1-2-3 Come Do Some "Needs & Wants" Activities With Me
Is teaching about “Needs & Wants” part of your curriculum?
This bit of economics is one of our standards, so I thought it would be fun to introduce the concept during December, when a list of “I want….” floats through the thoughts of many students.
With that in mind, I designed a writing prompt craftivity, as well as an emergent reader booklet.
First up is the craft. There are 3 different “gift boxes” where the lid flips up to reveal a list of needs & wants “inside” the present.
I chose Christmas colors, but you can make examples with a variety of colors, to use this packet during another season of the year. (Earth tones for fall, pastels for spring etc.)
For more thinking, have students rank their needs & wants in order of importance.
The order of needs, provides a nice discussion, as most children don’t know that you can live longer without food, than you can without water.
Besides ordering their wants, have students list 2 practical things that they want that they’re likely to get, plus 2 “way out there” ( the sky’s the limit ) wishful thinking wants, or you could tell students that “money is no object” so dream big, and make a list of things they’d like to have, if they could have anything!
For extra pizzazz, instead of having students write their name on the package, run the tag pattern off.
Children color, trim, write their name on it, fold the end over, and glue that tab to the top of their package, so that it flips out a bit.
For more 3D pizzazz and pop, have students press a self-stick real bow or some ribbons to the top of their package.
Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board.
There are several definition posters included in the packet; use them to introduce the lesson, then scatter in the middle of your display.
There’s a Christmas-themed set, as well as a generic one.
Do this as a whole group activity with preschoolers, by making just one together.
You print & assemble the box, hanging it on your white board, then call on students to give you their ideas of what to write on the lists.
Next up is the "Needs & Wants" emergent reader, plus some poster activities.
There are two emergent reader options. A simpler version for younger kiddos, has them trace and write the “need-want” words, then color the graphics.
The other booklet is for older students, who read the simple sentences, which are packed with plenty of Dolch sight words, color the graphics, then fill in the blanks.
I’ve included both question marks and periods, so you can review end punctuation as well.
The emergent reader templates come with 4-pages on a one-page pattern.
Children color, cut, collate and staple the pages together, creating a “just the right size” booklet, which saves paper & ink.
T
he packet also includes a “Needs & Wants” poster that children create, by choosing from a collection of black & white graphics on their worksheet, then coloring, cutting and gluing them to the appropriate section on their poster.
There are full-color options, so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share, or if you’re pressed for time, use my completed sample.
Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board. I’ve also included a set of colorful, “Needs” posters.
Use them to introduce your lesson, then scatter them on your display.
The posters also come in black & white for students; and are printed 2-on-a-page, with a cover, so you can create another “Needs & Wants” booklet, as a culminating review.
There are also blank poster patterns, which allow students to illustrate their own pages to help assess and check comprehension.
Today's featured FREEBIE is an "It's Turkey Time!" packet.
Use these themed turkey cards to teach/review digital and analog time to the hour and half hour.
The packet includes an assessment worksheet, as well as a cover, plus a black & white "turkey time" page, so that your kiddos can make an Itty Bitty Telling Time booklet.
Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
I'm getting in the Christmas mood, so I might even mosey on down to the bassement, commonly referred to as our "dungeon" ,to sort through the Christmas boxes.
Scaling down this year because of a new puppy. Wishing you a jolly-holly day.
"I heard the bells on Christmas Day. Their old, familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
- "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1-2-3 Come Do A Thanksgiving Craftivity With Me
I’m always looking for a few things that are quick, easy & fun for my students to do, during that last day before our Thanksgiving break.
With that in mind, I designed these 2 simple and versatile crafts, which are nice “wind things down” activities, for that sometimes hectic time.
First up is a cute owl card. There are 2 pattern options.
One says, “Guess whooo’s wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving?”, while the other one is generic, for students who may not celebrate this holiday: “Guess whooo is wishing you an awesome autumn?”
Children color & cut out their owl, along with the extra hat.
When that top tab on the hat is folded and glued in place, the hat will flip up to reveal a child’s school photo and the answer to the above question: “Me! That’s whooo.”
You don’t have to, but for some pizzazz & 3D pop, add wiggle eyes attached with glue dots. For that “finishing touch”, an extra beak and pair of wings (which also flip up), adds even more dimension.
If you do add the wings, students can write their greeting underneath.
If you decide to skip this step, I’ve provided a hexagon-shaped writing prompt, which is glued on the back.
There’s a blank hexagon, so you can have children complete a writing prompt, as well as a “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Happy fall”, where little ones trace the greeting, then sign their name.
