Well, we are at it again… working on cause and effect! If you remember my post from a few weeks ago, then you know that cause and effect is the “Achilles heel” of my second graders. So, I figured another week with working on this skill was a good idea. At the beginning of the […]
Leap Day Activities Ready to celebrate the day that only comes around every four years? This Leap Day resource includes two activities to help you celebrate Leap Day in your classroom! ____________________________________________________________ Read How To Use this Resource in Your Classroom Here! Hoppy Leap Year Activities _______________________________________________________________ Check Out More Seasonal Fun My Leprechaun Shenanigans Seeds and Plans Activities Spring Days: Differentiated Literacy Centers for 2nd & 3rd _______________________________________________________________ This download includes: •Leap Year Resources- Teach your students more about this special day and why it only occurs every 4 years. Includes links to videos, articles, and fun facts! •Hoppy Leap Year Anchor Chart- Use this interactive anchor chart to help teach your students about Leap Day. Includes a section •Hoppy Leap Year Booklet- Have your students create this mini booklet as part of their learning. Simple to complete: just print, cut and staple together. Put on the front of your Leap Frog craft if you like! Activity booklet covers the following concepts: Math: •Skip counting by 4’s •Leap Day Date •Ways to make 4 Reading: •Animals that Can leap •Special activity for Leap Day •Hoppy Leap Year Writing Pages- After learning more about Leap Year and why it happens, have your students complete a quick writing activity. Finish by attaching the leap year frog craft! Includes full and half pages depending on how much you’d like for your students to write. Students can write to the following prompts: •Expository: What is Leap Day? How does it happen? •Narrative: What is something special I would do on this special day? •Persuasive: Do we need a leap year? Why or why not? •Hoppy Leap Year Frog Craft-After learning more about Leap Year, have your students create this leap-frog craft. Hoppy Leap Year Bulletin Board Letters-Display your new activities with these bulletin board letters! ______________________________________________________ Customer Tips: How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: • Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase, you'll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Each time you give feedback, TPT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases! I value your feedback and love hearing from you! :-) Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies, and product launches: • Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. Voila! You will now receive email updates about this store. ☺ __________________________________________________ If you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you! ♥ Leigh Langton from The Applicious Teacher Terms of Use ©Leigh A Langton, LLC at The Applicious Teacher By purchasing and/or downloading this electronic file, you agree to the terms of use as stated below. For personal use/single classroom use only. No part of this document may be distributed, posted on the internet, copied, sold, or edited without direct permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Act. To purchase additional sharing licenses, please select the option at checkout. All graphics and fonts are also protected by copyright from their original author/artist.
Photo Source: thegirlwhokeepsdreaming.tumblr.com Wouldn't this exhibit created for the KI-X: Knowledge Integration eXhibition at The University of Waterloo Art Gallery make a great school-wide display for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day?! Simple, yet profound, the exercise invites students to think about and describe what peace means to them; an important theme that weaves its way through Martin Luther King, Jr's infamous speech and goes hand in hand with diversity, freedom, and equality. With its colorful sticky notes and contrasting lettering the display is visually appealing and, as a school-wide project, the mural is sure to promote a sense of community. Not to mention, the finished exhibit offers a positive message for all who stop to read!
Looking for ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school in your virtual classroom? This post includes 11 easy to impliment ideas!
Looking for a way to introduce research skills in your 2nd grade classroom? This African American Inventors Research Project is perfect.
Looking for a way to introduce research skills in your 2nd grade classroom? This African American Inventors Research Project is perfect.
Looking for ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school in your virtual classroom? This post includes 11 easy to impliment ideas!
Use basic craft supplies to make your own DIY heart stamps for toddler and preschool art for Valentine's Day or kids' crafts.
Hi friends! Just wanted to share really quickly with y'all my Valentine's door from last year in case you were looking for last minute craf...
Well it’s been cold here in FL for the past few days. I mean nothing compared to the rest of the country… but cold enough. Unfortunately, the rest of the country has been getting snow days left and right, while us Floridians are all like… wait… where’s my gloves and scarf because it’s 55 degrees […]
Looking for ideas for celebrating the 100th day of school in your virtual classroom? This post includes 11 easy to impliment ideas!
