A whole lotta randomness...and a Mother's Day craft!

Good evening, Bits and Bobbers!! Your long lost friend Kerri here...

I am SERIOUSLY slacking in the blogging department friends!! I don't know what the problem is, well actually I do. I am trying desperately to get back on the yoga bandwagon, which is an hour a night. Well, that pretty much cuts out blogging, since blogging takes an hour also each time I do it, for some reason?? 
Sigh...not enough hours in the day, man!! But today blogging beat out yoga, so here we go!!

Here are some things my kidlets and I have been up to lately...

We started our Rainforest Unit by using Abby's Mystery Box activity to introduce it. My kids LOVE LOVE LOVE the Mystery Box. Ohmyword, they go CRAZY for it!! They had so much fun guessing what was inside the box...

It was a red-eyed tree frog!!

 Then they wrote all about it. I call it a power write-they write as much as they can for 5 minutes, then I choose some kids to read their stories to the class, using Mr. Microphone, of course!!

We also started making some art projects for our Rainforest Open House extravaganza! Luckily the flowers and butterflies double nicely for Springy projects, until I put them up for Open House!! Aren't they so pretty??

I love how they look on my wall...swoon! So bright and cheerful!! 

We also have been learning about American symbols, and we step drew Lady Liberty for one of our projects. This step draw is from Deanna Jump's America Unit, which I LOVE!! Aren't they so fun??

I just love my mini anchor chart stand!! It holds all of my America and Rainforest posters perfectly!

My kids also presented an Oral Report on an American Symbol of their choice. They did such a fantastic job!!

Her White House is AMAZING!!

Love the initials for the Presidents on this one!!

Lego White House!!

 For Earth Day, we had SOOO much fun making Maria from Kinder Kraze's fabulous watercolor Earth Day projects. Disclaimer: I hate paint, so I was wary about letting my kids use the watercolors, but they did AWESOME!! Okay, okay, paint isn't so bad after all!! :)

Okay, here is my new idea for a Mother's Day craft. For years, we made these plates, which I LOVE, but this  year I decided to mix things up and make a cute little bowl  (from IKEA for $1 each) for the moms...here are the steps!
You need a 5 by 5 square of copy paper, crayons, mod podge, a sharpie, tissue paper, and a foam brush.

1. Draw a flower on the paper with a sharpie, add your words, and color with bright colors.

2. Bubble cut around the flower and mod podge it to the bottom of the bowl, like this...

3. Cover the entire bottom of the bowl with mod podge and squares of tissue paper. One layer should be enough.

 4. Let it dry overnight and voila!! It will be beautiful in the morning!!

Well, that's all I got peeps!! Off to wash my face and snuggle on the couch with my Kindle!
XOXO Kerri B

Rainforest Art and Writing Unit!! Plus, don't forget about our TIMREE giveaway!

Happy Saturday, Friends!! Kerri here...
I DID IT!! Oh my word, I feel like I just birthed another child (minus the excruciating physical pain, of course!) My Rainforest Art and Writing Unit is FINALLY finished!! We'll call her "Rainy" for short!
I give you the following...

Check out all that's included:


This 74 page Rainforest Fun! Art and Writing includes everything you need to help your students experience life in the rainforest, with animals such as jaguars, sloths, macaws, leaf-cutter ants, and many more, by making art projects and writing about different rainforest animals!

Step-by-step directions and photos are included to make 10 different rainforest art projects:

-monkey art (patterns included)
-rainforest fish art
-3-toed sloth art
-layers of the rainforest art
-macaw step-draw art
-leaf-cutter ant art
-jaguar art
-red-eyed tree frog art
-tear art flowers
-butterfly art (pattern included)

Also included are:
-Bubble maps to describe different rainforest animals
-Tree Maps for different rainforest animals
-Rainforest Acrostic Poem writing paper
-My Five Senses in the Rainforest Writing activity
-Diagram paper so students can draw and label different rainforest animals
-Animals Facts paper for different types of rainforest animals
-A list of educational rainforest websites
-Photos of 10 different rainforest books that can be purchased through Amazon

The 9 animals included for the above writing activities are:
-monkey
-sloth
-boa constrictor
-leaf-cutter ant
-red-eyed tree frog
-jaguar
-green iguana
-macaw
-toucan

This unit is a perfect companion to my Rainforest Fun! Math and Literacy Centers and my Rainforest Fun! Writing Center.

If you are looking for a theme for Open House, this unit includes everything you need to transform your classroom into a living rainforest!




Click on the red-eyed tree frog below to head on over to my TPT store to pick it up for yourself. I have it on sale now through the end of March, so HURRY HURRY! While you're there, you can pick up my 2 other  companion units to complete the whole rainforest experience!!

Also, don't forget to click below and enter our fabulous TIMREE giveaway!! We are giving away an AWESOME prize and I am sooo jealous! I want it for myself!