"Creativity Takes Courage"

-- Debbie -- 

Snowman in a Snow Globe Winter Art Project

How AWESOME is this winter Art project? 

These are Florida snow globes. Can ya tell? 

I saw them last week happily on display during my school visit to THE most incredible program serving children with special needs.

I LUV LUV LUV this project on so many levels! 

First off. Of course you can see that the snow globe is devised from running marbles through paint. 

OPEN-ENDED SCIENCE EXPLORATION!
PROCESS! Open-ended PROCESS Art!

Secondly and MOST important to me........... 

The teachers have allowed the 'product' part of this project (the snowman construction) to be GENUINELY the work of the young student. 

I have talked here repeatedly about the teachers (and parents) of the world who are "Art fixers" and who smoosh things around while still wet to achieve a more 'correct' version of art work. 

Three cheers for allowing the work of children to be brilliant in all of its simplicity and authenticity. 

Thirdly. These finished masterpieces were displayed with such respect and care on the bulletin board for the whole world to admire. 

Take a look at the complete display and clap with me!!!

Did you see this earlier RoundUP of Winter bulletin boards? 
If you're in need of ideas click back to that earlier one. 

Yes. I had those adorable penguins featured 
in my RoundUP here on all things penguin.....

but they're so sweet, I know you will appreciate seeing them all over again. 

Hope that you're staying warm -- wherever you are! 

At this moment I'm reporting from OH and YES we had snow yesterday. 
First I've seen the white stuff in a while. 
I spent my morning feeling like I was sitting IN that snow globe!

I have to admit, if its a national holiday and you have no where pressing to be, just sitting and watching the flakes arrive is delightful! 

YES!!! By all means, please PIN! 
I now have a quick-pin button that will appear when ever you 'hover' over a picture with your mouse. 
I was able to install this feature from reading this tutorial. 
ALL on my own. (Which means its super simple!) 
THANKS!!

