Donuts with Dad

If you are still in school, you might be looking for something to help commemorate the Dad or looking for something to file away for next year. You have probably heard of Donuts With Dad. Lots of schools are doing them these days, just like Muffins With Mom. I wrote all about that event here. It helps to read that one because I run this event very similar to the Mom event. Like pretty much identical. I'll just post the slight variations I made, all else I'd the same.

Letter home:
2 weeks before I send this notice home. (Click for a free editable copy). 

Gifts:
Another Pinterest find! I find the little wooden plaques at Michaels or JoAnns. Probably Hobby Lobby too but our only recently opened so I haven't been there yet. (Tell me why I only think of it on Sundays?! Same day I crave Chick-Fil-A. So not fair!). To make the pictures on the plaque, I lead a directed drawing with a pencil first to make the SuperMan Symbol.  Then they paint the drawing with yellow paint. Later I trace their pencil drawing with a red sharpie. I have them put one yellow thumb print on the bottom left part of the plaque. I later drew a little face, stick arms and legs and a red cape. It sounds harder and more time consuming than it actually was.

The second gift is paper tie. Pretty easy. I think I went to google images, found a tie and printed it. I punch a hole in the top, kids color it and I put yarn to make a necklace and call it a day.

There is also a cute card that includes a hideous "Super Dad" picture they assembled. I say hideous because I made all the parts with amateur drawings using the computer. I am kind of embaressed to show it to you because it is that bad. haha! But since we are friends here...

click, right click, save image to keep

The kids and Dads think it's funny so I keep it. There is a questionnaire to fill out just like for Mom. Here is a copy if you would like one. Just click on the picture and right click, save image:

If you would like to download all of the questionnaires for the other male family members, you can do that here.

Decor:

Pretty simple. Green and/or blue butcher table on the tables, gifts on the tables and donuts in the middle. Dad's are easy to please :)

Day of event: 

 We recite the poem "Walk A Little Slower Daddy",  and sing the song "Love you forever" from the book Love You Forever.

 I read a story on the document camera.  Daddies Do It Different, which is hilarious I might add! The kids and Dads laugh their way through it as well as nod their heads in agreement.

Just like my other event, the kids enjoy donuts, juice and coffee (for the Dads) while I take pictures and mingle. It's a fun time all around!

Muffins With Mom

Every year we celebrate the Moms in our life within my Kindergarten class. I choose the Friday before Mother's Day or the Monday after, depending on how busy the school schedule is. If your school is anything like mine in the last month of school (May) then you know how difficult scheduling this in can be, right?! So here are all the deets on how I put together this popular event in my classroom:

Letter home:
2 weeks before I send this notice home. (Click for a free editable copy). The helps me when I am making the gifts because sometimes, unfortunatly Mom can't always come and the replacement is an aunt or grandmother... but I'll get to what I do about that a little bit later.

Gifts:
I found this on Pinterest a few years ago and I have made it every year since. I buy the tiles at Lowes for .77 cents each. I also get a sampler of paint from the paint department. I get a blue and a pink. I buy the paint about every 3 years or so because that's how long it takes to use it all. I paint each child's hand (girls are pink, boys are blue) and make the print. Later, I write with a sharpie "A child's hand touches a mothers heart". I usually let the moms know they sell mini easels at Walmart if they want to get one. I tie tulle around the middle also in pink or blue.

The second gift is a thumb print necklace. I use clay left over from making hand print plates that my grade level makes every year and a small heart cookie cutter. I put each child's thumb into the middle of the heart, write their name and paint them blue or pink when they dry. These are usually the moms favorite gifts. 

There is also a cute card that includes an "I love you to pieces" and a questionnaire to fill out. The moms get a kick out of those. The age, height and weight questions are the best! Here is a copy if you would like one. Just click on the picture and right click, save image:

If you would like to download all of the questionnaires for the other female family members, you can do that here.

Decor:

I don't do much to the actual classroom other than my normal stuffing straightening up but I do jazz up the tables a bit. I add whatever feminine color butcher paper I can find in the staff room, some die cut flowers (which I collect and reuse year to year) and then put the muffins in the center of the table. In the past, I've made the muffins, but now I just buy them. Sooooo much easier. I'm all about easy, said the teacher who has too many events in her class room. Ha!

Day of event: 

The event usually starts within 10 minutes of when school does. I put a sign outside the door for the mama's to wait just a few minutes. When the kids come in, we talk about escorting our moms one by one to their seat and insist mom sit down. It's the cutest thing to say "Johnny, your mommy is here," and they proudly get up and escort their mom to their table. Tears and smiles in moms eyes. Every. Single. Time. While they wait for everyone else to be seated, they have the chance to share their card and gifts with their mom. 

I usually have a very good turn out with a handful (5 or less) not able to come. Sometimes they send an aunt or grandma in their place. When this happens, I like to include a gift for them too, just a small one because eventually the students will take home the gifts and give them to Mom when they get home. If Mom is completely absent from their life, then who ever comes gets all the gifts. If noone shows for the child at all (sad face), the other mothers are always more than willing to let those child participate in things with the,  they do a very good job of helping those kids to not feel alone. Sometimes, my own mom comes (gasp! Yes, I have a mom, much to the kids shock, haha!)  and helps with that too. 

