Help kids all about how germs spread and cause diseases, as well as how to get rid of them - with some fun Crafts and Activities to Teach Kids About Germs!

I have to share this rockin' activity inspired by an awesome math teacher and blogger, To The Square Inch. In fourth grade, we learn about tenths and hundredths. It's a hard one for kids to get! Once we understand these place values, we turn them into fractions and put tenths on numberlines.... It's a lot. For students AND teacher.... Anyway, I saw this activity a few years ago on Pinterest and tweeked it for my kiddos since it originally had the students working with percents and fractions. It's now our "Hundredths Design Square". First, the students color a square hundredths model using four different colors. Then they count the colored squares and record each color as a decimal. After that, they turn it into a fraction. The kids LOVE IT! And it sure is fun! Check out these awesome designs!

Responsibility activities for kids: Fun activities to teach kids to be responsible/ Personal, social, and environmental responsibility activities

It is snowing & cold here today which is making us want to stay in and hibernate so I thought I would post some favorite hibernation classroom activities, games, books, songs, and crafts. Pajama Day A great way to culminate your unit on hibernation is to have a Pajama Day! Children (and teachers) wear their […]

PRIMARY SCIENCE UNIT 1 - THE HUMAN BODY We are so excited to dig into Unit 1 in our science sequence! We kick off science this year with My Body and My Five Senses . It is the perfect place to start science with our primary kiddos. This year we are going to explore and learn about the

Do you incorporate growth mindset discussions in your classroom? We have made a concerted effort to keep students motivated by talking about how our mindset determines our ability to achieve success. And we have seen results! Our students are continuously putting forth effort and showing great determination. The sighs and choruses of "I can't" slowly but surely faded into 'a-has' and chants of "I'll keep trying!" One way to ensure that this becomes a central part of our classrooms is to make it a focus from Day 1. Enter our Growth Mindset Collaborative Craftivity! The first days of school are typically filled with many get-to-know-you activities and teambuilding exercises. This activity is all that and includes a growth mindset twist! Students work independently to think about how they can work on their growth mindset throughout the year, and then work together to build a dodecahedron with their classmates. Each student has a point that is only a portion of what will become a star. This provides the visual that when we have a positive mindset AND work together, we can reach the stars! So, what's the activity and how does it work? It is simple, ready to print, and includes little prep on the part of the teacher. Score! First, you will need to download the template from our store. The file includes a blank editable version of the template as well as our growth mindset version, so it is really a steal! Once you have it downloaded, print out a page for each student. The finished project looks great on either colored or white paper. Either way, this works best when printed on sturdy paper like cardstock. This activity is particularly great because it is really open to interpretation. The spaces provided allow the teacher and/or student to choose how they would like it filled in. For example, the "This is me" section can be a spot for the student to write their name or draw a self-portrait. Similarly, the "Growth Mindset Vision" panel can be a spot for the student to draw a picture of how they will be using a growth mindset, something they hope to accomplish through using a growth mindset, or what a growth mindset looks like to them. The possibilities are truly endless. Let the students run wild as they think about how their own mindset will set them up for future successes. Once the sheet is filled out, students will cut on the solid lines. It is VERY IMPORTANT to remind students not to cut on the dotted lines. Those will be for folding in the next step! Now we are ready for those dotted lines. Students need to fold on each of the dotted lines. This will separate the panels from the tabs that will be used for gluing. Start by folding over one panel at a time. Fold the tabs down and away from the triangle panels. To turn each sheet of panels into a point, glue the long tab behind the triangle panel on the opposite end (the 'This is me' panel). Here you can see the 'This is me' panel and 'Reach for the stars' panel are now side by side. Now that each of the students has created a star point, the collaborative portion of the project is ready to begin. Students now begin to connect the star points to one another. A total of 12 points will create one star. Begin by placing two star points next to each other. Glue one tab from point A to one tab from point B. Point A on the left is now glued to Point B on the right. Students will continue gluing in this fashion until there are 12 points. The 12th point is the most difficult to attach, as it will have five points to connect to. This is when a little helping hand from the teacher or another adult might come in handy. When all 12 points are glued together, you will have a star full of positive thoughts ready to be hung in the classroom! We hope your students enjoy this fun activity for the beginning of the school year and that they continue to see its value to their education. Let us know in the comments how else you plan to use the star template in your classroom!

January is here! A NEW YEAR and so much to learn! I am super excited to continue our learning for this school year and start the calendar year off strong!

This is an old blog post from January 31, 2016 on the benefits of movement and various sensory exercises to improve focus and attention. We’ve updated this article as of January 22, 2024 to include more resources and strategies to support attention. Exercises for focus and attention depend on the individual’s unique needs, but there ... Read more

Did you know that January 3rd in National Pajama Day? You can celebrate this year with these Pajama Day Activities for Kids.

Free set of printables to go along with Magnetic Tiles. Includes two levels of difficulty. Builds problem solving skills.

Joseph is a major character in the Old Testament stories of the early patriarchs. His faithfulness to God in the midst of his hardships is an example for all of us and a reminder that God is in control. These Bible lesson activities feature Joseph, his hardship, his endurance, his faith, and God’s blessing upon him.