-- Debbie -- 

100th Day RoundUP of Ideas!

~~~HUNDREDTH DAY CELEBRATION~~~

Are you ready? 

Can you feel the excitement building? 

It's about to happen from coast-to-coast! 

100th Day Celebration SUPER FUN!
Let's make your life easier and pull these incredible visuals into one place.
100 DAY PARTY IDEA RoundUP!!

Look at this TOO-clever manner of counting your days. 

(Yup, go ahead, pin it and start planning now for next year.)

Where are you in your official count?
I was in this OH-Kinder room very near the end of last year! 

Oh-so-Clever "Counting" System for Days at School 

ARE YOU READY TO POUND THE DRUM FOR THE PARADE?

Take a look at this beauty!

Spotted in FL coastal Kinder-closet.

LUV it! LUV it! LUV it!
Do you have a 100 Day Parade?

One of my favorite things about making my school visits.......

when teachers start digging in their files and closets to share some special favorites they have stashed away. 

How can you look at this 100 Day homework response and not smile ear-to-ear?

This one is from my dear friend up in Door County, WI. 

Next up is a poster from an Indiana hallway. 

Kindergarten student-photos in the ribbons. 

Laminate the finished product. 

Keepsake-to-display at graduation!

OH YEAH!! 
Children never tire of seeing their smiles with friends.

These next several images are from South Daytona Beach Elementary's kinder extra-vaganza! 

Their hallway was a veritable showplace of excellence for the Hundredth Day observations. 

Math explorations at every turn.
This bulletin board display is a 'team-work' project. 
Friend A traces friend B's fingers. 
How convenient to have 20 friends for a total of 100 fingers!  

This is a great bulletin board--

combining the 100th Day Celebration with Valentines Day! 

Lotsa love in this display!

Simple always wins points in my book. 

Striking. Simple. Stars. 

Luv the student written labels for each color. 

Of all my favorite ideas for the 100th celebration, this next one absolutely wins my award for home + school interaction. Everyone gets the same sized zip-lock bag. Family sends in 100 items from home. Science I tell you! Science!!! Compare volume. Compare mass. The finished bulletin board was an absolute wizz-bang winner! How can you go wrong with that much purple in kindergarten? 

Here are some additional 'family' homework assignments to honor the big number 100! From Ohio and Wisconsin. 

100 Skittle Goodies Displayed on Cardboard

Homework for the 100th Day Party 

Items from Home for 100th Day Celebration

Let's conclude these 100 Day Party Festivities with a couple more bulletin board ideas for the culmination of your studies and celebration. I couldn't even capture all 100 gumballs in this photo. The hallway wasn't wide enough to back up sufficiently, but you get the idea! 

Bulletin Board of 100 Gumballs for 100 Day Celebration

Get in your time machine and fast forward to a self-portrait of your 100 year old self. Classic. What a great mini-lesson to talk about self-care and making wise choices early in life. Eat your broccoli!

What We Will Look Like at 100 Years Old Self-Portraits

What's a party without a whopping over-sized pizza? A pizza with 100 toppings would certainly delight your students. Again with the student 'labels' on the masterpiece. Every fine motor - writing experience is a good one in kindergarten! Look below the pizza for the 100 segment caterpillar's beginning. 

Pizza with 100 Toppings

Look across the room for the caterpillar's continued journey.

100 Circle Caterpillar for 100 Day Celebration

How do you celebrate this increasingly significant milestone? Does Halmark make 100 Day cards yet? I think there's still room for commercialization of this winter-highlight. 

I hope that my gathering all of these oldies-but-goodies together with my latest photographs gives you some new tangent to explore. Why, yes. I have written and recorded a 100 Day song. It's got an Elvis feel. It's my favorite invite of the year -- to come to your party and teach it. 

Here's the direct link to my 100 Day Pinterest board. There are 189 pins awaiting you over there. This morning I woke up to 88,888 Pinterest followers. Starting the day with a smile is a good thing.

-- Debbie --

Have you heard the BIG news? We have opened a new shopping opportunity called the Early Education Emporium. It's a gathering place for excellence in products for the youngest. My fellow authors over at PreK+K Sharing are adding new materials all the time. Come join us to shop. Come share your products! 

Linky!!!

This post was added to Fluttering  Through First Grade

I've had the great good-fortune of making a school visit to Denise of Sunny in Second Grade. Here's her link.

My SWEET friend Denise! 

And I'm so excited to be a part (even if late) of the TBA blog hop on all things 100 day related.

TBA Party

PENGUINS: Poem, Art, Fine Motor

WELCOME to the 41st edition of Fine Motor Friday. 

FINE MOTOR LEADS TO FINE ARTS!

Today's installment is the "Penguin Edition." 

I have a couple of seriously sweet smiles in store for you. 

Let's start with these beauties. 

From kindergarten, winter math journals. 

Students were asked to draw seven penguins.

Take a look at these amazing results!  

Have you ever seen seven penguins having a snowball fight? 

How brilliant is this next one? 

Seems like it could be the foundation for a picture book series. 

It would seem that penguins lend themselves to being the subject matter for young artists. 

Each of these young artists have their own 'style' penguin..... 

then making seven slipping and sliding create a stylized and  delightful finished piece. 

Get ready. 

Get set. 

Do you have your awwwwwwww button installed? 

You're gonna need it.

Look at these! 

These "Penguin Valentines" looked great on their winter bulletin board.

 These treasures were on display at a program I visited earlier this week in Florida. 

Truly this staff is amazing in their dedication to a population of students

 with a range of very involved special needs. 

These penguins are extra glorious -- 

in that you can tell the children really did create the work themselves. 

I learned about this time last year in an earlier article here

 that some teachers and staff are art-'fixers.'

While the first comments said, "NOT me!" 

then came a 'whistle-blower' that left a comment that she worked for a teacher who was always 'fixing/adjusting/straightening' the work of the students -- 

to make a more 'correct' (or pleasing) finished product.

In fact she'd observed oodles of art-fixers over her multi-decade career. 

OUCH.  

Then came the outpouring of response. 

Needless to say, I'm a HUGE advocate of allowing children to have their OWN work. 

So I had already gathered up all of these penguin inspirations....... 

when I flew from FL to OH to herd my WonderPeeps as their mama-bear recovers from surgery.

This morning was bring a 'visitor' to preschool day. 

GUESS THE FOCUS OF THE DAY?! 

PENGUINS!!!! 

These images are fresh off of my memory card. 

Blocks of ice with penguins frozen in place. 

Salt shakers and tongs for exploration. 

Melting ice. 

What a great exploration for the sensory table! 

The PERFECT Fine Motor Friday Fun! 

And PENGUINS!!!

They couldn't have done better, if I'd have called ahead!

If you're gonna have a Penguin-Day, 

then it makes sense to have some little wooden, painted penguins, too. 

This extended family were perfect for counting, parading and organizing. 

PENGUINS! 

Now to pull a couple of oldie-but-goodies from the files for this RoundUP!

From the littles........  

And from the 'bigs.' 

These penguins are one-of-a-kind and included a written report. 

Penguin attributes! 

Fill in the blanks using answer words with VELCRO! 

Who doesn't get transfixed by Velcro-magic? 

A professional penguin poem. 

I searched hard for the author, but could not locate anyone to receive credit. 

When you start a collection on a theme..... BEWARE! 

You may end up needing buckets + baskets to house the 'waddle.' 

That's family of penguins to the uninformed. 

Yeah, Google search!

Carolyn of Wise Owl had a delightful Penguin Freebie last winter over at our collaborative blog,

PreK+K Sharing. 

Click right here to go download those great ideas for FREE! 

Penguin Valentine Match 

Hope that you've gained some inspiration and ideas for your next Penguin parade! 
I'm so grateful for your stopping by. 
Every time you pin it sends another ripple out into cyber space and I'm so appreciative!!

-- Debbie -- 

Have you heard about our new
Early Education Emporium? 
It's a cyber super store of authors offering their materials under one umbrella.
Feel free to shop right here in the comfort of your jammies.