Happy Father's Day

This is one of my favorite books.
It is now available as an e-book which means you can order it now
and begin downloading it immediately.
CTP 2399EB
http://www.creativeteaching.com/

This is one of the pages for June.
The "guy with a tie" would make a great Father's Day card. 
It would be interesting to see how the kids filled in the blanks
about their dads.

Shirts and ties are traditional Father's Day presents.
I wonder how many dads still wear ties to work.
The days of Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best are over.

Brain Williams reported on Nightly News this week that
according to the 2010 census only 48% of the homes
in America were headed by married couples.
That is down from 78% in the 1950s.
The number of homes headed by single women was up 20%.

               

That is why I like this little book (CTP 4530).
It celebrates all the special people who represent dads to kids.

In the book the teacher asks the kids to make a Father's Day card for their dads. 
One child says, "I don't have a Dad". 
So, they start listing all the important men in their lives
and why they love them.....
fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, brothers, uncles.
The teacher says, "You can make a card for any man that you love and respect."

This is an activity that you will find on the back cover of the book.


My Dad’s Hug Is This Big!

Ask children to measure their dad’s hug with string.
Tell them to have their dad lie down on the floor and stretch his arms out to the side.
Have them ask a family member to hold one end of the string at the tip of their father’s fingers on one side while they stretch it all the way across to his other fingertips.
Have them cut the string, trace on construction paper both of their dad’s hands, cut out the patterns, and label them.
Tell children to bring the string and the handprints back to school.
Invite them to cut a strip of butcher paper the same length as the string and glue the handprints to each end.
Have them title the paper My Dad’s Hug Is This Big!

This is another project that kids can make as a gift for dad. 

To find detailed instructions on how to make it click on the link below.

It will take you to the CTP website.

http://www.creativeteaching.com/ctp/i/t/htu/66-Dads-Toolbox.pdf




This project is made using a wooden picture frame from a craft store. 
 In this picture Trevor and his dad are working on a car
for the Boy Scouts pine-wood derby. 

# 1 DAD for sure.

Click on the link below for instructions.

http://www.creativeteaching.com/ctp/i/t/htu/65-Fathers-Day-Frame.pdf

                                                                                                                                      



(Handy Tools CTP 1794)


Why are dads associated with tools?
Why is a power drill a "man toy"?
Is it about building something?

I think the most important thing a man can build is the character of a child!

Happy Father's Day
to all the men who are doing just that....

 



Book Buddy Report

Here are some of the ideas that I received for using the Book Buddy Bags.

From Mary in Hutchinson, KS
I am really excited to hear that I may be able to win some book buddy bags because I was planning on purchasing some of these this summer! I have been buying CDs this school year to help some of my struggling readers hear fluency and then practice reading the book aloud to practice fluency. I have books with CDs stashed all over my classroom and nothing to keep them in. These book bags will really help me to get organized and make it easier for my students to check the books out from me.




From Roberta in Medina, NY
Thank you!!!!!!!



Oh my goodness! I can think of many things to use the bags for! I would like to have my Kindergarten children take home books for their nightly bedtime story. Many children do not have books at home for their parents to read to them, so we provide the books.


These durable plastic bags could hold the books and perhaps some extra items like ideas for reading and maybe a little reading "buddy".


I can think of more but now that I typed this, I am really invested in this idea!!!!!!


This is my favorite from Ana because she is my long-distance fan.  I love her excitement about everything.  We take so many things for granted in our country.


Hello Tommie!

Today I have received the bags!


They are fantastic! I am going to use with my pupils of course! I want to go USA, because I like very much all the educational material which you have in your classes.


Thank you very very much


You are very nice, I will follow you in your blog!


Greetings from Spain!

She wants to come to the USA.  I would love to visit her in Spain. 
Maybe we can work something out!!!!


This is from Paige in Illinois
I am a second grade teacher in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and I have recently become a follower of yours! You have so many beautiful, creative and useful ideas! I can't wait to see what you come up with next!


I would love to use the durable bags in my classroom for thematic units of study. Each month; my students learn about something "fun" outside of our set curriculum. For example; this month, we are doing an ice cream unit. I always have my students create a file folder to hold all of their work/supplies; but everything easily gets lost and falls out. These adorable bags would be a blessing to my students to use to hold all of their creative things.


