Healthy Holiday Snacks: Christmas

Holiday snacks are always fun for little ones to eat and create! We want to share with you a few ideas we found that will be perfect snacks for the holidays but also healthy choices for your growing students.
You can prepare the items for your students to make each snack or have them ready to go for them depending on time and age of your students.

Christmas Tree

Items needed: Celery, Carrots, Sliced Meat, Pineapple, Plates
Begin by forming your tree. To create the Christmas Tree shape we are going to zigzag our celery. Next take your choice of sliced meat (ham, turkey, bologna) and fold it to represent the trunk. Lastly, you will need sliced carrots to place around the tree for the ornaments and a star cut out of pineapple to make the star for the top of the tree.

Candy Cane

Items Needed: Bananas, Strawberries, Peanut Butter or Nutella
This one is super simple but turns out really cute! Go ahead and cut up your bananas and strawberries. Then take your peanut butter or Nutella and spread it onto the plate into a candy cane shape. Then have the students alternate from banana to strawberry to make the candy cane. This is the perfect snack for practicing patterns!

Santa

Items Needed: Bananas, Large Marshmallows, Mini Marshmallows, Strawberries, Dark Chocolate, Red M&Ms, Peanut Butter or Nutella (optional)
You will need to do a little prep for this one. Grab your knife and cut the large marshmallow in half. Then you will need to cut the banana into slices and cut the bottom off the strawberry to make it resemble a triangle shape. You can use your Peanut Butter, Nutella, or even your dark chocolate here to stick your base together. From bottom to top, it should stack marshmallow, banana, marshmallow then strawberry. Now to add the finishing touches take your dark chocolate and add the eyes and “glue” for the nose and hat topper. Next you can stick on your red M&M for the nose and mini marshmallow on top of the hat.

You of course need a healthy drink to go with your healthy holiday snacks! Be sure to check out our 100% Juice. Choose from 22 delicious flavors that you and your little ones will love. We even have a selection of colored choices to go with the holiday spirit.

Healthy Holiday Snacks: Thanksgiving

We wanted to kick off this Holiday Snack series with some festive healthy choices. First off is a healthy Turkey themed snack that is perfect for celebrating Thanksgiving with your little ones.

Items Needed: Pear, Strawberries, Grapes, Cheese, Dark Chocolate

Begin by cutting your pear in half and placing it flat side down on the plate. This will be the body of your Turkey. Next you can place cut up strawberries, bananas and grapes around the top of the pear to represent the tail feathers. Try having your students create different patterns in their tail.

Lastly cut the beak and feet out of a piece of cheese and add the eyes with a little dark chocolate. Now you have an adorable turkey snack that is perfectly healthy.

For more Holiday Snack ideas, check back in with us.

Toilet Paper Roll Crafts: Christmas

Christmas Themed

Toilet Paper Roll Christmas Trees – These festive, little Christmas Trees make for the perfect Christmas decor. They can even be used as ornaments. Cut the roll at an angle making a continuous swirl down from top to bottom. You can make the distance between the cut thin like the first picture, or thick like the second. We have found that it is easier to paint the roll green after cutting so you have easier access to the inside portion. You can add glitter, jewels or stickers to personalize your tree.  Don’t forget the star for the top!

  

Toilet Paper Roll Snowman – There are two options for this adorable snowman. For the first option, cut the roll into three rings. You will need to have a small, medium and large in width. Next, paint it white on the outside and inside. Once dry, you can add on chenille stem arms and draw on the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons. Lastly, cut a circle and rectangle out of black construction paper. Use the rectangle to create a fourth ring and glue it onto the circle to form the hat. Now you have a triple stacked snowman that makes for a cute ornament!

  

Option two is perfect for little ones. Paint your roll white. When dry, draw on the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons. To keep it simple, you can also draw on the scarf and hat or cut them out of construction paper to give a different look.

Toilet Paper Roll Santa – This Santa is quite similar to the second snowman pictured above. Paint 1/4th of the roll white or peach, and the rest red. When dry, take a cotton ball and use it to form Santa’s beard. You may need to manipulate it a little by pulling it apart to give it more of a real beard look. After gluing on the beard you can add on his eyes and nose. Try using wiggle eyes for a different look! For Santa’s hat, just cut a triangle out of red construction paper. Take a small piece of the cotton ball to make the little ball for the top of the hat and you're done.

Toilet Paper Roll Reindeer – You can leave your toilet paper roll in its original color for this one or paint it a different color brown. To create Rudolph’s legs just cut out four rectangles on the front, back and each side of one end. Now you can add on a ball for his nose, wiggle eyes, and form him some antlers out of chenille stems. Don’t forget to give your reindeer a smile to spread the Christmas joy with.

Toilet Paper Roll Crafts: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Themed

Toilet Paper Roll Turkey – We cant get enough of these adorable turkeys! Use the roll as your base and add on the eyes, beak, feathers and feet. You can use wiggle eyes, chenille stems for feet, and actual feathers like the second turkey or keep things simple by drawing everything on like the first. Try using the construction paper feathers and have students write what they are thankful for on them!

  

Toilet Paper Roll Pilgrim Hat – This easy to make hat makes for the perfect center piece or place cards to show your guests where their seats are. Using construction paper, cover your roll in black. Then trace the end of your roll to give you the circle that covers the top of the hat. The bottom brim is just another circle but you want it to be larger than the first. Glue the circles in place and add the yellow square detailing to create the perfect pilgrim hat.

   

Toilet Paper Roll Crafts: Halloween

Toilet paper rolls make for the perfect recycled crafts! We want to help you prepare for the upcoming holidays with a few of our favorite Holiday Toilet Paper Roll Crafts. From Halloween to Christmas, here are a few ideas to decorate your classroom or to send home with your students to decorate their homes.

For starters, you will need to collect your toilet paper rolls. These are great to have on hand for art projects throughout the year too. Try storing them away as you use them up.

Next you will want to grab all your art supplies. This could mean using paint, markers, stickers, glue, scissors, and more!

Halloween Themed

Toilet Paper Roll Pumpkins – There are two different pumpkins that we chose. One is very simple and the other a little more challenging. Just paint or color with marker or crayon to get an orange roll. For the first, draw on a face and add leaves to the top. For the second, cut the roll into multiple rings. Glue or tie them together in the middle to create a pumpkin shape. The stem is simply a ring of toilet paper roll painted green with two strips cut on the bottom to create a vine effect.

  

Toilet Paper Roll Bats – This is as simple as it looks. Paint or color your roll black. When dry, fold down the top end on both sides to create the bat ear look. Wings can be cut out of black construction paper while you wait for the paint to dry. Add on the wings and a set of wiggle eyes and you're all finished!

Toilet Paper Roll Mummies – These mummies make for the perfect Halloween decorations. You can use a little left over toilet paper, thin streamers, white gauze, or tissue paper to cover the toilet paper roll and give it a mummy look. To get the first option simply add on some wiggle eyes. The second one makes this craft even cuter by making it more personal! Just cut out a picture of each students face and put it on the roll before wrapping. Now they are the mummies!

   

Check back in at http://purefunsupply.blogspot.com for more holiday themed Toilet Paper Roll Crafts.

Shoe Covers

Need help keeping floors clean or keeping your nursery germ free? Try out our Disposable Shoe Covers! Made from 100% spun-bond polypropylene, our shoe covers are both durable and economical. The traction grip soles provide skid resistance to prevent slips while the gentle, elastic ankle keeps the shoe cover in place.

Shoe Covers are perfect for protecting shoes from dust, spills and splashes. They will also protect your floors from tracked in grime. Try out these Shoe Covers today and help protect your daycare or childcare center from dirt and germs.

Each case includes 300 Shoe Covers. The Universal Size fits up to a men’s 10.5 and the Extra Large fits men’s sizes 10.5 and larger.

Coffee Filter Crafts

Did you know that Coffee Filters are the perfect base for Halloween themed crafts? Here is a list of spooky craft ideas to help you decorate your classroom.

Coffee Filter Ghosts

The coffee filter ghost is just as simple as it looks. Simply flip the coffee filter upside down and place a string through the center. Don’t forget to draw on the eyes and mouth! Wiggle eyes would even look great on these fun hanging ghosts. Try using a clear string to make them look like they're actually floating!

To make the coffee filter rounded on top verses pointed, add a ball of paper or aluminum foil to the end of the string.

Coffee Filter Pumpkins

You can use water colors or washable markers to make the coffee filter orange.

 

This first option is perfect for little ones. Just add the stem and leaf and you have a cute little pumpkin. Try placing these on the windows to get a fun glow when the sun shines through them.

This pumpkin is a little more challenging. Place a ball of paper or tin foil in the center of the coffee filter and tie it off with string or tape. You can add a face on with felt or with markers. Easily include a stem by placing a small stick in the center.

Coffee Filters Leaves

Leaves are perfect for the fall season! Have your students color their coffee filters with washable markers. When they are finished, spray them with a spray bottle of water to give them a fun, airbrushed effect. When dry, trace different leaf shapes and cut them out. These add a great splash of colors to any classroom!

Coffee Filter Bats

These guys are fun and easy to create. Start by coloring the coffee filter using markers or water colors. When dry, cut ridges around the outer edge to give the waved effect pictured above. Then add a clothes pin in the middle to create the body of the bat along with some wiggle eyes to complete the look.

Coffee Filter Spider Webs

These spider webs are made just like paper snowflakes. By folding up the coffee filter and cutting rectangles into it you can easily create this shape. Be sure to leave a strip uncut on one side to keep the sides connected.

Classroom Management – Play Ball!

A great way to keep students in check is to have a tangible scoring system of their behavior. Here is one of our favorites called Classroom Baseball.

Classroom Baseball is a great choice for any classroom. Start by creating a poster that includes a pocket for each student. Each pocket will have three craft sticks in it to represent strikes. Throughout the day, you can give students that are misbehaving a strike. That student will then need to remove one of their sticks from their pocket. Those who strike out get a note or phone call home to Mom or Dad. Students who complete the day, or even the week, without any strikes will get the chance to “play ball’.

 

You will need to reserve just a few minutes at the end of the day, or the end of the week, for this portion. The well behaved students can line up for a chance to toss the ball for a prize. You can simply use a ball or a bean bag and a small trash can or even have four different boxes to represent the bases.

Tip! Try using four different sized boxes or baskets. They will get smaller as the bases go on making first base the largest and home plate the smallest. The prizes will be better when they choose a more challenging base.

Now you have a fun game for students to look forward to. It will give them incentive to be on their best behavior each day and not strike out. Now let’s play ball!

Classroom Management – Take a Brain Break

We all have those days when the work becomes too much or we just can’t quite seem to keep still. The perfect solution is to take a quick Brain Break. Give your students a few minutes to get their wiggles out and focus on something different.

You can use this time to sing a song, take a walk outside or around your hallway, play a quick game, or even have a little snack. Taking this time will help you to avoid outbursts from antsy students and frustration for those who just need a brain break.

 

Try this! Have students write their favorite Brain Break activity on a craft stick. Put the sticks in a cup and draw one when it is time for a Brain Break. Your students will love seeing what their surprise Brain Break will be.

 

 

Want more classroom management ideas? Check back in at http://purefunsupply.blogspot.com.

Classroom Management – Rules and Goals

A great way to get students involved in creating your classroom management plan is to have them help you decide what the rules and goals of your classroom should be. Have students spend some time brain storming ideas and write them on the board as they come up with them. They can also create consequences and rewards for when goals are met and rules are broken.

Once completed create a visual to hang in the room. This might be one poster with everything on it, one poster for rules and consequences and one for goals and rewards, or even a poster for each rule and each goal. Have your students split into groups to create and decorate the posters or allow them to decorate the one large poster with everything on it.

      

Now students are guaranteed to know what the rules are since they helped to create them! This gives them a visual reminder of each rule and what happens when they disobey them. They also have a positive visual of goals and what rewards they will receive when goals are met.

Check out our Incentives and Motivators to use as rewards for good work and good behavior!

Classroom Management

For every teacher, having a solid Classroom Management Plan is key! Sadly, there isn’t one magic plan that works for every classroom or student, but by sharing a few ideas we hope to help you create a plan that works for your classroom! In this series, you will find a few basic tips and ideas that will help you keep a positive and manageable environment for your students.

Our first tip is simple; Love your students. There is typically a student in every classroom that stirs up a bit of trouble. This can cause tension in the room and even between teacher and student. The difference in positive reinforcement and a negative reaction is loving each student first. Think of them as your own and strive to make sure they know they are loved and believed in while in your classroom. Look for the best in each student and help them to always bring their best to class with them every day. By letting them know you believe in their best you are encouraging them to believe in their best as well.

Along those same lines, tip two is to Set the Tone of your Classroom. Leave room for humor and take the time to recognize the personalities of your students. It really makes a difference for you and for them when you remove pressure and get to know them. Your classroom should be a positive environment for every student. Having a reminder to keep things positive may be beneficial to your room. Try adding a poster with a positive quote to keep students inspired!

Looking for more tips and ideas on classroom management? Check back in at http://purefunsupply.blogspot.com/ tomorrow for another blog post. You can also leave us a comment below and let us know what works best in your classroom! We would love to share it in one of our future posts.

Hand-Print Crafts

Give your students a helping hand with these hand-print crafts! Your little ones will love creating different crafts using their hands!

Spider- Start by painting the upper half of the palm along with all four fingers. Making one print at a time, place the hand firmly onto the paper. When making the second print you will need to point the fingers in the opposite direction, connecting the upper palm prints. You can leave these spiders on the paper and add a decorative web, or cut them out and hang them around the room! Wiggle eyes also make a perfect finishing touch.

Lobster- Take your hand-print crafts under the sea with the lobster handprint! This is done just like the spider hand-print, but using the thumb as well to create the eyes.

Zoo Animals- These friendly zoo animals are simple to create with just a single hand-print! With the fingers pointed down, have the students turn their hand-prints into zebras, giraffes, lions, elephants and more with markers.

Fish- Don’t forget about the classic hand-print fish! These fish always come out unique to each student with a variety of bright colors. Paint the different colors directly onto their hands and all they have to do it stamp it down! Try cutting them out and creating a school of fish on your classroom wall.

What’s your favorite hand-print craft? Share your ideas with us below or leave us a comment on our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Modeling Dough Fun

Here is a fun and educational activity sent to us by Yunhap Kiddie Land. This activity will help your little ones learn to spell their names while strengthening hand muscles and motor skills.  

All you need are craft sticks, a permanent marker, and modeling dough.

             

Each student will need the letters of their name written with permanent marker onto the top of a craft stick and a portion of modeling dough. Have them roll the modeling dough out into a line or a “snake”. Then they will place the letters of their name in order by pressing the sticks into the dough.

The modeling dough is perfect for strengthening hand muscles and children love to play with it! This activity can also be done to help students learn new words, count to ten and more. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Check back with us in September for a series of Classroom Management Ideas that you won’t want to miss!

Back to School Crafts: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head

Looking for a fun back to school craft? This one was sent to us by Sheila, a preschool teacher in Georgia, and we can’t get over how cute it turned out. The craft creates a Mr. Potato Head for the boys and a Mrs. Potato Head for the girls. Check it out!

        

This craft is an easy one to make and gives students the chance to create something unique as well. Here’s what you will need: Construction Paper, Scissors, Glue Sticks and Markers

This craft is perfect for cutting practice! Have your students cut out all the pieces for their Potato Head and then glue them into place. You can also add the quote that Sheila did that reads, “I thank You God for making me, so that I hear and feel and see. And since these good things come from You, I’ll use them as You want me to.”

Now you have a fun craft to share with your little ones that will remind them that their ears, eyes and hands were made for a special purpose.

Try out this craft and let us know what you think! You can also be featured on our blog by sending us your craft ideas. We love to hear from you! Follow us on Twitter and Pinterest, as well as like our Facebook page, to receive updates on all things PureFUN! 

Utility Caddy: Classroom Storage Containers

Utility Caddies are all the rage this school year! They are perfect for holding pens, pencils, paints, brushes and more. They are just what you need to transport items around the room and help to keep all your supplies neatly organized throughout the year.

   

Try getting one for each table in your classroom. You can easily have the items you need out and ready for use with a few of these caddies! They come in a variety of colors including blue, green, yellow, purple, and orange. Choose from the Small Utility Caddy or the Large Utility Caddy depending on what items you need to store or transport.

Animal Themed Classroom Decorations!

Are you looking to outfit your classroom in a fun animal theme? At purefunsupply.com we have a wide variety of items that will help you decorate your room from top to bottom. We’ve even compiled a list of different Animal Themed Classroom Decorations for you to easily click through:

Animal Boarder Decorations by animal type: http://www.purefunsupply.com/Animals-Border-Decorations-s/289.htm

Animal Theme stickers: https://www.purefunsupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=animal+stickers

Animal print paper and folders: https://www.purefunsupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=animal+paper

Animal Theme Cut Out Accents: https://www.purefunsupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=animal+accents

Animal Theme Carpets: https://www.purefunsupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=animal+carpet

Animal Print theme name tags and desk cards: https://www.purefunsupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=animal+name+tags

Animal Theme Bulletin Board Sets: https://www.purefunsupply.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=animal+bulletin+board+set

Looking for a different theme for your classroom? Check out our full list of classroom decorating themes here: http://www.purefunsupply.com/Classroom-Decorations-s/286.htm

Summer Games & Activities: I Spy Bottles

I spy with my little eye a fun, summer craft that becomes a game to enjoy for hours and hours! I Spy Bottles are both fun to make and fun to use!

Here’s what you need: Clear Plastic Bottle with Lid, Items small enough to fit through the hole in the bottle, rice, a funnel, glue

The bottle you use can be any size or shape. Changing those factors can make the items in the bottle more challenging to find. Make sure the bottle is clean and allow some time for the inside to dry. Remove the lid and place the funnel in the opening of the bottle. Pour a layer of rice into the bottom. Next add one of your items. Items can include a variety of things from buttons and beads to small action figures or marbles. It’s up to you which items you would like to search for in your bottle. After adding the item, pour another layer of rice. Continue this process until the bottle has been filled.

Now you will need to glue your lid into place so it doesn’t come off. Be sure to give the glue time to dry! Now your I Spy Bottle is complete and ready to use. By spinning, shaking and tilting the bottle around, you will be able to bring the items into view. You can even write the different items on the bottle in permanent marker to help little ones remember which items they are looking for.

This simple craft has now become an activity that will keep children busy on rainy days, long car rides and more!