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Saturday 23 August 2014

Kimochi's for kids

I was recently sent a super cute Kimochi® to review from the lovely people at Kimochi®!


What is a Kimochi®?  I am glad you asked!

Kimochi® means feelings in Japanese and these super cute plush toys are a way to help children deal with their feelings and the feelings of others in a safe and child friendly way.

Each character has a distinct personality and has feelings associated with it, these are the Kimochis®   My cute little toy is Huggtopus® and she can get a little carried away sometimes with her big, friendly personality.  The Kimochi's® that accompany Huggtopus® are Happy, Silly and Frustrated, they also come with a little handbook that gives parents tips on when to use the Kimochi® for the situation.  These cute little guys tuck themselves inside Huggtopus® so that it shows where out feelings are.



There is a real focus on using these with children who are on the Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I can see why.  It gives the kiddos a tangible item to connect feelings with as well as a story to hook them in, the tips in the booklet allow for parents to Connect, Communicate, Create and Practice.  

To be honest I could see these being a big hit in an Early Childhood classroom but not with some of my older children that I support. It would be a great way to open a discussion of feelings in the classroom with the littles and the appropriate times and places to display those feelings.  I would have loved to have a little story book to go with the Huggtopus® to initiate a conversation in a classroom as an example of a time  when Huggtopus® got everexcited and became frustrated in a situation. If you visit their website you can purchase story books separately but I would have liked to have one included with the toy.  You can also buy the Kimochi's as a mixed bag of feelings and a Teacher Edition Guide from the website.

Overall I think it is a great way to engage children in exploring feelings and personalities of both themselves and others


This post was an honest review of the product and is the personal opinion of the author.  A sample was provided to the author by the named company.



Sunday 17 August 2014

Bright Ideas- 5 ways to decorate pegs


Welcome back for another Bright Ideas linky!

Do you use pegs on your boards to display student work?  



I have started displaying work using this method and I have tried a number of ways to decorate the pegs so they don't look blah.  I need to start off by letting you know that I used velcro on the back of the pegs as all of my boards are carpeted and the velcro sticks really well to it.  If you need to use pins you could hot glue a thumb tack onto the back, I recommend doing that BEFORE you do any decorating, also I have only used wooden pegs.

1. Glitter meets glue



The first thing I tried was to add a bit of glamour and sparkle to our pegs. I used some strong pva glue and painted down one side, then I put the glitter on.  I found it was best to put the glitter onto a plastic plate and then laying the pegs onto the glitter.  Give them a good shake before you put them on your wall or you will have glitter raining down on you for months.

2. Foaming all over


Another fabulous way to decorate pegs is courtesy of one of my teaching partners.  She found this foam craft at the cheap store and sliced it on the paper slicer, how clever is she!  We used hot glue to put them onto the pegs, she did give me permission to share this with you all.  We put velcro on the back and voila, ready to go.




3.  Cutify

We found these pegs that already had some cute little wooden insects glued on to them, but I think if you had something like this laying around you could definitely hot glue them on and create a theme of pegs for your room.  It wouldn't matter if it was painted or not, this set already was but if you had time and you were feeling super crafty this is a super cute way to display work.





4.  Tape it up!
One of the easiest and fastest way to cover a boring old wooden peg is to use tape.  I have used Washi tape here as well as patterned and colored duct tape.  Just put it on to cover the peg and then trim to where you need it.  Super easy, super fast!  The great thing about using tape is that you can change it out to suit your room theme as it peels off really easily.

5. Dye-ing to do this
I have to preface this by saying I haven't personally done this but a friend of mine has so I don't have any personal photos to show you.  Dying wooden pegs is an easy job but I do think you need a weekend to complete the task so they have enough drying time before you put velcro or pins on the back.  You could use fabric dye or I have heard that using tempura powder paint also works.  The only piece of advice I would give is to wear gloves when you are doing this or you will have technicolor hands for a while.

cute clothespin - Google Search
Source: http://indulgy.com

I am sure there are a thousand more ways to decorate a peg.....ok maybe not thousands but I am positive there would be people who could add to this list!

If you have enjoyed this Bright Idea make sure you follow me on my  blog, Facebook or Instagram to get more fantastic ideas also head to the linky to find other amazing bloggers with AMAZING ideas for you to check out!  






Saturday 16 August 2014

Five for Friday!



I am amazed that I am able to get around to linking up this week.   I have had such a busy, busy week, but feel like I accomplished nothing, ever feel like that?
Well here goes....



I have a very sparkly, crafty, peggy Bright Ideas post coming up on the blog!  I love the Bright Ideas linky and I can't wait for you to see what I have for you in the next linky......I think you won't have to wait long :)   




I attended an amazing seminar on Wednesday all about students on the Autism Spectrum Disorder.  One of the presenters was Dr Tony Attwood, I just loved listening to him and I had so many "a-ha" moments.  I also picked up some great resources and books to help me in my day to day life as a support teacher.  Here are some of the great reads I found.  I couldn't put any pics up, but I was thinking of contacting them to see if I could do a review of their seminar at a later date so stay tuned on that one!





