The Fruit Trend Train...Choo Choo

Everyone is talking back to school but I am trying to drag out this summer as long as I can, especially since I have to return back to work at the end of the month. Our kiddos have their first day of school on September 3rd. I just can't get off this summer's fruit train trend. Last time I brought you the pineapples but today it's all about watermelon. 

 I heard this is a super cute book and I plan 

on finding it and reading it to my kiddos this year.

 How awesome are these watermelon counting mats? What's even better is that they are FREE. Head over to Modern Preschool and check them out. I found these via Pinterest.

 Wear a watermelon bikini?! Umm... yes please!

 I am totally the mom that uses any excuse to have a theme "party" and have all the babies over for play dates. I heart <3 this watermelon decor.

 This is such a cute DIY watermelon tote. 

If you want all the details on these just head 

over to my Pinterest board to check them out.

I loved my Pineapple Lovely Little Planner so I had to create a Watermelon Lovely Little Planner. 

If you are looking for a teacher planner/ lesson planner that will save you time and money then you don't have to look any further. It's all right here! If there is something that you would like added to this planner all you have to do is let me know and I will do my best to create it for you.

I really like this watermelon print. I am a big fan of fun and bright colored paper.

This planner includes: cover page, info. page, events page, holidays & special dates page(s) that include American & Canadian holidays, birthday lists page(s), a glimpse at the year page(s) for long year planning, email list, transportation list, schedule sheet, monthly overview page(s), weekly meal plan sheets, make a note of it sheet, lesson plan pages, guided reading recording sheets, guided math recording sheets, writer's workshop recording sheets, checklist pages, notes page(s), spine covers.

Ice Cube Watercolor Paints

Remember these? I blogged about these ice cube watercolor paints in my July Pick 3 Pinterest blog post a few days ago. I found them on Pinterest and wanted to try them out with my little. It was finally warm enough out today to try them.

First you have to make them so here is how you do that...

You'll need an ice cube tray, craft paint, water & popsicle sticks.

1) Put 2 pea size amounts of paint in each section of the ice cube tray or however many you want to make.

2) Pour water in each section of the ice cube tray to fill it up.

3) Stir each section with a popsicle stick to mix the paint with the water.

4) Put the ice cube tray in the freezer.

5) Let the water harden in the freezer for 30-45 min. Put a popsicle stick in each section of the ice cube tray so that once the cubes get harder you will have a handle to paint with.

6) Put the tray back in the freezer so it can harden completely.

7) Remove the ice cubes that you want to paint with from the ice cube tray. Use the popsicle stick to hold the ice cube and paint the paper as the ice cube melts.

 

See, they are so easy that even a baby can use them.

Here are Raley's first paintings. :)

What I learned... I only put in about a pea size of paint in each section and I wish I would've put more so that's why I recommend at least 2 pea size amounts. Waiting 30-45 minutes for the ice cubes to semi harden just the right amount so that I can put a popsicle in it is harder than it looks, especially when it happen to be around the same time as my baby girl went down for a nap. You know why? Because that is when this Momma goes down for a nap. Yes, when people told me while I was pregnant to make sure I sleep when baby sleeps I took that to heart and 9 months later I still do it. LOL. However, I did manage to get a popsicle stick in the yellow ice cube. :) The other ice cubes were not hard enough yet when the yellow cube was ready. When I went back (after a nap so I waited too long) to put popsicle sticks in the other cubes they were too hard. The cubes still worked even without a popsicle stick as the handle though.

 

Want an easy DIY craft to do with your kiddos or for you to use when you get back to the classroom? If so, then you should try making your own ice cube watercolor paints.

DIY Notepads & freebie

Looking for pretty notepads for your classroom or home? I found this awesome post by Today's Creative Life on Pinterest that shows you step by step how to make a notepad. My first thought was... Can I really make my own notepad?! Talk about a great way to save money as a teacher who uses notepads like crazy, or the mom in me that jots down things to remember, or the wife in me that makes a weekly grocery list. Need I say more? I go through many notepads. :) My second thought was... I always have an idea of a pretty notepad when I shop for notepads but never find exactly what I am looking for so why not create my own notepad design. I love this floral watercolor print and I think you will too.

First thing is first. Go check out the tutorial by Today's Creative Life so you can see just how to make your own notepad. You can then download the floral notepad template to download from google docs by clicking here. You can also download by clicking on the photo below.

I also created a Teacher Planner to match. Did I tell you how much I love this print. :)