1-2-3 Come Do Some Kissing Hand Activities With Me My kiddos LOVE the story The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Little ones identify with the anxious feelings of Chester the raccoon, when he doesn’t want to go to school. The warming kiss from his mom, resonates in comfort for them as well. With that in mind, I created a whopping 102-page Kissing Hand literacy packet. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved designing it. The packet has a ton of super-fun activities to help reinforce a variety of standards and includes the following: * A note home to parents to provide a family photograph for a special “We are loved” bulletin board.* 2 posters to help create the bulletin board. * A tiny welcoming note for your students with a place to put a Hershey Kiss. ("Hooray! Hooray! So glad you're here today. To show you that it's true, here's a little kiss for you!")* Graphing activities * Parts of a book poster & worksheet* Pocket Chart cards for: character, setting, events * Literacy Graphic organizers* Beginning-Middle-End of the story worksheets & activities * A who, what, where, when, why worksheet* Venn diagrams comparing: 2 books, 2 characters, the child with Chester, Chester’s school & their school, plus some completed samples to share. * Games: “How many words can you make using the letters in raccoon?” Includes an answer key; “Rr is for raccoon and….” race; plus a Nocturnal Animal Memory Match game. * A variety of worksheets for various levels.* Lot of creative & fun writing prompts* Several class-made books, with covers and inside pattern pages to make them. * Nocturnal animal activities, including an interesting facts sheet, an alphabetical list of 34 nocturnal animals, a classroom poster, with a matching “color me” one for students, plus several games. * Sign Language activities (The last page of the story, is a picture of Chester’s hand “signing” I love you.) Includes a poster and worksheet. * Skidamarink a-dink-a-doo I love you song, poster & bookmarks. My Y5s LOVE singing this sweet song. * Retell the story bookmarks* “Color me” first day bookmarks * Comfort discussion poster and matching class-made book * “I had a great 1st day” slap bracelet.* 12 pocket chart cards for reviewing the story. They double as a punctuation and capitalization activity too. * Feelings activities* Raccoons "Are, Can, Have" worksheet * Craftivities: A raccoon mask; a hand print fold out note; and a “red, white & blue I love you” sign language heart. Both make a wonderful keepsake. * I also designed a sweet full-body raccoon on a 1/2 sheet of paper, with 2-on-a-page for quick printing. Little ones can simply color him, then color, trim & glue the tail to the bottom. Older students can write 3-4 things they liked about school or 2-3 emotions they felt during the first day or week. The larger raccoon is just a head & tail. I call it "A Tale About Me!" With a play on the word "tale/tail". It's an interesting alternative to the "All About Me" booklets. The tail of the raccoon provides simple writing prompts for kiddos to finish: name, birthday, an interesting fact about themselves; what they want to be when they grow up, plus favorites: color, candy, activities, animal, foods, & TV show, all written on the raccoon's tail. This craftivity is a super-fun way to learn about your new students, and completed projects make an adorable bulletin board. Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to grab this comprehensive Kissing Hand Literacy Packet. In celebration of getting ready for back to school, I've knocked 2 dollars off for a limited time, so this 102-page packet is just $5.95. The featured FREEBIE today, also involves The Kissing Hand. I actually have 2 for you that are featured in the packet. The first one is the quick, easy & fun "fill up the hand with feelings" craftivity. Click on the link to grab it. The second one is the Comfort Class-Made Book. There are two writing prompt options to choose from, a color cover, with full & half page options, plus the discussion poster. After children share their page, collect, collate, add the cover & place it in your classroom library. Be sure and set your student-made booklets out during Open House as well as Parent Teacher Conferences. I hope your kiddos enjoy creating this one. Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. It's a lovely sunny day in the 70's. My grandchildren are coming over, so it will be especially enjoyable. Wishing you a love-filled day as well. "Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation." - Lois Weis