looking forward to Spring? Here is a list of spring kids craft to celebrate spring. Lot of crafts to choose from, kites, chicks, Easter, flowers, rain and more.

What kid doesn't love parachutes? My boys have gotten so many of those parachuting army men as party favors, I've lost count. And forget trying to untangle the strings. (Ain't nobody got time for that!) The weather may not have been on our side, but with so many rainy days this summer, eventually you just throw caution to the wind and do outdoor activities anyway. And so it was the day we made DIY parachutes. Making these was simple. We had all the supplies we needed around the house. What You Need Disposable plastic (or paper) cup Plastic garbage sack String (we used some tightly twisted yarn) Paper punch Scissors Tape Measure or yardstick How to Make It First we punched holes in the top of the plastic cups, just under the rim. You'll need to punch four holes equal distance apart (approximately). Next we cut one plastic kitchen garbage sack into a 14-inch square. Since we made two parachutes, we measured and cut the bag with it flattened (i.e. two plies) so we had two squares with only a few cuts. Now we cut four 14-inch lengths of string for each parachute. Our oldest son gathered a corner of the plastic square and tied one length of string to it, leaving only a small tail. He repeated this with the other four corners. Then we tied each string to a different hole on the cup. (TIP: Try to keep the tails all the same length so you don't get a lopsided parachute.) Now all that was left to do was to go to a high place and drop those puppies. My sons perched on the landing of our deck and later our yard's play set. They LOVED watching them gracefully float to the ground. My oldest son tucked the parachute in the cup and dropped it to see what would happen. It sank to the ground with lightning speed. That's gravity for ya! How Does a Parachute Work The cup glides slowly down thanks to something known as air resistance (or drag). When air gets under it, the plastic parachute fans out for maximum coverage; this air resistance slows the fall of the object tremendously. This great activity came from Patricia A. Staino's wonderful book Magic Moments: Super Science with Your Kids. Check it out!

outdoor math activities for prek and kindergarten.

When winter’s cold and inclement weather arrives, outdoor playtime isn’t always an option for children. Naturally, children will miss playing outside and will

Every great reader has their beginnings in sounding out words!

Get information about family vacation, entertainment, games, birthdays, parties, arts and crafts, toys, sports, and more from the editors of Parents magazine.

April is National Poetry Month, and what better time is there to teach and explore poetry with your students?!?! I love to spend the month of April having students read, write, and share poetry in our classroom. At the beginning of my poetry units each year, I find that my students are often intimidated by poetry, especially when it comes to writing it. Over the years I have tried to find the perfect activities to ease them into writing their own poems. One of my favorite activities is taking my students on a Haiku Hike!! Several years ago I found this book, Haiku Hike from Scholastic. The story and poems in this book were written by a class of 4th grade students. The idea behind the book is that the students in this class went on a nature walk, and instead of taking pictures of the different things they saw, they used the form of haiku to capture different moments and scenes in nature. I loved this idea so much that I decided to implement it in my own classroom. Here’s how it works... What is Haiku? Before you take students on a Haiku Hike, you will need to make sure that they are familiar with this poetic form. Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry that is often used to describe nature or the seasons. Haiku is a three line poem that follows a specific pattern based on syllables: Line #1: 5 syllables Line #2: 7 syllables Line #3: 5 syllables I would suggest creating an anchor chart to discuss and display the elements of Haiku. Take a Hike! Once your students are familiar with Haiku, they are ready for their Haiku Hike. You could schedule a hike or nature walk as a mini field trip, but I simply take my students on a walk around the grounds of our school. Students take “field notes” throughout the hike. I ask them to take notes about what they see, hear, and feel, and encourage them to be as descriptive as possible. I also ask them to try to capture a moment in time or a scene in nature. Below is a page you can provide for students to record their field notes. Click HERE to download this FREEBIE!! Time to Write Once you return from your hike, it is time for students to turn their field notes into haiku. Ask them to write two to three poems based on their experiences and observations. They can write these drafts in a writer’s notebook or journal. Have students share their poems with you and their classmates for feedback. Then have them choose a final haiku to publish. Since students are using haiku to “capture” a scene or moment in time, you can have them use the Polaroid page below to record and illustrate their haiku. This page is also included in the free download!! These “snapshots” make a beautiful bulletin board for students to display their haiku!! This activity is the perfect way to ease students into writing their own haiku. It gets them outside to observe their environment. What better way to inspire nature themed poems, than going outdoors to explore?!?! If you are looking for more poetry activities, check out this blog post on my blog, Create Teach Share. You can also check out my Poetry Toolbox in my Teacher Shop!!

