Pages

Thursday, July 31, 2014

TBT: Chicka Chicka Boom-Boom, Welcome To Our Classroom

Throw-back-Thursday's post from last Aug.:


... Welcome to our classroom!
I made this little palm tree topper for a 2D palm tree that we used in kindergarten.  I wanted to change it up a bit for my TK class.  Did I tell you all I'm teaching TK this year?  I LoVe, LoVe, LoVe it!
I took the same topper, we cut 2 slits into it, and we slid it onto a TP tube.

The best part was adding the peel-and-stick Fun Foam letters to it.

Each child glued his/her picture to the top and it made an instant bulletin board!


Lovin' TK!

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")


My ENTIRE TPT Store is on Sale through Aug. 1.
See you all tomorrow.

Palma :)

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Before Heading Back To School, I Made Peach Vanilla Jam

What I do when I'm not blogging, or presenting, or teaching...

I make jam!  
Peach-Vanilla Jam!

If you have never made jam, 
here is an EASY step-by-step guide for making 
No-pectin Organic Peach-Vanilla jam:

It's time to run out and buy the ingredients & supplies:

4 pounds of nice, ripe peaches (organic is best)
2 - 3 cups of sugar (again, organic is best)
 juice of one lemon (you guessed it, organic)
 one vanilla bean (yep, organic) 
 a box of 8 oz canning jars (you'll need about 6 jars)
A canning funnel really helps when filling the jars.
  
That's it!  

Getting Started:

1.  Wash the jars & lids with warm soapy water, rinse, and set the jars (not the lids) in a pot of water.
Bring the water to a boil`and simmer for at least 15 min.  Carefully remove the jars and let them dry on a clean towel.  

2.  Heat another small pot of water (don't boil it) and place the lids in the warm water to soften the red rims.  Keep the lids and rims in the water until you are ready to use them.  

The largest pot has the jars in it, the little covered pot at the back has the lids & rims,
the front pot with the peaches is for blanching,
and the turquoise Dutch oven will be for making the jam.  

3.  Wash the peaches and blanch them in a pot of boiling water for about 1-2 minutes.  Then run them under cold water and the skin should rub right off.  Remove the stones and chop them to measure 5-6 cups.

Remove the peaches from the hot water and ...

... run them under cold water as you rub off the skin.


4.  Add the lemon juice to the peaches.


5.  Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out and add them to the peaches.
First cut the vanilla bean lengthwise, then scrape the seeds out.

Scraping out the seeds.  Don't scrape too much, you'll get the vanilla fibers.

5.  Place the peach mixture and the sugar into a large pot.  You can add the vanilla bean pod to the pot too.  Bring it to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, string occasionally for about 2 hours or until the fruit has softened and is partially caramelized with a dark orange color.

Adding the sugar.  I know it's a lot, but it's less than most jam recipes
 and it's not like you are going to eat the entire jar in one sitting, right?  

Stir in the sugar.

6.  When done, discard the vanilla bean pod.

7.  Start heating up the large pot of water again and bring it to a boil.

8.  Using a canning funnel, fill each jar leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe the rims clean with a clean cloth and hot water.  (I used both types of jars:  Ball jars with lids & rims and Weck jars from Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, or Amazon.  I LOVE my Weck jars and I use them all year for all kinds of food storage.  You just have to buy new rings each time your make jam.)

Use a canning funnel if you can.
Spoon the jam in.
Leave 1/4" headspace.
Add the lids & rims.
  I used Weck jars which have rubber rings
and glass lids with metal clips
 
After placing the rubber ring and glass lid on the Weck jar, you attach the 2 metal clips.

9.  Apply lids and rims and process:  Turn the head down and place the jars back in the pot of hot water and process for 15 min.  Make sure the jars are upright and completely covered with water.
You can see that I used both types of jars here.
It's hard to see the water, but they are completely submerged and covered with water.

10.  Remove the jars and let them cool for 24 hours on the counter.  Make sure you hear all of the lids pop when they are sucked down and make sure they don't pop up when you press them.  

That's it! 
You're done!
Make sure to refrigerate after opening.

A slightly distorted panorama picture.
I'm thinking of making more jam out of the Saturn peaches
that are sitting in the bowl on the raised dishwasher.

Have you made jam before?
If so, leave a comment and tell me what kind.

See you all tomorrow.
Reminder:  My ENTIRE TPT store is on sale through Aug. 1.
Palma :)


Help Me Blow Out All Those Candles!

Birthday Blow-Out Sale:


Since I'm sooooo old, I have way too many candles to blow out!

Therefore,
My ENTIRE TPT STORE is 20% off!!!


The sale will run from July 29 - Aug. 1.

And, who doesn't LOVE a SALE???


Click any image to see the sale.
You might like...


You get 5 products in 1 bundle!

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")

See you all tomorrow.
Palma :)





Monday, July 28, 2014

Today's FREEBIE & 1, 2, 3 Sale

A Colorful FREEBIE:

Children trace color words and match them to the rainbow strips.  This will brighten your room at the beginning of the year!  
Click the image for the FREEBIE.

Our Common Core Counting & Cardinality Pack:

Our Counting & Cardinality Pack is on sale for 50% off today only.  
It includes numbers 0-20.


Click any image to go to the download.
Blackline masters for tracing
and matching sets.
                         


Counting, number formation, ten-frames, number lines,
 number bonds, and number order.  It's all here!

Number Memory Game:

You will use our Number Memory Game all year long to reinforce numbers:

Click the image to go to the download.

