Items filtered by date: April 2011

Some of you may be wondering as I do, where did the year go?  It slugs by in March and then like a snowball, picks up speed after spring break. 

I think it's because there is so much to get accomplished, and such a short amount of time left to do it in!

Well I've got some quickie time savers for you that might help, if you're looking for some things for graduation. 

Some schools have a preschool graduation and skip kindergarten and others go all out. 

Perhaps you'll find something here to commemorate your child's special day whether your school celebrates this milestone or not.

Certificates: I've designed several for either preschool or kindergarten.  Simply fill in the student's name after the word "Congratulations" and then fill in the school, teacher and date.  These make nice keepsakes for scrapbooks. 

I've also included 12 other certificates for  expertise in the various subjects, behavior, perfect attendance and a special award for both a boy & girl that you can make up! Click on the link to view/print the graduation and praise certificates.

I think giving awards is extremely important in helping to  build a child's self-esteem.  I have over 100 more certificates available.  Click on the link to check it out.  The money from the sale of this item goes to the prevention of suicide in memory of my twin's son Daniel.

Write them a congratulations note: I like giving my students special notes "from the teacher." It's also another way of building their self-esteem and making them feel special.  I call this "Paper Love." 

One of my students brought in a notebook for his "Share and Tell" time. He had all of his certificates and paper love notes from me glued in this notebook along with other mementoes from our class.  I thought that was really cool. 

Click on the link to view/print Graduation NOTES from your teacher.

Make a graduation bookmark: You can have your students make these, or you can make and laminate them as a special gift for your graduates. Click on the link to view/print the graduation bookmark  patterns.  To make it extra special make a copy of their class picture and glue it under the cap. 

For the 2011 bookmark, cut their school pix into an oval, cut a slit under the hat, insert the pix and glue it under the cap and over the globe. (I did the same thing for the other bookmark.) Make them sturdier by mounting them on construction paper using your school colors.  Our colors are red and white, so I'm all set.

I've also included a "Congratulations!" graduate-slap bracelet.  Personalize them by writing your students' names or the year on them before you tape them to their wrist.  Run the sheet through the laminator so they last all day.

Write a class book: Graduation Day can be a crazy day.  It's nice to have a fun activity that will also turn into a keepsake.  Have each student make a page for this year's kindergarten "These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things" class book.  When students are done, laminate and collate the book and then read it to your students. 

Make it more personal by including a school picture by their name.  Students write a sentence and illustrate their page.  Remind them that this is the end of the year so they should be giving you their best effort.  Click on the link to view/print a copy for your class. 

I've also included a graphing page, Happy Graduation writing sheet, as well as a letter your students can write to next year's kindergartners!  You can help them with this or it can be a take-home activity.

Make a Badge, Necklace, or Pencil Topper: I have learned that you really don't have to spend a lot of money to make a child happy and bring a smile to their face. 

I buy packs of pencils in August and September + colored pencils and skinny markers when all of the office supply stores are competing with each other and having wonderful crazy sales. 

I use these each month when I dream up some cute little pencil topper. I run it off, cut a top and bottom slit, and insert a brand new pencil. 

I then have a practical gift that fits the theme or season and my students are delighted to practice writing with a colored marker or whatever. 

This master can also be turned into a necklace by punching two holes at the top and inserting a piece of yarn, or plastic lacing string.  I buy neon-colored straws, cut them up and let students alternate them with pony beads to make lovely necklaces. 

You could also use these for a name badge and make it more of a keepsake by including your students' photo.  They would make cute placecards as well!

Click on the link to view/print the graduation master.

Make Invitations: It's probably on your calendar, and you've probably mentioned the day in your newsletter, but most parents today keep some sort of scrapbook, so why not send a real preschool/kindergarten graduation invitation to them.  Include an extra for grandparents. 

Have your students help you design it and then they can fill it out in their own handwriting! How precious is that!  Here's one idea: Have them write the sentence: Come applaud for me at my graduation.  Then trace each child's hand for the cover and have them cut it out, or simply paint their hand and press it to the paper. 

Have them make eyes, nose and a smile on their hand print so that it looks like a face.  I've also included a generic form for you to run off that they can glue to the inside of their card, as well as a sheet of stationery and a graduation day autograph page.  Click on the link to view/print the graduation-invitation things.   

Make Sashes: You know how college grads wear gold braided honor cords around their necks?  You could have your students make their own "honor sashes" to drape around their shoulders and cascade down the front of their gowns or clothes to add that bit of pizzazz. 

Use cash register tape!  Take a measuring tape and see how long you want them to fall in front of your students, and then cut the cash register tapes that long.  Lay them out on the floor on bulletin board paper so that they don't get paint on the linoleum. 

Give students a sponge stamp of the theme of your graduation or the mascott of your school.  A heart, butterfly, handprint, apple or smilie face also looks cute.  Have the students use a rainbow of colored paint. 

Let dry and then have a room helper, or the children if you want, write in vertical black marker: 2011 graduate on one side of the sash.  On the other sash have them write the name of your school or preschool/kindergarten, or you could write their name on the right side and 2011 preschool/kindergarten graduate on the left sash. 

Have a special SNACK: You can make these with your students or whip them up at home and have them ready as a surprise treat for them.  Buy a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Make sure these are the small ones. 

