I just looked at the calendar and imagine my surprise when I saw Mother’s day is NEXT weekend!  Eeeek!!

So I’m hopping off the teacher appreciation train, and getting ready for Mother’s Day.  I’ve got on super special Mom, and amazing Mother-in-law to shop for so I’ve got to get started.

Luckily, if there’s one thing Moms love, it’s a good DIY gift!  Seriously, I never knew my heart would melt into a puddle upon recieivng things like a paper mache flower pot.  But those little art projects are crafted with love, and nothing coule be more special.

And who knew it still works as an adult?  When I got my Silhouette and started creating, I of course showered my Mom with gifts.  She loves them and truly appreciates the time and love I put into every gift.

So while I’ll still be taking her out for a pedicure and lunch, I’ll also be giving her some goodies, I made, some of which I’m sharing with you today.  I’ve also rounded up some of the cutest Mother’s Day DIYs on Pinterest so you’ll have ideas for years to come!

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Years ago, I remember these cute little glitter acrylic keychains catching my eye at a craft show.  I sat there pondering how it was made and quickly did a little research.

From there, I found out where to purchase them and quickly started creating my own.  I’ve made a ton of different styles and colors!

Of course though, being the true teacher at heart, this one is my favorite! It’s a cute little design that looks perfect on a keychain!  When I return to teaching, I’ll be adding it to my classroom keys so that they won’t be easy to misplace on the playground!

Obviously, this makes an awesome teacher appreciation gift!  It’s why it rounded out some of the top picks in my DIY Teacher Appreciation gifts round-up.  It’s not super difficult to make either.  So to help you out, I’ve written a quick tutorial and provided a free SVG to get you started.

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As summer draws closer, parents everywhere are realized just how much they value their children’s teacher and what they do.

It is of course, the perfect time of year for Teacher Appreciation week!

Teachers are running on steam as the end of the year approaches.  They’ve worked hard all year long, and the end of the year struggle is real.  Big tests are looming in their future and in the future of their students, and it’s a very stressful time of year.  The perfect time to show them how very thankful for them you are!

I’ve already created a post of 20 awesome DIY Teacher Appreciation gifts, but let’s be real.  Not everyone has time to create their own teacher gifts.  Especially if you’re like me and try to send a sweet treat every day that week.

So the easier the better, and it doesn’t get much easier than slapping a free printable on a present and calling it a day!

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Taking a road trip with kids, is like trying to contain a small pack of Gremlins in a car.

It is no easy feat.

A lot of people hold off on travel until their children are bigger. Especially if it involves lots of time in the car. There are also those who believe that travel with young children is pointless, because they won’t remember it.

And it’s true they may not.

But they will experience the sights and sounds and they will absorb them. Those little brains of theirs are working on over-drive growing and developing! There is research that suggests that the right kind of experiences in our early years can help the brain to grow.

Additionally, the opportunities travel provides for language development and hands on learning are endless! Exposure to new places introduces new vocabulary and real world connections to that language.

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So you can use my free lists and play games all you want, but we both know, everything works better with a plan!

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working hard on designing a sight word curriculum for my daughter that is both fun and interactive.   I dug into my vault of  teacher tricks and designed a 5 weeks worth of games and activities that will keep her engaged while also helping her learn her sight words.  I meticulously planned weeks worth of instruction she actually looks forward to!

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Sight word flashcards…bleh, right?

At some point in your life, you’re bound to have had an encounter with flash cards.  I mean, who didn’t have to endure the endless drill of them when learning their times tables years ago?

You likely don’t have the fondest of memories of them.  They are without a doubt boring.  But there is strong research to support the value of use of flashcards.

Research shows that flash cards improve both active recall and meta cognition.  This means that you actively monitor your own growth as you learn new words, and will remember them longer because of the strong connections you make with them.  This is why the importance of flash cards is emphasized  in my letter of the week series.  They will also be a crucial component in learning sight words.

Undoubtedly, there is a place for repetition.  I’m not going to  say you don’t need to routinely practice sight words in the plain old flashcard drill manner.

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Hopefully you’re joining my from my letter of the week, or print concepts series.  If so, you’re already well on your way to teaching your child to read!

But now, you’re probably thinking…

We get Print Concepts, we know our letters and sounds…Now What?

Truthfully, at this point it becomes somewhat of a juggling act. You need to balance sight words, high frequency words, phonemic blending, and reading strategies simultaneously. But today, we’re going to focus on one piece of that puzzle and tackle sight and high frequency words. We’ll come back to the other pieces soon.

To get you started, I’m sharing with you my 3 part series on the Ultimate Guide to Teaching Sight Words.  After 10 years in the classroom, my sight word teaching technique is practically down to a science.  And so, I’m unlocking the treasure chest for you!

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Today I’m sharing with you a quick and easy tutorial for one of my absolute favorite DIY teacher appreciation gifts!

You’ll be hard pressed to find a teacher who doesn’t have a sweet tooth, which makes the combination of cookie or brownie mix and this cute oven mitt absolutely perfect!

These are simple, sweet and so much fun!  I love them so much I created four different designs that can be used!  You’ll love them too, especially after seeing how easy they are!

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Spring is in the air and that means the end of the school year is creeping up on us.

Summer break has 2 definitions:  ‘A  teacher holiday dedicated to the multitude of teacher veterans who survived yet another school year’  or ‘A break from school designed to torture parents.”

For teachers it is a long awaited reward at the end of a trying year.  For parents, it’s a reminder just how thankful we are for those teachers who put up with our kids for 180 days.

As a former teacher, who survived over decade of end of the school years, I want to let my kids teachers know how truly they are appreciated. So we send a gift every day they are in school that week.

I love to add a DIY touch to our gifts and so I’ve been busy prowling Pinterest in search of some of the cutest DIY Teacher Appreciation gifts out there!  I’ve rounded them all up and created one sweet little post full of awesome crafts your child’s teacher is sure to appreciate!

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