Over 35 heavy work activities for kids, toddlers, and preschoolers that are designed to help calm and improve attention. Many of these activities can be done through natural activities your child is already doing!
Ready to go student check-in activities to find out what your students are thinking and feeling. Find the ones that work for you!
Microsoft OneNote is free and packed with features. Here are some little-known features to boost your note-taking productivity.
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Free printable preschool worksheets pdf for teachers and homeschoolers. Fun preschool worksheets for math, English, fine motor skills, and more!
30 social-emotional learning strategies for middle school kids to boost confidence and strengthen SEL skills students need for success.
Last summer I added Mo Willems' The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! to my classroom library. Of course, this addition was a no-brainer. Willems' books are always super popular, especially Pigeon books. Just as predicted, my students loved this book. It is the perfect length for the beginning of the year, when attention spans are extra short and students need a little break from all the procedural training they are receiving. Since I knew this book would be a hit, I decided to make it the centerpiece of back to school. I created some basic "Pigeon themed" math and literacy activities, as well as a simple craft. I used these activities intermittently during the first week and was able to glean some great info about my new students' basic math and literacy skills, as well as their fine motor skills and listening skills. One of the Pigeon themed activities was a number/number word/counting mini book. Students traced and wrote the numbers 1-10, as well as the number words 1-10. Then students illustrated a picture to go with each number. We broke this activity up over a couple of days. Students took part in a listening activity. Students had to complete a picture according to a series of questions/statements that I read aloud. (If you've every made a glyph with your students, this activity feels really similar.) Students also put together their first puzzler for the year. This puzzler focused on number representations. Students cut and glued the puzzler pieces to tell what number is represented in the box. By the end, students have a completed picture that they can color. I use various puzzlers throughout the year. This the Pigeon puzzler is a great introduction to how to complete a puzzler. Students loved making their simple, one-page craft Pigeons. All that was required was the Pigeon pattern (I used white card stock), scissors, and glue. The class Pigeons made a really quick and cute back to school bulletin board. In addition to these activities, students worked on counting/cardinality, geometry, place value, number bonds, handwriting, the alphabet, rhyming words, sight words, and more. The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! is a perfect springboard for a variety of skills. For a math freebie (from the printables featured above), click on the picture below. This freebie provides practice with ten frames, counting, and number identification. If you have not added, The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! to your classroom library, I highly recommend it. There are so many directions you can go with this book. More importantly, your students will love it and be totally engaged. What a great way to start the year, by reading a book that students truly enjoy. :) For more details about the all of the Pigeon inspired activities I used with my students, be sure to click on the picture below. Of course (like most), I'm not certain what this year's back to school days will look like. Whatever the setup, I know I'll be using The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! to help me kick off the year. Thanks for stopping by. School Is a Happy Place is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associated Program, an affiliate program that allows this site to earn advertising fees. Please know that all of the recommendations on this site are authentic and come from personal experience.