My husband came home with a package of two and they were too big! Buy a box of square crackers.  I used Triskets, but not every child likes those.  Wheat Thins are yummy, but a bit on the small side. 

You'll also need a bag of Nestles Toll House milk chocolate morsels, and a bag of M&M's + a tube of yellow frosting.  If you don't want to mess with melting and dipping chocolate you can always opt to simply frost the crackers with chocolate frosting, but I think real dipped chocolate is worth the hassel. 

I melted a 1/2 cup of morsels for 1 minute in my microwave. Experiment as all microwaves are different. 

Lay your peanut butter cups on a sheet of waxed paper that is on a cookie sheet.  Put a dollop of melted chocolate on the top of the peanut butter cup and then squish the Trisket on top of it. 

Using a plastic knife spread the melted chocolate onto the Trisket and then put an M&M in the middle of the cracker. 

You could pick out your school colors if you want to go with a color-theme. 

I did one grad cap at a time.  When you're done,  squeeze a ribbon of yellow frosting out of the tube to make a "tassel" on each one.

And finally... READ a book. 

My personal favorites are Dr. Seuss' Oh the Places You'll Go and Yay You! by Sandra Boynton

Also good are First Grade Here I Come by Carlson,  Graduation Day is Here by Maccarone,   and because my own daughter loved Hello Kitty,  I'll put in a plug for Hello Kitty's Graduation Day. 

I end my own year in Y5's with a re-reading of the Little Engine That Could as well as the sequel I Knew You Could, by Dorfman, because I start out our year with a "We're CAN-DO kids!" theme. 

There's really not much out there in the way of graduation books for little ones.  If you know of any,  I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com

I hope you've found some ideas to help you celebrate your special day!

Congratulations to you and your little ones! 

We study various life-cycles during the year.  I like to end school with the life-cycle of a frog because my students will be "leaping" into a new grade.  They came to me as a small Y5 egg, hatched into a wiggly little tadpole; swam their way through all sorts of units; grew, and grew and hopped through September into June!  Now it's time to leap forward into summer and splash around in the sunshine.

I hope you'll enjoy making some of these quick and easy projects to help your little polliwogs quickly grasp some science facts in a fun way!

Frog Life-Cycle Crowns:

A fun art extension for your students to make is a life-cycle crown.  My Y5's LOVE wearing crowns.  If you don't want to make this into a crown, simply skip the step of adding on a headband and you're done.  You can display them on a wall as is, or put the frogs on a lily pad. 

The life-cycle circle is the belly of the frog and makes a nice science review.  If you opt for the crowns, don them, line up your little ones and hop around in parade-like formation to help get the wiggles out. To view/print the frog life-cycle crown, click on the link. 

An easy way to make a crown is simply use 1 and a 1/2 pre-made sentence strips.  Bulletin board borders are also inexpensive, durable and make for a bright headband as well.  You can match them to whatever theme you want, or simply green, green striped or polka dots looks really smashing too!

Remember to staple strips so that the prickly parts of a staple are on the outside so that they don't scratch a forehead or get a girl's long hang caught.

Frog Life-Cycle Sliders:

Another quick and easy art activity is a "slider". To make a frog life-cycle slider click on the link. Have students add large wiggle eyes and left over valentine heart stickers to add some extra pizzazz.

Frog Booklets:

I've also made an easy reader so that students can practice their reading and writing skills entitled The Life Cycle Of A Frog.

Don't forget to check out the FREEBIE of the month, Where Have All the Flies Gone? It's an easy-reader subtraction booklet that has those adult life-cycle frogs gobbling up the flies. It includes an art extension where students can make a frog with a long tongue they curl on a crayon and then stick the flies on.  Click on the link to view/print one.

Where Is Froggy is a darling spatial direction booklet. 

Other Frog Stuff:

If you'd like more frog activities, click on the links to check out my 78-page Frog Unit ($2.95) as well as some cute art activities in the 98-page May Art Mini-Book ($1.99). Here you can see pictures of some of my other frog life-cycle art projects dangling from the ceiling in the hallway!  Click on the link and then on the camera button. 

I like to recycle things and we used our milk cartons from the lunch room as an under-base for our frog life-cycles. It's one of my favorites as the frog is sitting on a lily pad.  Simply have students twist the end of a white coffee filter to make the perfect water flower. Insert it into a small hole that's made with a hole punch in the side of their lily pad.  This will add a nice 3-dimensional effect to any bulletin board.

Why not become a gold subscription member and be able to down load these kinds of activities at no additional charge for an entire year.

Frog Books:

Two of my favorite frog books to read are Icky Sticky Frog complete with a sticky rubber tongue you can pull and snap while you read the story, (The art project that goes with my "Where Have All The Flies Gone?" is a wonderful math-art-reading extension to do after readomg this book! I also like The Wide Mouth Frog, by Keith Faulkner, which is an adorable pop-up book. 

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They are definitely "must have's" for your frog collection of books, as my Y5's will attest.  They repeatedly beg: "Read it again pllllllease!"  For a larger list of my favorites check out my side BLOG Books of the Month, and then click on the May Bibliography link.  

Be sure to check out the Five Little Speckled Frog activities article after this one!

