I mustache you to.....

I recently received some great products from Creative Teaching Press. They asked me which items looked appealing and fun to me, and I have to tell you I found quite a few. Over the next few weeks I will share some product reviews with you and how I decided to use them in my life and classroom. I say 'life' in this instance, because my 9 and 1/2, 10 in 2 months year old daughter absolutely loves mustaches.  I don't know if you have noticed, but mustaches have invaded the world of fashion and accessories for the young pre-teen and tween generations. 

When I opened the box of Goodies, she took one look at the Mustache Medley and stickers, grabbed them and ran to her room!
She came back with this...

She taught herself how to make balloon animals, and what balloon animal is complete without his mustache?! But seriously, I think she is on to something here, don't you?

There are 2 different size mustaches.  Of course, when I got to school she punched all of them out for me. The larger mustaches have small cut-outs so you can place them on the end of a pencil.  The small ones have a million uses. I used them to create reading pointers for my students.
I mustache you to read.....

Mustache reading pointers have really engaged my students. They all grab the mustache pointer hold it under their noses and just grin from ear to ear!

Once the grinning has subsided, they use them to track and point and find their answers. Can you say Text Dependent Questions?  When I am in my small group, I want ALL of my students to answer. They are all required to find the word or phrase in the text that answers the question--How can you have 5 kids answer at the same time? They point to the word in the text with their reading pointers.

Another way I used these mustaches as well as the Happy Hearts Cut-outs, was for my Valentines Gifts.

First, my daughter helped me glue the small mustaches on to the hearts. (She will do anything mustache related!)

I added the phrase, I mustache you to be my Valentine!

I also taped a lolly-pop to the back :0)

In addition to this little Valentine, my students used the hearts to decorate their Valentine's bags.

They also used the Dots On Turquoise Stickers to add their names to their bags. We also made little cards for parents using the Color-Me Hearts. I actually used the Color-Me hearts in my regular classroom and my Sunday School Classroom as well. Both boys and girls were able to choose a design they liked and add a sweet message on the back.

I MUSTACHE you TO find something new and creative to use in your classroom. Stop back in next week for my product reviews!