This post may contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Sisters, What! I've recently went down the rabbit hole of home school resources that you can buy and that are also available to download for free. There are so many talented home schoolers these days and they have used their amazing art skills to create such beautiful unit studies and they're quite affordable. I thought I'd share both some that you can buy and that you can download for free. You may also enjoy: Homeschool Gift ideas Favorite Home School Resources to buy on Etsy (skip to second part of the post for free resources) *You can find a full list of my favorite Home School Etsy Favorites HERE and my Etsy Profile of Favorite things HERE This is a favorite Charlotte Mason Quote digital download that is perfect for any home school room Honey Comb Shop is one of my favorites, they have so many different mini unit nature study and the art is beautiful. I made these homeschool stickers for friends and now have them in my shop. Raising Wild Things Shop also does some great and beautiful nature unit studies printables I love all these life cycle physical prints from The Rewild Shop And more life cycle prints (printables) from Lovely Wild Sunflowers Shop Pretty Nerdy Press makes some really beautiful graphics for home school and for the home. Such great quality too. So many great simple Charlotte Mason unit studies from CM Simple Studies. MATH HOMESCHOOL PRINTABLES TO BUY Know It All Shop offers not only beautiful ABC prints but also so many great, colorful math printables you can download at a great price. This shop, Artsopomc, also contains some fun multiplication printables and if you're Korean, some Korean printables as well. I love all these very bright and colorful prints from Petunia Be Designs. They also come in black and white as well. Home School Resources to Download for Free First of all, I have created a few free printable resources here on this blog. I've made a few different types of bookmarks that you can download for free. These vintage reading chart bookmarks have open ended questions on the back to help kids dive deeper into reading. And you can download a fun reading bingofun summer reading bingo to go with the bookmarks Free Printable Coloring Reading Bookmark printable Free Printable Reading log/planner (perfect for summer) and free home school planner printables And these free printable Writing and Number Charts. Also these garden journal/books you can download for free And from around the internet: Jessica over at Simple Wonders has created so many great printables to get your home school started. Much is aligned with Charlotte Mason Philosophy. Along with a great reading and spelling list to download. She even has created a great curriculum outline for you to download. Everything is free or pay what you can. She only needs just enough to keep the site maintained, any profit she donates to a non-profit. She has been so generous at what she offers. You can also find free artist studies to download for free HERE I love all the Humble Place has to offer. She has created so many great artist study units. Most cost a little something, but she offers a few of them for free. I love This Reading Mama. She offers so many free printables, especially for preschool and younger elementary age. I have used her Learning to Read Printables for so many of my kids. Life Abundantly Blog has so much to offer and has some great printables that you can download for free like this nature collection journal Silo and Sage has created some great printables and even has some free ones, but you should also check out the ones for sale. The Measured Mom is another great blogger that offers so many free home school resources like these Math printables and these Free Handwriting Pages which I have used for all my kids. Those are what I have for now. I'll probably keep updating this resource list as I come across others that I think are great!
Discover over 45 vestibular activities that can calm, regulate, and improve attention in your child. Plus, get vestibular exercises for...
Name posters are an easy art project for the first day of school and also double as classroom decor!
Learning how to make clay is so easy! This homemade clay recipe uses simple ingredients you probably have in your kitchen already, and it's so nice to work with! How to Make Clay - Only 3 Ingredients! Air dry clay is so easy and so inexpensive to make! Why spend tons of money on store bought clay, when learning how to make clay at home is so much cheaper and so much fun?! We tested a few different clay recipes and this one was the BEST! And you only need 3 ingredients - water, cornstarch, and baking soda! You don't
These three icebreakers for teens will make the first class, youth group, or club fun for everyone, even the introverts.
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
It's time to go back to school! With the back-to-school season upon us, it is time to start planning back-to-school activities for the first week of school.
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Over 80 amazing, simple proprioceptive activities for kids. Learn benefits of proprioceptive input to calm, focus, and alert.
The first two weeks in a special ed classroom are more than academics. Ideas on what to teach, what to practice, and what you should be doing.
These cold lunch ideas for working man require no microwave or fridge. Packing a lunch can save money and be healthier for your construction worker husband.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
11 free, printable Dot Sticker Art Activities for Kids. Kids place dot stickers on pictures according to a key to make awesome dot art.
Find out why teachers should be using icebreaker activities for small groups all year long and not just at the beginning of the school year.
Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.
It is the first week of kindergarten! What do I teach? I get this question all the time! I am so excited to put together this page together for you. I’m sharing our favorite first week of kindergarten read aloud stories and the free coordinating printables I made to go with them. Plus I will s
A ton of free printable worksheets for kindergarten you'll love to use in your class or at home. Fun kindergarten worksheets to download!
Add elements of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell to your preschool centers to integrate science and play while students explore their senses.
Use this EKG interpretation cheat sheet that summarizes all heart arrhythmias in an easy-to-understand fashion. Download now!