  I hope you have a "toad-ally" awesome time doing your frog-spring things!

1-2-3 Come Study Frogs With Me!

All of the activities mentioned in this article can be viewed/printed in the 39-page Five Speckled Frog Packet at the end.  I hope you enjoy it!

You've probably used the sing-along story Five Speckled Frogs to help young students learn to count and older students learn to recognize words and subtract.  I designed some new things that you can do with this old time favorite.

Run off my masters and use them as large flashcards to tell the story.  Students can count the frogs and fill in the empty space as you go.  Laminate the sheets so that you can have a child use a dry erase marker and write in the numbers.  Pass out small chalkboards/dry erase boards and have students practice writing the numbers as well, then hold the boards up to see if they have written the correct number(s).

Students can read the story as you repeat the verses.  You can also make copies of these, so students can trace and fill in their own individual booklets. 

While you are reading, choose 5 students to be frogs.  Laminate the number 1-5 cards and pin them to each child.  Run off five frog cards and number them 1-5.  Make a log by rolling up a long sheet of bulletin board paper and laying it in front of the frog children.  As you read the story have a frog child jump off the log into the pond.  This could be another sheet of bulletin board paper, only blue, or a blue oval carpet.  The first frog to jump off the log should be the number five frog. 

 Frog Masks:

You could also make 5 frog masks and have the five students wear the masks for this activity as well.  This makes a wonderful art extension so that every child has the opportunity to wear a mask and hop around as a frog.  Practice the math report card standard of counting by 5's to 100 and hop around that many times! If you're learning to count backwards from 10 to 0, don the masks, crouch down and "blast off" the log.

 Frog Puppet

The paper plate frog puppet is a nice art extension. Everyone can make one or just make one for yourself to use as a manipulative to tell this story + other frog related adventures.  Simply cut a large paper plate in half and staple it to the top of the back of a large folded paper plate.  You manipulate the frog's mouth by inserting your four fingers in the top "pocket" that was made by the two-stapled plates as your thumb rests on the bottom half.

 Frog Skill Sheets:

I've provided skill sheets for tracing, then writing number words and numbers as the appropriate group/sets of frogs are shown, as well as addition/subtraction and counting sheets. How many words rhyme with log?  Trace and then write them.  Ff is for frog and flies is another skill sheet.  I've also included an opportunity to connect the dots on a speckled frog by 1's and 5's of course!

Frog Game:

Finally, students can roll the dice and play a Five Speckled Frog game with a partner, choosing two different ways to play the game.

 Frog Packet:

Click on the link to view/print the 5 Little Speckled Frogs Activities Packet

 Miscellaneous Frog Stuff:

I have two easy-reader frog booklets available so click on the links for more fun counting with 5 frogs.  5 Little Frogs On A Log and 5 Little Frogs a cut and glue activity.

There's a Five Speckled Frogs YouTube video that's a nice culmination to the day's activities.  Click on the link to view it.

Enchanted Learning offers an online 5 Little Speckled Frogs coloring page.  I like these kinds of activities for my Y5’s,  because it’s easy for them to do as an independent computer center and get some much-needed practice with their computer skills.  Students can click on a color on the left and apply it to the five speckled frogs coloring page on the right. Click on the link to check it out.

I wish you a "Hoppy" and exciting spring, filled with lots of fun frog activities!

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel fre to PIN anything you think others will find helpful.

"Creativity is thinking up new things.  Innovation is doing new things." -Theodore Levitt

For more writing prompts, click on the link.  I've made a booklet that contains some for each month on a variety of topics!

Monthly:

It’s Better Hearing and Speech Month. Out of all of your 5 senses, which is your favorite and why?  OR… if you were in an accident and lost one of your senses, which would you give up and why?  OR…what sense could you NOT live without and why?

It is Brain Tumor Awareness Month.  Here’s the scenario: you’ve just seen the doctor, and he’s given you the horrific news that you have an inoperable brain tumor.  You only have one year to live!  What will you do and how will you change the way you live the last year of your life knowing this?  Are you glad you found out ahead of time or would you rather not have known?

It’s Carrots and Cauliflower Month. Do you like these vegetables? If you could only eat 2 vegetables for a month, what would they be and why?  How would you eat them so that things wouldn’t get boring?

It’s National Clean Air Month; here’s the scenario: What can people do to help keep the air clean?  What specifically can young people do?   Do you think these things will really help?  Do a little online research.  Where is the cleanest air found?

It’s Family Wellness Month:  What kinds of things are you doing to stay well?  Is your family/are you healthy?  What can you do to get better and be healthier?  Do you want to try and do that?  Why or why not?

It’s Freedom Shrine Month.  Some people say: Freedom isn’t free!  What do you think they mean by that?  What does freedom mean to you?

Get Caught Reading is celebrated this month.  What are you reading right now? Sell it to me so that I want to read that book too.  OR…What is the best book you ever read and why?  OR… What book have you read that you wish they would make into a moving and why and who would you cast as the main characters?

It’s Gifts From The Garden Month! Let’s say you have a truly fantasy garden and it could grow all kinds of supernatural gifts, not just food and flowers or plants.  What kinds of gifts would you garden grow, what would your garden look like and what would you do with the gifts your garden grew?

