Celebrate #21

Where has the time gone this summer?  Catching up belatedly with the Celebrate crew led by Lexa Cain - click on the button below to join in :)

This week I am celebrating - that something wasn't as bad as it could have been!  Unfortunately, there was a nasty accident involving Husband, his car and my oldest cat!!  So thank you to the wonderful vets but most of all thank you God for somehow making it so she survived with only a slight fracture of the pelvis and is now on her way to making a full recovery.  To say I can't quite believe what happened is a bit of an understatement but we are all coming back from the harrowing experience. She is not too happy about having to under go cage rest so she is getting lots of high quality cat food and treats to placate her.

Hopefully everyone else has spent a far less traumatic week so I'm off to find out now!

Apple Bobbing School Activities

As I said in my last post I am determined to get back to creating and designing some more products for my TpT store.  I have just posted two games/activities with an apple bobbing theme which should link in nicely with up-coming autumnal and back to school apple themes.

This is my first and is a selection of games and activities to help students with learning about "s" blend phonics such as sp, st, squ, sw etc.  I like children to have a variety of games so they don't get bored in their learning.  These beginning blends are so important in the next stage leading on from simple cvc words but they need plenty of practice and repetition.  I know, as a teacher, trying to find pictures to illustrate words is so very time-consuming so hopefully this packet will save hours of time as well as giving hours of activities for students in the classroom.

My next product will (fingers crossed) bring in some more comments and ratings to my site as I am trying something new and releasing this as a freebie with more parts to come once I have received ten feedbacks.  I'll see what happens!

Click on the buttons to be taken to the product shown.

One of my happy memories is of taking my class to another school for a special day of fun in the sun with lots of different games to do and some of my very "Fancy" girls - age 10 going on 21 if you know what I mean and normally without a hair out of place - apple bobbing with the best of them and getting totally soaked and their hair dripping and so much laughter.  So wonderful to see :)

Now it's your turn - are you an apple bobbing expert?  Do you keep your eyes on the prize or are your eyes tight shut and hope for the best?  When did you last have a go and when (if ever) do you think you'll be doing it again?

Back to TpT

It's been a long time since I uploaded anything to my Teachers Pay Teachers store (or even checked in with it - hence a quick catch up replying to feedback) but this lovely warm weather has inspired me to create a freebie lollipop themed rhyming activity for little ones and those with special educational needs.

I know how important it is these days for children to be able to do things independently in the classroom and I think these specially designed puzzle pieces will allow them to do just that!!  By fitting the pieces together they will know whether they have found a rhyming pair or not - something quite a few students have difficulty with but is such a useful skill to have when learning to read and write.  I also made up a writing page and idea too as so many early or struggling learners worry so much about putting pen to paper or maybe in this case pen to lollipop stick!!

TpT is free to join and has so many useful resources for both teachers and parents so please let others know about it - they may find something they've been looking for for ages :)

If you'd like a copy of my new product click on the picture below to be taken to my store where it can be easily downloaded.

Oh to be in England ...

Yes I am back. Recently returned from Lisbon and happy to be back especially as I am waking up to blue skies and sunshine.  Back to internet connections.  Back to my cats who were well cared for by my wonderful friends who house sat for us :)  I totally loved Lisbon but the heat was far too much for me so returning to more normal temperatures is blissful too.  Lots more to tell I am sure throughout the week.  Here's to hoping everyone else has been enjoying themselves wherever they are!!

New Vintage Linky Party

I thought I'd share a linky I found for anyone who. like me, loves finding old things in charity/thrift shops.  Vintage Bliss hosted by Joann over at Woman in Real Life

If you want to see what others have posted just click on the button above

My own find was something else for my collection of vintage knitting and sewing items

The purple ball of crimplene wool is my newest addition.

When I began my knitting wool collection, I started with old balls of wool/yarn which were all 100% wool because that was what wool was!!  But of course new fibres that were introduced were revolutionary way back in the 1960s making knitted garments so much easier to wash and care for so although I would not wish to knit with this type of yarn it does have a place in the history of knitting and therefore features in my collection.

Do you have a collection you add to through charity/thrift shop finds?  Can you remember knitting with these "new" yarns?  What do you like to knit with today? Please feel free to leave a comment below :)