I chose a hexagon shape because that’s one of our “toughies” to remember, so this provides a teachable moment to review it.
Next up is a "Welcome To My Home" activity. This project can also be used generically for fall, as well as Thanksgiving.
Use it as a card for younger children to make, or as a writing prompt craftivity for older students.
Ive discovered that anytime I toss a bit of craftiness into a writing lesson, my students are excited to get right down to business and more happily engaged.
Completed projects make a sweet bulletin board too.
I’ve included a list of 21 writing prompt options for them to choose from.
Besides the writing prompt choices, there are also several patterns for different “keepsake” cards you can make.
Personally, I designed this activity for Thanksgiving; ( “Welcome to my home for Thanksgiving” ) however, I realize some children don’t celebrate this holiday, so I’ve also included a generic “Welcome To My Home” pattern as well.
Choose which template is appropriate for your kiddos or give them a choice.
Templates come in black & white for students, as well as full color, so that you can quickly and easily make an example to share.
I purposely used the word “home” rather than “house” because home has a connotation of a place where you live, which could be an apartment or igloo, while a house is specific.
I’ve also included extra patterns with a bit of blank space on the door and doorstep, so that children can practice writing their address.
As you can see, both activities are an educational and quick,” little something”, you can plug into that often hectic last day before Thanksgiving break.
Easy-peasy for you; super-fun for your students.
Today's featured FREEBIE is a "Fall Leaves" packet, which will help your students practice their reading skills. The emergent reader booklet covers lots of Common Core and reinforces color words.
Children read the simple sentences (packed with lots of Dolch and word wall words).
They correct beginning capitalization, add end punctuation and then trace, write and color the color words with a matching color crayon or marker.
A graphing extension, color word matching worksheet and spinner game are also included.
We'll that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
Our church passed out shoe boxes to fill for needy children, so time to brave the chilly weather and go shopping.
Wishing you a happy-go-jolly kind of day.
"To get the true value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." - Mark Twain
I-2-3-Come Make A Thankful Turkey Craft With Me
All I ever have to do to get my kiddos highly motivated and excited to write, is put a little bit of craftiness into the project.
With that in mind, I designed this "Thankful Turkey Wheel”, which does the trick in getting them happily engaged, and right down to business.
As a pre-writing activity, students make a list of 4-6 things that they are thankful for.
When they are content with their final draft, they choose one of 3 turkey-topped worksheets to write their list on. So that you can quickly and easily make a sample to share,
I've included options in color as well as black and white.
Once students have finished their final list, they assemble their wheel and illustrate those “things” on it.
Students can also use stickers, pictures cut out from magazines, digital clip art, or perhaps real photographs. For example if they are thankful for their family they could glue down a family photograph.
There are 3 wheels to choose from:
A simpler 3-piece wheel for younger children who’d skip the writing portion, as well as a 4 and 6-sectioned wheel for older students.
You can keep things simple with just the head and body of the turkey, or you can add some 3D pop by adding a wattle, beak and wings.
For more writing practice, have students label their pictures.
Completed wheels and prompts make a sweet bulletin board.
I’ve included a “Let our lives be full of Thanks and Giving” poster for the center of your display.
Be sure and make your own, to help explain what you want your students to do, as well as share with them, what you’re thankful for.
Pressed for time? For your convenience, I've included my completed, full-color samples of both the wheel and writing prompt.
Little ones can simply make a list using a few words.
Encourage older students to include some descriptive words and a bit more than one or two-word answers.
You can also do this as a whole group activity with preschoolers, asking what they're thankful for, then listing their answers on the colorful worksheet making a class composite of gratefulness.
Today's featured FREEBIE also has a Thanksgiving theme.
If you're students are as bananas over Pete the Cat as mine are, then I think they'll enjoy this "Color Me" dice game puzzle.
Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
Mother Henderson's cupboard is bare, so time for some marathon grocery shopping. Wishing you a peaceful and productive day.
"Forget the mistakes. Remember the lesson." - Unknown
1-2-3 Come Sequence & Retell a Story With Me
I guess a lot of teachers and homeschoolers read the book “The Scarecrow’s Hat” by Ken Brown because the flip booklet craftivity I blogged about last week, was a big hit.
It’s one of my personal, all-time favorite scarecrow stories too.
Because of all the “swapping” going on with the various characters in the story, “Scarecrow’s Hat” is perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.
Those of you who follow me, know that I enjoy designing storytelling "sliders" and wheels, which have also been very popular, as a super-fun way to practice these standards.
However, because the story has a lot of retelling parts to it, a slider would get too long, and the graphics on a wheel too small, so I wanted to think of a different kind of sequencing activity and came up with this “flip it over” 3D hat craft, that’s made out of a yellow bowl.
