Items filtered by date: March 2013

1-2-3 Come Lace And Learn With Me!

The more ways you can get students involved in shapes, the better the chance of the recognition-light bulb finally going on.

Lacing is fun for little ones, as well as an awesome fine motor skill.

These "Lace To Learn" shapes are quick and easy to make.

Simply run them off on card stock, laminate, trim and punch holes. 

Students can lace in and out through the holes with a long piece of yarn or ribbon with the tips taped, or a big shoestring is also fun.

Have children say the shape several times as they lace.

I've labeled the shapes with traceable words, so that tracing them with a dry erase marker is also great word reinforcement.

When students have completed their project, ask them to name 1 or 2 attributes that they discovered while they were lacing.

Click on the link to view/download the Learn While You Lace 2D Shape Activity.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful. My pin button is at the top.

"They believed they could, so they did!" -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Play A Telling Time Game With Me!

I keep telling myself "April showers bring May flowers" to help chase the dreary-drip feelings away, because of all the incessant rain we've had here in Michigan for the last 4 days straight.

I do love how the air smells, but still, a little sunshine would certainly be welcome. 

Since it was pouring outside, I decided to make a rain game to help students review and practice telling time to the hour in one game, and telling time to the half hour in another. (Common Core State Standard: 1.MD.3)

Students spin the clock spinner.  Whatever number they land on, children write the digital time at the top of the raindrop, and then draw hands for that time on their analog clock as well.

If the paperclip spinner lands between two numbers they may choose either.  The first one with all of their raindrops filled in and colored is the winner.

If you want everyone to practice completing the clocks, then have those who have finished, color the children or the turtle on the page 'til everyone gets done.

If you'd like to review simple addition, instead of using the spinner, have students use 1st one, and then 2 dice to achieve the time.

Click on the link to view/download It's Time To Play In The Rain.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find useful.

"A person's most useful asset is not their head full of knowledge, but a heart full of love, an ear ready to listen, and a hand willing to help." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Celebrate Earth Day With Me!

My Y5's enjoyed learning how to care for our planet more than on just Earth Day.  I took an entire week to teach them how even little kids could make a difference by simply turning the water off while they brushed their teeth, as well as not being a litter bug. 

We were always amazed at how much small trash we cleaned up from our playground and fenced in areas, as we went outdoors for "Operation Clean Up!"

We had wonderful discussions of other things we could do and what they as a family were already doing.

A creative way to have students write about how they reduce, reuse or recycle, helping to take care of, and love our earth, is by making the "I Love The Earth" personal writing prompt "craftivity."

Students cut and colored their planet earth and glued it to a heart, where they wrote what they did to help out.

I traced my students' hands and they drew a self portrait to make this a real cute keepsake, as well as an awesome hallway display.

Click on the link to view/download We Love The Earth craftivity.

You can use the Happy Earth Day poster as a center for your spring bulletin board, and then scatter the portraits around it. 

The cans on the poster have letters that say: We Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  Make a copy of your students' school pictures and have them glue it to the lid.

Click on the link to view/download the Earth Day poster.

"My Family Recycles!" Is a quick and easy writing prompt bookmark. Students color their recycling tub and symbol and jot down all of the things their family does to recycle.

Click on the link to view/download the Earth Day bookmark.

Finally, an interesting way to have students examine the importance of recycling, and see what they can do, is to take a look at what their family throws out.

This packet includes a letter to parents, recording data analysis sheet + graphing extensions and a writing prompt craftivity, to pull it all together.

Click on the link to view/download What's In Your Garbage? Earth Day activities.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.

I hope you and yours enjoy being keen and "going green!"

"Life is a great big canvas and you should throw all the paint you can on it." -Danny Kaye

1-2-3 Come Reduce, Reuse and Recycle With Me!

April 22nd is fast approaching.  Do you need a little something to plug in for Earth Day?

I've been busy designing some quick and easy writing prompts, craftivities, and a game, that I think you'll enjoy.

Making a class book is a fun way to get your kiddo's excited about writing. Each child completes their page; you collect and collate them.

Students complete the thought for each of the 3 sentences. How do they reduce, reuse andrecyle to help our earth?

Remind them about capitalization, spacing and punctuation, so that you cover those standards as well.

When you share the completed book with your class, have each child read their own page.

Add some pizzazz by having students color the illustrations and then glue their own school photo over either the girl or boy's face.  Click on the link to view/download the Earth Day Class Book.

Another way you can have students write about reducing, reusing and recycling, is to have them make this simple, but striking Earth Day dangler.

The recycling symbols and hearts are glued together to form 3 sides; one for each R word. Students write how they reduce on one heart, how they reuse on another and finally how they recycle on the 3rd one.

Hang from a yarn loop so the writing prompt "craftivity" twirls and dangles from the ceiling.

Click on the link to view/download the Earth Day Writing Prompt Dangler.

Finally, I made an Earth Day game that helps review clock numbers, simple addition, and things that can be recycled.

Students roll first one, and then two dice, to get a time-to-the-hour number that they write on their clock. 

They then glue the matching numbered item that it is "time to reduce, reuse or recycle."

Click on the link to view/download Earth Day: It's Time To Recycle Clock Game.

For more Earth Day "craftivities" scroll down to the next article.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think may be helpful to others.

"It is not the IQ, but the I Will, that is most impoortant in education." -Unknown

4pages. An interesting way to have students examine the importance of recycling, and see what even they, as a little person, can do, is to take a look at what their family throws out.

1 page. A quick and easy writing prompt "craftivity" for Earth Day.