We looked at probability in our Grade 2 classroom this week.  My teaching partner started the week looking at the likelihood of an event happening and I ended the week with my probability pack What are the Chances.  The kiddos loved making the predictions and discussing with partners why the thought x was going to happen.  We shared the results at the end of the session.  If you want to check it out just click on any of the pics


I put the posters on the whiteboard and we discussed each one, but you can also print them and display them in the class or in a Maths Centre.


The 15 spinners are all different so it allows students to work in pairs and then each pair is able to share their findings with the group or another pair and they will have different predictions and outcomes.  Also it doesn't take long to set up, I laminated the 15 spinners and then printed the recording sheet, had it done in about 15 minutes....easy!



I started using Second Story Windows spelling sound boards.  Can I say we LOVE it!!  If you don't know what I am talking about you need to check this post out.  Some of my kiddos are struggling with the chunking and I was so excited to hear them sounding out the chunks and then putting it together to make a word.  






My Sister in law has made a surprise drop in visit from Adelaide so we are having a great time catching up.  We get along really well and she loves getting to seeing her niece and nephew, as well as her Mum and Dad who only live around the corner from us.

Well, that is all from me but there are loads of other great blogs to check out at Doodle Bugs Teaching.



Wednesday 13 August 2014

It's Baaack! Back to School Blowout!



I am so excited to announce that Educents.com is bringing back their HUGE back-to-school blowout sale and I am going to be featured in one of the curriculum bundles! From August 13 - 15, they are bringing back all of their favorite and most popular bundles for INSTANT download at up to 77% OFF! There is something for everyone and it is their BIGGEST sale of the year!
Take a peak into what is on sale! Tell your friends, because there is something for everyone who teaches children in PreK-8th grade!

Preschool - Kinder Full-Year Curriculum Bundle - 72% OFF

Preschool

Kindergarten Full-Year Curriculum Bundle - 75% OFF

Kindergarten

K-2 The Write Stuff ELA Bundle - 68% OFF

GradesK-2(writestuff)

First Grade Literacy Bundle - 74% OFF

1stGrade

School Year Curriculum Bundle (Grades 2-3) - 74% OFF

Grades2-3

Poetry Curriculum & Activities Bundle (Grades 2-6) - 75% OFF

Peotry

Tricky Math Curriculum Bundle (Grades 3-5) - 69% OFF

Grades3-5(trickymath)

Complete Full-Year Curriculum Bundle (Grades 6-8) - 77% OFF6-8

Management, Decor & Organization Bundle - 76% OFF

Management(allgrades)

Don't Miss It!


Monday 11 August 2014

Newspaper Snowmen

This is a really quick post because I just wanted to share this little art project I did with my kiddos last week.  We have had some wild, woolly and snowy weather here in our little corner of the world



and I was inspired to get rid of a bunch of newspapers we had accumulated, so this is what we did!


We made newspaper snowmen!





My kiddos were allowed to cut or tear the news print to create a wintery night time snowscape.  To add a bit of sparkle and glamour we added some glitter where we thought the snow might fall.

What do you think?  An easy and fun art activity to while away a cold rainy afternoon.



Sunday 10 August 2014

Swap, Share, Give!




I am very excited to be part of this Product Swap with some of my Aussie Bloggy Buddies.  This time around I have been paired up with Yara from Sea of Knowledge and I got to try out her It's a Bee's World; Finding the Main Idea pack.  




First I need to say I loved the variety of activities in this pack, it includes a poster, cut and paste activities as well as reading and writing activities.  Even better Yara takes this a little further to investigate supporting details and Topic sentence activities.





I was able to provide some differentiation for some of my students who were of a higher ability and support for those who struggle a little with this concept.  One of the ways I was able to use this for differentiation was to give my strugglers the multiple choice sheets and my more capable kiddos the sheets where they had to write the main idea.






Now onto the share part of this post.  I am happy to share with you all my latest freebie Balloon Pop to 10


Just click on the pic to download your copy!

Now the best part, the giving!  Make sure you enter the Rafflecopter to enter for your chance to win some fabulous prizes including the one you have seen above.



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Sunday 3 August 2014

Bundles of fun!


Have you heard about the TpT sale coming up! One of my fave things to do in the sale, is stock up on  fabulous teaching resources by buying bundles!

What is a bundle? A bundle is a collection of teaching resources that a teacher-author has grouped together in a zip file, so you can purchase it in one time-saving, value-packed swoop!

Not only are they time saving, but they are $ saving! Teacher authors will often give you a significant saving when they price their bundle. 

So you get time and dollar savings!!

For example, lets look at my newly listed Numbers to 10 pack

You have enough games here to visit numbers to 10 throughout the year and in lots of different ways. 
Seperately  you could get these for $13.50 but I am bundling them for $10, now with the sale you get an extra 28% off which means you get it for $8.80!!





So, the lesson to be learned here - is 'Buy it Bundled"!!



I have put all my bundles in my store, in one time-saving store category for you, click below to find it! 


Head over now, and add the ones you like to your wish list! That way, you will be all set for sale day! 

Remember to use the code BTS14 on August 4-5 to get your 28% off!



I have been chatting to some of my friends about the sale, and discovered that they too, have some awesome bundles in their TpT stores! Head over to their blogs to find out more about their resources and special offers! Click on the links below to find them:







I would also like to give you an opportunity to win a any bundle from my store  - just enter your details in the rafflecopter below!
Have a great day and go get your bundle on! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway