Bunny Treats: An Adjective Adventure with Plants

We love to get packages. We also go crazy for special visitors. On Wednesday morning we found this letter in the classroom.

We learned that a Mystery Friend sent us the letter. The letter told us to find some Easter eggs around the school. Hidden inside each egg was an adjective clue that would help us infer who sent the letter.

After finding all of the eggs, we came back to the classroom to read the clues.

Then, we inferred who sent us the letter. We also identified and colored the adjectives from the clues. We had some wonderful discussions about our inferences. One little one did think a camel sent us the letter. I worried at first that the Easter eggs would make them think that the Easter Bunny sent us the letter but the clue about brown fur kept them from inferring that. =)

After lunch, we came back to the classroom and found the TOP SECRET envelope and a package. Inside the envelope were 12 riddles about treats a bunny would like to eat and some that a bunny would not like to eat.

Here is an example of one of the riddles.

The kiddos LOVED reading these riddles and trying to solve which ones would be the bunny treats. I loved seeing the way they worked together. After we sorted the cards by which ones would be bunny treats, we talked about the things rabbits eat....PLANTS!!!

We just started learning about plants this week so this was a great way to continue our discussion about the parts of the plant. We talked about the parts of a plant and how we eat plants ALL OF THE TIME! They thought this was too cool. =)

We opened the package and found HUGE Easter eggs that were full of plant parts.

We then made our own plant! =)

sunflower seeds

carrots for the roots

celery for the stem

spinach for the leaves

broccoli for the flower

strawberries for the fruit

Click on the pictures to go check it out in my store.

You can also do the activities in this packet AFTER Easter.

It is on sale and so is everything in my store. =)

I am soooooo sorry for not getting around to share the winner of my giveaway.

Barbara Balius...check your email. =)

Thank you to everyone who entered. I loved reading about all of your blessings. Thank you to each one of you for being such a HUGE blessing to me.

I would love to hear what you think about this packet. Leave a comment with your email and I'll pick 2 people to win it later this weekend. =)

From My Heart to Yours,

Angel in the Classroom....and a small obsession

Each day our little ones come to us with smiles, hugs, burdens, and sometimes hurting hearts and hidden bruises. For many, we can tell right away what kind of morning they are having. Some are so excited to just be there. Some seem to be a little sleepy or grumpy. Some are hiding behind a facade.

To be honest, we may not always know what burdens each one of our kiddos carry with them to school. We often think that only our kiddos who are economically disadvantaged are the ones with broken homes and problems. Sadly, child abuse can touch any child or family...some families are just better at hiding it.

This may not be an appropriate topic for a blog post but it is too near and dear to my heart to not say anything or share my poem.

I never want to make excuses for a child's behavior but many times knowing what might be going on in their lives helps us to better understand them. Remember, our kiddos are either extending love or calling out for love. We might be the only one to really stop and listen to what their behavior is telling us.

I have taught kiddos that it was very obvious the abuse that was happening and some that left me shocked when I found out. I guess I think we just need to love each kiddo as if we are the only one who does.....and for some kiddos this is easy. Others, we will have a hard time doing so. I know God put each child in your life and my life for a reason.

You may not realize that each smile you give a child erases a frown someone else gave them. Each hug you give might erase the hands that caused bruises and hurt. Each I love you that you tell them might erase hurtful and ugly words. YOU are either seeing that child as a blessing to your life or a burden. Conscious Discipline shares how what children hear NOW becomes the inner speech for the rest of their lives.

I believe we all have the chance to be a guardian angel here on Earth and that through us, we can share of God's love. This is one of the very first poems I wrote because one of my teachers was an angel in the classroom to me.

You already are touching hearts in a way you may never fully understand.

Now, my obsession.....

I did not realize how bad it was until I pulled out my BOX of Easter eggs!

Aren't some of those the cutest Easter eggs ever?!!!???? The butterflies and flowers aren't eggs but are cute containers!

The fish ones I am going to use at the beginning of next year for all of the Lips the Fish activities we do. =)

The frogs and ladybugs are still waiting for me to have a brain pop on how to use them.

Most of the eggs came from Big Lots....we won't discuss how many I bought of each.

These eggs are not even including the small, regular or jumbo sized eggs I also have.

Since I have a small egg obsession, here is an egg *freebie*! =)

Now for a craft. We are going to have some sort of writing activity to go with these. The pictures do not capture how cute and amazing the effects look in person.

We traced an egg on tag. The kiddos then decorated their egg with squiggle lines or polka dots. They then painted the egg with corn syrup that I had dyed different colors with food coloring. They had green, yellow, blue, purple, and pink (a very, very light red). We painted these on Friday and they were dry by Monday. A few eggs that had a thick coat of corn syrup took until Tuesday to dry.

They are really cool looking in person. They are very shiny and swirly looking. =)

My kiddos are bonkers for them. They keep going by and stroking their egg! =)

I hope this post touches your heart and leaves you with something to bring to the classroom tomorrow.

Thank you for blessing me in so many ways! =)

Fever, *Freebies*, and a Poem

I am sick...cough, cough-I might even have a fever.

Un momento while I go check...............................................................................................

Yeppers! I do!

Spring Fever!!!

It is gorgeous outside. The temperature is perfect. Dogwoods, azaleas, tulip trees, bluebonnets, and tons of other Spring flowers are blooming. Yes, we just had Spring Break but I am ready for one more! Sitting outside by my sister's pool with a book is the prescription.

