Homemade Puppet Theater

A few years ago I saw the most adorable puppet theater in a magazine (I think it was One Step) but the cheap-scape that I am refused to pay that. Also, my boys are not big puppet kids, BUT they love to play snowcone stand. ??? Yah, I don't know where that comes from ???

I wanted to show you what we now own... thanks to my WONDERFUL mother. Affectionately known in our house as "Bumpa".

It is made from: felt, an expanding curtain rod, 2 dowel rods, string, and plastic hoops. 
I did smudge out their names, but both my boys have their names on it too.

 

The top piece ("removable sign") in yellow is Velcro-ed and can be changed for "snow cone", "food", or "puppets".

The 2 curtains are attached with tiny plastic hoops that are strung on a string to slide them open and closed. You can see it a little better in the top photo.
The two dowel rods are used for support. One of ours is missing at the moment. I'm pretty sure it got removed to be used as a sword, but no one will fess up. :)

 

I hope this gives you some inspiration to get crafting.

Teacher End of Year Gifts

I can't believe Kindergarten has already come and gone!

I was recovering from surgery during Teacher Appreciate Week, so those gifts were not too great. (I will post those later). But I wanted to share with you my "End of School" Teacher Gift.

Basically I walked Walmart (our only store nearby) and grabbed anything Orange. My son loved helping out and searching for orange. 
I got this idea from my two best friends. While I was in the hospital they brought me a sunshine basket of anything yellow. :) It brightened my day!

QR Codes and Multiplication Center

Technology sure has advanced in the 6 years since I have left teaching to be a stay at home mom.
I recently had been sick and eventually had surgery. With that I have not created any new things and I was really getting the "itch". So with my recovery time I taught myself how to create QR codes (that didn't link to the internet).
I made this cute Bee themed multiplication center.

 

It has 17 pages. Teacher directions page, student directions page, teacher answer key, student recording sheet (front and back), and 20 different multiplication questions. Each of the 20 multiplication cards has its own QR code for students to scan and self check their answers.

Students are able to choose 10 of the 20 cards. Some cards are easier multiplication questions such as 23x5 others are 723x7 and even a few that range into the thousands (ex: 2,435 x 5=). Students can choose cards they feel comfortable with and others can challenge themselves.

This is great for end of year 3rd grade or beginning 4th graders.

Don't forget to "buzz" by my store to see what else I can offer you for your classroom. If you want to see my newest creation click here or here.