Mother Goose Time - Birds & Eggs Art

The girls are loving Mother Goose Time’s Birds & Eggs theme. 

Here are a few of the artwork pieces and projects we've created this month with the kit.

Nora's favorite art project was building a bird nest. Natalie loved creating a baby bird to stick inside the nest.  We were able to staple the nest onto our bulletin board and stick each baby inside.

The girls also created a bird on a string that floated through the air like a kite.  They were able to fly it around the house.

After dancing around with our birds Natalie decided to put on a puppet show for us.

The girls practiced cutting tail feathers and wings for their paper plate birds.

We even added cute woodpeckers to our tree.

My favorite project was their bird bodies.  They used yarn to weave in and out of the little holes.  It was great fine motor practice for both of them.  Natalie also added a few worms and some dirt to the grass on our bulletin board.

Each topic and theme inspires Natalie to create her own artwork.  Creating bird beaks encouraged her to create a whole bird costume.  Here are some pictures of her creating the wings.

Nora is always happy to try whatever her big sister does.

The girls painted their cut out cardboard and then added some feathers.

I helped the girls add string to hold the wings on their arms. 

I love how Mother Goose Time provides us with amazing art projects and crafts that we can display for each month.

Check back later, or follow me on Instagram, to see some of the other projects that we have been working on!

Displaying Children's Artwork Created with Mother Goose Time

The Mother Goose Time monthly themes come with daily art projects and crafts for students to make.

Lately, artwork has been taking over our household.  So, I created a simple system for displaying it.

Here are my top 3 locations for displaying artwork:


Location 1:  The Doors

Our main doors are metal and magnetic, creating the perfect spot to hang a few of our collages throughout the month.  I like to display them with the included inspirational photographs and the words/names of what they have created.  I think this helps to enhance our literacy rich environment.

I love how they can be put up and taken down easily with a magnet or two.  Simple and cute.


Location 2:  Our Bulletin Board

We inherited a bulletin board with our house.  If you are looking for one, I have seen quite a few for sale on Facebook Marketplace and on Craigslist lately.  In my classroom I've often hung student artwork in a row, like a patchwork quilt, but I had a better idea at home.  

I decorate the background of our bulletin board to look like the theme for each month.  Throughout the month I add my childrens' artwork to the board as they create it.  We build our bulletin board as we go.  At the end of the month, I take down the artwork and set up the bulletin board for the next theme.

Location 3:  Binders

At the end of the month we put our artwork away.  I place some of my children's favorite pieces in page protectors inside binders.  These are great to refer back to.  My 6-year-old uses the labels on each page to help her spell words when she writes in her journal.  These are great conversation starters and portfolio's to keep for a lifetime.

Love the artwork you see displayed?  Check out Mother Goose Time for more ideas and curriculum.

How do you display the artwork your children make?

Read Across America Bulletin Board and Hallway Display Ideas

Does your school celebrate Read Across America?  Our para professionals kick off this holiday by decorating the bulletin boards and hallways outside each grade levels doors. 

Here are some photos of the different displays we have had in the past:

I love this Guess Who Bulletin Board because it is interactive.  Students guess who is hiding behind each shadow and check their guess by looking under each flap.

 3rd grade took on the book, Oh The Places You'll Go.  They printed pictures of students and placed them in hot air balloons that soared through the hallway.

They placed this adorable sign in the hallway as well.  

4th grade took on the book, Daisy Head Mayzie.  Students held adorable daisy picture frames and smiled for the camera.  Sweet and simple.

For the younger grades, student faces were printed and placed on these terrific Thing 1 and Thing 2 bodies.

Have some good Seuss displays?  Please share!  Read Across America will be here before we know it.

Hallway Graffiti

Walking through the halls of our intermediate school you will notice many examples of student artwork.  One of my favorites this year looks a bit like graffiti, but is it?

I think these are super cute.  Congrats to our little artists!  What is hanging in your school hallways?

Setting Goals for a Productive School Year

Each year I have my fourth graders set goals.  We revisit and revise them frequently throughout the year.  This year, after inspiration from a Pinterest Pic from Teaching Idea Factory I decided to have students post their goals in the hallway.

