Autumn Leaf Mason Jars & Fun Idea's with Leaves!

Although the heat of summer is still here, Autumn is quickly approaching!   I've already noticed some of the leaves on the trees starting to change.   Most of the leaves are still green but I see splashes of orange, red and yellow here and there. 

When I was teaching preschool, I took my students on a leaf collection nature walk every fall.  I gave each of the children a bag to collect pretty leaves on our walk.  The leaves were used for sorting, rubbings, our sensory tub and all sorts of fun activities.  I recently found a really easy and pretty fall craft to do with my own children.  Autumn leaf mason jar candle holders.   All you need is a collection of leaves, a mason jar, Mod Podge and a paint brush or sponge brush.   Even very young children can help collect leaves for this project.  When working with young children, the adult may want to do the Mod Podge but older children can do this with supervision.   The festive jars would be a beautiful decoration for the Autumn months.  I think they would look really pretty on a table decorated for Thanksgiving.   Put a tea light candle inside and enjoy!  Check out the link for pictures and directions.  Autumn Leaf Mason Jars.

Looking for some Creative Inspiration? Check out our Preschool Lesson Plans!

Do you need some creative inspiration?  It's back to school time and preschoolers like to stay busy.   Be sure to check out our lesson plans over at the Lesson Plans Plus website.  They are fun, educational, easy to use and inexpensive.  You can even download a sample lesson plan for free!  Preschool Lesson Plans at Lesson Plans Plus.

Our Summer Fun & Books to Read for Back to School Time!

Here in Michigan, we are entering our final week of summer.  I've had a super fun and busy summer with my family.  We've enjoyed lots of adventures including camping, an amusement park (first time my kids rode roller coasters!), a trip to Wisconsin and lots of sightseeing in northern Michigan and Michigan's upper Peninsula.   We've enjoyed beaches and the beauty of three of the great lakes this summer.  Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior.  As always, I'm sad for our summer fun to end but I also look forward to fall fun.   Next week it is back to school time!  One of my favorite books to read to little ones is "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn.  Such a sweet book!   My girls used to really enjoy this one.  Another cute book to read before the first day of preschool is "Maisy Goes to Preschool" by Lucy Cousin's.  "Miss Bindergarten Get's Ready for Kindergarten" by Joseph Slate is another fun book.    Best wishes to all of the moms, teachers and children for a wonderful new school year!  It seems like yesterday when I was trying to hold back tears (not very successfully) and sending my twins off to Kindergarten.  Let me know if you have any favorite back to school books.  Enjoy!

Field trip tips everyone needs to know!

I just finished a new field trip article on the Lesson Plans Plus website.  This is a must-read for anyone who is thinking about planning a field trip.  Let me help take the stress out of planning by sharing my tricks and tips.  I even added a handy checklist to make your planning as easy as can be.   Check it out and tell me what you think.

How to plan a successful field trip.

Back to School Fun!

Those of you whose children have started school already (home school, private school, public school, etc...), any fun first week of school traditions? If you have yet to start, anything special planned? I know some people go out for a special treat after the first day of school. Every new school year, I like to give my children one small surprise for each day during the first week of school. I spend one day by myself shopping for inexpensive but fun little items and then I hide one item per day in their rooms or place it on their pillows. Usually the last day is the Grand Finale with two small things, a treat or an outing to celebrate the completion of the first week of school. It gives my kids something to be really excited about & look forward too after the school day is over. My mom did this for me when I was in Kindergarten and to this day, I have wonderful memories of it.   I started this tradition with my kids the first week of Kindergarten too.  They loved it so much that I decided to do it each new school year. If you do anything special, no matter how big or small, please share. I love hearing new ideas.

Preschool Lesson Plans on Kindle

We have just completed a new project. In addition to the various other formats, we are happy to announce that our preschool lesson plans are now available on the Kindle. See the link below for more details including a new low sale price of $7.99 (that's less than .29 per lesson!!!). Get it now for back to school learning.

Back to School Traditions

My twins are in first grade this year. Everyday for the first week of school I leave little surprises on their beds. It gives them something fun to look forward to while they are at school. When they come home they run to their rooms in anticipation of their small gifts. I started doing this last year when they were in Kindergarten. My mom actually did this for me way back when I was in Kindergarten. She left me small surprises on my bed each day but I think it may have gone on longer than a week. I needed bribed as I wanted to continue staying home with my mom. My kids love school but I such had fond childhood memories of this. I wanted to create the same great memories with my kids so I decided that the first week of school would be the perfect time frame. My kids enjoyed this so much last year that I decided to make it a tradition every year. It's just something fun and inexpensive (I buy little things from places like Target, Dollar stores, etc.). I only spent about $10.00 for a week of surprises for two kids but the joy and memories from the tradition are priceless.


