There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly Literacy Bag

I've been busy reopening my Ebay Shop and adding new items. I recently added There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed...Literacy Bag. These books are always a hit with children and I made story cards and props to go with 9 books. Here is a picture of my hand painted canvas bag - I wasn't sure if I would be able to paint the Old Lady, but I'm happy with how it turned out:

The literacy bag includes a CD with all of the activities. My kids love "feeding" the old lady. I made objects from each of the books to go with my Old Lady. The Old Lady is really cute and the graphic is from Original Country Clipart by Lisa. Here's a picture of my Old Lady:

Awhile back I stumbled on a great deal on Amazon. They priced some great Child's Play Storysacks at a steal. I bought 10 of them before they raised the price back to $65. I've got a few left and you can buy them for $25 in my Ebay shop if you get it with the opening bid. The set comes with a really cute stuffed old lady and bean filled objects to feed her from the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly book - the book and everything pictured is included too! Here is a picture:

I'd love to hear your teaching ideas for the Old Lady Books - feel free to comment away!
Pam

Hands On Learning Fun Blog Updates

I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS!!!!!!!

I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to make my blog more interactive. I want to keep it fresh and up to date, without posting just to be posting. I've enjoyed getting the hang of blogging and thank goodness - I'm getting quicker!

So, I'm going to tweak a few things, keeping it fun and making sure it's not tooooo time consuming for me!

Most of my posts follow some sort of theme and I will continue following that format.

Instead of posting every day, I will introduce a topic with my ideas and hopefully your comments will help guide my future posts - keeping the topics fresh and fun.

I would love to hear your ideas on current topics as well as ideas for future ones. What you've done in the past, favorite books, educational activities, etc. Have a great craft? Email me a picture and I will be happy to post it.

Have a funny to share? Kids can say the funniest things. We all need a laugh - let's share them!

Looking for a great recipe? Or ways to save money? Leave a comment.

Looking for ideas? Leave a comment and we can all share our ideas and expertise.



It's really easy to leave a comment. At the end of every post, you will see comments. Just click on it and a new box will open up and type away! Find a really great coupon or giveaway? Leave a comment and let us know!

Later today, I will post my new giveaway. The guidelines have changed (remember it's work in progress!), so be sure and read the entry rules.

I've also stumbled across some great blogs that help me save money with coupons and groceries. I will share them later this evening.



To make it easy to remember, you can sign up for email updates. You will receive via email new posts and you can click on the link and comment away!

Happy Monday!
Pam

Teacher Appreciation Week: What is a Teacher?

WHAT IS A TEACHER?
A teacher is someone
who sees each child

as a unique person
and encourages individual
talents and strengths.
A teacher looks beyond
each child's face
and sees inside their souls.
A teacher is someone
with a special touch
and a ready smile,
who takes the time to listen
to both sides
and always tries to be fair.
A teacher has a caring heart
that respects and understands.
A teacher is someone
who can look past disruption
and rebellion,
and recognize hurt and pain.
A teacher teaches the entire child,
and helps to build confidence
and raise self-esteem.
A teacher makes a difference
in each child's life,
and affects each family
and the future of us all.
by Barbara Cage

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week

I am offering a gift certificate good in any of my shops.

Certificates can be in any amount and personalized.

Email or convo me and mention you are a blog follower and you will receive a 10% discount for gift certificates up to $50

All gift certificates $50 or greater will receive

20% savings!
Just print certificate and you are set!

Each certificate has a code and can only be redeemed once.

This offer is only good during Teacher Appreciation Week

Here are some links for other ideas:

Volunteer Spot free ebook of ideas
All Star Activities Creative Teacher Gifts

Cute door decoration ideas from Skip to My Lou

Sunshine 4 Teachers

Enjoy!
Pam

Manic Monday Giveaway!!!!!

Manic Monday Giveaway
Sponsored by my friend, Shawna Huggins

Shawna has a wonderful Etsy shop: The Student Corner

Shawna's Info:

Hi, my name is Shawna Huggins. I am a professional tutor . That means that I get to work with students of all ages (9 - 21) on academic subjects ranging from punctuation to physics, astronomy to ancient history, and geometry to game making, all in one day. I work out of my home and the students come to me because all my toys are here.

Currently, three of my students are participating in the Etsy store experience. We use Etsy to practice creative writing (product descriptions) and math (gee, what does net and gross mean, and what do you mean pay pal takes a percentage - what is percentage anyway?). It is amazing how quickly students learn decimals, multiplication, division, and percent when they have to use it to figure out how much of the sale they get to take home.

We are so happy to be participating in the Monday Madness Giveaway. All of the art in this store was made by Nalani, Age 13, Keelianna, Age 9, and Kyle, Age 13.
I live in Medford, Oregon with my husband, dog, and cat. We have a grown daughter living in Portland, Oregon. We laugh a lot and enjoy life.

Giveaway Info:

You may enter: April 20th - April 26th

Winners will be announced Sunday, April 27th

How to Enter:

Follow my blog - 1 entry

Visit Shawna's shop: The Student Corner and leave a comment about your favorite item - 1 entry

Visit my artfire shop: Hands On Learning Fun and leave a comment about your favorite item - 1 entry

Post about my giveaway on your blog and leave comment with link - 3 entries!

Send a email to your friends about the giveaway with a link to my blog and copy me: handsonlearningfun@live.com - 3 entries!

I love comments!!!! Comment throughout the week about my posts and receive 1 entry per day

You will receive 2 photo cards by Keelianna, age 9



Summer Time photo Card by Keelianna, Age 9

I love summer and sunflowers.

Hi, My name is Keelianna. I'm almost 9. I love to paint. When I was four I used to doodle. I still do. My doodles look much better now. So now you know me. Bye.This is a photo of Keelianna's original painting. It is glued to a 6.5 x 5 inch folded ivory card and comes with an envelope.Keelianna enjoys painting, reading, writing stories, and learning new things every day.

Happy Time photo card by Keelianna, Age 9.

I made this painting when I was very happy. It is a heart with wings and a halo.

Hi, My name is Keelianna. I'm almost 9. I love to paint. when I was four I used to doodle. I still do. My doodles look much better now. So now you know me. Bye.This is a photo of Keelianna's original painting. It is glued to a 6.5 x 5 folded ivory card and comes with an envelope. Keelianna enjoys painting, reading, writing stories, and learning how to borrow in subtraction.

Have a great week!
Pam

Hands On Learning Fun Artfire Shop

I have a new Hands On Learning Shop at Artfire. I'm still in the process of listing items and if you don't see what you're looking for, please email me and I will be happy to list it for you.

Here's the thing about Artfire - NO FEES!!!!!! Artfire only charges a small monthly fee - no listing fee, no final value fee, which means lower prices for you - anywhere from 10% - 15% less!!!

So, if you get a few moments, visit my shop and let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Pam