organizing memorabilia for project {life}

I love to be organized but for the past year I have failed at organizing my memorabilia that I want to include in my project life album.  :(  I just kind of stuffed everything in a manilla envelope, not in any particular order....oops.  So when it would come time to put a particular week of photos together I might leave out something I wanted to include, like a receipt, tag, coloring page, etc.     

So this 2013 began and I decided it was time for a better way to organize those bits and pieces.  

I had an old 12x12 accordion paper organizer that I wasn't using anymore and it had just the right amount of pockets...one for each month!  So I labeled one section for each month....

Now I can drop stuff in to the appropriate month and know right where it is when I'm ready to scrapbook that week.  

The great thing about this organization project is that it didn't cost me a thing!  I already had the folder and labels!  Remember to peruse your stash before you head off to the store to purchase something.  You never know what you might already have that you can repurpose!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ BBQ chicken, corn, apples, bread

Tuesday ~ cheesy potato soup, bread, fruit

Wednesday ~ chicken caesar burgers, tater tots, fruit

Thursday ~ PIZZA!

Friday ~ leftovers...

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

{warming up} in winter

This was our last week on the winter theme.  We talked about ways to keep warm and what some animals do in winter.  

We practicing writing letters and numbers in hot chocolate powder.  The kids loved this!  I had them write each letter in their name and the numbers 1-3.  If they didn't know how to draw a letter, then I drew it and they traced it or wrote beside mine.  Such a great pre-writing activity. 

One day we did hot chocolate tasting.  The kids got to put marshmallows in and tell me if they liked the hot cocoa or not.  Only 2 of the 12 kids did not like it. 

We used giant marshmallows to paint with.  Using them as a stamp, the kids pounced circles all over their paper.  

Counting marshmallows was another fun activity we did. 

The kids were so excited about marshmallows this week, they kept wanting to eat them...so we did have some at snack time.  

Making patterns with mittens was another fun activity.

What we read...
Under My Hat I Have a Hood by Karla Kuskin
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
When the Snow Comes by Jonathan Allen
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

project {life} 2013 intro page...

I am totally not done with my 2012 album yet but I was so excited to use my new Project Life kit that I got for Christmas....so I jumped right into it and completed my intro page for 2013! 

I loved the little cardstock people used on this layout that I decided to create my own.  I added each family members name and our ages at the beginning of 2013. 

I love this process!  Just drop in pics and accent cards, add a personal touch of my own and done! 

Look for some upcoming posts on how I've recently reorganized some of my Project Life supplies and memorabilia!  ;)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ dinner out

Tuesday ~ hawaiian chicken, rice, fruit

Wednesday ~ chicken caesar burgers, tater tots, fruit

Thursday ~ pasta, salad, garlic bread

Friday ~ BBQ dinner with friends!

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

penguins, polar bears & ice...on my!

Still on winter at school this week...we jumped into penguins, polar bears, and ice!   

I set up this water bin for the kids to have fun with and they thought it was pretty neat!  I just put a few inches of water in a large plastic bin, broke up some pieces of styrofoam and added some penguins and seals.  They loved making the penguins swim in the water, dance on the icebergs and jump all around!
 

We are also talking about rectangles this week, so we made a rectangle shaped penguin!  The kids loved reading about penguins and learning fun facts about them.  We also talked about some of the different names of penguins and they picked which one they would like to be.  Favorites were Macaroni, Rockhopper and Gentoo.  ;)

We played a game where the kids had to waddle across the room like a penguin and then they got to eat 2 fish, goldfish that is!  This game was a big hit!  They wanted to waddle like penguins whenever we walked in a line somewhere too!

The hokey pokey is such a fun song and dance to do.  We adapted it again this week to do the penguin pokey {bill, wings, webbed feet, whole penguin}!  

For pretend snow, we got out the shaving cream and played in it on the table.  I had the kids draw letters, draw circles to make a snowman and just get creative on their own. 

We also talked about ice...how it's made, feels and what happens when it gets warmed up!

What we read...
Polar Opposites by Erik Brooks
Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice by Steve Metzger
If You Were a Penguin by Wendell & Florence Minor

bento lunch...

Since we get out of school at 11:30 right now, Little Bit and I are both usually ready to eat lunch as soon as we get in the car!  Alot of times we have errands to run after school or are meeting friends to play.  So I pack lunch for us quite a bit.  I love the idea of a divided lunch container, or bento box if you so choose!  ;)

They provide you with a convenient way to pack your lunch in one container and cut down on waste.  {I am probably a baggie over user...oops!}  Plus I think these boxes can help you make your lunch more creative and maybe even more invite-able to my little eater.  I love using my little silicone cupcake liners as extra dividers.  The little picks are fun to use too.  I found these heart topped ones pictured at the dollar tree.

