1-2-3 Come Practice, Review and Assess With a Bunny and Me

Spring has sprung and it's time to review some of those Common Core Standards you've been teaching all year. 

Sigh.... as we all know, just because our little ones passed an assessment months ago, if we didn't continue to practice it throughout the year, sadly, a few of them did not retain that information.

With that in mind, I designed the very versatile  "I'm All Ears" game packet that will make reviewing a variety of standards quick, easy and fun. 

I don't know about your kiddos, but I've found that if I make a game for anything, I've grabbed my Y5's attention and can easily have them focused for a nice chunk of time.

Use the large and small bunny for a center activity, assessment, or game.  Run off the large and small bunny heads on ivory construction paper; laminate and trim.

Program large and small craft sticks with whatever you'd like to reinforce.  Keep each set in their own Baggie. 

I've included a list of synonyms/antonyms and a list of contractions so you can easily program the bunny ears with words that fit your age group.  

Here are some ideas:

• uppercase-lowercase letters
• number-number word
• number-group/set
• contraction-words that make up the contraction
• synonyms and antonyms
• equation-answer
• color-color word
• shape-shape word
• 2 words-compound word
• singular-plural
• long or short vowel sound to a matching word example

As you can see the possibilities are endless!  I hope this makes those end of the year reviews a bit more fun and less tedious.  Click on the link for the "I'm All Ears" For Common Core Bunny Game Packet

Thanks for visiting.  It's hard to believe that the school year is almost at an end.  Aprill and May months always seemed to simply fly, as there was so much to cram into the limited time I had left. 

My timer's ringing, so I'd better check the "No Peek Chicken".  It's one of my favorite recipes and smells delicious.  Wishing you a carefree day.

"Sweet April showers do spring May flowers!" -Thomas Tusser

  1-2-3 Come Do Some Super-Fun Cat in the Hat Activities With Me

Since the Grinch Game in yesterday's blog, was such a huge hit, I decided to make one featuring Seuss's Cat in the Hat. "Feeding" cards to the Cat in the Hat, is a quick, easy and fun way to review all sorts of standards.  Simply print, laminate and trim the "food" cards. 

These are mini cards that include upper and lowercase letters, numbers from 0-120, 11 number word cards, twelve 2D shape cards, twelve 3D shape cards, 35 contraction cards, 20 at family word cards, and 11 color word cards!

I chose bright neon-colors, for that extra touch of Seuss-pizzazz. There's also a set of blank tiles for you to fill in with whatever else you want to review or practice. 

I bought my red bucket from The Dollar Store, printed the cat off on card stock, then taped it to the inside. Easy Peasy. 

I've included 4 little signs that you can use to decorate your container with, or sprinkle on a bulletin board.

Keep each set of "food" cards in Snack Baggies and store them in your container.

To play, simply pass out whatever cards you want to practice with, then call out a word, letter, number etc. 

The child holding that card comes up, reads and shows it, so everyone can repeat what they said. That student then "feeds" the hungry Cat in the Hat.

Besides "feeding" the Cat in the Hat, make extra sets of the cards to play all sorts of games.  I've included tip lists suggesting more activities, plus the "Kaboom!" game.

There's also a set of math symbols as well, so you can use the number cards for other math activities, like making up equations and solving them, plus showing greater & less than. 

Students can also sort the number cards into odd and even piles and sequence them. Play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games with the number word cards and their matching number cards.

The shape cards, as well as the color cards, work in the same way.  You can also play these games with the letter cards, matching an uppercase letter to a lowercase one.

I've included an at word family worksheet in the packet at well. 

After you're done playing, reward your kiddos with a Seuss bookmark. 

There are 14 different designs in the packet.  Eight of them feature favorite Seuss quotes.

For more Cat in the Hat fun, click on the link for 14 sweet Seuss-themed puzzles. 

They will help your students sequence numbers, count forwards and backwards, plus skip count by 10s to 100. 

I also designed a set of larger Cat in the Hat number cards with numbers 0-120.

Use them for different games, or add them to your "Feed the Cat in the Hat" review game.

There's a bigger set of alphabet cards as well.  There's a separate set for uppercase and lowercase letters, then a set where both the upper & lowercase letter appears on one card, making them "purr-fect" for all sorts of Memory Match or "I Have, Who Has?" games.  

If you'd like to see more Dr. Seuss FREEBIES, click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site.  I also have a Pinterest pin board of more Seuss ideas and free activities. 

