Pi Day Classroom Decorations

For every new holiday I changes the front of my classroom door. Each child gets a pi symbol cut out with their name on it. 

I have no hallway bulletin board and my 5th graders have lockers so we utilitze the fronts of the lockers to brighten up the hallway for each new holiday.  For Pi Day we decorated Pi symbols.

Free Pi Day printables from Kacie Travis on TPT

Free Pi Day Banner from Kacie Travis on TPT

Don't forget to post the digits of Pi and print out a free copy to give to the kids.  See who can memorize the most!

Still Need More Ideas? Check out these Pi Day posts on my blog!

Book Review: Lots of Knock Knock Jokes for Kids

 

Title: Lots of Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids

Author: Whee Win

Publisher: Zonderkidz

Format: Paperback

Genre: Children's Humor

 

Kids love to laugh! It doesn't take much to set little ones off into a fit of the giggles.   Lots of Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids by Whee Win is the perfect book to start those fits of laughter.  The book contains over 250 jokes.    There are 6 chapters of knock-knock jokes and a final chapter that contains other jokes and riddles.  The knock-knock jokes are sorted into categories: Name Jokes, Place Jokes, Holiday Jokes, Food Jokes, Animal Jokes and Object Jokes.

I love that the book contains only clean jokes that are appropriate for Elementary age students.  I will warn you... some of them are really corny but when it comes to kids the cornier, the better!  It is difficult in this day in age to find appropriate humor for kids.  You can be assured that this book will not need any censoring on your part!

 

Buy it Now at Christianbook.com for $3.49
 
OR Buy it at Amazon.com for $3.99.  

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

 

Valentine's Day Classroom Decor

 I love decorating my 5th grade classroom for each new holiday. One of the first things I decorate is the door to my classroom.  Be warned that I love puns and corny sayings. :) 

My classroom door in 2016

My classroom door in 2015

 I don't have a hallway bulletin board like most teachers based on the location of my classroom.  Instead, the walls are covered with lockers for the students.   I learned that if I wanted to display work in the hallway that I would need to hang it on their lockers!

I modified this FREE Jar of Hearts Activity that I found on Teachers Pay Teachers.   It fits perfectly on their lockers and looks fantastic! This lesson was also a great opportunity to talk about the people and things in life that we appreciate.

We continued the discussion by reading one of my favorite stories.

I hang a large clothesline across the width of my classroom and use clothespins to hang student work througout the year.  For Valentine's Day we continued the theme of love and appreciation of the people and things in our life with a Valentine's Day Project by The Panicked Teacher sold on Teachers Pay Teachers for $2.50.  This could also be put together as a 3-dimensional project.  Maybe next year I will do that and hang them from the ceiling.

 The sad part is that when we get back to school next week it will be time to take it all down and set up for the next holiday!

Book Review- ICB Purple Pearl Princess Bible

 

Title: ICB Purple Pearl Princess Bible

Version: International Children's Bible Translation

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Genre: Bibles

This hardcover Bible was made for your little princess!  The cover is decorated with purple, a tiara, glitter and 3-dimensional pearls.  There are 24 full color pages inside designed to help with further study for your little girl. 

But what makes this Bible different than other princess Bibles?  This was the first time that I read the International Children's Bible version.  I was really impressed with it for younger school aged children.  It is written at a third grade reading level yet stays completely true to the meaning of the Word of God. 

 As a fifth grade teacher in a Christian School, I can see how difficult it is sometimes for students to read from the KJV and others.  This ICB version may just be the solution to that problem!

You can buy this book on Amazon for $19.99

or 

ChristianBook.com for $13.99

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: God Bless Our Country

 

Title: God Bless Our Country

Author: Hannah C. Hall

Illustrator: Steve Whitlow

Genre: Juvenile Christian Fiction

God Bless Our Country is a Christian board book designed to teach children about patriotism and celebrating this great country that we live in.  The book is written in catchy rhyme that will entertain toddlers and preschoolers.  

The author chose to take an interesting route by choosing to make the characters on each page animals instead of humans.  I think this will increase the interest level for the little ones.  They will also enjoy the colorful and whimsical drawings that accompany the rhymes on each page. 

This sturdy and durable hardcover board book will be able to withstand what the most destructive toddlers can dish out which will make any parent happy.  Parents will also enjoy how the author has given the credit to God for all the treasures that we have been given in our beautiful land. 

You can purchase the book on Amazon for $9.99

or

on ChristianBook.com for $8.19

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook

 

Title: I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook

Subtitle: Imagining God's Story Through Motion and Play

Author: Judah and Chelsea Smith

Illustrator: Alexandra Ball

Genre: Juvenile Religious Studies/ Bible Stories

Another Bible storybook?  Do I really need another?  Isn't this going to be the same as all of the others? That is what I was thinking when I received this book to review. 

Here are the features of this book:

*There are gorgeous illustrations to accompany the Bible stories from both the Old and New Testament.

*There is a sturdy hardcover with a presentation page for personalization and gift giving

*Ribbon bookmark attached to the book 


What makes this storybook different?
 After every few stories there are pages called "I Will Follow Jesus."  These pages are devotionals written by the authors to encourage your child to apply the Bible stories that they just heard.   These pages also include a prayer to help your child get started in a conversation with God. 

This is not just a Bible storybook- it is a starting point for your child to build a relationship with Jesus! I recommend this book for preschool and early elementary aged children.
 

You can purchase the I Will Follow Jesus Bible Storybook at 

Amazon for $12.39

or at

ChristianBook.com for $12.49

 

 Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from the Book Look Blogger Program in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Play-Along Bible

 

Title: The Play-Along Bible

Subtitle: Imagining God's Story Through Motion and Play

Author: Bob Hartman

Illustrator: Susie Poole

Genre: Juvenile Religious Studies/ Bibles

My almost four year old daughter Ella loved the Play-Along Bible!  

Before we even had a chance to read it to her, my daughter loved looking at it on her own during her "nap" time in her bed.  The colorful and kid-friendly illustrations invited her into the book. There were 50 carefully chosen stories from the Old and New Testament that each had a beautiful drawing to accompany it.

At bedtime, my husband always reads to my daughter.  She has several different Bibles and devotionals that we have used.   What was different about this book was the multi-sensory approach.  Each story had motions that the parent models as they are reading to encourage the child to participate with during the story. 

For example, while reading the story of Noah,  in parentheses the book guides the parent by telling them when to encourage the child to make animal noises, slap their hands on their legs to make the sound of the rain coming down, pretend they are hammering like Noah building the ark and more!

I highly recommend this book for toddlers and preschoolers. If you have children this age or know someone who does.  Purchase them this book!  It is a great way to enhance their understanding of God's Word at a young age!

You can purchase The Play Along Bible at

Amazon for $12.99 

and at 

ChristianBook.com for $10.99

 Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the Tyndale House Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.