Run the hat brim off on yellow construction paper. Students assemble and glue the bowl face down, on top of the brim.
There are two options for sequencing and retelling the story.
Students can color, cut and sequence the “beginning of the story” graphics gluing them to the front of the hat; then color, cut and sequence the “end of the story” graphics and glue them to the “back” of the hat, which is now the chicken’s nest. OR …
Children can glue all of the graphics around the front, then simply flip the hat over to reveal the chicken on her nest to tell the end of the story.
I personally like gluing all of the graphics to the front, then for a “big finish” and “wow” of an ending, flip the hat over to reveal why the chicken wanted the scarecrow’s hat.
The chicken is 3-dimensional and “rocks” before you put her inside the base of the bowl.
For my sample, I ran 2 sheets of various shades of brown construction paper through a shredder, to make the lining for hen’s “nest”.
For some more 3D pop, you can also add a jute bow or small, silk sunflower to the base of the bowl, which is the “top” of the scarecrow’s hat.
I’ve included black & white patterns, as well as colorful ones, so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share.
When everyone is done, have children pick a partner and take turns retelling the story of “The Scarecrow’s Hat” to each other.
We sometimes do this sort of thing with our older reading buddies.
To further check comprehension as well as practice sequential writing, I’ve included a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet.
There’s a black & white template for students to fill in, plus a colorful pattern page so you can do this as a whole-group activity with little ones.
Today's featured FREEBIE switches from scarecrows to turkeys. Its titled, "Thanksgiving Shape Up!" and is filled with a nice variety of games, activities & crafts, which all help reinforce 2D-shapes.
Thanks for visiting. The scarecrow on my porch is watching the leaves swirl and twirl.
Even though it's a bit dreary, a brisk walk is in order. Wishing you a warm and cozy afternoon.
"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I'm going to change myself." -Unknown
1-2-3 Come Make a Scarecrow With Me
Do you read the story “Scarecrow’s Hat” by Ken Brown? Click the picture to check out a nice reading of the book on YouTube..
My Young Fives really enjoy this story. Personally, it’s my favorite scarecrow-themed book.
Here’s the gist:
A very clever chicken admires Scarecrow’s hat, who will gladly swap it for a walking stick for his tired arms. Chicken REALLY wants that hat, but doesn’t have a walking stick; however, she knows who does! Thus begins her quest…But why does the chicken want an old straw hat?
Because of all the “swapping” going on with the various animal characters in the story, “Scarecrow’s Hat” is perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.
With that in mind, I designed this flip-the-flap scarecrow craftivity, which will help practice those two standards. My students absolutely love creating their booklet.
Completed projects make an adorable fall bulletin board too.
I’ve included a “We can sequence & retell a story, and that’s something to crow about!” poster, for the center of your display.
Fittingly, the top of scarecrow’s hat flips up and tells the tale.
Students color, cut & collate the “hump of the hat” - shaped pages into a little booklet, which is sequenced and glued to the top of scarecrow’s hat.
I purposely did not number the pages, so you can check comprehension.
This also allows you to choose less pages for preschool students, who can easily sort beginning-middle-end, then retell the story with a limited number of “picture prompts”.
For some 3D pop, add a jute bow to the knot on his neck, as well as some “straw hair”.
For my sample, I ran 2 sheets of yellow paper through my shredder, then glued just the end of a few strands under the brim of the hat, creating that finishing touch.
There are two booklet options.
T
he pages of the first version have only graphics, while the second option includes an unfinished “fill in the blank” sentence, which allows you to practice reading, writing, end punctuation, as well as check comprehension.
I’ve included black & white patterns, as well as colorful ones, so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share.
When everyone is done, have children pick a partner and take turns retelling the story of “Scarecrow’s Hat” to each other.
We sometimes do this sort of thing with our older reading buddies.
To further check comprehension as well as practice sequential writing, I’ve included a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet.
There’s a black & white template for students to fill in, plus a colorful pattern page so you can do this as a whole-group activity with little ones.
Today’s featured FREEBIE also has a scarecrow theme.
“My Scarecrow’s 5 Senses” is a rhyming, emergent reader packed, with plenty of Dolch words, and helps reinforce lots of Common Core State Standards.
Students read, trace, write, add end punctuation, underline the adjectives and color the pictures.
Well that’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by.
Time to put a costume together for party day. Hmmmm I think I’ll be a nice witch. Now where did I leave my wand…
Wishing you a magical day.
“If the broom fits, ride it!" - Unknown