Motorcycle Safety Month is celebrated in May: You can buy any motorcycle you want! What kind, color etc. will you buy?  Where will you go for your first ride?

It’s National Foster Care Month: Your parents have decided to take in a Foster child.  How do you feel about that?  Would you like a foster brother or sister?  Why do you think this program is important? OR…

You have just adopted a grama or grampa to visit at a home each week and help take care of.  What will you do with them to help out?  Do you think it’s important to visit the elderly?

National Good Car Keeping Month is celebrated in May:  Let’s pretend you are 18 and just got a brand new car for your birthday!  What kind is your dream car?  What color?  Details-details?  Where will you go for your first spin?  Who will you call to go for a drive with you? How do you plan to take good care of your car?

It’s National Hamburger Month:  Do you like hamburgers or hot dogs better?  What’s your favorite kind of hamburger?  What does it have on it?  Well, now take all those various types of hamburgers and all the fixin’s and throw a Happy Hamburger Month of May party!  Who will you invite? What will the decorations look like?  What else will you have to eat?  What will the entertainment be?  Remember your theme is hamburgers!

Happy National Meditation Month! Do you meditate to find peace of mind? How do you de-stress in your life and relax and get into a peaceful tranquil state?  If you could plan the perfect day so that you could really kick back and chill what would it be like, what would you do, where would you go and who would you do these things with?

It’s National Mental Health Month. What things drive you crazy and what do you do to keep sane?

Happy National Military Appreciation Month. Why not write a letter to someone in the military and tell them how much you appreciate what they are doing for your country! OR…Would you ever want to serve in the military?  Why or why not?  OR…if there was another 911 and you were 18 and we went to war, would you join?  Could you kill another person?  Why or why not?

National Moving Month is also celebrated in May:  Have you ever moved?  Write about that experience.  Were you glad you moved?  Was it scary?  Do you miss the place you moved from?  Do you like this new place better?  OR... If you could move any where in the world where would you like to go and why?

It’s National Preservation Month:  Here’s the scenario:  You’re out sailing with your parents; there’s a storm and you get marooned on an Island.  Whether it’s inhabited or not is up to you, but you’re shipwrecked with supplies for one week.  Tell me how you preserve the food and supplies and survive!  OR … Why is it important to preserve our natural resources? Do you think young people can  make a difference?  OR… which endangered species is your favorite?  How can you help preserve them?

It’s National Salad Month.  Design a super salad for the salad eating contest and win a $500 prize.  You’re the winner!  What’s the name of your salad, what does it taste like; what are the ingredients, and what do you do with the money?

Happy National Smile Month! Make a list of the top 10 favorite things that make you smile and explain why.  OR… Tell me who you think has the prettiest smile in your school or TV/Movie Star etc.

It’s Personal History Month, sooooo write your mini biography starting with your birth and ending with today!

Teen CEO Month is in May.  If you could be a CEO of a company, what kind of company would that be?  What would you be making/marketing etc.  What  would the name of your company be?  Include your mission statement and philosophy etc.  OR…do some online research and find some real teen CEO’s what did they do and which one is your favorite and why?

It’s Self-Esteem Month: What kinds of things can you do to boost your self-esteem?  Do you think you have good self-esteem?  How can you make it better?

National Family Month is in May. What are the things you like the most about your family?  What are the things you think your family can improve on? 
What would you like to change about your family?

Weekly:

The 1^st –7^th is Be Kind to Animals Week.  What’s your favorite animal and why is it your favorite?  OR…If you could have any pet in the world, what kind would you have and why?  What would you name your pet?  What would they look like? What would you do with them?  How would you take care of them? Details please.

This week is also Flexible Work Arrangement Week: You can have any job you want with any hours and days of the week that you want to work.  Sooooo, what kind of job do you have and what is your “flexible work arrangement?”

This week is also Kids Win Week! Have you ever won anything?  Write about it.  OR… If you could win any contest or thing what would you like to win and why and then what would you do when you won it?

National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week is also this week.  (Busy week hey?) What kinds of things cause you anxiety?  How can you help overcome those anxious feelings?  What kinds of things make you sad?  What can you do when you are sad?  OR…What’s the most anxious or sad you have ever been and what did you do?

It’s National Family and Pet Week this week so go do something special with them and write about it.  Make sure you hug everyone too as it’s also National Hug Holiday Week!

May 2-8^th is Astronomy Week: Make it a point to lie on the grass and check out the stars.  Write about how that feels; what do they look like; what did you see?  Make sure you use lots of descriptive words. (adjectives!) OR…Go online and do some research on the planets.  Which is your favorite why?  OR...Do you think there is life on another planet?  Why or why not?  OR…You have just been abducted by aliens!  Tell me about the experience.

It’s also National Wildflower Week: What’s your favorite wildflower? You can design your own wildflower.  What does it look like, smell like, feel like?  What have you named it?

It’s also Teacher Appreciation Week: Write a note to your teacher telling her why you like her/him and are thankful for the things they have done for you.

Happy Work At Home Mom’s Week too!  Is that your mom?  Let her know you appreciate her by writing her a note too.

The 6^th-12 is National Nurses Week: Would you ever want to be a nurse?  Why or why not?

