We Caught a Leprechaun...well almost!

When my little ones woke up this morning it was quite a scene...there was overturned furniture and quite a mess had been made. There were green footprints all over the place, in the fridge, the pantry around our trap. They were all over between the confetti, glitter and footprints I could barely see the tile floor. When my 3 year old carefully lifted the trap to see if she caught her sneaky leprechaun she found a note and a treat instead. The sneaky little fella left her some green milk and a bowl full of Lucky Charms. The tradition of Lucky the Leprechaun is one that I have used in my classroom for over ten years bringing such excitement and delight over the years. This year was the first year I did it at home and I was so amused at my daughter's excitement...it is definitely becoming a family tradition. Right up there with Otto our elf on the shelf! I will say I think I was so excited to see her reaction because after I set everything up late last night I couldn't sleep...I'm such a kid!
Here is a little teacher tip for your when preparing your paint for your leprechauns little footprints (made using a balled fist for the foot and a finger tip print for the toes) be sure to add liquid dish soap a 50/50 consistency works best with the green craft paint.
This makes for easy cleanup and no staining!

Even our dog Bailey joined in on the Leprechaun hunt...sniffing out his tracks.

 For a magically delicious math treat download my activity on graphing with Lucky Charms

Work with your child (or students) to sort the different pieces into groups and then complete the graph using their counting skills.

For some fun in the kitchen try a new recipe Lucky Charms Ice Cream

 Recipe:
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups Lucky Charms cereal
1/3 cup sugar
4 eggs yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows

Soak 1 cup of cereal in milk for 10 minutes. Drain the cereal from the milk and put milk in a pot with the sugar over medium heat. In a separate bowl, whip the egg yolks. Just as the milk is beginning to simmer, stir it into egg yolk bowl, half cup by half cup, stirring continuously. Add the egg yolk mixture back into the pot on the stove slowly. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens into a custard and coast the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour into a separate bowl. Add the heavy cream and vanilla. Cool in an ice bath or in the refrigerator. When mixture is cool, pour it into the ice cream machine and turn. When you've reach the consistency you want, stir the Lucky Charms marshmallows and remaining half cup of cereal in by hand.

Recipe from The Frozen Fix

For your students, or little ones at home you can print and use these Magically Delicious bag toppers, just print, cut and staple onto a goodie bag. They are FREE!!! So go download yours now!

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Colorful treats to catch those pesky leprechauns

 

Want to catch a sneaky little leprechaun and learn a little bit about colors this St. Patrick's Day.... then break out the cake mix and dust off that old box of food coloring. Because rainbow cakes are all the rage. I am sure you have seen countless versions on Pinterest and all over the web. There is no better way to prepare for a little St. Patrick's Day visitor than to bake a rainbow cake.

To make a rainbow cake all you need to do is separate a white cake mix into 6 separate bowls. Then add food coloring. This is a great way to introduce color mixing to your curious little ones. 

For a fun activity for the classroom or home on color sorting visit my TPT site.

To bake our little leprechaun treat simply pour cake batter into a large glass mason jar.

Starting with Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and then red. 

**Caution make sure not to overflow, fill only half way.

After being a classroom teacher for 10 years I'm pretty sure a teacher must have come up with cake baking in mason jars. Because I don't know about you but every time I had a cooking project in the classroom I always forgot the most essential of items. So I'm sure sometime somewhere a teacher forgot her cake pans and pulled out an old mason jar from her supply closet....and viola instant Pinterest phenomenon. Anyway it came to be is fine by me, I simply love the way the colors are layered together.

While your cake is baking in the oven for the next 25 - 30 minutes you can take the opportunity to review those colors with your little one. I like to use my muffin tins as sorting trays. I put colored pieces of construction paper in the bottom of each cup. I set my timer for 7 minutes and my little one runs around the house finding objects to add to her tray. This is a great hands on activity on color exploration and sorting.

We also enjoyed a little watercolor painting. A great way to teach about color blending and the primary colors is by using watercolors. We practiced making rainbows using our paints making sure we were saying each color as we painted. While we waited for our cake to cool we played a quick game of color memory, matching the color words to the corresponding color. You can get yours here.