Some of my favorite titles for the month of February!
February is “I Love to Read” Month in most parts of North America! What a great way to promote a love of books in your classroom!!
This was our first week back from break! I had totally forgotten how exhausting teaching can be. I tried to keep this week open for review but still hit some of those more complex skills (cuz we’re in 3rd now) I thought it’d be fun to do a little penguins unit! Activating Our Prior Knowledge […]
Hello! Happy New Year! I’m not sure about you, but I’m ready to say goodbye to 2021. Like… see-ya! I feel like I allowed some of 2020 to seep into 2021, and it just never seemed to get better. That’s why I’m focusing on 2022 and all the wonderful things I know it has in […]
February is “I Love to Read” Month in most parts of North America! What a great way to promote a love of books in your classroom!!
February is Dental Health Month. Have fun learning about teeth with these fun Dental Health Month activities in kindergarten.
This was our first week back from break! I had totally forgotten how exhausting teaching can be. I tried to keep this week open for review but still hit some of those more complex skills (cuz we’re in 3rd now) I thought it’d be fun to do a little penguins unit! Activating Our Prior Knowledge […]
Easy low prep idea for teaching about Leap Day or Leap year in your classroom. Love the Hoppy Leap Year activity shared at the end!
February is “I Love to Read” Month in most parts of North America! What a great way to promote a love of books in your classroom!!
Note: Here is the updated handprint (not mine). I removed the old one. This one is much cuter. Don't you think? Also - skip the thum...
Come grab Presidents Day freebies on the blog!
This yarn heart is a rustic Valentine's Day decoration that will bring some heartfelt cheer to your home. Make a yarn heart with your little Valentine.
Presidents Day Ideas for your classroom! Learn how you can use these Presidents Day freebies!
So what’s sweeter than all the chocolate that students bring you on Valentine’s Day and also doesn’t go straight to your thighs? Having those same sweet kiddos write about their sweetest acts! I love doing this writing activity around Valentine’s Day and it’s always a hit! I mean what kid doesn’t want to make a […]
Looking for an easy Valentine's Day classroom craft to make with your kids? Check out this free and easy hidden heart bookmark idea!
Cute Abraham Lincoln craft - perfect for President's Day!
Tame the classroom chaos on Valentine's Day by following a few simple tips. Make sure to stick closely to your regular routine to make classroom management easier and add in fun activities like crafts and valentine math centers like measuring with candy hearts.
Because of our Monday holiday for President's Day we really had a lot to squeeze in this past week. We still had a lot of fun talking all week about the letter "P" and "Our Country". To be perfectly honest, "P" is one of my favorite letter. So fun! We spent the entire week making "puckering faces" and making the fun "P" sound (being careful mind you not to spit!). We started Tuesday by talking about good 'ole George Washington since it was the 22nd of February and that IS his birthday. There is nothing that gets a group of children to pay attention like bringing an axe to school. Okay, don't panic, it wasn't a real ax, it was made of paper and we pretended to chop down a tree! I really think the lesson of telling the truth sunk in. The children talked about it all day. Lots and lots of fun! We spent our day making the American Flag While Mrs. Nancy's class made good 'ole George Washington I've never seen George look so good! Wednesday was a fun day talking about the letter "P". I wanted an attention grabber for "P" so we made a "Pink Penguin with Purple Polka Dots Sitting on a Pink Piece of Paper" (try saying that 10 times really fast). Everyone walked around all day saying our fun "P" phrase, it got wild, but it also was fun! Please note the adorable eyes on our projects. I splurged years ago and bought 2 different size punches from a local craft store. I love to watch the children attached the eyes to their projects. A good way to work on those fine motor skills and we save money not buying little goggle eyes too. Thursday was all about Abraham Lincoln! What a guy! We loved talking about his big tall hat. I guess you noticed that our log cabins weren't made out of the traditional craft sticks. I wanted to use them but we ran out. We made a little adjustment and use some left over strips of brown paper. I like the way it looks, don't you? Friday was the day we had all wait on! Our grand finale to "P" Week, our annual "Pajama Party"!! What a great day. We all wore our pajamas to school, although several of the boys weren't too sure about it. We also ate pizza for lunch with pretzels and fruit punch. For desert we all enjoyed popsicles and then headed to the big music room for a pajama party complete with a movie AND popcorn! What a great day! Now I face my annual problem . . . how to make "Q" and farm week fun after all of that?
