Frosting For The Cause

I am excited to be participating in this awesome event! 

It's called Frosting for the Cause.

You can read more about it here, Frosting For The Cause, 

or by clicking on the button above.

I think I'm going to have to step up my game if I want to have a great post. 

I might have to try out a few things and post them here first. 

My date to bake and post is April 23. 

I am donating my money to a local Relay For Life Team, who is turns donates to The American Cancer Society.

The goal of the cause is to have someone bake for each day of the year. 

So far she has people signed up through May. 

If you are a baker, or like to bake, or want to bake and 

would like to make a small donation check out her sight. 

It's a great idea for a great cause! 

Count the Shapes

Counting is such a chore at my house.

My kiddos want to start with the number 4 every time??

So anything that helps with counting is helpful.

This set is pretty simple. One page is 1-5. 

The second page is 6-10. 

I have a really fun lapbook set I am putting together right now.

I ran out of a supply and wasn't able to pick it up until last night.

Hopefully I will post that this weekend. 

It requires some pictures of assembly.

Well it probably doesn't REQUIRE it, but I want to include pictures.

For now download the worksheets and check back in a few days!

The Link

Worksheets

Products I use frequently.

Writing Practice - Shapes

I have seen print-outs similar to these all over the web. 

My kiddos really like them and need all the help they can get with writing.

The first page includes the standard exercises for beginner writers.

The second page is full of shapes to trace.

The last box on the second page was purposely left blank.

You can use it for whatever you desire!

Next week I am going to post a package that would be ideal for a lapbook. 

I have to start thinking in terms of portable items for the kiddos.

My mother-in-law has been coming to the house for the past year to watch them while I work.

Next week they will start going back to her house during the day.

I'm a little sad about it, because I like the idea of them being home. 

But I know it's best for my MIL and I am more than happy to accommodate her.

The Links

D'Nealian

Standard

Check out my other printables by clicking on the FREE Printables link in the upper left corner!

Enjoy

Getting to Know Me Wednesday - My First Car

My first car was a brown Ford Fairmont. I bought said Fairmont the summer before my senior year. My Grandpa helped me find it. I remember when I first saw it. It was boxy and brown. Not exactly a 17 year old girls dream car. It was an ’83 with only 60+ thousands miles on it. The interior was in mint condition. I think there was one spot of rust on the door that my Grandpa swore he could get rid of. I of course was skeptical. Then the old lady selling it said something I will never forget. It’s yours for $500. Even my teenage materialism couldn't resist that offer. I had $1000 in my pocket that I didn’t want to spend to begin with, so as soon as I heard $500 I said SOLD!

The first summer I drove it I found a small figurine of Egon from the Ghostbuster’s  on the beach where I was a lifeguard. I promptly hung that figurine from the rearview mirror and from that day forth my beloved brown Ford Fairmont was forever known as Egon.

I had a love hate relationship with Egon. I loved that in the middle of the winter he always started right up. Especially when the rocking red sports car next to me never seemed to want to turn over. In my head I would say nah nah nah nah nah nah as I drove away. I loved that he never got stuck in the snow. I loved that he once drove me three hours from college back to my hometown without oil and didn’t complain once. My dad did when I got home, but good old Egon was a trooper. I hated that he was brown and boxy and got a little rustier as the years passed.

Egon was only ever in one wreck.To this day I really don't count it as a wreck...more like I steered in the wrong direction, or not soon enough...whatever it wasn't like a real accident. I was driving and talking with one of my best friends. She said, Kaci are you going to slow down around this curve? Before I knew it we were running off the road, over a railroad tie and into someone’s front yard, just a few feet from a major highway. It felt like we were flying, but I am pretty sure we weren’t. Egon was too old to fly. The only thing wrong was a front flat tire. A normal car would have cracked under the pressure I am sure. My dad found a new tire at the local junkyard and was as good as new. 

I literally drove Egon until he died. The last day of his wonderful life I was at work. My first job out of college. I had been there maybe two months. Still the new chick. I was sitting in my cubicle and someone came running in to tell me my car was on fire. My first reaction was to ask if someone called 911…then I ran to Egon. By the time I got out there the Fire Department was already there spraying him down.  It was NOT a huge dramatic fire. Apparently some wiring in the front seat console area sparked up and started a small fire that was seen by the office across the street before it got out of hand. The thing is I remembered on my way to work that morning smelling something funny and just chalking it up to one of Egon’s smells. That afternoon I realized the smell was smoke. Oops.

