Academy Awards 2013 Ballot {Free Printable}

Per usual, it’s with bated breath that I anxiously await the gorgeous gowns, dapper men and coveted Oscars that will be doled out on Sunday eve.  And while I’ll likely be watching in my jammies from the comfort of my bed, I will be keeping track of my picks and the big winners with another printable ballot.  (I have pictured last year’s because I just don’t have it in me to stage and take a photo this dreary afternoon.  I mean, as the four friends that popped in this morning can attest to, I still have on my PJs for cryin out loud.)



Here’s how:

- Click on link below to download file
- Print on two sides of regular 8.5” x 11” white cardstock
Then, if you wish to dress it up a bit:
- Trim the left and right edges, leaving only a very slim margin
- Use a paper punch to round the edges
- Punch holes (I had to punch two holes side by side) at the top of the paper to hold your pencil

Academy Awards 2013 printable ballot by

With that, I’m signing off of the old blog until Monday!
xoxo

Today for Lent… {Free Printable}

I’ve mentioned a few times over the last few years that I struggle with what to “give up” for Lent.  So, instead of temporarily foregoing something that really only benefits me (ie. Coke or french fries), I will spend time each and every day during lent actually living Lent.  Except this year we are all doing it together through prayer, almsgiving and fasting in 40 different ways over 40 days!  During supper last night (yes, we are a few days behind) we came up with our list.  Some will be easy and others will be hard but all will (hopefully) have a deeper impact that just giving something up.



Each day we will choose a card for the entire family to work on.  You can download our cards here – the last page is blank so that you can come up with some or all of your own!  I’ve cleared off the chalkboard in our mudroom to feature the card of the day and then every card as we finish each day.







Now, we’ve got some catching up to do!
xoxo

See the rest of my Easter and Lent related posts here!

Tic Tac Toe Valentine {Free Printable}

After brainstorming a few ideas, the PCP and I mutually agreed that a Tic Tac Toe Valentine with m&m x’s and o’s would be both fun and sweet for his classmates.



In mini-cello bags (about 3” x 4” from Michael’s), we included a game board printed on white cardstock and a total of eighteen m&m x’s and o’s game pieces in two different colors.  We stapled on the Tic Tac Toe bag topper to finish it off.  Find the free printable game board and bag topper here!



I’ve got tons more treats, sweets and ideas up my sleeve for the next few days!!
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Flattered for the feature at Tatertots and Jello!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

Have a BALL this Valentine’s Day {Free Printable}

When the baby ran across a colorful bag of bouncey balls in Target, it was love at first sight ($4ish for 24).  We packaged them up in mini-cello bags with an edited version of our “Have a BALL this Summer” topper and called the Valentine’s for his class complete!



I folded the bags down, printed and folded the toppers in half and then stapled it all together.  The baby signed his name on the back of each card.  Download the free printable tag here!



Stay tuned for the PCP’s printable Valentine tomorrow!!
xoxo

See all of my Valentine's Day ideas, treats and printables here!!

Flattered for the feature at Tatertots and Jello!

Find me at: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, It's Overflowing, Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog, Not Just a Housewife

100th Day of School {Free Printable}

The PCP’s class celebrated the 100th day of school with a day full of fun and games (and I’m guessing at least a little learning)!  They did 100 piece puzzles, 100 themed word searches, activities and centers, enjoyed the annual 2nd grade dress-like-you’re-100-years-old parade, AND participated in a 100th day themed guessing game.

100th Day Bottle of Fun
Each student filled an empty 20-oz. bottle with 100 like items of their choice – and it was no surprise that the PCP chose Legos.  The bottles were then sealed in paper lunch sacks and sent in with three clues about their contents.  They played a guessing game to guess what was in each bottle.  FUN!! 




 

Download the bottle label here - it could really be used for anything! 

100 Days of School 

100th Day Necklaces
The PCP couldn’t wait to make 100 Day Fruit Loop necklaces for his classmates again this year!  In fact, the whole family got in on the fun (can you guess just how much fun Honey is having??)!!  The printable tag is below – one page for kindergarten and one page generic - and you can see last year’s post for all the details.

  

Download the bag topper here - 100 Days of School Tag 

The PCP reported back that it was one of his (albeit many) “best days ever”! 


He’s 100 days smarter and we’re 100 days closer to SuMmEr!!
xoxo

PS. Lest you think the PCP has all the fun, I assure you that the baby is the one truly living the life.  Lounging his days away with mommy tending to every whim and anticipating every need.  Case in point: luxuriating in his bear sleeping bag and watching Disney channel while I prepare his “third breakfast” of the morning :-)


Find me at: Between Naps on the Porch, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Savvy Southern Style, DIY by Design, Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, A Stroll Through Life, French Country Cottage, No Minimalist Here, The36th Avenue, Bacon Time, It's Overflowing, At the Picket Fence,Shine on Fridays, DIY Show Off, House of Hepworth, Homemaker on a Dime, Stuff and Nonsense, 52 Mantels, I Heart Nap Time, The Frugal Girls,Six Sisters Stuff, One Project Closer, Jennifer Rizzo, Miss Mustard Seed, Le Chateau des Fleurs, Common Ground, Liz Marie Blog

Minute To Win It Holiday Party + TONS of Free Printables

At the meeting I had with the PCP’s teacher to discuss holiday party planning back in November, I came armed with an Oriental Trading catalog thoughtfully earmarked with a few fun crafts I hoped to order and call it a day.  She, on the other hand, came armed with the seemingly crazy idea to have a Minute to Win It themed party… something I’d never even heard of.  As soon as I got past my “seriously? how am I going to pull off Thanksgiving, two class birthday parties, two regular birthday parties, a week in Disney World, Christmas preparations, a baby shower AND this minute to win it themed hootenanny in the next twenty-eight days” dismay, I popped in on Pinterest and had a plan in no time flat.  The pre-freak out was totally worth it because the classroom was exploding with pure JOY for one last fun-filled super crazy hour before the long holiday break!!!

