Sand Playdough Recipe

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Hi all!  Happy Summer!  I'm considering today my first official day of summer, because I was in school last week cleaning up my classroom.  I've been using my free time to make some updates to the blog, I hope that you like the new look! 

I'm sharing a really fun project with you today...Sand Playdough!  My kids have so much fun with this, it's perfect for summer and fun to play with different textures.  I made a big batch and supplied my kids with a bucket of shells.  You could also play with sandbox tools, summer cookie cutters, sea glass, the options are endless! I think it would be special to relive your vacation memories by making up a batch with the sand from a beach that you visited with your family.  Here's the super simple recipe, pin this to save for later this summer or next school year.

I hope that you're enjoying your summer, I'm planning to {{try}} to spend more time posting projects on the blog! What are you doing this summer?

Splish Splash: Summertime Blog Bash!

It's almost summer for me, and many of you may already be on summer vacation!  I have less then a month left, but tons of fun activities to try to squeeze in.  I'm kicking off the summer with a fun blog hop hosted by The Classroom Game Nook!  Be sure to continue clicking through the hop...there are over 40 bloggers participating with freebies and giveaways! 

Today, I'm sharing (and giving away) one of my favorite units to teach and it's so perfect for spring and summer...BUGS! We had so much fun with the unit, I stretched it out for two weeks and we even enjoyed a presentation about insects from our local Science Museum. Here's a look at what we did...

Check out this unit on TpT!

Hunting for alphabet matches in the sensory tub, shredded paper is cheap, quick, and easy to clean up!  You can grab this activity for FREE in the preview of my BUGS unit!

The writing center is always popular in my room!  We used circle stickers to decorate butterflies, it's great practice for little fingers! 

We added some grass from the Target Dollar Spot and some plastic bugs to our Block Center and it was a hit!  The kids happily built houses around the bugs all week! 

Who knew "Write the Room" was so much fun!  This activity was differentiated to meet the needs of my students, but by the end of the week everyone was searching the room for the vocab cards and copying the words! 

These ladybugs are adorable!  The patterns are included in my BUGS unit, just print on colored paper and allow the students to cut out! The students rolled two dice, and added them up to determine how many spots to put on their ladybug. We used black paint and foam pouncers for the spots!

Here's your chance to win!  Enter using this rafflecopter, I'll select two winners to receive my BUGS unit!  Make sure that you're following me on FB, that's where I'll announce the winners! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm wrapping up the school year, so it's time to start planning the summer!  I'm looking forward to watching my kids play in the backyard, working in my garden, and taking a break from our busy schedule.  If you need me, I'll be sitting here...

What are your plans for the summer? Leave me a comment, I would love to hear about it! I hope that you enjoyed this freebie and good luck with my giveaway. Now, keep hopping to grab some more freebies and check out new bloggers!  Click on this picture to head over to Knowledge Mobile! 

 Have fun!

JellyBeadz - Sensory Table Fun!

Have you seen JellyBeadz yet?  They are so cool!  I ordered some from Amazon last week and played with them at home with my four year old.  I'm planning on bringing some to school soon for the sensory table, I think that my students will love them!

They start out really small, a little bit goes a long way!  We put a few tablespoons in a large, clear, plastic tub filled with water.

We got out the squirters to help them along!  They're slowly absorbing the water and getting bigger!

Then your little brother notices what's going on and joins in! 

Pretty soon your big sister gets off the bus and plays for a little bit.  Then she remembers that a friend at school gave her a lollipop, so she runs up to her room to hide and eat it in peace. 

Time for the potato masher, they're getting even bigger now!

Pushing through the potato masher is fun, we scooped them up and counted for a long time!

By the end of the night, the JellyBeadz were the size of marble!  We've been playing with the same batch for about a week, and they're still in excellent shape.  Have you used JellyBeadz in your classroom?  I'll love to hear some ideas!