They towed Egon away to a dealership where an insurance agent could come and access the damage. I went to the lot to see if there was anything I could get out of the trunk. I cried when we drove away. I have a picture of me with him somewhere from that day, I just don’t know where. If I ever find it I will for sure post it. I saved the figurine too…but it’s been 12+ years. I have no idea where I put it.

Oh, believe it or not, when the insurance agent accessed the damage I ended up getting over $900 for Egon. What! It had been 6 years since I bought him and I actually made money. Good old Egon. Just proved he loved me and how much of a giver he was.

When I post about each of my children, like I plan on doing, I hope I can be as sentimental about them as I am about inanimate objects like glue guns and cars.

Hope you enjoyed this little story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

More printables by the end of the week!

ABC BINGO

I love making games for my kiddos. 

They respond well to them and it keeps their interest.

I can say without a doubt that keeping my kids interest is the hardest part of trying to teach them.

I am very excited about this game.

ABC TRACE BINGO!

Instead of using something to cover up the space, your child actually traces the letter called.

Your child wins when four in a row are covered horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

I created this in standard print and D'nealian. 

There are 8 game boards in all.

Print as many as you like.

You can laminate them for longevity or print them out and use them one time.

The Links

D'Nealian ABC BINGO

ABC BINGO

Let me know what you think. 

I love to read the few comments that I get. 

I know people are looking at my blog, they just aren't following me or commenting!

Share some love!

More shapes activities to come this week as well.

Check back soon!

Wizard of Oz Playmat

I have been working on this mat for a few weeks.

My kiddos have a set of Wizard of Oz figurines that they love playing with.

They needed something to go with them.

I was inspired by a playmat I saw here.

A Girl and a glue gun playmat

It only required a few items.

Large piece of blue felt.

Fabric scissors and those shears with the funny teeth.

A glue gun.

Lots of felt. A few sequins and some of the red fluffy stuff.

The easy part was cutting out all the scenes. 

The hard part was the yellow brick road.

I cut up a brown paper bag and sort of pieced it all together until I had the shape I wanted.

After I had the shape right I pinned it to my yellow felt and cut it out.

Then I glued all the scenes in place.

Munchkin Land.

I love the way Dorothy's House with the witches legs turned out!

Scarecrow's area. With and without the scarecrow figurine.

Tin Man's Area.

  

Cowardly Lion Woods.

Poppy Fields.

 

 Emerald City

Witch Castle. The broom is not attached. 

I thought the kids would have fun playing with it.

So there you have it. 

The entire time I was putting this together the kiddos were playing with it. 

When I was done and snapping pictures I asked them to come back in so I could get a picture of them playing with it. Do you think they would come back? 

Not so much.

Let me know what you think!

Tootles,

Kaci

I am totally geeked to say that this post was featured here:

If you are visiting from her blog...thank you so much!

Shape Tracers

This package includes 9 shapes.

Each shape is featured in a single page like the circle image above.

You can print these out as worksheets or laminate them for longer use.

The Link

Shape Tracers

In case anyone needs a source I buy my laminating pouches on ebay.

Laminating Pouches

I use the 3 mil 9 x 11.5 pouches.

This guy ships quick and FREE.

I haven't found a better price.

If someone has, let me know!

For the record I have no idea who this man is and he has no idea I am posting this.

I have nothing to gain. 

Just passing along the information.

Don't forget to check out my current Contest for a FREE personalized name sheet. 

Enjoy!

Oh, I also wanted to state that I have seen worksheets similar to this on-line. 

For the life of me I can not find the site anywhere. 

This is why I went ahead and recreated them.

If anyone knows the source let me know so I can properly give credit.

Let's have a contest!

I am jumping on the contest bandwagon that seems to run rampant in the blogging world.

Why not. It's fun right! 

I make name pages for the kiddos in my life. 

They are simple and obviously geared towards beginner writers. 

When printed they fill a standard size piece of paper.

I can create these in the above font or D'Nealian. 

I like to laminate them so they last a long time. 

You can use Dry Erase Crayons or Markers to practice writing. 

Personally I like the crayons. 

See my review here.

How do I enter?

Follow me and let me know in the comments that you did!