Looking for an easy Valentine's Day classroom craft to make with your kids? Check out this free and easy hidden heart bookmark idea!
Try these fun and easy heart-themed Valentines Day activities for preschool including art, science, math, sensory, and fine motor play!
Uncle Sam Paper Plate Mask
Ahhh… the air is crisp, the leaves are all gone. It’s officially winter time! (Well, at least I think so… here in Florida our high for today is 76… not exactly winter temps) But, either way all this cooler weather means hot cocoa to warm you up! What makes this even better is being able […]
A few weeks ago our church had a little carnival for the kids. Each family was in charge of coming up with a little game for the kids to play, so I thought up this super easy Frog-Toss! You could make this as a learning game too! SUPPLIES: an old box (I used one end of a big apple box) bright green poster-board black, white, red construction paper knife scissors tape HOW TO MAKE IT: With a knife, carefully cut out a great big smiley mouth on top of the box: 2. With the piece you just cut out, flip it over and trim the round part to make to bumps. These will be the frog's eyes! 3. Measure your posterboard (if you have a really big box, you might need 2 poster-boards). Cut them to fit on each side of the box (I didn't have enough to cover the back of the box. Oh well. No one see's it anyways!) :) 4. Turn the box over and from the inside, trace the mouth shape onto the posterboard so you can easily cut it out. THEN tape all the green poster-board onto the box. I used double stick tape at first, then packaging tape to keep the edges down: 5. Cut out 2 big white circles, and 2 smaller black circles. Tape together. These are the eyes. Then Use the "mouth" shaped cut-out to cover the eye-shaped carboard. Then tape on the eyes. Then use packaging tape to tape the eye piece onto the back of the box: 6. Cut out a long strip of red paper. Tape it onto the inside of the mouth and curl it on the end with a pencil: 7. I originally was going to use wadded up black paper as "flies" to toss into the frog's mouth. I had bought a bag of candy to give as prizes, and so I decided to instead have the kids toss the CANDY into the frog's mouth! HERE'S HOW WE PLAYED: Each child got 1 piece of candy. They tried to toss the candy into the frog's mouth. As soon as they made it in, they got to keep the candy! (LB had fun practicing with the paper "flies") :)
My kids think every (small) holiday is major and needs a crafts and gifts and all that. This means we do Valentine's Day crafts.
February Round Up 2 comments Freebies, Monthly Round Up Can you believe that February is (almost) here? Hopefully, you'll find a few of the ideas, activities, and freebies in this post helpful as you plan for the upcoming month! Feel free to pin the ideas you love most! Have I ever mentioned that I'm a sucker for cute crafts? ;) Crafts are perfect for developing fine motor skills, encouraging problem solving, and following directions. They are also a great way to show kids that they too can add beauty to their surroundings. #jumpingoffmysoapboxnow So, by now, you know that I like to display crafts on my monthly bulletin board. My Love Bots always make an appearance in February. Always. BUT, this year, this little bee is going up too! It makes me smile. #cuteness When Valentine's Day rolls around, I like to focus on friendship. It's also that time of year when students need to be reminded about how to treat their friends/be a friend. So, this little guy will come in handy as we talk about how to "bee" a good friend. You can grab the {free} craft here and the {free} writing prompt here. :) Click here for even more Valentine's Day ideas. :) Hearts and cute crafts aside, Presidents' Day is another big deal in the month of February. I usually spend a few weeks on this topic. We read about each president individually. Sometimes I read aloud to the students using various picture books, and sometimes they read independently using passages like these (and/or Scholastic News). We often do different things with the information that we've read. We might make a book. Or, we might show what we know while testing others knowledge at the same time. Three truths and a Lie is always a hit, and it's a great way to get students thinking critically. My students love showing what they know and seeing if they can create a sly lie that might trick their partner. Directed drawings are a must during this unit! They always look so great hanging up. To make the drawing process and coloring time more manageable for the students, I usually give them a piece of card stock that's been cut in half (I turn it to landscape orientation when cutting