Ready to "cook up" a great first day of school? It's easy with this recipe for a successful start to the school year! PREP: ➤ Think about how you will set the tone for your classroom on the first day of school. ➤ Plan to keep students engaged and active. ➤ Prepare to build a positive rapport with students from the first instant that they become a part of the classroom community. INGREDIENTS: ➤ Warm-Up Activity ➤ Get-to-Know-You Activity ➤ Game that gets students out of their seats ➤ Get-to-Know-the-Teacher Activity ➤ Writing Prompt ➤ Extension Activity Once you've gathered your ingredients, you can get "cooking!" (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE RECIPE!) PROCEDURE: STEP 1: Begin with a warm-up activity. Place an activity on students' desks that they can complete independently. You might try a simple survey or poster. An All About Me poster is a quick way to learn about students. You can even gather them together for an awesome classroom display. Or, a survey is a wonderful way to collect information about students. You might include questions about where students like to sit, their favorite way to learn, and activities that they enjoy so that you can start connecting with students. Another awesome warm-up activity is an "All About You" name tag. Students answer questions about themselves while coloring in a name tag based on their responses. Then, students can place the name tag on their desks to help you learn your students' names. This activity is particularly awesome if you have multiple sets of students. You can collect the name tags and re-distribute them each day during each class while you learn names. Oh, and as a bonus, you can gather them together and leave them with substitute teachers throughout the year! If you'd like to check out ready-made Back to School Warm-Ups, just click here for the poster, here for the survey, and here for the name tags. STEP 2: Mix in a get-to-know-you activity. Give students a chance to share about themselves and learn about their classmates with an engaging get-to-know-you activity. One of my favorites is a doodle-inspired mini-book. Students transform a single sheet of paper into a doodley mini-book all about themselves. After students make the mini-book it's fun to hang them on a clothesline. Then, as students finish their work during the first days of school, you can encourage fast-finishers to grab a classmate's mini-book and learn about him or her. Check out the doodle mini-book HERE. Or, you could have students create this 3-D About Me Activity. Students create an infographic-style book about themselves. After answering some simple questions, they do a little cutting and gluing to create a 3-D "About Me" display. These are especially fun because students can set them on their desks and then everyone can tour around the classroom and learn about their peers. (These are awesome for Open House too!) Learn more HERE. STEP 3: Scatter in an activity that gets students moving. Since students crave opportunities to get up and out of their seats, plan to get your class moving on the first day of school. You might have students complete a scavenger hunt or even play a learning game that requires students to move around. I'm a huge fan of this simple get-to-know-you activity that gets students moving (and you can download it for FREE here.) First, students make paper airplanes. They write their name and 3 interview questions on the wings. Then, students line up shoulder-to-shoulder and launch the planes. Next, they pick up a classmate's plane, find him or her, and ask the interview questions. You can repeat the airplane launch as often as you'd like! Find everything you need to do this activity in this FREEBIE. If you'd like to combine movement and learning on the first day of school, then you and your students will love this Back to School Doodle Infographic. First students fill in the infographic with facts about school. There are 21 facts and you can hide them around the room to get students moving. Then, they put together the infographic to make a fun and doodle-y poster! Check it out HERE. STEP 4: Sprinkle in a chance for students to get-to-know-you (their teacher). On the first day of school, students are very curious about you. They want to learn about you, so you'll want to be sure to share about yourself. You can give a simple biography of yourself, or you might try these easy and engaging activities: Create a teacher interview question along with 4 or 5 prize cards for each student in your class. Then, tape the questions and the prize cards under students' seats before class begins. During class, explain to students that they all have something under their chairs. It might be a question and it might be a prize. If they get a prize card, have students keep it quiet. Then, call on students. They can either read a question for you to answer or reveal that they won a prize. If they won, you might give them a pencil, piece of candy, or a homework pass. You can find all my favorite questions HERE. Or, you might have students complete a "Teacher Guess" about you. First, they predict the answers to questions about you. Then, as you reveal the answers, they earn points for every correct prediction. It's a fun activity that students truly enjoy! You can check it out HERE. STEP 5: Add a fun writing prompt to your back to school activities. A writing prompt is a great way to gather a baseline for students' writing on the first day of school. You might give students a simple prompt about their summer or goals for the new school year. However, I love to add a fun creative writing prompt into the mix. For example, with this writing prompt students select a setting, character, problem, and 3 random objects. Then, they need to work them all into a story. It's fun, engaging, and a great way to see where your students are starting the school year. Find this writing prompt HERE or check out this collection of 10 creative writing activities. STEP 6: Top it off with a review of tomorrow's warm-up. Set students up for success during your next day of school by quickly reviewing what they will need to do when they arrive to class. If you're planning to have students work through warm-ups like these This or That ELA warm-ups where students choose to do the "this" or the "that" activity, then you might quickly review what will be waiting on their desks when they arrive. Taking the time to preview tomorrow's warm-up is a great way to set expectations for students! If you're looking for some daily warm-ups, you might want to check out these This or That ELA warm-ups or these This or That Writing warm-ups! STEP 7: Don't forget to have an extension activity just in case your lesson ends early. I love playing games like "Move If You..." which you can find for FREE HERE. While you may never get to the extension activity, it's a lifesaver if you need it! TIPS: When you're following this recipe for a great first day of school, you might want to: ➤ Greet students at the door and answer these questions for students right away: ➨ Where do I sit? ➨ Am I in the right classroom? ➨ What should I be doing right now? ➤ Also, be prepared to manage students' behavior on the first day of school. Ensure that you have a positive classroom management system in place and ready to use if you need it! Well, there you have it, my recipe for a great first day of school. Be sure to download all the ideas with links AND the FREE airplane activity HERE! CHECK THIS OUT! I've put together a 100+ page guide for back to school for teachers. It includes tips, tools, and printables for classroom décor, classroom organization, lesson planning, community building, and planning the first day of school. It's absolutely FREE! Just click here to sign up. When you sign up, you'll get access to 6 mini-courses that cover everything Back to School including classroom design, organization, curriculum planning, and ways to build a positive classroom community. There's also a TON of exclusive freebies, bonuses, and videos! If you'd like to learn more and sign up, just click HERE. Thanks so much for stopping by, Mary Beth P.S. If you'd like MORE free resources for your classroom, be sure to join the Brain Waves Instruction club!
Do you wonder if your child has more sensory related difficulties that you aren't aware of? Don't miss these sensory red flags.
Visual schedules are a great way to help students manage their school day and see what is coming next. Free flip schedule template only at Mrs. D's Corner.
16 Make-Ahead Cold Lunch Ideas to Prep for Work This Week - Try prepping these awesome cold lunch ideas when you can't reheat your lunch!
Lots of fun 1st grade math practice with first grade math worksheets that can be used to play Mad Minutes Math Game. Print pdf HERE!
Equip your child for success with these awesome educational resources! You'll have everything you need to help your preschooler explore the alphabet and beyond. Take advantage of these free printables.
Activities to help in your classroom TODAY to build Multiplication Fact Fluency across all grade levels. Perfect for Intervention
Spending the first week of school teaching classroom expectations and procedures is essential for a successful year. Glue is a tricky school supply for many little learners and there definitely needs to be instruction dedicated to teaching learners how to use this tool.Glue BottlesWhen learners are not taught how to use their glue correctly things
Tips for Primary Teachers.
Check out these 9 first week of school activities for your students. They help to forge those lasting bonds for a successful year!
I posted about these songs about a year ago on my Instagram feed and so many of you asked if I would be putting these in my TPT shop to sell. At the time, we had only written three, and I just didn't feel like that was enough to make a whole resource with. Since then, I have been working on writing new transition songs that are sung to some of our kids' favorite tunes! Singing CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SONGS AND CHANTS during transitions makes moving from one thing or place to another almost seamless. Songs and chants keep students engaged, focused, and excited to learn, which in turn will save valuable instruction time. It also helps eliminate unwanted behaviors by giving your students the structure, consistency, and support they need. Most of the songs included are parodies of popular songs most kids will know. The words have been changed to help students transition in a positive manner. I printed the songs on cardstock and laminated them. I used a binder ring to attach the set together to hang on my board for easy access. There are also three different color options included. :) Let's go through a little breakdown of when and why we sing each of these songs: The Carpet: We sing this when it's time to transition to the carpet. I start they song, they join in. They have to be on the carpet in their assigned spots by the end of the song. Works like a charm every single time! I even added in some little hand motions that end the song with their hands in their laps. All I Do Is Freeze: We mostly use this when students are working in groups or with a partner. Sometimes, I need them to stop what they are doing, so that I can give them a direction or clear something up. It's a great way to get their attention! Clean Up Chant: This one is pretty self-explanatory. I do not instruct them when it's time to clean up; I just start the chant. You may want to add a timer to it afterwards if you need them cleaned up in a certain amount of time. Let's Line Up: Will kids ever get over Frozen? Probably not. If yours are still obsessed, too, they will love this line up chant. It gets them lined up quickly and without distractions, which saves so much time! Back to My Seat: We sing this when we transition from the carpet to their seats. We usually sing it a couple of times to give them plenty of time to make it to their seats. It's a really quick song! Partner Up: This song probably takes the most practice. Anytime you need students to get with their partner, you can sing this song. It also reminds them what to do when they are with their partner. Learning Math is Awesome: Sing this song to signal that it's time to begin math. I can guarantee it will get stuck in your head afterwards. Sorry. We Can't Stop Reading: This song can be used to kick off your reading block each day. It gets them excited about books and where those stories will take them! Quiet Time: I may or may not have sung this one the most. It works so well! I sing it in a calm, quiet voice, in which students will mirror. It immediately calms the room. Sing it a couple of times if needed! See!: I had to incorporate some Taylor Swift in these songs. We want students to be proud to share their thinking and comfortable talking with a partner. We also want their partners to be respectful and value what they are saying. This song is great to sing before students share with a partner or to close out a lesson by sharing what they learned or took away from the lesson. I just added some NEW songs!!! Like It Was: This is another clean up song. You could sing this one at the end of centers. It's really good about reminding students to put everything back in its place. Good For You: This is a song that you can sing as a class to celebrate someone! Maybe someone had a really great idea or accomplished something amazing, you can sing this to pump them up! We're Amazing: I am all about incorporating mindfulness into our day, so I knew I needed to create a song that encompassed that. This is another one that is going to take some practice to get down, but you can always display it as you sing. Some of the songs might take lots of practice to get down! But don't give up! After you sing it over and over, you will eventually get it. You will sing them to the tune of the chorus from the songs. I have added links to the actual songs in the PDFs. You just click the blue arrow at the bottom of the page. Always check these first NOT in the presence of students. I have gone through them to make sure they are safe, but you never know when things can change. A few of these parodies are straight from my students. I asked them what songs they wanted me to write transition songs for, and these are what we came up with. This group in particular had difficulty this year with transitions because they were all best of friends and LOVED to talk, which in turn got them distracted. I LOVED that about them, but we were losing valuable time trying to get refocused. Once I introduced a song or chant for them to do while transitioning, the difference was crazy! It keeps your learning environment positive, too, which is super important. You can check out the resource by clicking HERE or on any of the images in the post. Let me know how your students do with these songs or if you need another song added! I love your feedback! Happy transitioning!
Have you tried using Collaborative Posters in the Classroom? Collaborative posters are a fantastic way to build a culture of teamwork and unity in your
Use this EKG interpretation cheat sheet that summarizes all heart arrhythmias in an easy-to-understand fashion. Download now!
Nearly 400 teachers weighed in on their favorite back-to-school activities and ice breakers - and here are their top picks! The most popular, practical, and unique back-to-school activities loved by teachers around the world!