Number Bingo:

Number Bingo is one of our most popular products.  You can use this game all year long and the kids will LoVe it!

Click the image to go to the $1.00 download.

Have you checked out our Pinterest Boards?

Follow us on Pinterest for even more FUN!
Click the image to go to our boards.

Sorry today's post was so late.  
I went to see the play "Once" last night :)

See you all tomorrow.
Palma :)

Grab the rainbow FREEBIE by clicking HERE.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

A Freebie For You That I Use All Year Long & Day 4 of My 1, 2, 3 Sale

I Use This FREEBIE All Year Long:

Click the image to get this FREEBIE.


It's the best way to get all of the little things donated to your classroom. 
 Just write the things you need on the laminated apples on the tree and again on a Post-It. 
 Place the Post-its on each laminated apple.
Parents take a Post-it and sign their name on the laminated apple so you know who took it.
Be sure to write the date you need the item by on the Post-It.

Day 4's Sale is all about the beginning of the year:

Just attach a cotton ball to this cute note to help comfort worried parents on the 1st day of school.


1st Day Certificates:


Perfect for the 1st day of kindergarten.

Click the image.



Color Day Notes:

Celebrate a color each week and let parents know which color their child should wear on each color day with these cute notes.   They come in English and Spanish!


You might also like:

Click the image.They are only $1.00.  

See you all tomorrow!
Palma :)

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Day 3: It's All About The First Days of School

What You'll Need For The Beginning of The School Year:


Our 1, 2, 3 Sale is on Day 3 and our theme for today is 
What you'll Need To Start The Year

Our $1.00 item (reg price $3.00):

I'm Ready For T.K. - Beginning on Day 1, complete 1-2 pages each day to create a great book to take home.  
7 pages of FUN.

Our $2.00 item (reg price $5.00):

Our Letter-Name book - Begin Day 1 looking for the letter A or a in your students' names.  Look for a different letter each day and compare the number of times you found each letter. 

26 pages of FUN!

Our $3.00 item (reg. price $8.00)

Easy Interactive Homework - Make homework meaningful, yet simple for you to correct and record.  You get 34 homework pages that are easy, yet they encourage conversations at home while reinforcing skills learned at school.  

Send home one page on Mondays and they are due on Fridays.

I hope you like today's offerings.  Come by tomorrow for more FUN stuff!

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")

See you all tomorrow.
Palma  :)





Thursday, July 24, 2014

Day 2 Of My Birthday Week 1, 2, 3 Sale & A Classroom Set Up Tip

Day 2's Theme Is...

Whole group rug time.  

Day 2 has even bigger discounts!


Today, you can enjoy 50% - 75% off of these rug time products.
Record the adventures of Boomer, your class mascot, in his very own book.  Record the events of your day in our monthly daily diary books, and have your students interact during whole group calendar time with their own individual iCalendars.

Boomer, The Mascot's Take-Home Book:


Get yourself a stuffed dog to be your classroom mascot.
Read Boomer Goes To School to your class and 
send your very own Boomer home 
with a different child each weekend.  
They can record what they did with Boomer on their special page.

Click on Boomer.

Daily Classroom Diary Pack:


At the end of each day, your students can help you 
complete the day's diary page.  
Your "special helper" of the day can illustrate it.
At the end of each month, send the book home each day 
with a different student to foster the home/school connection.

Click on any of the images.
You get a colorful cover for each month.

  



Each month has a fill-in-the-blank page.They get more challenging as the year goes by.

Interactive iCalendar:


Turn calendar time into an interactive time!
You use all of the graphics provided 
to make your own custom iCalendars.
Students complete their own iCalendar page while your
special student of the day completes the class calendar.
Designed to look like an iPad.

Use the graphics, like the ones above, to
create your own progressive and interactive iCalendar pages.


And a Classroom Set-up tip:

Use small catsup and mustard bottles for white glue.  Add the little plastic pins that come with rollers (the type with the brush inside, not the snap on type) and your glue bottles will never be clogged again.  Read all about it by clicking HERE or on the image:

I found these at the Target Dollar Spot.  They were 2 for $1.00.


Come back each day to help celebrate my birthday week 
with my 1, 2, 3 one-day sale each day.
See you all tomorrow.
Palma :)


My Birthday Week 1, 2, 3 Sale Has Started !!!

Here Is How It Works:

Birthdays are about giving, right?  I appreciate my followers sooooo much that I am giving you all HUGE DISCOUNTS on 3 items each day during my birthday week.

Each day, beginning July 24, I will offer 3 deeply discounted items in my TPT store.
Click the image to view my entire TPT store.

For 1 day only:
One item will be on sale for $1.00.
One item will be on sale for $2.00.
One item will be on sale for $3.00.

This is a good combination because TPT requires a minimum purchase of $3.00, so if you combine any 2 of the sale items, or just buy the $3.00 item, you are good to go.   

Today's Sale Items:

Today's discounted items are all about writing:

Today's $1.00 item:  4 Stare Writing Journal With Rubric  (75% off)  
Today's $2.00 item:  Month-To-Month Writing  (60% off)
Today's $3.00 item:  Instant Writing (40% off)


$1.00 today only.

$2.00 today only.


$3.00 today only.

Come Back Every Day:

I plan to run this "1, 2, 3 Sale", featuring 3 new items a day, for at least 7 days, maybe longer!  I might even have a "Super Special Sale" on my actual birthday.  Do you know which day that is?
Celebrate my summertime birthday with amazing savings ALL WEEK LONG. 

Leave a comment and I'll see you all tomorrow.
Palma :)