Thank you so much for considering me!

We had such a great time doing this.  It was fun to read all the entries.  I am sorry that I ran out of inventory before I got to everyone.  I was at CTP last week.  We decided that this was such a great success that we would do some sort of give away each month. 

                   (I feel like Oprah! Just don't expect any cars!) 

              Stay tuned to see what we do next. 

                           



All Gone!

Sorry Bag Ladies but as of 5 p.m. (central) 
my inventory has been depleated. 

Thanks for helping to clean out my closet.
The next time I over oder I will let you know.

The bags are available online from CTP.

I am leaving tomorrow for California
to do some work at the office and
maybe spend a little time at the beach.  
When I return next week I will share with you
some of the ideas that were sent in for using the bags.

Thanks for playing!!!   

Bag Ladies

Book Buddy Bags

Keep students' books, homework, projects, and other classroom materials protected and well organized, whether they're safely stored in your classroom or en route to or from students' homes. Each clear, plastic bag comes with a sturdy handle, a full-color design on the front, and a place to write a student's name or to label the bag's contents.  6 bags per pack.

I was recently working on a project for CTP which called for some of the Book Buddy Bags. I needed 100 bags for the project so I ordered the CTP product number that was assigned to the bags.  Notice the words highlighted in blue in the paragraph above. (I didn't.) 

Guess how many bags I received in my order...600!  

                       What do you do with 600 Book Buddy Bags?

After I finished my project, I set out to lower my inventory of bags. 

I gave a few dozen to some kindergarten teachers.  They send home 5 books every Monday with each child for them to read during the week.  The bags were perfect because they are made from heavy plastic and have a sturdy handle which is just right for kindergarden hands. Now, they will have fresh new ones for next year.

I gave some to a teacher who was doing a presentation for her school district for all the teachers in her grade-level.  The bags worked really well to organize the materials that she was giving to each teacher.

Then, I went to see Shauna Leonard, librarian at Heritage Elementary in Grapevine, TX.  I asked her if she could use some of the bags. 

                                 She exclaimed, "You are an answer to my prayer!" 

                                                That is Texas talk for "YES!"



Shauna had recently received a grant for some audio books called "Playways".
She needed some way to store them in the library
so that teachers could check them out to use in centers
in their classrooms.

Here are some comments from Shauna.
The "Poppin' Patterns clear hanging bags are phenomenal. 
They are perfect for all types of library materials. 
The newest technology for audio books is a "Playaway". 
A Playaway is the simplest way to listen to audio on the go. 
These devices are pre-loaded with digital content. 
Simply plug in earphones and enjoy. 
No cassettes, or CDs, no downloads, just play! 
The hanging bags provide protection for the Playaway, battery,
earphones, lanyard, and book.  

Now, Shauna is a real Bag Lady!

She helped me reduce my inventory quite a bit, but I still have some left. 
 If you are a bag lady and can think of something clever to do
with a few really cool Book Buddy Bags,
I will send you some. 

I will send 24 bags to 10 Bag Ladies. 
All you have to do is email me your name and address
and tell me what you are planning to do with them.
The first 10 who email me will get them absolutely free!
tommie.netzer@creativeteaching.com

Cheers to the Bag Ladies of the World!





Mother's Day

I collect watercolor prints called StoryPeople by Brian Andreas. 
Several years ago my son gave me one this for Mother's Day. 
It is called "Hindsight".

I love it because he came from him.
Now, he was much older and wiser
with kids of his own who don't always listen to him!

                  A Mother's Day project that Moms will love!



This project begins with a little book from CTP called
 Celebrating Mother's Day...Mom's Memory Box.
This is the story:

It's almost Mother's Day.
I want to show my mom I love her in a special way.
I'll paint a little box.
I'll put in a teddy bear.
It shows how we love to bear hug.
I'll put in a piece of gum.
It shows how we always stick together.
I'll put in some nuts.
They show how silly we like to be.
I'll put in a bandage.
It shows how she always comes to my rescue.
I'll put in a chocolate kiss.
It shows how good it feels to be loved.
And, Mom, don't forget...
I'll love you forever!