 

With the left over cake batter we made a fantastically colorful treat to finish up our activity on colors

With a few activities on colors under your belt you are on your way to St. Patrick's Day. Now that your rainbow cake is all done all that is left to do is to design a  leprechaun trap to catch one of those sneaky little fellas. My three year old really used her imagination tonight to create hers, she gathered all kinds of supplies from around the house, we set our rainbow cake in the middle and got the trap ready. She went to bed tonight filled with anticipation she can't wait to wake up in the morning and see if she caught a pesky little leprechaun.....I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. Stay tuned.

 

If you would like to have a leprechaun visit your class or home and you want some cute activities for St. Patrick's Day stop by my TPT site.

 

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Little Man turns one! Party Planning on a budget

It has been a busy week of party planning.....so many ideas so little time. Between fabulous party blogs and Pinterest I can spend hours lost in a creative coma. My only problem is my inspiration and my budget usually don't align. I love getting ideas from Kara's party ideas and other sites like hers, however I have to remind myself that these parties are usually professionally designed and have a budget that's out of this world......so when I wake up from my creative coma and drift back into reality that's where the frugal party planning begins.

Here are some tips I used to throw my son's first birthday party on a very frugal budget. 

The best tip is start planning early that way you can spread out your purchases and take advantages of sales and coupons to make your purchases. Around party planning time the Hobby Lobby folks know me by name, I think I am in there once a week with my coupon in hand (on my phone of course)
I like choosing colors for a party and going from there. That way you can save by reusing supplies from previous events. By using one unifying color you can even utilize items for both sexes. I usually use green a lot for both my son and my daughter. That way I am not purchasing new items for each party.
The first was I like to save some money is by designing my own invitations...if you aren't a designer no worries stop by my shop Magic By Marcy for some custom invitations that you can print at home or at your favorite photo site ( most of them run specials monthly on prints) My favorite place to print is www.mpix.com they have great shipping rates, print on cardstock and include envelopes (25 for $19)

 

The best way to make a visual impact is to incorporate your invitation into your actual party. Food tags, favor tags, cupcake toppers, water bottle labels & candy wrappers ( just to name a few). Printing these on cardstock at home is a great money saver. 

 

Favors

The party favors were my favorite part they were so deceptively easy and definitely didn't break the bank. I took Nila wafers ( 1 box was plenty) and used royal icing  (made from scratch... meringue powder, powdered sugar, food coloring and water) to ice the cookies before placing them in plastic favor bags and stapling a favor bag tag on the top.

 

Decor and more.....

 

My next money saving tip is to keep the decor simple. I used fabric scraps to make a wreath, a table runner and table squares for the tables. If you have pinking shears you don't even need to know how to sew. No sew iron on hemming tape is another way to avoid the sewing machine.

To make this wreath simply cut fabric (4 to 5 different types) into 1 1/2 X 4 inch strips, then tie around a styrofoam wreath. I added a cardboard 1 that I painted with some craft paint.

I love using tissue paper pom poms for decor, they are bright and visual and very easy to make...and for 99 cents a piece who can beat that! I like using one whole pack of tissue paper for a pom pom.

 I also love using things from around the house, simple mason jars and some flowers from the yard make gorgeous simple centerpieces for any occasion.

 For the cake....remember to utilize local talent. You can often find people right in your area that make cakes for half the price of a fancy bakery or local grocery store. My last and most important tip...Keep the food simple. 3 or 4 options are best that way you don't have a lot of food that goes to waste. I like to pick foods I can use the next day for a meal if we have leftovers. My favorite party leftover recipe is Texas Caviar (at the party) / Southwest Chicken (next day)

Texas Caviar: 1 can black beans, 2 cans sweet corn, 1/2 a sweet onion finely chopped, freshly chopped cilantro, a dash of red wine vinegar, a dash of lime juice and a sprinkle of kosher salt