Annie Movie hand clapping ideas and your chance to win a poster signed by Quvenzhané Wallis

There are plenty of activities for camp, and one of the best activities is incorporating funny camp skits. These funny camp skits are sure to get a laugh!

Indoor recess got you down? Check out this post for 20+ ideas to keep it your sanity and make it FUN for your students. Games, activities...

Water games are some of the best fun of the summer. As temperatures rise, so does the need to cool off in creative ways. Here are 19 fun water games you can play at family reunions, youth activities, play dates, or just because! We've found fun water games from water balloon games to kiddie pool kickball. These games will be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. Water Games Your Family Will Love 1. Beach ball blaster 2. Water balloon pinatas 3. Frozen t-shirt game 4. Bowl pass 5. Drip, drip, dunk! The water version of Duck, duck, goose. 6.

Little storytellers, take a trip to the beach with this fill-in-the-blanks story! Your young writer will practice her parts of speech to finish the story.

Hosting a fall party? These fun fall games are hilarious any age! Great for classroom parties, fall festivals, and harvest parties!

20 family game night ideas. A must-try for every family. Most of these games are Minute To Win it games and require no preparation. Fun to play!

Find shadows and play a matching game to go along with the Dr. Seuss book The Shape of Me and Other Stuff

The Best Kids Ideas of 2012 - Blog Bop is designed to reflect on our/your favorite post from 2012. Come link up your favorite post from 2012.

I am loving my new group of seventh graders. We have had an exciting two days so far. Yesterday, my team and I started our year off by hav...

The Fishbowl Game is a fun-filled memory game that combines Charades, Password, and Taboo. It is easy to learn and perfect for large groups, which means

Here’s how to make a really simple rain gauge using recycled materials, for some rainy day fun! There are plenty of opportunities for learning about measuring, number recognition, capacity and weather along the way too! We have had the most incredible, persistent rainfall for the past 10 days here in the Southern UK, and it...Read More »

Learn how to make these Flying Fish Paper Spinners for inexpensive fun with the kids outside this Spring or Summer!

10 fun science experiments for kids to learn about the Sun, the light, the solar power, the relationship with the earth,... Wonderful STEM activity ideas.

What a great idea- putting up a tent in the woods or your garden to create a simple and romantic retreat. Happy Spring Weekend.. Images from Country Living, British Edition.

Get outdoors this spring (or stay inside if it's really raining) to practice reading with this fun gross motor sight word game for preschool & kindergarten.

Here are some Printable Handy Knot Guides, so you that you'll always be able to tie the right knot for any situation!

This is the BEST paper tube Koi Fish, and one of several other Lunar New Year Animal inspired art lessons that we offer. This fun DIY craft is an original idea from ART CAMP Studio. It's a great year round project for all ages.

We love playing and exploring with bubbles in the warmer months!

Get expert advice for planting and growing lavender, from prepping soil to pruning. Plus, learn about the different types—like English, French and Spanish lavender—and how to harvest and use lavender flowers.

How to fold an origami corner bookmark. Learn how to embellish and deocrate these cute monster bookmarks for kids.

Inside: 12 unique popcorn box templates! These are FREE popcorn printables so you can DIY and know how to make a popcorn box, bucket, or cone. This post is sponsored by PopSecret thanks to Linqia.

Our rainy, rainy spring has finally ended and now it’s HOT! We hit the high 90’s yesterday (haven’t hit 100 yet, so that’s good). The younger boys and I took advantage of the hot sun and did a simple science experiment with melting. This is SO easy and really interesting for the preschool and kindergarten […]

Learn how to make a sundial for kids. An easy and educational kids craft project. Download the free printable clock face template...

