Cornflake Leaves Poem

Before I get to the freebie, here’s my son and his new wife in a kabuki cab right after the wedding ceremony! They got married on Saturday beside this pretty stone bridge. After the picture taking, their friend drove them through the park. There’s a bike in front that you can’t see. These are all the rage in Victoria, so … Read more

Sharks and Aquariums

With two teaching days left before our summer holidays begin, we’ve been doing lots of fun ocean stuff.   I got both these ideas off pinterest. The first is a shark. Yes, I have to tell you, just in case you can’t tell. This was super easy to make and the kids LOVED it. What’s with boys and sharks anyhow? … Read more

Sparkly Finger Paint

I’ve been trying to make our lessons more playful. So Friday morning, I decided on a whim to let the kids fingerpaint. I couldn’t find any in the school, so I squirted a bit of blue and white tempera paint on a finger paint board, then mixed in a dab of dishwashing liquid. I thought it might add to the … Read more

McDuff! You Sweetie Pie!

If you own a Westie, love dogs, or even have a soft spot in your heart for animals, then you’re going to love this book. I suspect most of you are already familiar with McDuff, but I love the McDuff stories so much that I just had to highlight one of them for Perfect Picture Book Friday. This is the … Read more

Easter Egg Writing Freebie and Easter Bunny Art

Inside: Directions and printable for Easter writing, plus some Easter bunny art. If you’re looking for a last minute easy Easter writing activity, you might want to try this: Stories using Easter stickers as writing prompts. Be sure to read to the bottom because there’s also a super cute rabbit art project. All I did was let the kids choose … Read more

Triangle Art for First Grade

I love teaching geometry because it lends itself so well to lots of fun hands-on activities. This cool art project, called “Triangle Within a Triangle”, comes from Jill at Mrs. T’s First Grade Class. It was an absolute hit with my class and was VERY easy to do. Before beginning the activity, we read The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns. Then we … Read more

Valentine Bags

Inside you’ll find a template for making the cutest valentine day treats bags! Valentine Bags for Kids! If you’re looking for a last minute idea for Valentine bags you might want to try this. Very easy and cute. This little project was so easy that kids could easily complete it independently during centres. The instructions show the finished dog so … Read more

Polar Bear and the Snow Cloud Book Review

Inside: A book review of The Polar Bear and the Snow Cloud Happy ALMOST Friday! Most of my featured books for Perfect Picture Book Friday have been about snow. And here I am with yet another one. Please forgive the repetitiveness, but after all, I DO teach Grade 1, and this IS the middle of winter, and you know how … Read more

Ted Harrison Paintings

Inside: First graders paint like Ted Harrison. Are you familiar with Ted Harrison’s art? This very talented gentleman was born in England. He moved to Yukon, Canada and lived there from 1967 until 1993, at which time he relocated to our beautiful city of Victoria, B.C. He is an artist, retired teacher (he taught for 30 years!), illustrator and author. … Read more