Thanks for visiting.   Since winter is bitterly clinging to February,  I wish everyone a safe and snuggly day. 

"Be who you are, and say what you feel, because those who mind, don't matter and those who matter, don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Super-Fun Grinch Activities With Me

There are so many activities out there for Seuss's Cat in the Hat, that I wanted to design some things with another popular character. 

We usually think of the Grinch in December, because after all, he tried to steal Christmas, but I felt he was the perfect "creature" to "munch and crunch a variety of standards for lunch!" so I created the "Feed the Grinch Game".

"Feeding" cards to a Grinch-topped container, is a quick, easy and fun way to review all sorts of things.

Print, laminate and trim the "food" cards. 

These are mini cards that include upper and lowercase letters, numbers from 0-120, 11 number word cards, twelve 2D shape cards, twelve 3D shape cards, 35 contraction cards, 94 "GR is for GRinch" gr word blend cards, and 11 color word cards!

I chose bright neon-colors, for that extra touch of Seuss-pizzazz. There's also a set of blank tiles for you to fill in with whatever else you want to review or practice. 

Besides "feeding" the Grinch, make extra sets of the cards to play all sorts of games.  I've included tip lists suggesting more activities, plus the "Kaboom!" game.

There's also a set of math symbols as well, so you can use the number cards for other math activities, like making up equations and solving them, plus showing greater & less than. 

Students can also sort the number cards into odd and even piles and sequence them.

Play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games with the number word cards and their matching number cards.

The shape cards, as well as the color cards, work in the same way.  You can also play these games with the letter cards, matching an uppercase letter to a lowercase one. 

There are a number of options you can use for the container.  I bought a green bucket from The Dollar Store.  Currently, they have all sorts of pails and buckets for the Easter season.  

Print off the Grinch on green construction paper then cut around the edges.  If you want his eyes to pop, print another Grinch on yellow construction paper then cut out just the eyes and glue them on.

So that the Grinch’s face, easily fits over the top of the bucket, I glued it to half of a sturdy paper plate. Fold his “mouth” on the dotted line so that children can flip it up and drop the Grinch “food” cards inside the bucket.

Add a green "hair" feather at the top, for extra pizzazz, and hold the plate down with some glue dots.  The packet includes labels to decorate your container.  Store each set of “food” cards in their own Ziploc Baggie inside the bucket. 

To play, simply pass out whatever cards you want to practice with to your kiddos, then call out a word, letter, number etc.  The child holding that card comes up, reads and shows it, then "feeds" the hungry grumpy Grinch.

Besides using a bucket, you can also use a dishwashing-detergent, flip-top container, to make your hungry Grinch.   Only the front section lifts up, making the perfect “mouth” for “feeding”.

The container in the photo, is from a 10-pack of Mr. Clean erasers that I bought at Sam’s Club. Cascade, as well as other dishwashing detergents, also use this type of container.  (It's the detergent that comes packaged in little pillows.)

Finally, celebrate Seuss with these two Grinch "craftivities" that I just finished today. 

Both of them are in the  Rhyming & Writing Are a Cinch With the Grinch packet. 

One features two writing prompts.  Students think of things that make them grin like the Grinch. 

They jot these down on the left side.  On the right side, they list things that make them "Grinchly and grumpy".  

The other craft is a "doorknobber".  Children fold their paper in half and glue it together, cutting the slit and hole at the top.

On the front, students glue their photo face over the Grinch's, after they color it. 

On the back, they list all of the words that they can think of that rhyme with whatever word you assign.  I chose Grinch and Seuss. 

Samples of both are included, so you can easily show examples to your students, to help explain what you want them to do.

Well that's it for today.  It felt good to get a few more things checked off my too-long "To Do" list.  Feeling overwhelmed, definitely makes me feel "Grinchy". 

My feet have hit the floor running, as there's lots to do today.  Wishing you a "Seuss-tastic" day, filled with giggles galore.

 "So be sure when you step, step with care and great tack, and remember that life's a great balancing act!" -Dr. Seuss

1-2-3 Come Do Some Common Core Activities With Me and Spot the Fire Safety Dog

Since the Common Core Scarecrow packet was such a popular download, I thought it would be fun to design a fire-safety themed one. Thus Spot the Common Core Fire Dog was born. 

The packet includes patterns to make 4 Dalmatian matching games for: (upper & lowercase letters, numbers, shapes and colors). Students put a fireman's hat on the Dalmatian, then find the matching bone to put in his mouth. 