Southwest Chicken: Marinate your chicken breast in lime juice and your favorite seasonings. Cook chicken and set aside. Cook 1 package of yellow rice add chicken on top cover generously with your left over texas caviar and then sprinkle with mexican shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 - 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I hope that you are inspired to create a one of a kind party that will leave your guests talking and some money left in the bank. Everyone knows that Amanda and I love a good party if you need ideas or want to hire us to create your next one of a kind occasion contact us at simplysprout@gmail.com

 

To view the entire party go here

Invitations and Party Printables can be found at:Magic By Marcy

Kaitlyn's Dress made by: HootyCutie Designs

Party Hat Created by:  Julia at Bows and Holders on ETSY

Cake By: Marilyn Gingrich

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Egg-citing Door Decor

An Egg-citing Easter activity that's as easy as 1-2-3 

Have your little ones help you get into the Easter spirit with this fun and easy wreath.
Just tie the yarn onto the styrofoam wreath and let your little one wrap it around. My almost 4 year old practiced a few different skills while wrapping the yarn. We started first by signing her ABC's then we moved on to practicing her numbers. We counted to 30 a few times before we were all finished wrapping. Once you get to the end tie a knot so it stays in place. Next I had my little one practice her sorting skills by placing the eggs into three groups, small, medium and large. Once she was done she handed them to me so I could hot glue them on to our wreath. When we were all done I hung it with some ribbon on our front door.

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What does it take to trap a leprechaun?

It's leprechaun season around here, and that means it's time to trap a few of these little folk legends. I've seen and heard all the fun chaos (do those two words go together?) that leprechauns can bring to primary classrooms, but I want my fifth graders to join in on the festivities. Since St. Patrick's day also falls in the season of testing in Florida, I want to make sure that my students are using their science skills to lure these mysterious Irish guys into some well designed traps.

I have Irish roots and can thank my ancestors for freckles and fair skin, but also for the fun that goes along with this holiday. Here are a few things I've told my students to be aware of:

* Leprechauns are little and can fit into the craziest of spaces.
* They're probably wearing green, have a red beard, and most likely a top hat.
* Legend has it that they are looking for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Here are some cute and creative takes on trapping the little men.





Source: Tip Junkie

My wish upon a rainbow would be for my students to have to use at least two simple machines in their trap design, bait, and a written description of how they accomplished this goal. You can find my direction page here. If my students are LUCKY I might put out some items like Popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, string, clothespins, tape, glue, cages (strawberry containers), and whatever else I can round up. You want the children to be inventive and creative with this, so don't give them too much!

Marcy has some great rainbow crafts for preschool and primary students coming in the next couple of days. Make sure to follow the rainbow back here soon!

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Join us for a hopping good time!

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They say it's your 100th birthday!

Oh Oreo you don’t look a day over 30! You are still just as you unique, delicious, and multi-layered as you were a century ago. What other cookie can boost dozens of ways to be enjoyed? Whether it be dunked in ice cold milk, disassembled, or mixed into a milkshake; you’ve still got it going on!

In honor of your 100th birthday on Tuesday, March 6th, we’ve brought you a math and science lesson to do at home or at school with your little Cookie Monsters!

Young and old astronomers will enjoy learning about the moon’s phases using Oreos. For the little ones, start with the basics. Point out four of the moon’s phases using this printable during snack time. Give children two Oreos, a plastic spoon or knife, and let their inner Galileo shine! For preschool to young elementary age, children understanding the moon’s phases in a linear fashion is fine.


This was Mack's first Oreo experience, and I'll just say he was "Over the moon!"

If you want to take this concept to the older crowd, challenge them to make all eight of the moon’s phases in a circular orbit on a paper plate. Make sure they throw the Earth and Sun in their diagram too!



Oreo cookies are great for teaching about circumference as well. Students can use a string, ruler, and of course an Oreo to understand the relationship between circumference and diameter. This might just tempt you to make an Oreo pi (wink, wink)! Find a printable of this lesson here.

Oh and since the cutest Girl Scout, Mary Kate, delivered some scrumptious favorites (sorry Oreo, I love others too!)just the other day, I like to have my students compare the circumference of an Oreo to a Thin Mint.

Sounds like all we do is eat around here. Don't worry, It's all in the name of learning!

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