National Tourism Week starts the 7^th and runs through the 15^th.  You get to go on any tour in the world.  Where are you going?  When and who are you going with and why?

National Hospital Week is also that week.  Have you ever been in the hospital?  Write about that experience.

Reading is Fun Week is the 8^th-14^th. Do you think reading is fun?  I do!  What kinds of reading do you like to do?  Where do you like to read?  What are your favorite books, magazines etc.?  OR… What could your teacher do to make reading more fun for you?

The 8^th – 14^th is Salute to Mom’s Week. Write about why you love your mom.  What things does she do for you that you really like.

The 15^th-21^st is New and Old Friends Week. Who is your best friend?  Why  OR…

Who are your newest and oldest friends?

National Backyard Games Week is the 23^rd-30^th.  What is your favorite backyard game and why is it your favorite?

Special Days:

Happy Mother Goose Day May 1^st: What’s your favorite Nursery Rhyme?  Write it down and tell why you like it.

National Dance Day is also May 1^st.  Do you like to dance?  Why or why not?  What’s your favorite kind of dance to do?

Happy Cinco de Mayo Day May 5^th:  If you don’t know what that day is, look it up.  Would you like to live in Mexico?  Why or why not?  Would you like to go to visit Mexico?  Why or why not?

The 5^th is also a National Day of Prayer.  If you feel so inclined say a prayer and write about how that makes you feel when you can talk to God.

Remind your teacher that May 6^th is “No Homework Day!” How do you feel about homework?  Do you feel it’s really necessary? Where do you do your homework?  Do you get good grades on your homework?  Do your parents help you with your homework?  Does listening to music help you while you study or do you need quiet when you do your homework?

May 7^th is Kentucky Derby Day: Watch it on TV.  Choose a horse.  Did yours win?  Write about it.   OR…Have you ever ridden a horse?  Write about that? OR….would you like to own a horse?  Write about that?

Mother’s Day is May 8^th: Tell your mom you love her.  Write about why.

May 18^th is International Museum Day. Have you ever visited a museum?  Write about that experience.  OR… Have you seen the movie Night in the Museum?  I cast you as the main character.   What would you have done?  OR…What was your favorite part/character in the movie?

May 18^th is Visit your Relatives Day: What relatives would you like to visit and why?

This is also Turn Beauty Inside Out Day! What do you suppose that means?  Write about.

“I Need A Patch For That Day” is the 21^st.  What do you feel you need a patch for?  Why?   Design the patch.  What does it look like?  Where will you wear it?

Neighbor Day is the 22^nd.  Do you know your neighbors?  write about them.  OR…If you could have anyone in the world be your neighbors, who would you want them to be and why?

It’s Brother’s Day the 24^th.  Do you have a brother?  Write a paragraph about him.  If you don’t, would you like one?  What would he be like?  What would you name him? Would he be younger or older?

The 27^th is National Wig Out Day, so wig out!  What will you do to do that, who do you want to wig out with, and how long do you want to wig out for?

It’s the Indianapolis 500 the 29^th and you’re in the race! What are you driving, wearing, and who are you driving for?  Do you win?  Tell me the details?

Happy Memorial Day on the 30^th.  What does this day mean to you?  What are your plans?  OR …if you could do ANYTHING on this day what would you do, where would you go, who would you go with?

I hope you have a magnificent May filled with wonderful writing!

Teaching sign language is a wonderful fine motor skill.  My Y5's picked it up quickly and loved learning how to say new things. 

I also taught them a few songs, and although I didn't have them learn all of the letters of the alphabet, most of them enjoyed learning how to spell their names at the beginning of the year. 

For Mother's Day I thought it would be fun to design a card around this lovely language and to teach children how to spell MOM in sign language.  

1. To sign "I love you.":

There are many great sign language sites.  I have two favorites:  Favorite #one,   Favorite #two.  ( Click on the links to check them out.)

It's wonderful to be able to see someone demonstrate the sign, and the alphabetical listing makes things easy and quick to find words.

I hope you enjoy making this card and teaching your students how to say "I love you Mom!" Check out the sites if you want to have them say "Happy Mother's Day!"

I have received tons of positive feedback from parents about this aspect of their child's learning.  I know it will be a hit for you too!

Click on the link to view/download the Mother's Day Sign Language Card Templates

Crunchy Garden Gates: I wanted to name these something May-like, so when I looked at the pretzels I thought that would work.  I whipped these up over Easter as I had all of my kids and grandchildren over and I wanted them to taste test and let me know which ones they liked the best. 

It was a tie between the teddy bears and the double pretzels, so I guess you'll have to make a variety too and let your little ones have a choice.  Anyway, they were fun and easy to make and tasted yummy. 

I love the taste of something salty and sweet together and the textures of creamy marshmallow, gooey caramel along with smooth chocolate with a crunchy pretzel are a real treat for your mouth.  I hope you enjoy making and eating them as much as I did!

Ingredients:

• a bag of square pretzels
• 5-10 rolls of Rollo chocolate-caramel candies (You can buy them by the box at Sams Club if you're a member.)
  
