Friday, March 31, 2017

Testing Signs - Free Printables!

Testing season is here! While it is definitely not our favorite time in the world of education, we understand it is a necessary evil tool to measure our students' success...or something like that.

I've got a couple of "testing" sign freebies for you today! While they won't make testing any less monotonous (anyone else resorted to counting ceiling tiles in the classroom?) they will at least be cute hanging on your door. And who doesn't need a little freebie to cheer up their life in this final push through the rest of the school year?

First, a "Testing" sign in my most popular classroom decor theme.

Free Printable "Testing" Sign | Apples to Applique

Download yours here! (The downloads have much better resolution than these pictures!)

Second, since so many of us are limited to black and white printers at school, a "Testing" sign in a fun black and white theme.

Free Printable "Testing" Sign | Apples to Applique

Get your copy here!

May your season of testing be short, and your students' scores high!

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Sky and Weather Activities for Pre-K

*This post contains affiliate links; I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

We are in the middle of a unit on sky and weather. This unit was not initially not my favorite. It is so much easier to get Pre-K kids engaged in a unit on, say, wild animals. Something about animals that have ferocious teeth gets 4-year-olds excited. The more dangerous it is, the more they want to learn about it. It's a little hard to garner that same excitement when talking about clouds.

Sky and Weather Activities for Pre-K | Apples to Applique

The last few years, I've been working on gathering some resources and adding some activities to flesh out our weather unit, and it's been going better.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Egg Matching and Pattern Activities

I'm excited to introduce this little activity to my students when we get back from spring break! For whatever reason, they love playing with Easter eggs!

Easter Egg Matching and Pattern Activities | Apples to Applique
Get yours here in my TPT store!

I saw the original idea on Facebook, but expanded it to allow for differentiation.
Level one is a set of cards with simple color matching.

Easter Egg Matching and Pattern Activities | Apples to Applique


Sunday, March 19, 2017

Up, Up, and Away! 3D Student Kite Artwork Display

Kites always seem to make their way into early childhood curriculum at this time of year. After all, what embodies spring better than the classic high-flying toy?

My students had to decorate a paper kite as their monthly family involvement project. We send something home once a month for them to decorate with their families, and then display the finished project at school. I love seeing the creativity that flows through their projects!
I mentioned this to my husband, who, as it happens, is also a Pre-K teacher. (Just for a few more months, though, until he finishes his degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Whoohoo!) He also just had his students decorate kites...but, as usual, he one-upped me in the creativity of his display, and I had to share it here.

Up, Up, and Away! 3D Student Kite Artwork Display | Apples to Applique


Sunday, March 12, 2017

Hats for All Occasions!

A couple weeks ago I posted about the Author Study Hat I had listed in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. My students love making these kinds of hats for all different occasions. These make the perfect last-minute activity for a class party or as a culmination to a unit. Students color and cut them out themselves, which makes it more meaningful for them (and easier for you).

I'm excited because I just finished a big project--a huge bundle of 23 of these hats! This price is quite a bargain--it's like getting 6 of the hats completely free!

What I really love about these hats is that you don't need to use a sentence strip, as the band is included. Plus, the band of each hat is decorated, which sets my hats apart from other similar sentence strip hats.

NO PREP Holiday and Events Hats Bundle with 23 Hats | Apples to Applique


There are hats in there for just about everything!

Included are:
Autumn (pumpkins and leaves)
Autumn (leaves)
Halloween
Thanksgiving (turkey)
Thanksgiving (cornucopia)
Christmas (tree with gifts)
Christmas (gingerbread girl)
Christmas (gingerbread boy)
Winter (snowflake)
Snowman
Groundhog Day
Valentine’s Day
100th Day
Patriotic (Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, etc.)
Author Study (customizable for Dr. Seuss Day and more)
St. Patricks Day
Spring
Earth Day / Recycling
Easter
Graduation
Summer
Off to a BRIGHT Future (last day of school)
Birthday Crown

I hope your students enjoy these as much as mine do!