it in half). The final size is 8.5 in by 5.5 in. This is also a great size if you have a miniature sized classroom with little wall space, like I do. Once we have learned about each president, it's time to really show what we know about them. I like to throw in a little compare and contrast. The students get to show what they know while using important critical thinking skills. And, that is a great combination! Another way I like to "test" their knowledge of the presidents is with this Who Am I? (Around the Room) activity. It keeps the students engaged as they identify the president associated with each clue on the cards. Sorry about that glare below. All of these activities, and more, can be found in my Two Great Presidents unit on TPT. Did you know that February is also when the official RAK week takes place? This year, the dates are Feb. 14-20. Perfect timing, right? Last year, my class had fun spreading a little RAK around our school. They were like super secret agents of kindness. Hehe. You can read all about these ideas and grab a few related freebies by clicking here. Another fun and easy way to focus on kindness at school is with this class book. What I love about class books is that the kids read them over and over. So, in this case, when they reread the book, they are always being reminded of how they can be kind. It's a win-win! You can grab this {free} class book here. Thanks for stopping by. I truly hope you are able to use an idea or two from this post! DON'T FORGET IT: PIN IT! Toodles! Share It:
So let’s dive into the second week of our Arctic Thematic Unit! Didn’t get a chance to read about our first week? Check it out here! So after my students had a solid foundation of how harsh the Arctic climate can be, we began to study different animals that can not only live in these […]
Well, we are at it again… working on cause and effect! If you remember my post from a few weeks ago, then you know that cause and effect is the “Achilles heel” of my second graders. So, I figured another week with working on this skill was a good idea. At the beginning of the […]
Honestly (Honest Abe, that is) we enjoy reading about the presidents any time of the year with these childrens books about presidents!
We are Ready for RAK Week! 3 comments Freebies, Kindness, National RAK Week This year, I thought it would be fun to have my students participate in RAK Week. Over the past few weeks, we have worked on several different ways to spread kindness around our school. I thought it was important that the students focus on promoting kindness and happiness within the school community. After all, this is their world outside of home, it should be a place they want to be. Now, the burning question is, are the acts still random even though they were pre-planned? Hehe. Next week (which is RAK week) is a four day week for us, so I planned for four random acts of kindness. We are going to kick off our kindness campaign with these kindness posters. This is the sample I shared with the students. Then, I paired the students up to make their own. Here's a sampling of their creations. They colored the poster, glued it to black paper, and then used these fun, sparkly foam stars to add a bit of pizazz. We made 11 posters in all. I'm going to hang these posters around the school and leave them up the whole week. Hopefully they remind others to be kind and spread a little kindness around! You can grab a set of these FREE posters {HERE}. On Tuesday, we're going to share these bookmarks with another class. These bookmarks are a freebie from Ashley Hughes. Aren't they adorable? Before we made them, I explained to the students that part of our RAK mission was to act anonymously. I explained that we shouldn't be seeking attention for our acts. Instead, the purpose of what we are doing is to bring joy to others, not recognition to ourselves. On Wednesday, we will send a bag of Oreos to another class. I'm sure that will bring some smiles to some little faces! Since we are acting anonymously, the students signed this card with smiley faces. On Thursday, our last RAK day of the week, we will send these hand made cards to another class. The students used crayons and watercolors to make a simple card. They wrote the words you see below with white crayon and then painted over the words using watercolor paint. On the inside, they wrote fun messages like: "Have a great day!" and "You are awesome!" and " Don't forget to smile!" and so on. The nice thing about kindness is that it can be spread any time, not just during RAK Week. And, it can be done on a grand scale, or on a small scale. Hopefully, you can use an idea or two to spread some kindness around your building! Toodles! Share It:
