Ummm...where has the time gone?! My sweet baby girl will be turning 1 in just over a week. As I've been preparing for her 1st Birthday Party, I thought, "This is the kind of stuff I wanted to blog about before, but never did because I was never actually doing it."
I did a lot of research {spending time on Pinterest} to come up with fun ideas for her party. I quickly realized that she's turning 1 and therefore does not care much about anything that goes on {except for the cake...my baby is a serious foodie}. Which quickly set me on the "simplify" route.
Here are some of the best ideas I found for throwing a 1st Birthday Party {or pretty much any birthday party}!
A Number 1 Photo Collage
You can have it uniform like the one above or go for a more DIY look.
Birthday Chalkboard
These are too fun! I found a cute blog that will help you create your own.
Fun Theme with Menu/Snacks
There really is not limit to what you could come up with as your theme. I really liked the idea of Pajamas & Pancakes, but felt that was more of a morning/early afternoon type of party which wouldn't work with our schedule. I found an awesome list of ideas {it says for girls but most could work for boys as well} over at My Little Moppet.
The Infamous Smash Cake
So cute and a delicious way for your little one to know today is not like any other day!
{which have you seen this video? Our sweet babe will totally be doing this!}
Thank You Favor
I love the idea of sending home a little part of the party with each guest. That's why I think it's a good idea to incorporate your theme again into your favor. Whether it's big or small, guests love the parting treat {I know I always do!} and knowing their presence was appreciated.
Other Decorations
There are so many fun ideas to help you decide on or inspire the decor for the birthday bash. The space where the party will be held really almost creates the decoration opportunities for you. Whether it is outside, in your home, at an ice rink, or your local bowling alley...take some time to look at the structures available to help decide if you can use banners, balloons, lanterns, tables/linens, etc. This is mostly up to your individual style/desire for "a look". I think it creates an atmosphere that will foster happiness and fun.
I'm excited to share pictures of how Miss E.'s party goes! We are going to have a lot of wonderful people to celebrate with and we can't wait!!!
sabbatical [suh-bat-i-kuh l] - any extended period of leave from one's customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.
Guess what?? I had my baby! She is perfection. I have been spending the last few months acquiring new skills {aka becoming a Mom}. I am sad I missed some fun months of teaching materials, but there's always this next year to share them!
As for today I wanted to give all the Teachers and Moms out there encouragement to end the school year strong! As Mr. Hardman finishes his last two weeks of teaching, I'm remembering how difficult it was/is to keep the students engaged when all they can think about is sleeping in, going on vacation, or fun filled summer nights. Heck, I remember thinking about those things too! I remember our principal would describe the end of the school year as an entire class trying to go down a playground slide together...and the teacher is at the front with feet and arms wedged into the slide to keep everyone from letting all productivity/responsibility/attention go. Be strong teachers! This same analogy can be made for Moms and their children. I can't imagine trying to get kids up/ready/out the door {on time} when all you want to do is sleep in as well! Be strong Moms!
Here are a few things that might help the last bit of school more bearable. Good luck!
Pre-K - 2
Super cute and fun activity packs! {Pirates, Camping, Toy Story, & more!} They are geared for Pre-K children, but with such fun themes, a 2nd grader can still find most of the activities fun as they finish up the school year! Get these FREE packs at Over the Big Moon.
Teach students how to say 'onomatopoeia'. Then teach them what it means. Then let them make up short scenes using onomatopoeia words to be acted out in small groups or in front of the class! Here is a video that will help in solidifying this awesome literary element!
3 - 6
Set and Krypto are great games that students love! I bought I set of each for my family and I can't wait to play with my kiddos someday! Even better could be some kind of tournament in your class/grade/family.
**BONUS! You can play Set online here.
Sidewalk Chalk Yearly Review. Have students use sidewalk chalk to write out math problems, vocabulary definitions, and show art techniques. Students can solve each other's work or after some time to work you can walk around and review what's been done by everyone.
Keep going! Summer is almost here with a whole bunch of other fun and educational activities!
November always brings out our thankful side. We want to show those around us how much we care about and appreciate them. We want to express how grateful we are for the things that bless our lives. Children often find this exciting...especially when it's intertwined with fun and activities. I've compiled 20 Gratitude Activities that can work at home and in the classroom. Pick a few that will work for your family/classroom {or go for all 20} and help your children understand the importance of and the happiness that comes from being grateful.
1.
Thankful ABCs
I did this activity last year in my classroom. I wanted to help my students specifically identify things about school they are grateful for. It was a little challenging but the outcome was something that brought a lot of happiness and appreciation for our school and classroom. Below is the list we came up with and a link to a printable for you to use. It could work for home as well, focus on things at home that start with each letter your family is grateful for.
This is a fun fall decoration for the classroom and/or home. Grab some brown butcher paper and make a tree...it doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to resemble a tree. Then cut out some leaves in the beautiful fall colors. Spend some time writing things you're grateful for on the leaves. You could fill them all in during one class/evening or leave some leaves to be filled in and put on the tree throughout the month.
3.
Send a Thank you Card
Take the time to have your child/students send a thank you card. Ask them to think of someone they are grateful for and then have them write a short note of thanks. Below are two different types: a decorate your own card and a fall themed card.
4.
Gratitude Jar Writing
My sister-in-law and her family's gratitude jar set up.
This activity is one that is meant to take a longer period of time. The idea is to collect thoughts of gratitude in a jar that will be shared together later on {maybe on Thanksgiving Day}. Set up a little station that includes a pen/pencil, small pieces of paper/post it notes, and a jar to hold them. Throughout the month, each family member can take a moment to stop and write down something he/she is grateful for. I think it would be really fun when reading them all later to see if there were repeats by any family members! This could work for the classroom as well! Set up a similar station and encourage students to write down thoughts of gratitude when appropriate.
I found this gem on Pinterest. It is a template to fill in different blessings you have in your life. You could do this on a blank sheet of paper, but I LOVE that these ladies have given topics of gratitude {i.e. Ten things about today that I'm grateful for, Ten places on earth I'm grateful for, etc.}. This would be really fun to do altogether as a family one night. For school, I don't think some of the topics would be appropriate {Ten things about the gospel I'm grateful for} but there are TWO pages. One of the pages has 5 topics that are all school appropriate. Yay!
6.
Gratitude Collage
This is one of my favorite ideas! Especially because it can be done so many different ways. My first thought was of students using an iPad around the classroom/school/outside {with supervision} taking photos of things they're grateful for and then making a digital collage to share with each other. You could do the same thing at home with your own iPad and a collage making app. I quickly made one with existing photos on my phone using the Project Life app. You could do this with real photos/magazines/newspapers as well for a more hands on project.
I will let Britni explain how to make this game happen so you don't just read it twice. This one will take some more time but it will definitely excite your children and/or students!
8.
Gratitude Themed Books
There are a lot of books that can help show the theme of gratitude to children of all ages. Below are a few that I really enjoy and I would love to hear what books you use to teach this trait.
Children love to do things secretly. This activity combines that love with looking for acts of gratitude they appreciate. This is easy to be done in the classroom and at home. Give your child/student a "Gratitude Spy" sheet and have them fill it in with acts of kindness they see other people doing. For example, "I spied Dad fixing the family car." I can just imagine my cute nieces and nephews sneaking around the house looking for things they appreciate. The best part would be to share their spy reports with the family/class. What a fun experience!
10.
Grateful for Myself
I found this activity here. You can just go there, or read my shortened version. The idea is to help children understand that they should be grateful for themselves and their personal worth. You start by having them think about and share things they are grateful for. After everyone has a turn, display a decorated shoe box {or any box that you can take the lid off}. Tell them that inside is a wonderful gift we should all be grateful for and that it can't be bought in a store. Invite each child to come look inside and see what it is. If you are working with multiple children, make sure they know they shouldn't tell others what was inside. Inside the box is a mirror. When they look inside, they see themselves! Take some time to discuss that each of us is something to be thankful for.
11.
Gratitude Charades and/or Pictionary
This one is pretty self explanatory. Write down a bunch of things to be grateful for on slips of paper and then use them to guide a game of Charades or Pictionary. I like this idea because with a fun game it can put the whole family/classroom in a grateful mindset.
12.
Gratitude Poems
This is a fun way to write out what you're grateful for. You can use any form of poetry to do this! It can be free verse, concrete, a haiku, limerick, acrostic, etc. One template I came up with is:
Thank you _______________
Thank you _______________
Thank you _______________
Thank you _______________
I could think of more and more
So many things to be grateful for
This could be memorized and shared with the class and/or family.
Thank you kind and gentle breeze
Thank you silent falling leaves
Thank you love and laughter sweet
Thank you softly kicking feet
I could think of more and more
So many things to be grateful for
13.
Songs of Gratitude
Children love to sing...whether they admit it or not. You could always make up songs, but here are a couple you could also use!
Attitude of Gratitude
A Song of Thanks
The Thank You Song
14.
Gratitude Turkey
This is a craft that can be done A LOT of different ways. You can decide how much time and effort you want to put into it. The basic idea is to make a turkey and on his feathers, write things you are grateful for. I've seen it where children paint their palm and thumb brown and other fingers different colors, I've seen it drawn and colored on paper, I've seen it done with scrapbook papers, and more! This would be a cute Thanksgiving decoration for the fridge or somewhere in the house. Here's a really quick way to do the craft courtesy of Ms. Makinson.