If you already follow me, let me know by leaving a comment.

Don't leave your child's name in the comments. 

I will contact you, so make sure you leave a way for me to do that.

If I can click on your name and find your e-mail, that will do.

How many winners?

I don't know. 

I fully expect about three people to leave me a comment. 

So if under five people leave a comment everyone wins.

If over five people comment I will pick five winners at random. 

By random I mean I will write them all down and let my kiddos pick them out of a hat.

What happens if I win?

I will contact you via e-mail to find out what name and font you would like. 

I will then create the file in PDF.

I will e-mail you a link to download the file.

You have to print it yourself and laminate it yourself.

Sorry maybe my next contest I will do that.

When does this end?

Hmmm.

I hate to drag it out too long. 

Let's say it will end Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 7:00 PM. 

Eastern Standard Time.

So hit that little Follow Button and enter my contest. 

Don't forget to let me know you did by leaving a comment.

If you already follow me, thank you. I love you. 

Leave me a comment and you'll be entered too.

If you blog about this post in your own blog let me know so I can thank you properly!

Of course doing so will automatically give you another entry.

Tootles,

Kaci

Getting to Know Me Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!

I have been reviewing my blog. It seems awfully stuffy and impersonal. So I thought maybe once a week I would try to share something to help everyone get to know me. I’ll do my best not to go and on. I’m not that much fun.

When I was in high school I had a love affair with my glue gun. I loved that thing. My mom would say, “We need to think of a gift for Aunt Bren.” I would say, ”Let me get my glue gun out and we’ll make her something.“

My favorite use of the glue gun was making jewelry and hair accessories. I can remember getting a new shirt with shoulder pads. (Did I just age myself??) I would rip the shoulder pads out, because um, I didn’t enjoy looking pointy in the shoulders. I would use the material to make matching barrettes and earrings. I was so matchy it was insane.

I had one pair of spikey high heeled shoes that I wore for four years to every single fancy dance I went to. For the record, that was three dances per year, 12 fancy dances in all.  My auntie and I would pick out material, beading and sequins for my dresses that she always made me and I would use the scraps to decorate the shoes. I can’t tell you how many times I stripped those shoes down and glued something new on them. I would also make earrings, hair accessories, bracelets, etc. to match. My favorite pair of earrings I used poster board to make this big dangly shape. I painted the base this crazy scene to match my crazy dress and then glued beading around the edges. I used an old pair of studs to attached the posterboard earrings to my ears.

I was so ahead of my time back then. Oh the things I could have blogged about if only blogging were invented then J

Then I went to college and didn’t take my glue gun with me. Until recently, when my daughter was gifted one, I hadn’t touched a glue gun since high school. When she showed me her new toy all those wonderful high school memories came flooding back to me. All of a sudden I had visions of showing my daughter how to use it and all of the awesome things we could make together. My crafty mind was awakened and I swear I heard Angels sing. Ahhhhh!

For Christmas I used it to make gifts for all the little kids on my list. I am currently working on an awesome play mat for my younger two. (Inspired by one of my favorite blogs A Girl and a glue gun.) 

I will be sure to post the pictures when it is finished.

Last night I was so excited to be using my glue gun that I answered the phone,” I’m having fun using my glue gun, hello.”  It was after 9:30 and I knew it would be someone I knew, like my mother. I was right. It was my mother. We had a good laugh over it.

So I would like to take this moment to thank my auntie for giving my daughter a glue gun and bringing it back into my life. I feel inspired to create again and be crafty. I forgot how much I loved you glue gun. You are more than welcomed back into my life. I’m feeling a little teary now, so I will take that as my cue to wrap this up.

Glue Gun Lover,

Kaci

PS My fingertips are slightly burnt from my glue gun and I love it.

PSS I am hoping to lose some weight because I am distracted from eating by overuse of my glue gun.

Shape BINGO

This BINGO style game will help your kiddos learn colors and shapes. 

There are 8 different game boards.

I always design my games with my Aunt in mind. She has 6 kiddos. 

Print as many as you would like.

A set of draw cards are included.

The Link

Shape BINGO

Be sure to check out my other FREE printables.

More Shape oriented printables are coming soon. 

Check back soon!

Let me know what you think.

Are these useful/helpful?

What else would you like to see available?

Enjoy!

Products I use frequently!