Another tradition that I want to share:  Back when I was in school, my dad woke me up in the mornings with a silly song that he had made up. He started out singing softly but got louder and louder until I would get out of bed. It was funny when I was little but by the time I was in high school, some days it would drive me a little nuts because I was not a natural morning person and didn't always enjoy my "dad alarm clock". It was something that my dad and I laughed about in adulthood though and it became a good memory. My dad passed away unexpectedly on August 15th, 2010, at the age of 62. My girls and I have been sharing good memories about my dad, their beloved grampy. One of the stories I shared was his silly wake up song. My kids thought it was funny. My girls started school this week (just 3 weeks after my dad died). In memory of dad, I decided to wake them up with dad's silly song. I'll bet he was looking down on us with his big smile and contagious laugh, maybe even joining in with the song.

Some of my other first day of school traditions are common such as taking pictures of my kids wearing their backpacks in the morning before leaving the house.   I also walk them into class and snap a picture of them in their classroom.

I would love to hear  about your school traditions too.  Whether you are a home school mom, a teacher or a parent sending your kids to school.  Please share with me.   I have always loved creating wonderful memories and starting traditions with my kids.  After the recent loss of my own dad, I see even more importance in the memories we make.  They are lasting.

Back to School!

It's been a wonderful and busy summer here. Some of our highlights were camping, visiting the beach, parks and picnics, blueberry and cherry picking and vacationing at a cottage on a lake (both of my kids caught their first fish!). I hope that all of you enjoyed your summer too. It always goes by too fast. I can feel a chill in the evening air and some of the leaves on the trees are already starting to change colors. It's the time of year when children start going back to school. When I was a kid, one of my favorite first week of school assignments was to write and/or draw a picture of my favorite summer vacation memories. I would encourage you this week to talk with your children about their favorite summer memories and then have them draw pictures. After they have completed their pictures let them give you a picture description as you write a small caption on each page. This will make a treasured book to look back on during the year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful new school year!

Looking for some fresh Ideas?

Spring is in full swing where I live and before we know it, summer will be here. If you are interested in some easy and fun ideas, arts and crafts and other projects to keep your kids busy this spring and summer, check out my Lesson Plans Plus website for fun preschool lesson plans. The lessons are a great way to stimulate and keep kids busy. Thinking ahead...whether you are planning to home school for preschool next fall or just looking to supplement an existing program, my lesson plans would be a good and inexpensive resource for you. You are welcome to download one free lesson plan at any time to give you a taste of what I offer. Check out Lesson Plans Plus.

Back- to-School Traditions

Whether you are a home school mom, a teacher or a mom whose children will be going to school this year, I was wondering if you have any special traditions that you do to "kick off" back-to-school time.

Being a former teacher, I've always enjoyed this time of year and I love looking for back-to-school sales and bargains. I especially love buying new art and craft items and school supplies (as you may have guessed from my recent sweepstakes offer). Even though I'm a stay-at-home mom now, I still feel the urge during this time of year to buy myself at least one new outfit. There's just something special about buying new clothes during back-to-school time. I have great memories of my mom, my sister and I on our big clothing shopping spree every year in August. I always buy my kids new clothes this time of the year too.

My husbands aunt hosts a Back-to-School party every August. It's a great time for the children and adults in our family. She really goes all out planning fun games and activities for everyone to enjoy. At the end of the day, she gives all of the children some new school supplies. One year she handed out pencils with "Back-to-School party, 2006" printed on them. It's a fun way to end the summer, spend time with family and get ready for the new school year.

Some other ideas that I have read about or thought of doing as a way to celebrate the start of a new school year:

~Let the children pick out new backpacks or lunchboxes (this is fun even if you are a home school mom).

~Shop for school supplies together.

~Go out for ice-cream after the first day of school.

~Gift your child with a new book

~Make a special breakfast the morning school starts.

~Set some goals with your child for the new school year and help him/her to accomplish them.

~If you home school or are a classroom teacher, get your children involved by asking them for ideas. Such as "Tell me two things that you would like to learn about this year" "Tell me one thing that you would like to learn how to do". If they don't know, that's okay, they can think about it and let you know when they are ready.

What are some of your ideas and/or traditions? I would love to know!