15.
Gratitude Guessing Game
Another fun way to focus on things to be grateful for! This game is played by each person in the family/class writing down something he/she is grateful for. All of the papers are put into a bowl and mixed up. Papers are handed back out to the group at random. People share what is on their piece of paper and the group tries to guess who originally wrote it. Coming up with something very specific could help this game be more exciting {i.e. "Orange seashell from Ruby"}.
Give guests the chance to write or draw pictures on the table the things they are grateful for.If your family is like ours, our sweet kids sit at a smaller table on Thanksgiving. I think this idea is perfect for them but it could be used on a regular dining table as well.
You could use this for the classroom as well. I would love to do this in the class! I would set up the desks like one or two long tables {i.e. 2x7} and run butcher paper down the middle on the day before Thanksgiving break. We could spend some time doing other gratitude games/activities and then have lunch together in the classroom or a small dessert.
17.
Gratitude Balloon Bounce
This is a fun game for children because what child doesn't love a balloon?! Inflate a balloon and write 'Gratitude', 'Thankful', or 'Blessings' on it. Instruct children that they need to keep it off the ground AND each time they hit it they have to say something they are grateful for. If they drop it or can't think of something to say, they're out! You could do this with prizes or the winner could keep the balloon.
18.
Gratitude Catch Phrase
You can watch the hilarious Jimmy Fallon play catchphrase here.
This is played just like catch phrase but the group comes up with the words to be used. Here's how to play:
- Everyone gets 2 strips of paper
- Write one thing on each strip that you are thankful for
- Put all the strips into a bowl
- Split into teams or just go around the table
- Take turns pulling out one strip and describing what is on the paper without saying any of the words written on the paper
- A point is given to the team for each correct guess
-Use the actual catch phrase timer or your phone {1 minute per round}
19.
Gratitude Scattergories
Another fun version of a classic game. Here's how you can play the game:
- Everyone gets a sheet of paper lists 1-10
- Use a Scattergories letters dice or have a younger player pick a letter for the round
- Set a timer for 90 seconds
- Write down 10 things you are thankful for that start with the letter selected
- After the time expires take turns naming your answers. Duplicate responses are removed fro the list
- Non-duplicate responses earn a point and the person with the most points wins
- Play as many rounds as your party would like
What a cute FREE printable from Shari at Let's Get Together! This a sweet and fun way to share what you're grateful for. Shari suggests taking photos for each scavenger hunt item but you could bring the item back {if possible} or write it down if you can't take it.
Have fun doing some or all of these things to express gratitude! I can't wait to do some of these with my family this beautiful month.
I bought my sweet girl her baby book this past week. Since I can only online shop I tend to do a little more research on everything. I looked at many different baby books and found this company's to be ADORABLE! Every one I looked at was sweet and detailed. My favorite part is that it goes from birth to 5 years old. The later years are much less detailed but there's a spot to talk about your child and his/her personality as he/she grows. Check them out! {I bought mine at Babies R Us but you can get them from their own website or Amazon}
I found this recipe on beloved Pinterest and it became a hit when it came out of the oven. I changed/would change a couple of things including: add about a cup of chopped potatoes, use less basil, and unless cooking for a lot of people, half the recipe!
3.
This video.
I think I love it because: A) I used to do these same workout videos, which were previously owned by my Mom. B) The baby is ADORABLE!
I recited part of this poem during my preschool graduation {who doesn't remember their preschool graduation?!}. This is a fun poem to use in practicing memorization skills, plus it's a coloring page! If you like it as much as I do, I found a picture book version {with a little different wording} at Walmart. So cute!
5.
All things Halloween!
Halloween is my favorite holiday for so many reasons. It's hard to be away from family today but I do have my sweetheart {who proposed to me 3 years ago today!}. Below are some of the fun traditions that our families do to celebrate {some old some new}. Take what you like!
-Watch Hocus Pocus
-Bob for apples and then make them into caramel apples
- Throw darts at halloween colored balloons {which are attached to a piece of foam core}
- Go on a mouse hunt {hide fake mice around the yard and/or house}
- Mummy wrap {use toilet paper to wrap up a partner to look like a mummy}
- Carve pumpkins
- Trick-or-treat or hand out candy
- Bean bag toss into a pumpkin {real or plastic}
- Halloween Bingo
- Costume Parade/Dance Off
- Eat Halloween themed food/treats {we made these this year}
- Cake Walk
- Snag A Monster {I got the idea here}
This one was new and I changed a couple of things from Kelli's. We taped two smaller sheets of foam core together instead of using plywood. Instead of using nails, we drilled small holes into the foam core and pushed dowels through to hold the monsters. The kids loved it!
