End of Year: Mother's Day, Graduation & Memorial Day

"The days are long and the years are short." 

-- Gretchen Rubin 

Have you contemplated this quote for a while?

Or is it as new to you as it is to me? 

I get it. I understand it. 

Ms. Rubin's thoughts were in response to parenting, 

but I think that they apply equally well to teaching. 

How can we be coming to the end of another school year? 

The days are indeed long....

but wow!

That year was especially SHORT!

Have you ever pulled into your garage, turned off the car and then fallen asleep sitting right there behind the steering wheel? 

Raise your hand if you can identify.

Spring always means school visits for me. 

End-of-year festivities. 

Author-Illustrator presentations galore.

And plenty of conference workshops, 

the occasional keynote and TRAVEL galore!!! 

There's nothing like a spontaneous group hug, 

from a totally new group of students, 

to make you want to pinch yourself and squeal! 

But now it is officially May. 

The end is in sight.

It is time to consider how to conclude the year in good order.

I have been gathering up a collection of little good-bye poems. 

Here are several that could be applicable for you to use.

These are all sufficiently sweet and appropriate. 

They inspired me for certain. 

I decided I would try my hand at writing my own little poem. 

Here's how it turned out. 

You have my permission to print it, 

and sign your name to the bottom. 

Here's a clever decorated classroom door. 
Perfect to review the year in a glance.

Two of the songs that I have written are truly perfect for your EOY celebration. 

Every year I hear from oodles of teachers using them.

"You're Wonderful" is the sentimental favorite: self-esteem!!!! 

"Red, White and Blue" is also being used for patriotic flair.

Both are typically performed using sign language. 

My songs and books are available at TeachersPayTeachers

I just received these next images on FB. 

It is such a thrill to learn that I was chosen as the featured author, 

for the spring Art show in preschool. 

This first beauty was made in response to my picture book, 

"You're Wonderful"  

{look in the lower left corner to see it by the bulletin board.}

This is the first time in my memory that the self esteem message of my song & book combo, was extended to the creation of three dimensional 'portrait' sculptures. 

Take a look at these custom hats! 

When I make my school visits, I bring my quilts

that I design and sew --- 

which we have scanned for my picture book illustrations. 

For the last two years I've volunteered with our church

at an after school tutoring program with the BIG kids. 

They appreciated meeting a 'REAL' author, too! 

BEFORE graduation rolls around, 

you're going to need to get some Mother's Day love created. 

Here are some quick thoughts.

 

And finally some inspiration for Memorial Day! 

Again. My work is available at my own website and at TpT. 

Our crazy adventure over at Wobble Seat.com continues to gather steam and get traction, in the whole #AlternativeSeating movement. 

We distribute these rocking stools that can be ordered in 10" and 12" and 14" and 20" sizes. 

For most PreK + K children 12" would be best. 

Crayons + Sandpaper + Shirt + Iron = Wearable Art!

It's Scott from Brick by Brick. I love to repurpose materials—use materials in ways different from their intended purpose. 

We repurposed sandpaper and an iron for wearable art!

Recently we had field day at my school. In preparation, I was handed a bundle of white t-shirts. They said, "You can decide how to decorate your class's shirts." And in my mind, I heard "good luck."

I wanted to do something that wasn't too difficult or involved. And I wanted to do something that the kids had a large part in doing. I did an online search for "quick and easy decorating kids t-shirts" or something similar. And I found lots of great ideas - especially on this post from Putti's World.

I jumped from that post to this one about using kids' drawings. I knew I had the idea that I wanted.

I bought some sandpaper. I wanted one that was relatively smooth but would still give some texture. 

The kids drew pictures. I cautioned them before they started - everything will be opposite. Don't write words or the letters will be backward. "Unless you write the letters backward," said one girl. And that's right. If you want words on your shirt, write the letters in mirror-image.

Tip: Go over the design to make the crayon marks as dark or vibrant as possible. Lighter drawing will not transfer as well.

I did the ironing. I put several paper towels in a brown envelope and slide that inside the shirt. Then I laid the drawing facedown on the shirt and covered it with two paper towels. I began to iron.

Or better, I began to press. Don't move the iron around as you would to smooth wrinkles. Hold the iron down with pressure for about 30 seconds. Then reposition the iron and repeat. Believe me, I developed a technique after doing 18 shirts. The first ones were okay but not as vibrant as the latter ones.

Tip: Use the high cotton setting. And no steam!

After using the iron, carefully peel the sandpaper from the shirt. I think they turned out great. The only thing on the shirts was the work of the child. Each one was unique and really great! 

These could be a great year-end project. You could also iron drawings on fabric to make pillows, wall art, or other items.