• a bag of small marshmallows,
• a small bag of whole roasted almonds,
• a box of honey Teddy Grahams
• large cookie sheet
• waxed paper

Directions:

1. pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
   
2. put as many pretzels on your cookie sheet as you can, or that you have Rollo's for.
3. cut just a tiny bit of marshmallow off one end so that it will stick to the Rollo.  You may have better luck, but when I simply placed them on top of the Rollo's and popped them in the oven, some of them fell off!  I guess you could also insert a toothpick, but then you'd have the tricky job of trying to get those off.
   
4. Pop in the oven for just 3 minutes.
5. Set timer.
6. Carefully remove pan with potholders and gently place on a pretzel, teddy graham or almond so that you squish down the marshmallow-Rollo.  The Rollo is not that "melty" so that it won't spill over, but will pat down nicely into a blob of chocolate and the puffy marshmallow will deflate.
   
7. Set aside to cool and then put on a square of waxed paper and serve. Yummy yummy for your tum-tummy.
8. Children can make these with daddy and put them in a box for a sweet treat for mommy for Mother's Day!

Nursery Rhyme Time: Chocolate Mice

I like to do Nursery Rhymes as a theme during May. If you do that too, why not make up a batch of these chocolate mice as a fun surprise treat for your students.   After their snack teach them the nursery rhymes Hickory Dickory Dock and Three Blind Mice!  This treat is also fun for Halloween, just call them chocolate rats, and make them out of white chocolate.  (Eek!)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of Hershey chocolate kisses
• 2 jars of Marishino cherries with stems ON.
  
• paper towel
• frosting in a tube (for eyes).
• toothpick
• waxed paper
• cookie sheet
• microwave-safe bowl
• spoon
  
• 1 tbs. Crisco
• 2 cups Nestles milk chocolate morsels
• Ears: Cocoa puff cereal, Wheat nuts, (You could also use Rice Krispies or slivered almonds.)
  

Directions:

1. Drain juice from the cherries and rinse cherries. 
   
2. Lay on paper towel to dry completely. 
3. Lay a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet. 
4. Spill some cereal/wheat nuts on a paper plate so that everything is handy for you to use.
   
5. Unwrap as many kisses as you want to have mice heads for.  
6. Melt chocolate morsels and Crisco in bowl in the microwave.
7. Hold on to the stem of the cherry and dip into the melted chocolate 2-3 times.
8. Press on a Hershey kiss to the front of the cherry.
   
9. Lay the mouse on the waxed paper.
   
10. Press 2 ears between the head and cherry for the ears. I used Cocoa puff cereal in the left picture, and wheat nuts on the right.  The wheat nuts gave the candy a salty crunchy taste.
    
11. Because the melted chocolate will start to harden in the bowl, it's nice to have a helper to put the ears on, while you continue to dip cherries.  The helper could also press on the heads.
    
12. Continue 'til you have made as many mice as you want.
13. Let harden and then squirt some colored frosting onto a paper plate and apply dots for eyes.  I had yellow handy, but pink or red would look cute too.

Zingy Spring Tropical Punch for Mom:  

I wanted to make a pretty looking punch that children would have fun blending together to make their mommies as a special drink to "toast" all they do.  I experimented with my family for Easter and they loved it.  The concoction made a pretty salmon color. Put all of the liquids in the refrigerator to get cold, and then on Mother's day spill into a punch bowl, add your ice ring and sprinkle your pansies on the top.  You can freeze the leftovers and make slushies.

Ingredients:

• 1 liter Rudy-Red Squirt
• 1 carton of real lemonade
• 1 carton of pineapple juice
• 1 carton strawberry-papaya juice
• 1 bottle sparkling white grape juice
  
• 1 jar marishino cherries without stems
• 10 strawberries sliced up.
  
• 1 metal cake ring with hole in the center (for ice ring)
• real pansies
  
• punch bowl

• Cut the stems off the pansies. (Pansie flowers are edible!)
  
• Wash them and dip face down into a plate of sugar.  Set aside to dry.
• Spill liquids into a punch bowl and stir.
  
• Gently add the ice ring and sprinkle in the pansies in and around it so they float face-up on top.
  

Ice ring:

• Make ice ring 1 to 2 days before.
• Pour in the bottle of cherry juice, add the cherries and strawberry slices. (You could also add some pineapple tidbits if you wanted to.)
  
• Add any of the above juices to fill up the rest of the ring and then put in the freezer.

Flower Box Cookies: I was allergic to wheat as a child.  Wafer cookies were the first cookie my mom let my twin sister and I try that we weren't allergic to and they have been a favorite ever since.  I could eat 1/2 the package! 

I wanted to dream up a special treat little ones would have fun making for their moms that would involve some sort of flower.  Originally I thought of using real flowers like violets, as they are edible, and then dusting them with sugar.

I was still wracking my brain going up and down the isles when I went grocery shopping for the ingredients for the recipes on this page, when I came across Honey Comb cereal; thus the Flower Box Cookies were born.

They are a mini-mouthful of the "dirt cake" from April, so I know you'll enjoy the added crunch of the wafers! Don't they look cute? One is definitely satisfying.

Ingredients:

•  1 package vanilla wafer cookies
• 1 can of chocolate pudding
• 1 box of  cereal
• 1 package of Oreo cookies
• 1 can of vanilla frosting
• green & orange sprinkles
• tube of yellow frosting
• toothpick
• paper plate
  
• waxed paper
• cookie sheet
• plastic knife
• teaspoon
  

Directions:

1. Lay waxed paper on cookie sheet.
2. Make garden box by putting vanilla frosting on the edges of one vanilla wafer and pressing a wafer on either side.
   
3. Cut another wafer in half and put one 1/2 on each end.
   
4. Lay the cookie box on the cookie sheet that's been covered with waxed paper.
   
5. Fill with a teaspoon of chocolate pudding.
6. Crush up an Oreo cookie.
7. Spoon it into the cookie box.
8. Spill some cereal onto a paper plate and choose 2 small flowers and one large one.
9. Put a dollop of frosting on the back of each one.
10. Place the large flower in the middle and the two smaller ones on either side.
    
11. Squirt some yellow frosting onto the paper plate.  Use a toothpick and put a dot in the center of each flower.
    
12. Spill out some colored Sprinkles.  Insert an orange "stamen" into the center of each yellow circle.
13. Sprinkle some green "grass" sprinkles onto the Oreo "ground dirt".
14. Make as many flower  boxes as you want.
    
15. Serve one to mom on her breakfast-in-bed tray, or have a tea party with her and serve these special cookies with a cup of tea. 

Mother’s Day Bookmark:

• This is a fun center activity that students can put together quickly.  It makes a nice tuck-in for the cards you may be making.   To make it extra special have students glue their student photograph to the back message.  Laminate them and then tie a ribbon or yarn bow and staple it to the top for an extra-special touch.
• Simply print off the bookmarks. Using a paper cutter, trim them and have students glue them to strips of yellow, blue, green or red construction paper.  Run off the message memo and have them glue it to the back of the bookmark and then trace the words, sign it and add their photo.   Click on the link to view/print the Mother’s Day bookmark masters.

What’s the tallest flower in the garden?

• Demonstrate the comparative adjectives tall, taller and tallest by having students make 3 flowers using green-colored straws for stems.  You can pre-cut the two shorter straws to expedite things, or add a math extension by passing out rulers and telling students how long you want these two straw-stems to be and then have them measure and snip.
• If you have a Big Lots store in your community, they have huge pastel colored straws that make the “tallest” flower even more fun to make. 
  
• Use a flower punch to make fancy centers for your flowers or simply run off my flower pattern on a variety of colored construction paper and have students cut them out. 
  
• Punch holes in the centers with a hole punch and then carefully insert the blossom.
• Run off leaves on green construction paper.  Each student needs 2 leaves for the short flower, 4 for the medium, and the tallest one, unless you are using the giant straws and then 6 leaves look nicer.  This can be a lot of cutting for little ones, so you may want these pre-cut and simply make a template and cut 5 at a time. 
  
• Stick the leaves to the straws using glue dots.  I’ve also made labels if you want to have students affix those as well.  Click on the link to view/print the tall-taller-tallest flower activity sheets. 

Flower Power Math:

Students look at the number inside the flower and then color that many petals, and match the uppercase flower to the leafy lowercase stems on the bottom in these springy-skill sheets.  I’ve made a blank tulip page for you to make more letter combinations if you want.  Click on the link to view/print the flower skill sheets.

Small, medium and large frogs on a log:

• Students glue pre-cut brown construction paper to a toilet paper roll and then add log-like details with a brown or black marker.  The frogs will be poked into the log so they can be used as a subtraction manipulative.  Poking holes with a protractor can be time consuming so you may want this done ahead of time.
• To expedite things you can send t.p. rolls, construction paper, directions and a sample home with a child whose parent has volunteered to help assemble projects at home.  The parent can simply staple on the construction paper and then poke holes for you.
• All children have to do then, is add the details and cut out their frogs.  You can add wiggle eyes to one of the frogs for a bit more pizzazz.  If you don’t want to make this an interactive art project you don’t have to poke the holes.  Simply add tabs to the frogs and have them glue their frogs to the log, or for younger children have them cut out the frogs as ONE unit and use only one toothpick, to simplify things.
• I’ve made two styles for you to choose from.  Run them off on construction paper so they do not flop over.  I use scotch tape to stick a toothpick to the backs of the frogs so that students can poke them into their log.
• This manipulative is great to use with frog stories and songs that have frogs jumping into ponds.  As you read the story, or sing a song, a group of students can stand in front with their logs and take a frog away (subtract) as he jumps into the pond.  Count the remaining frogs left on the logs and then continue.  Many stories/songs involve 10 frogs so you could make your own teacher manipulative using a paper towel tube, so that you have room for 10 frogs.  Click on the link to view/print the frogs on a log masters.

Etc.

For more fun spring art and activities check my 98-page May Art book.  I also have a 78-page Frog Unit as well as an 83-page Flower Unit chock full of wonderful lessons to keep your students actively learning!

Why not become a gold subscriber and get all of these things at no additional charge and enjoy an entire year of fun with new things added each month.

 Whatever you’re up to, I hope you have a marvelous May doing it!

An Old Favorite:

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The Gist: Why I love it: The illustrations are adorable.  I love the Alfred Hitchcock like twist at the end of the story where the child's friend finds out that the backyard giant is really a sunflower!  My students too are amazed as they are thinking the same thing!  We review the story and the "lightbulb" comes on for them as they see the little boy who planted the sunflower is really explaining it pretty appropriately!  My students LOVE this story. 

I share with them about the time my own children planted sunflowers on our land behind our home and made a sunflower house, and then I also read the story Sunflower House by Eve Bunting.  This is a nice companion book to My Backyard Giant and offers a graphing opportunity.  Click on the link to view/print the storybook graph.

Story telling tips: I ask my students "What do you think will happen next?" while I'm reading the book.  Having students make predictions is a great way to get them involved; it's also a good way to improve their listening, comprehension and writing skills as they learn to build their own stories with various plots and endings. Ask them if they were surprised at the ending and if any of them guessed that the giant was really a sunflower.  Go back and review how the child described his "giant friend" and see if he really did it appropriately.

Sunflower Magic tricks: Because I don't want to give away the ending of the story, I do one trick after I'm done reading each of the stories. I show my students that the change bag is empty.  We review that in order for sunflowers to grow they need seeds.  I give each of my students a sunflower seed and have them drop it into my change bag. We say the chant: "Water-soil-seeds & sun, make growing fun!"  as magic words and then I produce a string of sunflowers.  I made this string by taking the blossoms off a bouquet of sunflowers and hot gluing 10 of them to a green piece of ribbon.  This makes for an awesome trick as I pull the string out very slowly and the string of sunflowers is taller than me! We then measure it with a yardstick.

I have a book of sunflower photographs that I show them as I read a few sunflower facts that amaze them. Click on the link to view/print my list of sunflower facts.

Sunflower Magic trick #2: I made icons for the chant above and pass out the 7 pieces.  Those children place them in my duck pan as we say the chant.  I put the lid on the pan and produce a bouquet of sunflowers. To view my magic videos and see what a change bag and duck/dove pan are, click on the link. I also sell these magic trick products.

Math Extensions: Buy a bag of sunflower seeds with the shells on, and a bag of salted-shelled sunflower seeds. Pass out one of each to the students. Discuss the similarities and differences. Make a Venn diagram on the board, and have the students compare and contrast them. Pass out the Venn diagram sheet and have them make their own copy.

Pass out a few salted and shelled sunflower seeds to each student.  Graph whether they like them our not.  Click on the link to view/print the sunflower seed Venn diagram and sunflower seed graph activities.

A great companion to this activity is my free easy-reader for the month entitled: The Seeds On My Sunflower. I have another math skill sheet included with that booklet too. 

Students TRACE & WRITE the numbers and number words, dot "seeds" on their sunflowers with a marker and then count the groups/sets of sunflower seeds in the boxes and GLUE them to the correct spaces in their booklet. 

I've also included a certificate of praise as well as 10 number word wall word-flashcards. The free easy-readers for the month are listed in the article after Books of the Month in the side blog. Click on the link to check out the other freebies, or simply scroll down to the bottom of this article.

Sunflower Skill Sheet: Have students look at the number on the sunflower leaf and make that many dots (seeds) on their sunflowers using a marker. I've provided a blank sheet so that you can make different numbers if you'd like.  Click on the link to view/print sunflower skill sheets. 

Art Project: To save time, I like to buy sturdy brown 8-inch paper plates for this project, but you can also purchase inexpensive white plates and then have your students cut out brown construction paper circles and glue them to the center of the plate. 

Run off copies of the sunflower petals on yellow construction paper, or make a tag board template and trace it. Have students cut out their sunflower and glue it to the back of their brown paper plate. 

Put a dollop of Aleene's Tacky Glue on a paper plate and have students use Q-tips to dab dots on the center of their sunflowers and then press a shelled or unshelled sunflower seed to the glue dot.  You can use either kind of seeds or a mixture of both. 

Pre-cut 2-inch by 12-inch strips of green construction paper for stems.  Students glue it to the back of their sunflower and add 2-4 leaves.  Click on the link to view/print the sunflower art project templates.

Bibliography for May.  Click on the link to view/print a copy. As you can see by the photo, I've added quite a few new books for Mother's Day. Click on the link to view/print a partial new list for books about mom's.  

I'm currently revamping my May bibliography as I've purchased more flower and frog books and want to include some books that spill over into the spring-summer category like Ten in the Meadow by John Butler.  I also like his Ten in the Den. 

The illustrations of these animal are cuddly-cute and offer a great opportunity to sequence animal characters.  I usually buy two books and cut up one to laminate and then put magnets on the back of the animals so that my students can put them on the board as we read the story. After the story, I pass the animals out again and we try and sequence the characters.

After story time I choose 10 students to lie on the floor and we chant "There were 10 in the bed and the little one said roll over..." We run through it twice so that everyone has a turn to roll over and fall off the "bed".  This is great counting fun and a cute way to review subtraction!

If you're looking for something special, or need a recommendation, feel free to drop me a line.  I'd love hearing from you if you have other books that you enjoy sharing with your students at this time.  diane@teachwithme.com!

Something else you might find helpful is the "100 New Book Lists" that just came out by Scholastic.  They tell you the grade level equivalent and even list if there's an Accelerated Reader quiz to go with the book.  They have lists for animals, biographies, families, folktales, holidays, read-alouds and science fiction with more categories under each one of those. Click on the link to check it out. 

Whatever you're reading this month, I hope you have a simply marvelous May!