Teach children about emotions with activities to identify, express, and manage their feelings appropriately in school with these tips!

These ideas give active reading a whole new meaning.

Preschool opposites worksheets FREE printable. Teach your kids basic concepts with these pdf preschool worksheets.

The Starry Night (1889) “This morning I saw the countryside from my window a long time before sunrise, with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big,” wrote Van Gogh to his brother Theo,…

Every year in my first year classes (12 year olds) I touch on the principles of perspective, at least in its one point form. We do a little art history, take a look at Masaccio and Mantegna. We mak…

Activities Inspired by Ish by Peter Reynolds

Playing with snap cubes can provide hours of entertainment for young ones. They will love using these mats to

Pattern block mats are about so much more than just teaching shapes in preschool. Using pattern block mats introduces kids to geometry.

It's easy to strengthen scissor skills with these summer cutting cards! Simply download the free printable for a nice and calm fine motor activity.

At my school we call them learning buddies but you might know them as reading buddies or big buddies/little buddies. Whatever you call them, some times it’s hard to think of activities to do with them. I often found myself planning things on the fly so I decided to compile a list of activities that […]

This Gideon printable pack is a great way to teach young children, this amazing story of how God, Gideon and 300 men beat the Midianites.

A round up of over 15 great STEAM projects – where math concepts are used to make pieces of art!

Teaching setting of a story to your first graders in an engaging way with these different activities. Build comprehension skills by teaching this story element.

Check out these cute, 1st Grade worksheets for January. Practice math, reading, and writing with these fun winter themes.

Wow these paper molas really extended my students. After showing the students real molas we practised making small ones based on traditional...

The blog adventures of homeschooling active boys, preschool at home, and other educational activities.

This week we had a little fun down on the farm in Tot School. This was such a fun theme with lots of engaging activities to explore! Here were our plans for Farm week: And here are the details of each activity: Our favorite farm books for the week were:Farm by Mary NovickMrs. Wishy Washy […]

Learn how to make pretend snow with only 2 simple ingredients. The perfect winter sensory play idea.

A free kindergarten math packet for at home learning.

Inspire students in upper elementary, middle, and high school to

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

FREE tattling vs. reporting classroom management activity! This puzzle center is a great way to review the difference between tattling and reporting.

The back to school season is a fun and exciting time of year. It’s a time for new beginnings and a fresh start. Before I dive into curriculum work, it is essential to get to know who my students are to develop personal relationships with them. Knowing how they think, feel, their likes and dislikes ... Read more

Help your child learn about the phases of the moon in this...

These rhyming worksheets are a fun way to listen for and identify rhyming words. Looking for more rhyming word work? Check out our Interactive Rhyming Word Pages or hop over to our entire collection of printable rhyming activities! *This post contains affiliate links. **The link for the free rhyming worksheets can found at the END ... Read More about Rhyming Worksheets – Dot the Rhyme

preschool prep series, preschool assessment,

My little learners have always been captivated with pinning activities, and my daughter is loving it at the moment too! I just made this 'Penguin Love' pinning page for her, and would love to share it with you! One thing that I love are 'visuals'. When I introduce new activities and procedures in my classrooms. Visuals (posters, charts, anchor charts, pictorial sequence cards) help: activities run smoothly effectively convey and explain rules and procedures provide independence in students by giving them a feeling of security and confidence reduce the cognitive overload of too many verbal instructions If I do not have 'visuals' ready made you can do a little role play hand sketch an illustration/break down of steps Another approach is to take photos. I use photos of positive and correct procedures to manage student behaviour, and keep them in the bottom drawer of my Core Drawers. Today, I made some visuals for "Pinning Rules". These have been on my to do list for a long time, and now that I find drawing pictures on the computer a lot easier - they have finally come to life! These visuals will help you to have a discussion with your students about the way you want them to behave when using pins in the classroom. There are 4 main rules in my pinning activities. The sharp part of the pin ALWAYS points down. This is the case when you are holding it, using it, or putting it away. It never points out, or towards another person. We always sit to pin. Students must be sitting down to begin and complete their activity. The pin goes in paper only. We do not poke our pin into ANYTHING else! Put your pin away. This is a very important one. Immediately after the pinning page is complete, the pin goes back in the tub. This will stop pins from ending up on the floor and in a shoe! Remind your students how happy the children are in the posters. Tell them that they are happy because they are having fun, and at school, fun comes when you follow the rules and act safely! I found these GIANT pokey pins this week!! SO in LOVE! Head over to TpT now to find these posters. You can also grab the Penguin Love pinning page from our free Coloring Club pinning page library! Find more fun pinning pages in our collection.

teach kids game playing etiquette | teachmama.com

My kids LOVE to fish and they both have actually gotten quite good at it! Every day they ask dad to take them fishing and it is the highlight of their day (Mom on the other hand does not like to touch the fish). So this was a great fishing activity that “Mom” could do with […]

Looking for fun Arctic Animals Activities? Learn about Arctic Animals and their traits and work on counting, shapes and letters and tracing.

Wondering how to teach kids to share their toys when you go to the playground? Try using "The Sharing Ball" technique.