I enlisted a great crew to help set up before hand, including Honey and his mama JuJu.  Mrs. B. took the class out for thirty minutes while we hung a gazillion glittering snowflakes from the ceiling, decked the tables with festive cloths and set up the stations.  A “Minute to Win It – Holiday Style!” sign greeted them at the door and “Melted Snowman” water bottles (with their names on the backs) were ready at their seats.  They absolutely worked up a thirst at this party!



The littles were divided into six groups of four to rotate through the six stations. There are never a shortage of parent volunteers and the party was no exception.  We had four Minute to Win It stations, a cupcake station and a craft station.  Here’s more than you ever wanted to know about a first grade holiday party…

Minute to Win It: Jingle Bell Rock
See how many jingle bells you can dance out of a tissue box in one minute!
   

Minute to Win It: Snow Throw
See how many marshmallows you can successfully throw into a bucket on your friend’s head – in one minute!
    
Minute to Win It: Snow Ball Bounce
Using a snowman paddle (white paper plate with snowman face), try to keep the snow ball (balloon) off the ground for one minute!


Minute to Win It: Wrap Race
In one minute, wrap your classmate in toilet paper and top with a scarf and hat to look like a snowman!
  
Snow Much Fun: Sticky Snowman
I ordered this cute craft kit from Oriental Trading so that they’d have a little something to take home.

   
Snow Much Fun: Cupcake Creations
Ice your cupcake to look like a snowman, with chocolate chip eyes and mouth and a candy corn nose.  Then EAT IT!
      
The class left with a few of our favorite party favors – Snowman Soup and Frosty the S’moreman Kits!  You can get the instructions and free printables here!!

Nearly everything was purchased at the Dollar Tree and Kroger out of our class funds and Mrs. B will have all the basics ready for next year.  And if any of y’all are crazy enough to attempt this for your holiday party (it would be great for a family or adults too!), I have all the free printables available for download here.  There are also blank cards in the event that you come up with your own fun games, and instructions for each of mine are on the backs of the table tents.

Minute To Win It Holiday Style

The Melted Snowman water bottle labels would be darling for any sort of winter party.  You can download those free here!

Melted Snowman Water Bottle Labels

At the end of the hour, we presented Mrs. B with a class gift – a tree decorated with LOADS AND LOADS of gift cards!  Families were given the option to contribute a gift card in any amount to any store from their child.  It was easy for them and she was pretty darn thrilled!
 
As we were wrapping up the soiree, I got the biggest bear hug from my very favorite first grader with a joyful proclamation that “it was the very best party EVER, Mommy!!!”  I tell you what, going into the school for the first time since last Friday was not easy – my heart immediately dropped and I had to choke back the tears.  A school should be a sacred place where we nurture and raise our most prized possessions.  More than anything, I think I needed this party to start to put the joy and happiness back into the thought of school for me.

Happy Holidays from Mrs. B’s class!!!

Now, I’m about to settle in for a long winter’s nap.  Ah… who am I kidding?  I’ve got two darling littles home for the next 2.5 weeks!
xoxo

HO HO HO {Free Printable} + The Baby’s Party

I sent the PCP to school with a treat for his teacher and a handwritten note recognizing that coming to school and caring for her room full of first graders this week was probably just as hard as it was for us to send him off to school each day. The gift bag was simple, but contained some of her favorite things – a Coca-Cola and a bag of Oreo’s!


The red bag is from WalMart and I printed the label on full page label paper.  These could be cut down if you need something smaller.  To download the FREE printable HO HO HO tag (with and without the Coke and Oreo message), just click here!

Changing gears, the baby’s class held their sweet little holiday party yesterday and dazzled us with all sorts of Christmas songs. As usual, Whit actually sang nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

He did smile sweetly pretty much throughout the show…

…went ahead and laid down when all that smiling evidently exhausted him…

…and finally joined in with the class as they wrapped up the show with Rockin Around the Christmas Tree!  (He almost successfully completely hides himself behind the little one in the red vest the entire time.)

He was terribly proud of his performance afterwards :-)

How his teachers finagle shows like this with a crew full of three and four year olds is “one secret I’ll never know”! (To steal a phrase from the infamous and sorely missed Gossip Girl.)
xoxo

Frosty the S’more Man & Snowman Soup {Free Printables Reprise}

I’ve dusted off these oldies but goodies for your printing and partying pleasure this winter.  I’m coordinating the PCP’s class holiday party this week (oy vey) and, assuming the baby is willing to be my helper today, will be taking both as party favors.

Frosty the S’more Man

Download the bag tags for FREE here – (I found the snowman peeps at Kroger this year)

See the original post and instructions here

Snowman Soup

This was originally designed as an activity for a kindergarten holiday party, but I am repurposing as party favors this year.

Download the entire set of printables for FREE here

See the original post and instructions here

The PCP’s class earned PJ day at school today for filling their “compliments jar” with marbles.  I thought it only right for the baby and I to show our support by also staying in our PJs while we cut and print the day away! 
xoxo