is either.  His pre-k teacher is going to love it when he dresses up for the big parade at school.  Well… I don’t know about that…but she will definitely think this is a perfect costume for him.  Lol  Isn’t he adorable!!!

Halloween will be here before you know it  Don’t wait too long to find yourself the perfect costume. 

Disclaimer:  I received these products from Oriental Trading in exchange for my honest opinion of their products.

Oriental Trading - Lots of 4th of July Items!!!!

In just a little over a week, my husband and I will be hosting our annual 4^th of July picnic for our church.  This year we wanted to make it extra special for all our guests by decorating more and having a few treats for them.  ORIENTAL TRADING with their wide variety of patriotic items came to the rescue! 

Candy Buffett anyone???  I started off with some red containers from Oriental Trading's patriotic selection to put all the goodies in.   They also have a HUGE selection of candy to pick from.  I ended up picking the Sweet Creams Hard Candy, Candy Sticks, Tootsie Rolls, and Butter Mints.   What child (or adult for that matter) will be able to resist these eye catching sweets?!  

When I saw these Red White & Blue Leis I knew they would be absolutely perfect.  Everyone can use a bit more red, white, and blue on the 4^th of July!!!

We wanted to decorate just a bit, so we decided to add a few bows to the trees around the picnic area.  These will definitely be a cute addition to our picnic area. 

What’s a party without a photo booth?  I’m sure these will be a big hit.  The best part…everyone has a camera on their phone now days…so it will be a do it yourself.  J

The 4^th of July wouldn’t be complete without a few glowing items!  Aren’t these Glow Necklaces awesome!  There are several kiddos in our church that are going to love them.  I might have to put a sign up that says “children only.”  J

I hope you found something that you liked.  If not, you need to head on over to Oriental Trading and find items that will make your 4^th of July even more special.  You still have time but you need to hurry if you want them for your 4^th of July Celebration!!!!

Happy 4^th of July and GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!

Disclaimer:  I received the above products from Oriental Trading in exchange for my honest opinion of their products.

Valentine's Day... A Month Away!!!!

Guess what a month from today is?  Valentine’s Day!!!  It will be here before you know it.  I’ve found several cute items at Oriental Trading. 

I try to send home Family Project several times during the year.  I saw this DIY Valentine Heart Pocket Classroom Quilt and I knew that it would be perfect for the month of February.  Each student will be given their own square to take home and decorate.  When the squares are returned they will be displayed like the picture below.  I can hardly wait to see what they look like!  (I will update the picture when I get them back from my students! J)

During the week before Valentine’s Day my first graders will start making these Rainbow Hearts.

They are really cool.  In the package there are 24 individual kits.  Everything you need is there, well… except for a pencil.  Students complete one color at a time by peeling the next piece of precut paper off, wrapping the tissue paper at the end of the pencil and pushing it to the sticky part.  No glue involved!  I must admit there was one issue with these hearts.  Have you heard of Roy G BIV?  Well that is how my students remember the order of the colors on the rainbow (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo & Violet).  This is not the order listed on the directions…but I’m totally okay with that… who needs directions anyways??  My kiddos know the order.  J

First graders always need more practice writing sentences.  They will have so much fun writing different types of sentences while using these fun  Valentine Conversation Self-Adhesive Foam Heart Stickers.   There are two sizes and there are several saying on the pieces.

  

These DIY Heart Masks will be so much fun to make and what little first grader wouldn’t love wearing them when they are are decorated.  If you don’t like messy, they could color them using markers, crayons, or colored pencils.  I’m all about letting them express themselves, so they will pick from a variety of items I have at school… even glitter!!!   If you decide to get this… be careful… the product says it will make 24, but the package I received had only enough for 12.  hmmmm... L

I also found a heart shaped card I will be giving my kiddos in their Valentine boxes.  It says “I Think You Are Just Write” and it already has 2 holes to put the pencil through.  It can’t get much easier than that!  

These Peanuts® Valentine’s Day Pencils along with these Frosted Valentine Hot Air Balloon Lollipops will also be a hit in their boxes.  My kiddos love the frosted lollipops they have there.  They have a huge selection of really cute ones. 

Lastly, I can’t forget my precious dog Samson.  Here he is modeling one of the three Valentine's Print Bandanas that came in a package (3 different designs).  Isn’t he about the cutest thing you have seen today? Precious boy!

That’s it.  I know your favorite is my little puppy dog…but trust me there is a lot of stuff to check out over at Oriental Trading for very reasonable prices.  Head on over their to check out all their Valentine's Day crafts, decorations, teacher supplies, toys, etc.  Don't wait too long though... Valentine’s Day will be here soon!  

I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review of their products.  The opinions expressed above are my own.