February Find-it Shaker!

I'm trying to move past the insane idea that I'm already thinking about Valentine's Day and planning activities for St. Patrick's Day when Christmas was just like two days ago. So, what better way to move ahead than with a fun freebie!? I mentioned that my pile o'plastic crap is threatening to topple over and potentially bury me under itself, so I've made it a goal of mine to actually use it up. For this one, I used one of the 12 (eek!) empty juice jars I have collected to make another one of my rice shaker activities.

If you're new around here, check out my synonym shaker {HERE} and my antonym shaker {HERE}.
Those posts also cover some of the how-to's, like coloring the rice, which I may or may not be a little addicted to.

I do have some helpful hints to pass along. I was dying my rice with vinegar, which is what I had on hand. It works well, but it is stinky. I bought some alcohol for this batch and it works pretty much just the same, but it doesn't stink nearly as much and it was dry in about an hour. Also, I noticed when my kids were using the antonym shaker, the word cards were getting all bunched up in the neck of the bottle. They didn't have that problem with the synonym shaker. When I compared them I saw how much less rice was in the synonym shaker...that's the only difference, so that's go to be why.


So...here's the new addition to the shaker fam! Isn't she cute?
She's all pink and heart-y! This activity is a little different. Inside the bottle are 21 words that fit into three categories: Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and Presidents Day. The kids will shake up the bottle and when they find a word, they'll have to decide which category the word best fits into. The word "holiday" is also in there as a bonus word that would fit into all of the categories.

The freebie file contains everything you'll need, besides the rice and juice of course :)
Just click on the picture below to download it from GoogleDocs.

Have fun shakin it up!

Photobucket




47 comments

  1. What a clever idea Denise! Love it and these are great to even take to sub!!! :-)

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  2. What kind of juice bottle did you use? I tried one kind, but it was too small and the cards and rice could not move around. Do you think an old mayo jar would work? I love the idea of the shakers and am looking forward to making them. Thanks.

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  3. Hi Pam,
    I use the Tropicana Trop 50 bottles. They work great if you don't add too much rice :)

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  4. For spelling test review games, you could also put little plastic pieces or pictures of the items in the rice from the word list and have the students test their spelling of the words. I love the "I Spy" games.

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  5. This is amazing!! I am really in love with this idea!!! My hubs is going to go bananas when I tell him we need to first buy drinks in these bottles and then save them :)

    A Cupcake for the Teacher

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  6. I haven't had a chance to make these, but have been saving your freebies in a file to make this summer! :) Thanks!

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  7. I LOVE these! I have done the other two and my students have so much fun while learning! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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  8. These are so cute! I am going to put them on my summer to do list!

    Sunshine, Sand and Scissors

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  9. These are ADORABLE :) I can't wait to make them! Thanks for sharing this great idea :) Have a great night :)

    Lisa :)
    Made In The Shade In Second Grade

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  10. how do you get the sticky stuff off the bottle to make it all nice and clean?

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  11. I adore. Thx for so generously sharing!!

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  12. Love this!!!!

    Jennifer- who will be adding those bottles to my list! :)

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  13. You're the absolute best!!!
    And yes, she's a cutie!
    A Teeny Tiny Teacher

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  14. You are awesome! I made your synonym shakers. I'm going to make the antonym shakers and now I'm in love with the February word find! Time to dye some more rice this weekend! Thank you so much for sharing!! When I grow up...I wanna be like you!!! :o)

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  15. Sydney - not sure what other people used to get the sticky label off, but I used Goo Gone. It's the best stuff ever! I use it for all kinds of sticky stuff...especially desks at the end of the year when I'm trying to get remnants of tape off.

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  16. I love these shakers! And the rice, so pretty! Such little things make teachers MEGA happy!

    Ashley
    Live2Learn

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  17. What a great idea!

    Jodi
    fun-in-first.blogspot.com

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  18. Love this idea!! Thanks for joining in Kathy's giveaway! Love your blog!!

    Jennifer
    The First Grade Dream

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  19. Such a fun, cute idea! Thank you so much for posting and sharing it!

    First Grade Delight
    imgoingfirst@gmail.com

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  20. What a great idea! Do you hot glue the lid shut? If not, have you had any trouble with your students opening the bottle and making a mess?

    Michelle
    Teach123

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  21. What a great idea! I will definitely be making this for my firsties!!!! :)
    -Amanda

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  22. Thanks so much for the great idea! Went right to the recycling bin to get a container. It has been soaking all afternoon with no sign of the label coming off so will try the "goo - gone". Thank you again

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  23. You can peel the label off... then use the Goo Gone to get the rest of it off of the bottle. Also... with the rice.... I assume you are using the "regular" rice .. and not Minute Rice?

    I finally dyed the rice tonight. :o)

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  24. I slide a razor under one corner of the label and work it a bit to lift it. Then I slowly peel it off. Then a little squirt of goo gone gets off the rest. Then I use some Windex to clear off the residue :)

    And yes, regular, cheap rice is perfect!

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  25. Thank you!

    I created the synonymn and antonymn shakers last week and I'm having issues with static inside the bottle. It's making all of the cards stick together. =[ Any ideas?

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  26. What a darling and versatile idea! When I get a minute, I'm going to make this one!
    DillyDabbles

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  27. I love this idea and am going to dye some rice right now! I can't wait! I want to make some word family/rhyming shakers. How did you make your labels? What program did you use? Thanks!...Leslie

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  28. @Tiffany - I didn't really have that problem too much. :/ I have laminated cards and left them not laminated. I have to say the one that were not laminated tended to find each other a little less for some reason.

    @ninaroja - I just use Pages on a Mac for everything. Just make a table and fill in the words :)

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  29. Thanks! Where did you find your clip art?? :) Thanks again, Leslie
    PS My rice is dyed, my jar (an old pickle jar) is cleaned and I am now working on my worksheets! I can't wait to share this with my team and my kiddos!

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  30. one more question...are your circle labels stickers?

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  31. These are so totally awesome and are ALL OVER THE PLACE on Pinterest :)

    Elizabeth

    Fun in Room 4B

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  32. LOVE THIS IDEA! I'm going to try it with my students who are struggling with identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives. Can't wait to get started!

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  33. I am so glad I am not the only one with a pile of plastic... bottles, formula containers, coffee containers. I think my hubby wants to kill me :). Thanks for the idea! I like the rice idea... cheaper than stuff.
    Awesome! Adding this to my to do list!

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  34. I really like this idea and can't wait to try it! Is there more than one size of Tropicana 50? The ones I buy are 59oz. Are there smaller ones that you use? How much rice does it take for a bottle? Thanks so much for sharing your work!

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  35. Hi Suz!
    I use the Trop50 bottles that are the family size juice bottles they sell with all the other juice. Does that make sense? I don't have any with labels on to check the ounces, but that sounds right. I takes about 5 pounds of rice to fill it. I buy the rice in 10 lb bags and dye it all at once :)

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  36. Thank you for the great idea!! I love it!
    korjen525@hotmail.com

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  37. I absolutely LOVE this idea. I am currently working with a group of little ones (kindergarteners) that really need a special "spark of fun" to stay attentive. This will do the trick. I am off to "pin" this on my great teaching ideas board.

    Cindy
    http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/2012/01/february-find-it-shaker.html

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  38. I love this! I'm going to make some for the 2nd grader I tutor.

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  39. WOW! I have discovery bottles but I LOVE these!!!!!

    Tropicana bottles are bigger and better--coloring the rice? Perfect. I'm trying this ASAP. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  40. Reading lots of books can help but it is time consuming and labor intensive.

    click here

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