After the moms have all arrived and are seated, I say a few things to thank them for coming, tell them about the easels at Walmart I mentioned earlier, and introduce the kids for their teeny tiny performance. We recite the poem "Walk A Little Slower Daddy", with words changed obviously to Mommy and sing the song "Love you forever" from the book Love You Forever. It's super short, so we sing it twice but all the mama's cry. 

After the performance, the kids go back to their mama's and I read 2 stories on the document camera. The first one is Love You Forever, which I can't get through without bawling my eyes out so I had my student teacher read it this year, and The Kissing Hand. After reading, I tell the parents that this is their time to read with their child the story they brought, enjoy muffins, juice and coffee, as well as receive a guided tour of everything in the classroom given by their child. I walk around taking cute close up pictures of each mom and child and mingling. It's so much fun! 

I started this event 6 years ago in my classroom all my own, and still to this day, I am the only kinder teacher to do it every year. I ask myself why I torture myself with the stress, but when it comes to the day of the event, I know why. The parents and kids love it. I love it. So I will continue to do it every year.

Hiatis Schmiatis! And Some Ice Cream...

So, for years and years (obviously), I have entertained the thought of posting to this blog but never ever actually do it. *sigh* The busy life of a mom and teacher. So to say "I'm sorry" to all my 2 readers out there for such a long time gone, I thought I'd share something. I love sharing...perhaps that is why I teach Kindergarten, no?
Thursday was our last day of Kindergarten, but we boy did we have fun celebrating the end the last 2 weeks. One of the activities we had was Ice Cream Day. It was a complete surprise to the kids. We went about our normal morning buisness but after lunch...the party got started.  I started off the afternoon reading Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems. My kiddos get an absolute kick out of Gerald & Piggies adventures, don't yours?!




Next we talked about our favorite ice cream flavors. I didn't get a picture of this but chocolate was definitly the most popular choice. What's your favorite? Mine is a toss up between cookie dough or mint n chip. I will be your best friend if you supply me with either!

After I led into a discussion  about weird ice cream flavors. I read them this poem:


I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
there are flavors in my freezer
you have never seen before,
twenty-eight divine creations
too delicious to resist,
why not do yourself a favor,
try the flavors on my list:

COCOA MOCHA MACARONI
TAPIOCA SMOKED BALONEY
CHECKERBERRY CHEDDAR CHEW
CHICKEN CHERRY HONEYDEW
TUTTI-FRUTTI STEWED TOMATO
TUNA TACO BAKED POTATO
LOBSTER LITCHI LIMA BEAN
MOZZARELLA MANGOSTEEN
ALMOND HAM MERINGUE SALAMI
YAM ANCHOVY PRUNE PASTRAMI
SASSAFRAS SOUVLAKI HASH
SUKIYAKI SUCCOTASH
BUTTER BRICKLE PEPPER PICKLE
POMEGRANATE PUMPERNICKEL
PEACH PIMENTO PIZZA PLUM
PEANUT PUMPKIN BUBBLEGUM
BROCCOLI BANANA BLUSTER
CHOCOLATE CHOP SUEY CLUSTER
AVOCADO BRUSSELS SPROUT
PERIWINKLE SAUERKRAUT
COTTON CANDY CARROT CUSTARD
CAULIFLOWER COLA MUSTARD
ONION DUMPLING DOUBLE DIP
TURNIP TRUFFLE TRIPLE FLIP
GARLIC GUMBO GRAVY GUAVA
LENTIL LEMON LIVER LAVA
ORANGE OLIVE BAGEL BEET
WATERMELON WAFFLE WHEAT

I am Ebenezer Bleezer,
I run BLEEZER'S ICE CREAM STORE,
taste a flavor from my freezer,
you will surely ask for more.

Jack Prelutsky

 They loved it! I had to read it 3 times! After they got over the giggles of these silly flavors, we talked about designing our own flavors. That is where this little freebie comes into play (click on picture): 

Don't for get to rate this since it is my first listing! I need ratings :)

The kids came up with their own flavors. Some were normal sounding, some were gross and some were wild. It was a hoot to see what they came up with!

"No taste and chocolate"

"Sushi chocolate hot sauce"

"It tastes like crushed bananas"

I just love inventive spelling, don't you? I have become fluent in it since I started teaching Kindergarten. It really is another language! Ha!

I let the children share on the document camera if they wanted. After all of the sharing (and laughter), I gave the students a piece of lined paper and told them they were going to try to convince me to try their flavors. I didn't get pictures but boy were they ever persuasive! I just might try "Sushi Chocolate Hot Sauce" one of these days, hehehe!

I used these persuasive essays as their "ticket to recess" and then they came back there was a mini ice cream party waiting for them! oh my gosh were they excited! We had cookies and cream flavor, with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, sprinkles, nuts and cherries. And guess what? I didn't even get any :( I was a little to happy with the ice cream scoop I guess. Oh well, my thighs thanked me!

I am working on a little ice cream packet to go with this day to add to my little store I just started. What do you do for ice cream day, if you have one? Do you have any other themed days for the end of the school year?