I took photographs of each child making a thoughtful face.

They cut them out and pasted them to some colorful paper.  They wrote their goal for the school year on a thought bubble and glued that onto the paper as well.

This made a cute display for open house.  Do you have students set goals for the school year?

Give Me Five Classroom Display for Monday Made It

This week I decided to start working on my classroom posters and displays as well as classroom management and what tools I'd like to display in or around the classroom to assist with classroom management.

One of the many ways I get students attention throughout the school year is with the phrase, "Give Me 5."  I hold my hand up in the air and each finger represents something students should be doing to show me that they are actively listening to directions:

Body Still
Eyes Watching
Lips Zipped
Ears Listening
Brain Thinking

I decided to create a classroom display this year to hang in my room.  It will serve as a reminder for students or my expectations when I hold my hand up or say, "Give Me 5."



Want a copy?  You can download my Give Me 5 Classroom Display here in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Check out all the other Monday Made It's at Tara's Blog: 4th Grade Frolics!

Happy Monday!

Back 2 School Link-Up: Favorite Back 2 School Products

Yippee...it's finally Sunday and you know what that means!  It's finally time for me to present you my first linky party focusing on a new Back 2 School topic each week, for 5 weeks.  This week's theme is:  Favorite Back to School Products from TPT.

Here are my favorite back to school products that you can find here at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store:


1 - Pinterest- Back to School Craftivity

Students create a personal laptop with a keyboard, mouse, and Pinterest page displayed on the screen. The Pinterest page can be a personal profile about themselves that they can share with the class. Students can also create one about a friend.

2 - Would you Rather Writing Prompts

This pack includes 15 writing prompts.  For your convenience, two versions of the Would You Rather writing prompts are included.   You can copy the journal pages for each student in your class. Students will read the Would You Rather prompt at the top of their page, circle which they would rather do, illustrate their thoughts, and then defend their thoughts at the bottom. Students should write a detailed explanation of why they would rather do it.  With the other version, you can copy the journal cut-out prompts. There are 5 of the same journal cut-out prompt on each page. Copy enough so that you have one for each student, cut them out, and have students glue them into their journals and then respond.

3 - Back to School Math Problem Solving Pages

This pack contains 15 back to school themed problem solving pages.  Each page contains 1 math word problem with plenty of workspace for students to show multiple ways to solve the problem, a place to write the answer, and an explanation for how they arrived at their answer.

There are 3 problem pages for each topic:
- Estimating Sums
- Estimating Differences
- Addition
- Subtraction
- Mixed Word Problems / 2-Step Problems

I love using these worksheets for morning work, partner work, and math discussions.

I have a problem solving pack created for each month of the year so I decided to bundle all 12.  Want all 12?  Save can save 30% by purchasing my Problem Solving Mega Pack!  You can grab the whole bundle here at a discounted rate.

As a special back to school bonus, I'm offering all my problem solving packs at an additional 10% off, including the Mega pack!  Snag them now, they will only be on sale today (7/14) and tomorrow (7/15).


4 - Here is a little freebie for ya!  Download my Back to School Goal Setting pack at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store for FREE!

This packet contains graphic organizers and worksheets to assist in goal setting as a quick and easy back to school activity.

Included are:

- Hopes and Dreams Rainbow Worksheet
- Goal Planning Worksheet
- Soccer "Goal" Book Cover
- Soccer "Goal" Book Page (make multiple copies to create your book)
- Revisiting Goals Worksheet

These worksheets and organizers will be a wonderful addition to supplement your back to school curriculum.

Soooo . . . .

What are you waiting for?  Grab the image above and link-up below with your favorite back to school products.  These products can be yours or someone else’s (just be sure to give credit where credit is due). They can be paid or free. Anything that is related to our Back 2 School theme will work fine.

I will leave the link open for the full week so that you can link-up at your leisure.  Be sure to stop back next Sunday for more Back 2 School fun!  Next week's theme is:  1st Day Activities, Games, & Routines.  Happy Blogging!