Easter Fun!

Happy Spring!

They are predicting a winter storm here in NY, but my mind is on Easter and Spring!

Here are a few things I will be doing with my kids this week!

First up are these adorable cards!

These are pictures from last year and they came out so super cute!

I gave each child 2 pieces of 8.5x11 white construction paper that I stapled together.

I showed them out to make an oval that 'holds' the staple.

They then cut the oval out.

They decorated the oval to look like an Easter egg (I had a few books with pictures to show them different examples of how eggs could be decorated.) 

I had them flip the egg up and on the 'inside,' or other oval, I showed them how to make a bunny face using directed drawing.

For some kids I drew a faint line for them to cut (just make sure you open it before they cut or they will cut through the rabbit's face too!)

For others, I did the cut.

I then had them add pink to the middle of the ears!

We pasted them to spring-colored construction paper 'cards' and then wrote a message inside.

Next is this fun center!

I saw an idea on Instagram posted by Mrs. Jones's Creation Station about using the carrot 'eggs' and letter beads, but it was only for letter ID and my kiddos are past that, so I modified it a bit!  (You can click the hyperlink and see her post and grab her free printable!)

I found the carrots at Michael's Craft Store (although I hear they are also at Dollar Tree and Walgreens!)

and filled them with black beans and the letters the kids would need to complete the printable.

Because I have kids working at two different levels right now (ready for CVC words and those still working on identifying initial sounds), I made two different versions.

They will shake the eggs, find a letter, ID the letter and then find the picture that begins with that letter.

If completing the CVC printable, they will tap out and write the entire word.

If completing the initial sound printable, they will simply write the lowercase letter (beads are upper) to match the picture that begins with that letter sound.

You can find the printable FREE by clicking HERE!

These are the letter beads you will need:

b, c, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, z

If you don't have letter beads, you can use dried lima beans and a sharpie to write the letters and then put them in the carrot/egg with the black beans as 'filler!'

Next up is a gift I will be giving my students on Thursday!

On a recent Target extravaganza, I came upon these boxes of PlayDoh and Spring Fruit Snacks

The fruit snacks were $1.99 for 12 packages and the PlayDoh was $5 for 10 eggs of 'doh!'

(You can also whip up a batch of homemade playdough and put that in plastic eggs from the dollar store if you are trying to conserve some cash!)

I put a bag of snacks and a 'doh' egg in a candy bag and stapled a little ditty on top and 'signed' the back:

Super cute, not too sugary and fun! 

If you'd like to do the same, I put the tag in this FREE download!

(It has a blank spot to sign your name and I made a version for 'her' 'his' and 'our' class to accommodate everyone!) 

Here are a few other things we will be doing this week:

Last year we used this the cute image created by Graphics From the Pond as inspiration for this chick drawing!  They used a black crayon and then let them paint!

These rabbits were also directed drawings that we painted!

And if you are planning on dying eggs with your students (or own kids) this works GREAT!

I got the whisk from the Dollar Store...Just slip in the egg inside and let them dunk it!

Less spills...splashes and cracks!

Be sure to check out my other posts for 10 Ideas Using Plastic Eggs and Using Dollar Spot Finds for Spring Centers!

'Hoppy' Spring!

Until next post,