For example, Sparky, the shape Dalmatian has a 2D shape on his fire hat. 

Students find the matching bone with the shape word on it, and slide it under the slit of Sparky's mouth.  For another matching game, and to cover more standards, write the shape's attributes on the back of the bones. 

To complete the CCSS shape standard, and review spatial directions, have students place the dog bone above, behind, under, beside etc. 

I've also included a spotless dog for you to program for other things, as well as a black and white spotted puppy so students can color it. (Use as a topper for writing prompts etc.)

There are also blank fire hats and blank bones for you to program with whatever.  Use them for other games, name tags, or write a fire safety rule on each bone.

For even more practice, there are 16 "I Spy" worksheets.

Use them as a fun way to quickly and easily whole group assess: upper and lowercase letters, numbers, number words, colors, color words, shapes, and shape words.

I've also included 5 trace and write worksheets to practice writing upper and lowercase letters, plus numbers from 1-100.

Since so many fire safety rules begin with a contraction like "Don't play with matches."  I've included these Dalmatian-themed contraction action activities: an alphabetical list of 72 contractions, 24 pocket cards with fire-safety sentences using contractions, plus 3 contraction worksheets.

To grab some fun, click on the link to view/download the fall FREEBIE: Common Core Fire-Safety Themed Puppy Packet.

If you'd like to make a Dalmatian sock puppet to use with these activities, or when you read some fire-safety books that feature a Dalmatian fire dog, click on the link. A little square of cardboard inside the toe of the sock, makes the "talking mouth".

I made these each year with my students.  We used them to show spatial directions and share a fire-safety fact.  My kiddos also had fun showing how to stop-drop and roll using their puppy puppet.  

I've included a copy of our Puppey Pokey song, which was a great way to get the wiggles out! There's also a puppy adoption certificate.  My Y5's enjoyed naming their puppies and then introducing them to the class. 

We really enjoy the song: Who Let The Dog's Out, so we'd finish up our fire-safety day rocking out to that tune.  Click on the link for a You Tube listen.  LOVE the variety of dogs that they use in their animation. :-)

I hope you found something that your kiddos will enjoy.  Thanks for visiting.  Time for a little fresh air. 

I love the crunching sound as I tromp through fallen leaves.  The colors are looking pretty spectacular and there's a crisp coolness to the air this morning.  Wishing you a sunshine-filled day.

"When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time." -Author Unknown

 1-2-3 Come Make A Multi-Purpose Scarecrow With Me

Since there are so many standards on our plates these days, there never seems to be enough time for everything, let alone a fun seasonal craft that we know our students would enjoy. That's why I spend so much time designing hands-on "craftivities" that revolve around all sorts of standards. 

Because it's so comprehensive, it took me several days to complete this Common Core scarecrow, and even more hours to make a sample of all 11 scarecrows, but it was time well spent, as they turned out so cute, are easy for your kiddos to make, and reinfore the following: 

Upper and lowercase letters, vowels, sc blend, beginning s sounds, matching words with pictures, numbers 0-30, odd and even, skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s & 10s, shapes, telling time, colors, contractions, number words, color words, compound words, CVC words, and rhyming words.

Completed projects make a wonderful fall bulletin board, or look sweet hanging back-to-back from the ceiling.

To make this extra special, fold a sheet of white construction paper, have students trace their hand and then cut once, to get two hand prints for their scarecrow's "gloves".  I ran yellow construction paper through a shredder to make the "hair". 

Run off the scarecrow's body templates on a variety of colors of construction paper.  Students trim and glue together. 

For more fine motor practice, cut yellow rectangles with a paper cutter.  Have students snip the bottom portion and glue the "hay" to the back of the scarecrow's pant legs, then crumple.

I purposely made these patterns super simple to cut out, but if you think this is too much for PK kiddos, have a room helper trace once and then cut 3-6 shirts and pants out at a time,  leaving just the head for preschoolers to cut out.  

There's a blank head so children can draw their own scarecrow face, as well as a completed template for little ones to color.

 Students make their scarecrow and then trim and glue on the appropriate patches.  The vowel scarecrow is especially versatile, as it not only covers vowels, but shapes and colors too.

For extra practice, when everyone is done, play an "I Spy" game and give students a piece of candy corn to use as a manipulative.  Choose a student to call out a "patch". 

Children locate that letter, number, shape or whatever, cover it with the candy corn, and then raise their hand. 

This is a fun way to practice and review standards, as well as a quick and easy way to whole group assess, as you can see at a glance who is having difficulty. 

I've also included blank patches for you to fill in with whatever, plus ideas and templates to use the number, letter and shape scarecrows for matching games.

i.e. match the lowercase patches to the uppercase letters; match the number word patches to the numbers; and/or match the shapes to the shape words.

For more scarecrow-themed letter fun, click on the link for a set of scarecrow alphabet cards.

The following scarecrows are wonderful for vocabulary building and Daily 5 word work: Carl is the Compound words scarecrow; (Click on the link for an alphabetical list of over 3,000 compound words.)

Connie, is a contraction action scarecrow; (With an alphabetical list of 72 contractions)

Sam, is a scarecrow that loves 37, 3-letter words that begin with S; (CVC practice!)

Scott, is the SC blend scarecrow, with a list of 50 words. The packet also includes an entire SC blend section, with lots more activities.

Sophie, is a scarecrow with 47-picture patches, for simple words starting with the letter S. 

For a quick review, I've also included 4, Ss word, picture posters.

Rodney, is the Rhyme Time scarecrow, with 56 words that rhyme with scare and a list of 274 words that rhyme with crow.

Write the words that rhyme with scare on the front of Rodney, and have children choose some words that rhyme with crow and write them on the back.

In the sample, I chose 24-scare rhyming words and wrote them on the shirt, and then wrote an equal amount of words that rhyme with crow, on the pants.  The alphabetical lists include rhyming words that start with every letter except U & X.  I chose one of each.

Finally, the number scarecrow, has several options and serves double duty.  There are number patches from 0-30, which  I traced in a variety of colors. 

You can make Odd Todd and Even Steven scarecrows (front and back) or put the odd numbers on the top and the even numbers on the bottom.  (See photo.)

For more math number practice, I've also included skip counting patches.  Children can skip count by 2's, 3's, 5's and 10's.  There are matching worksheets in the packet as well, along with number cards, plus number puzzles in color & black and white.  

For more odd and even scarecrow number fun, click on the link to practice numbers from 1-120, in the Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch packet.

If your kiddos are familiar with that concept, but need to work on matching numbers to their number words, use the Norman & Nancy number scarecrow patterns, with numbers 0-10, along with their matching number word patches.

Glue the numbers on the shirt and the number words on the pants.  For more practice, have students write the words above their matching number patch.

Click on the link to view/download the "craftivity" portion of the Common Core Scarecrow Packet.

This section will be FREE for an entire year!  After that, you can pick up the whopping 184-page jumbo packet in my TpT shop for just $5.95.  Click on the link for Patches, The Standard Scarecrow Craftivities packet to pop on over.

Thanks for visiting today.  I need to unclutter my brain, so we're off to a nearby fall festival.  It's a beautiful autumn-weather day, if the rain just holds out for awhile. 

 "If stars can shine with darkness, so can you." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do Some Bunny Activities With Me

The last week of April was sort of a catch up week for my Y5's.  I would plug in anything my kiddo's still needed to work on and simply give it a spring twist.  It was also a nice time to review and reinforce things that they should already have learned. 

As you may have discovered, just because you taught something in the first 9 weeks of school, and everyone passed those assessments, doesn't mean that they retained what they learned by the last 9 weeks of school.  Because there is so much to cover, in such a short amount of time, we seem to always be moving on to the next thing.

It's imperative though, that you continually reinforce standards throughout the year.  A quick, easy and fun way to do that is via centers, and games that students can do independently.  With that in mind, I designed the "I'm All Ears" packet. 

I think you'll enjoy the versatility of this packet, as you can program the bunny "ears" (craft sticks) with just about anything you want to continue to review. 

There's a large as well as small bunny template.  Choose one or make up a variety.  I used the large craft sticks for the bigger bunny, and the smaller Popsicle sticks, as well as spoon-shaped crafts sticks, for the smaller bunnies.  Program them with whatever and keep each set in their own Baggie. 

Think of things that you teach that can be divided up into pairs, so that you can write/draw them on the craft sticks. 

Here are some of the ideas that I came up with:

• uppercase-lowercase letters
• number-number word
• number-group/set
• contraction-words that make up the contraction
• compound word-two words that make up the compound word
• word-antonym
• word-synonym
• shape-shape word
• color-color word
• equation-answer

If you think of anymore, I'd enjoy hearing from you diane@teachwithme.com or feel free to leave a comment below. 

To expedite things, I've also included a list of contractions, as well as a list of synonyms/antonyms to help you program those Popsicle sticks. 

