Items filtered by date: May 2013

1-2-3 Come Do Some Father's Day "Craftivities" With Me

Whether you're still in school looking for a quick center idea, or you're on vacation and want your child(ren) to make something special for Dad, I think you'll enjoy these special keepsakes.

Ever since I can remember, I made coupons for the members of my family.  When I was young they were for jobs that I could help with, or simply cleaning up my room. 

Since they were well-received and appreciated, I decided to continue the tradition with my students. 

Before hand, discuss with your students what kinds of jobs they could do to help their dads out, or things they could do with their dads, that their dad would enjoy having a helping hand with.

To introduce the lesson, ask your students if they have ever received a coupon, or seen their mom clipping and using coupons in the grocery store or restaurant.

Explain to children that a coupon is a piece of paper that a person "cashes" in, to receive something.  In this case, their service in doing a chore.  Run the coupons off; have students fill in, color and then cut out. These make a nice tuck in for any homemade card they have already made.

Click on the link to view/download the Father's Day coupons.

Another sweet "tuck in" is a blue ribbon for dad. You can run the template off on blue construction paper, or white and have students color their ribbon.

Children trim their "Happy Father's Day" circle, glue it to the front, and then sign it. To make this "paper love" even more special, add a school photo.

Students choose from 2 writing prompt circles.  They choose one, trim it into a circle shape and then glue it to the back of their ribbon. 

Children can write about why they think their dad is an award-winning father, or why he deserves a blue ribbon.

Click on the link to view/download the Father's Day Blue Ribbon Writing Prompts. Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.   My "Pin it" button is at the top of the page.

"Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow." -Norman Vincent Peale

1-2-3 Come Learn About Seasons and Months With Me

At the end of the year, I liked to make a list of lessons I wanted to expand on for the fall.

I'd take an item a day and search the Internet for new and fresh ideas through the summer.

One of the topics I listed quite often was calendar.  There just never seemed to be enough time to include everything I wanted to, during calendar time.

So that this activity did not get too long, I'd do a bit in the morning, some in the afternoon, and then tie everything up at the end of our busy day.

There is so much important "trivia" that can be covered in quick easy reviews during calendar time.

I also liked to supplement what we covered in some additional activities relating to days of the week, months, and seasons.

Because these were words on our word wall, short independent activities were perfect for Daily 5.

With this in mind, I designed "My Book Of Months" as well as "My Book Of Seasons."

They both cover a variety of Common Core Reading Standards as well as the math concepts of counting, ordinal numbers andpatterning.

Children read the simple sentence, trace and then write the number, month and season words. They circle the capital letters and add end punctuation as well.

Students color the puffy words in an ABAB pattern with appropriate colors for that particular month.  i.e. red and green for December.

Children also complete the sentence by adding something they see during that month, or like to do during that season. 

There are also additional writing extensions in the season booklet, as students tell what their favorite season is and why, as well as what month they were born in.

These booklets will be free for an entire year, after which time they will be combined and updated into an emergent reader for my TpT shop: Months & Seasons Emergent Reader With Matching Posters Packet

Thanks for visitng today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"You can't start a fire without a spark." -Bruce Springsteen

4 pages. Common Core State Standards: K.CC.3,L.K.2a, L.K.2b, RF.K.3a, RF.K.3c, L.1.2b, RF.1.1a A quick and easy way to help your students learn about seasons as well as the months of the year.

7 pages. Common Core State Standards:K.CC.3,L.K.2a, L.K.2b, RF.K.3a, RF.K.3c, L.1.2b, RF.1.1a A fun way for students to learn about the months of the year as well as ordinal numbers.