The last time I had an actual sick day was 9 years ago. Rub your eyes but you read that correctly! If getting ready for a sub wasn't such a pain, I might be tempted. But then I think of all I still need to teach and I start to panic, stress, and worry! HOLY MOLY! HOLY MOLY!!!!

Then, I stopped myself today. I thought of  how God  uses the sparrow and the eagle in Bible.

Isaiah 40:31:
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.


Luke 12:7
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.


Because of grace, I can come before God and ask His forgiveness and through His love He finds beauty in me.

I think of my kiddos and how I can see all of the things they still need to learn and how much further some of them still need to go. Or I can look at them and see how far they have come. I can see the strength and resilience that many of them have. I can remember to have a Heart of Patience. I need to remind myself daily that I must touch their heart first and love them with all of my heart even when they may not deserve it or be acting in a manner where we want to freely give it.

I thought I would share this poem. This just reminds me that God is our teacher who loved us first.

Now to some *freebies*! =)

My kiddos love dice games and went nuts over Race to the Rainbow. So, here is an Easter dice game-Hop to the Top!

This is a measurement activity using the small plastic Easter eggs and the big, jumbo ones.

I hope your kiddos have fun with these *freebies*! =)

I would love for you to leave me a heart note if you grab them or the poem.

Thank you for touching my heart each day and blessing me in some many ways. =)

Buttons and Bunnies

I love my bunny. He is one of the sweetest and most treasured gifts I have ever received.

I love that little bunny nose! =)

Bunnies, Easter, and Spring are all things I love so I try to get as much of them in as possible.

I have several Mr. Potato Heads. You may not realize this but there are LOTS of different ones. Here is the Easter version:

How stinkin' cute are they??!!??

We play a game called Build a Potato that my kiddos are crazy about. Since Easter is near, we are going to Build a Potato Bunny Style!

I'll give you a peek at what you do but you'll have to go here to read more about it!

This game is played kind of like hangman (but you WANT to earn parts) or Read My Mind. Each kiddo has his/her own board and a marker. We play as a team. For each letter that is guessed correctly, the team gets to add a piece of the Potato Bunny. The team continues solving the mystery word and earning parts. Once the bunny is built we take him apart and start over! =)

I really cannot begin to tell you how much my kiddos adore this game. They are going to be so happy when I bring Mr. Bunny Potato Head to school! =)

And for another fun Spring activity my kiddos love, hop on over to my TpT store and check it out! =)

I have some bunny ears they wear when working at this literacy activity and that really engages them!

Thank you for all of the sweet heart notes you leave me. I hope you were able to read A Heart of Patience and take a minute to reflect on what you can do differently in your classroom. I know I try to be very patient but there are times where I am going craaaaazzzzzyyyyyyy on the inside and wanting to do some head bopping! This reflection from Conscious Discipline always reminds me that I MUST start with ME when there is a problem:

*Whomever you have placed in charge of your feelings, you have placed in control of you! p. 28

We often start feeling upset and having trigger thoughts when we look at a child's behavior for 3 different reasons:

*We think the child is misbehaving on purpose to upset us, the classroom, or another child. assumed intent

*We think the situation is WAAAYYYY worse than it really is. magnification

*We find ourselves using negative words to describe the child or their behavior labeling

When we lose our patience, we are allowing our buttons to be pushed. A behavior we see is causing us to have trouble with the feelings that it brings up in us.

For example, we often see Carla pinching Sarah on the learning rug. This triggers our feelings of anger and fear. Our trigger thoughts then turn to Why is Carla so mean? Carla knows better because we talked about this yesterday. I am worried that Sarah is going to get hurt and go home and tell her mom that someone is being mean to her.

While we are upset, we start wanting to punish Carla, make Carla feel bad by removing her from the rug, and start blaming the parents for not teaching her to not pinch at school.

Here is where Conscious Discipline comes in:

We must now tell ourselves to let go of those trigger feelings of anger and fear. We need to take a deep breath, hold onto that moment of patience and focus on what we want to happen. We are often upset because we don't know how to handle the situation...especially if it keeps happening over and over.

When we realize that this child is calling for help and doesn't know any other way to connect and interact with others, we must connect with love to that child. In the end, we can actually thank that child for teaching us to be more patient and understanding.

*This doesn't mean that there should not be consequences. Conscious Discipline does discuss consequences but not until the last chapter of the book.

Conscious Discipline is built on making commitments. There are several exercises in the book to help you remove your buttons and help you take ownership of your feelings. My kiddos know about not letting someone be the boss of your feelings. Take time to think about the behaviors that push your buttons and how you are feeling when you see that behavior. Ask yourself what do you want to see.

Somewhere in your room write on a sentence strip a commitment you are going to make when you see a certain behavior. Talk to the children about this and let them know the commitment you are making to yourself and them.

For example, tell your kiddos that you are going to make a commitment to stay calm with you see and hear friends saying hurtful things. Tell the children you are going to help them find a better way to solve the problem and to do that you need to be calm.

It really makes a difference when you allow yourself to not get upset and irritated...and there are times I still do (even with a few adults!!!) 

There are times that the kiddo who has a radar detector to my button's location is the child I need to write on the palm of my hand for that child will also need to be on my heart.

Remember this from The Heart of Patience poem:

I know I won’t be perfect but you need my best to help you learn and grow-

So, I pray for God to help me have a heart of patience that always shows.