The story tells you all you need to do. 
Trevor helped me do this for his mom.
 We just followed the directions! 
We used a paper heart box from a craft store. 
Trevor painted it with a red Do-A-Dot stamper
and topped it with 1" heart cut-outs from CTP.
Then, we collected the things mentioned in the story and added them to the box. 
(You might include a note telling the significance of each item in the box.)

His Mom loved it!



A Card for Mom



This card shows how love grows and grows.
Start with a piece of paper about 18" X 9".

For the card you need three 6" flower cut-outs from CTP. 
You also need some construction paper to make a pot for the flowers
and the stem and leaves for the flowers.   



  Fold the paper in half lengthwise. (9" X 9") 
Then fold the top half back toward the top.



Make a pot for the flower and glue it to the bottom of the page.

Make stem and place it so that it is growing from the flower pot.

Add a flower to each section of the card. 
Decorate with leaves around the flowers.

Along the side of the card put the caption:
My love for you grows and grows...
Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Springtime

I love spring when the earth seems to be waking up from a long sleep.

Every morning I walk through my garden to see what is new!

The following is from one of my favorite books.  It reminds me that every day is a good day to sing and do a little dance.  Springtime is an especially good time for singing and dancing.

THE LIFE YOU ALWAYS WANTED by John Ortberg



In the beginning, it was nine o’clock; so God had to go to work. He filled out a requisition to separate light from darkness. He considered making stars to beautify the night, and planets to fill the skies, but thought it sounded like too much work; and besides, thought God, “That’s not my job.” So he decided to knock off early and call it a day. And he looked at what he had done and he said, “It’ll have to do.”


On the second day God separated the waters from the dry land. And he made all the dry land flat, plain, and functional, so that –BEHOLD- the whole earth looked like Idaho. He thought about making mountains and valleys and glaciers and jungles and forest, but he decided it wouldn’t be worth the effort. And God looked at what he had done that day and said, “It’ll have to do.”

And God made a pigeon to fly in the air, and carp to swim in the waters, and a cat to creep upon dry ground. And God thought about making millions of other species of all sizes and shapes and colors, but he couldn’t drum up any enthusiasm for any other animals-in fact, he wasn’t too crazy about the cat. Besides, it was almost time for the Late Show. So God looked at all he had done, and God said, “It’ll have to do.”


And at the end of the week, God was seriously burned out. So he breathed a big sigh of relief and said, “Thank Me, it’s Friday!”


Thankfully, that is not how it was.


On the first day, “God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good.”
That was the first zip a dee doo dah day.

And God did a little dance.
And the next day God said to the light, “Do it again.”
And the light did it again, and God did a zip a dee doo dah dance again.
And so it has gone every day down to this very day.


The lesson is…when we are satisfied with “It’ll have to do", we miss out on the zip a dee doo dah days.


Click on the link below for a treat.  You can sing along if you feel like it!

Enjoy!

Make today a zip-a-dee-doo-dah day!
Remember life is what you make it!



Celebrate Earth Day !

 Picnic for the Planet
                                                        
 Join the celebration!  

This Earth Day, celebrate the planet we live on with good food and great people. Choose a favorite outdoor location, round up some friends and take the planet out to lunch! This idea combines two of my favorite things....
being outside in the springtime and eating with good friends!
 

Picnic for the Planet is a celebration of the planet we live on, the food it provides and the people we share it with. In short, the planet does a lot for us — we should take it out for lunch. On and around Earth Day 2011 (April 22), people all around the world will be stepping outside and heading to their favorite outdoor spot to enjoy good food in the company of great people.                                 For more information about Picnic for the Planet go to:                                     http://earthday.nature.org/picnic/ To check out all the CTP products for Earth Day go to: http://www.creativeteaching.com/ Click on "Go Green" to see them all. The charts are great teaching props with great pictures and information. Don't forget to turn them over.   They also have instructions for hands-on activities on the backside.  Here are some projects suggested on the back-side of ABCs of Green poster. See the patterns for each of the following projects!  Remember to turn on the lights when you leave the room. Design an Earth Day stamp.   Create an Earth Day quilt.   Each person designs a quilt square.   Connect the squares with "ring-its" to make the quilt. Our 4" Spirit letters are a perfect fit to send a message on the quilt. The ABCs of Green chart has lots of suggestions for taking care of our planet. Remember....