If you'd like a list of compound words, I just finished updating a comprehensive alphabetical list of 3,317 compound words! Click on the link to view/download it. 

Click on the link to view/download the I'm All Ears Bunny Packet.   Thanks for visiting today.  As always, you may PIN away.

"I wish I could be more resilient like the Energizer Bunny; after all my students are."

1-2-3 Come Do Some Valentine's Day Activities With Me

I had so much fun making things with candy hearts on Monday,  that I thought I'd make a few more things for today.   If you missed the article, simply scroll down.  As usual, my brain was going a zillion miles an hour of what other things I could do with the candy heart generator.

One of the things I made was a set of candy heart color cards.  The colors are just the 7 in the box, but sometimes its nice to limit things, especially for younger children.  The favorite color and favorite flavor candy heart graphs from yesterday, will compliment these activities. 

Print; laminate and trim to make Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has" games.  I've also included a cover, if you want your students to make an Itty Bitty Candy Heart Color booklet.  Click on the link to view/download the Candy Heart Color Cards.

Contraction activities are often requested, so I thought I'd make a set of those, using 61 contractions. 

Students match the word cards to their contractions.  You could also have children choose several cards and then write what the contraction or words are, depending on which ones they picked.  Click on the link to view/download the Conversation Heart Contraction Cards. 

Switching gears, I wanted to design a few quick Daily 5 word work activities with a valentine theme. 

How many words can you make using the letters in the word valentines?  Challenge your students to work independently or in small groups.  Set a timer, or let teams work on their lists throughout the day. 

I came up with a whopping 312 words!  When everyone has shared their list, share mine and highlight any that students don't know.

Give some to each team and have them look the words up, and then share their results with the class. I've also included several certificates of praise. Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Word Challenge. 

A Valentine Word Search is also a fun way to practice spelling, and build vocabulary.  This one has 22 familiar words associated with Valentine's Day, an answer key, plus several links for students to play valentine word searches online, as well as a list of quite a few sites for them to do valentine crossword puzzles. 

Including a site where they can make up their own crossword puzzle to share with their classmates.  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Word Find packet.

Finally, I enjoyed making a list of 100+ ways to say "I love you!" in different languages. Challenge your students to each learn 1 or 2. 

These would be fun to include in a valentine card students make for their families, or as a jumpstart to having students do some computer research and find 3-5 facts about one of the countries listed.  Click on the link to view/download 100 Ways To Say "I love you." 

That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN away. 

"Study without desire, spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in." -Leonardo da Vinci

Fluttering Through The Life Cycle Of A Butterfly

Looking for a few more ways to review or teach the life cycle of a butterfly?

I designed several with a bit of a different twist, that I think you and your students will enjoy.

My Many Colored Butterflies is an easy reader, that reviews color words at the same time sneaking in the life cycle.

Students trace and write the color words, as well as those new, rather impressive butterfly life cycle science terms.

Students color them in the matching color along with the picture.

I’ve also included a graphing extension and color word flashcards with this packet, as well as caterpillar and butterfly color cards.

Students can make an Itty Bitty color book, as well as play a Memory Matching game, where they match the color word to the corresponding caterpillar AND butterfly.

Click on the link to view/download My Many Colored Butterflies.

In the 49-page Catching On To Contractions, I’ve used a butterfly and caterpillar theme.  I think your students will enjoy learning or reviewing contractions as they flutter through these skill sheets.

Click on the link to view/download Catching On To Contractions.

I’ve designed 3 Butterfly Life Cycle Posters to help reinforce the order of the butterfly’s life cycle.

You can simply color and hang up the poster to use as an anchor chart, or run it off and have younger students color their own.

Older students can color and label a chart, or color, cut and glue a chart, depending on what skill you want students to work on.

Click on the link to view/download Butterfly Life Cycle Charts

Finally, the traceable butterfly life cycle cards are a quick and easy way for students to review this science concept.

Children can color, cut and sequence the cycle independently, making an Itty Bitty booklet, or have them play “Speed” against a partner, and see who can sequence the cycle the quickest, as they say the names of the process out loud.

Print off the cards on two different colors and turn them into Memory Match games or play “I Have; Who Has?” with them.

Click on the link to view/download the traceable butterfly life cycle cards.

I hope your students enjoy these activities, and that they always have the opportunity to fly through learning in an interesting way!

Be sure and flutter back tomorrow for still more tidbits and feel free to PIN anything on my site that you feel others might enjoy as well.

Thanks for stopping.