In an earlier post, I went over a list of memory review games that I am planning on using this year with my Foundations class. (CLICK HERE if you would like to read that post.) In this post, I am s…

Fun STEM activity for outdoor play and makes a great science lesson! (Includes a printable rocket template).

The letter L is up next in our A to Z Science series for toddlers and preschoolers at Inspiration Laboratories. L is for Listening Skills.

There's been a lot of paper crafting at my house lately, thanks to my oldest son's obsession with Tom Angleberger's Origami Yoda book series. While we're at the kitchen table folding up the whole cast of Star Wars, I thought I'd work in a few other crafts - namely paper flyers. My oldest boy loves a good DIY toy. (He gets that from me.) Flying Paper Whirligig As a kid I used to pick up sycamore seeds and throw them into the air to make them spin back down to the ground. These whirligigs remind me of those seeds. Making them is simple. Don't let the instructions fool you. Start with a long rectangular piece of paper about 2 inches by 6 inches; we used origami paper but plain 'ol office paper will do. Draw your lines (dotted and solid like the picture below). You will cut on the solid lines and fold on the dotted lines. Fold the paper in on the two long dotted lines to make a handle for what now looks like a small spade of paper. Fold the end of the handle up and adhere with a small piece of tape. Slide a small paper clip (as a weight) over the folded and taped end. Next fold one side of the spade shovel down along the dotted line. Flip the paper over and do the same to the other side, so your whirligig's blades are pointing in opposite directions. You're done! Hold the whirligig in the air and drop it. Watch it gracefully spin to the ground (and if you're like my son, drop it over the stair railing to see it spin for a greater distance). This idea came from Babble Dabble Do. She's got a great photo tutorial so head over there if you're stumped. Straw Plane This next craft is a must-do for paper airplane aficionados. It looks nothing like a plane, but boy oh boy, does it glide through the air with streamlined precision. Impressive is an understatement. Cut two strips of cardstock paper, one 1 inch by 10 inches, and the other 1 inch by 5 inches. Tape them into two circle shapes. Now take a plastic drinking straw and adhere each with more tape to the ends of the straw. You're done! Now hold it by the middle of the straw, and propel your wrist forward releasing it into the air. It keeps going and going and going. This is one of the farthest flying "planes" we've ever made (and we've made A LOT of paper airplanes). This idea came from Discover Explore Learn. These crafts provide an excellent opportunity to explain aerodynamics, opposing thrust, and gravity. Kids can experiment by adjusting the size of the papers, the number of paper clips on the whirligig, the length of the straw, to observe and record any variance in the performance of the flyer.

Did you know you can make an origami cat, dog, and even Santa Claus? Find out more about such exciting concepts and ideas about origami craft for kids.

Get ready for back to school with all NurtureStore’s free forest school printables and forest school lesson plans. Free Back To School Printables for Forest School NurtureStore is your teaching fairy godmother! We make awesome, inspiring lessons your children will never forget – and all the planning and prep is done for you. […]

Explore waterfalls, panoramic hikes, family-friendly outdoor adventures, and more with our ultimate outdoor Okanagan bucket list.

A simple guide to making the coziest, coolest fort in your room Everyone needs a good fort, whether it's a secret lair, a grand castle, or deep, dark cave. Luckily, it's pretty easy to make your own fort out of things you have around your...

Before cell phones even before telephones, people communicated through Morse code. Despite being a technology that is over 160 years... View Article

Free printable! Fun WOULD YOU RATHER questions for kids!

Guard the Queen is a fun variation of dodgeball that you can play outside with your family. Great game for teens and tweens!

If you've ever trailed your fingers through a miniature Zen Garden, you know just how soothing and relaxing it can be. Our tiny zen garden sensory bin provides kids with a calming and relaxing way

The Month of December is such a busy and fun time! I don't want learning to take a backseat, so I made some FUN-filled NO PREP Packets for the month of

Brain breaks are fun with Mimic Me movement cards! This is a fun, interactive, movement activity or brain break, that students can play when they need a chance to get up out of their seats. This classroom management you activity can be played silently, or you can let the giggle fly! To play Mimic Me...

Huge collection of kids summer activities, printables, games, party ideas, coloring pages and summer crafts from the Woo! Jr. Kids Activities Network.