I'm Not an Artist!

I wish I could inherit some of my children's artistic abilities!  All three of my children are very creative and can draw and create awesome pieces of art.  I can sew, but I wish I could pick up a piece of paper and draw something besides a stick figure.  Once a friend of mine asked me to paint ceramics with her.  I told her I couldn't paint.  She was sure I could handle it and insisted that everyone can paint.  I proved her wrong and she had to finish painting my project for me.  Over the years I have asked my kids to draw things for me, but they are growing up and moving out of the house or busy with other things like homework when I need something drawn.  Luckily I have now figured out how to make technology my friend.  I can use my computer projector to project an image and all I have to do is trace!  I love it!  My students are so impressed when they see my work.

I guess I'm not totally unartistic!  I like to sew.  I made this for my daughter 19 years ago for Easter.  I haven't been able to part with it.  I hung it up where I usually have a quilted wall hanging!  The same daughter is currently making a quilt of the periodic table!

For many of my students, Clifford is a bit easy.  However, they all started trying to read every Clifford book they could get their hands on last week.  I'm going with the crowd and we're going to use Clifford this week for sequencing, character, setting plot, nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives!  It's going to be a big red week! 

Ahhh...Technology!  I can't believe I taught so many years without you...
Clifford will be red, but I'll let some of my kids who love to color take care of that for me!  I have several students that visit at the end of the day and love "helping" me.  Be sure to come back on Friday so you can see what kind of job they did!

Need some eggcellent ideas?  Here are a couple!

I used paint samples to cut out egg shapes. (See how unartistic they are?)  My daughter looked for words in magazines that were one, two and three syllables long.  They can sort these later in the week, but tomorrow I'll hide them around the room and they will find them and record them on the sheet below.
Eggcellent Idea!

Whoops!  I see a mistake already...Entertainment has more than three syllables!  

My students all know this word.  It's one of my favorites, but it must be dark!

My other egg idea involves money....Now I've got your attention.  If chocolate didn't get it, money will!  I've put money into the clear eggs I got for $1.00 at meijers.  I programmed an empty egg carton with different money amounts.  Students need to count the money in the egg and then put the egg in the corresponding egg holder.  My students love anything that has to do with money.  They study each coin and look for the date and where it was minted.  I've never had a class so interested in money!

Are you jealous of my floor?  My husband refurnished them last summer.  I love him more than the floors!

Close-up!

Finally, I have a challenge for you!  I just received a box full of tiles. I want to do something awesome with them.  You now know I'm not so artistic!  Do you have an idea you could share with me?  I know they could be sorted and counted.  I'm looking for something really awesome to do with these and I'm hoping YOU can give me an idea!  PLEASE leave me a comment with an idea for these awesome tiles, or my man will just have to make a back-splash at the house we're moving into this summer!

I know YOU have an awesome educational idea for these!