This particular day we were staying after school for play group and needed lunch.  Pepper jelly cheese ball is in the top left compartment {Little Bit just loves this!} with pickles underneath.  The right side has rolled up turkey and ham with little picks to eat it, crackers for the cheese ball and grapes in the cupcake liner. 

This lunch wasn't super creative or anything but was still fun to eat!  The divided container I used is Ziploc.  I'm currently on the lookout for other neat divided containers because as Spring approaches I see more packed lunches in our future! Have you jumped on the bento bandwagon?

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ sloppy joes, tater tots, salad

Tuesday ~ cheesy potato soup, bread, fruit

Wednesday ~ scrambled eggs, bagels, sausage

Thursday ~ pasta, salad, garlic bread

Friday ~ honey cococut salmon, mashed potatoes, green beans

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

snowmen!

We are back to school in full swing this week.  Our theme for the next couple weeks is all things winter!  So first up this week was snowmen!

 

I decorated my door for the occasion!  I made this snowman using 2 pieces of white poster board.  Then I added her accessories.  I used coffee filters to make snowflakes to put all over the door as well.  It now has more snowflakes and in the center of each one is a pic of each student in my class.  I also added some mittens to the snowman! 

This was our snow sensory bin.  The kids had a blast with this.  It is filled with cotton balls, several sizes of styrofoam balls, white foam snowflakes, white beads and white buttons.  There are 2 spoons and clear dishes for them to scoop "snow" into.

We made a snowflake letter.  I drew the letter of each students name with a white crayon on blue construction paper.  Then using a spool and white paint, they stamped snowflakes all along the line.  

The students had to cut out three circles and then decorate them to look like a snowman.  We glued them together and now they are hanging all around our classroom. 

One of my classes had to delay our Christmas party due to bad weather before break.  So we had a winter celebration on the first day back.  This was our special snack.  I gave each of the kids 6 slices of banana and all the fixins to decorate 2 snowmen.  We had raisin eyes, m&m buttons, twizzler scarves and pretzel arms! 

We also enjoyed some great snowman books...
There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
Snow Party by Harriet Ziefert

Other activites were...
*we danced the snowman pokey {top hat, carrot nose, stick arms, whole snowman self}
*played bean bag toss into 2 hula hoops laying on the ground to look like a snowman
*popped bubbles

 Happy Winter!

{OWL} craft and cute book...

I saw these cute owls made out of a toilet paper tube in some magazine a while back, think it might have been Parents but totally not sure.  So I thought I would give it a try.  

I started with an empty toilet paper tube and folded the top ends in towards each other to create the ears or owl tufts. 

Then I took a cute cupcake liner and cut it up.  By layer these overlapping on each other I created the belly of the owl! 

I punched out some circles for eyes and cut a small triangle for the beak.  Finally I cut a piece of cardstock to curve around the back to create wings.  I love how he turned out!!!  So simple and just using things I had lying around the house. 

 

While we are on the subject of owls, I thought I would share this super cute book that we read recently.  It is called "Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker".  It is about the cutest little owl who talks all the time.  This of courses causes her some problems.  When you talk all the time you can't listen very well.  One day she wakes up and can't talk...at first she is upset and wonders what she will do.  But then she starts listening and realizes what she has been missing out on.   Such a great story!  Little Bit and I both loved it!!!

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ chicken patties, mac & cheese, grapes

Tuesday ~ taquitos, burritos, chips & cheese, orange slices

Wednesday ~ cream of chicken & wild rice soup, bread, fruit

Thursday ~ sloppy joes, tater tots, salad

Friday ~ honey cococut salmon, mashed potatoes, green beans

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes.

hello {2013}

Happy New Year!!!  

As we welcome in another year, I'm excited about starting another project life album!  Actually SUPER excited because I received this for Christmas...

 

Last year I did my own version of project life with bits and pieces from here and there.  I still plan to include other cute things I find along the way but am anxious to try out an actual project life kit.  I love how all the pieces are precut to size and the corners are rounded!  ;) Plus they are double sided...so you have several options of designs to choose from.  

I'm also excited to use these quote cards that I found online.  I love that they are black and white, to go with any color scheme you might have going in your album! 

What are your plans for documenting 2013?