Math facts practice kit activities for portable math learning centers

Here's a homemade mini math learning center. Use this shoebox math facts practice kit for independent, on-the-go learning. Retention of math facts and operations is vital for higher math. Use this math homework practice kit to reinforce addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts.

 Children should practice 5-10 minutes 4-5 times a week. In a shoebox or plastic lidded box, place these items 

--color-coded list of digits. For example: 0-yellow, 1-blue, 2-red, 3-orange, 4-purple, 5-green, 6-brown, 7-pink, 8-black, 9-gray. Some 1,983 would be written blue-1, gray-9,black-8 and orange-3. Color coding helps many students visualize and organize numbers, learn place value and memorize math facts, 

--set of dice. Practice math facts by casting die and adding or multiplying two numbers shown. 

--set of dominoes (base 12 set is best) or homemade "domino" flash cards made from index cards. Write domino dot configuration in number color from chart. Student selects a domino and adds, subtracts or multiplies the two numbers. Write answers on back for self-checking. Here are free printable dominoes. 

--deck of playing cards--student chooses two cards and adds, subtracts, or multiplies them. Face cards are valued as such:(ace-1, jack-10, queen, 12 and king-0) Here's a free printable deck of playing cards. 

--math flashcards for each fact family. Purchase at Dollar Tree or discount store. Here are free printable math flashcards. Make flashcards by writing math fact (problem) in color code on one side and the answer on the back. 

--pencil, eraser and scrap paper squares--student writes out a fact family, or writes story problems, illustrating with items to represent (three apples times seven apples). Use for pop quizzes also.

 --tablet of small stickers or mini-stamper marker-- Child makes his own flashcards with stickers and scrap paper, for the math facts family on which he's working. 

--100 chart or cheat sheet. Student uses to skip count by different numbers (multiply), look for patterns, or practice facts. Here are free printable 100 charts. 

--yarn strung with 100 plastic beads. This homemade abacus is a great visual for math operations. Give student a problem, like 7x8, She counts out and add seven groups of eight. 

--food snacks with little pieces; fish crackers, breakfast cereal, raisins, candies, pretzels. Students demonstrate math facts with food while eating it. 

Keep math facts practice kit in the car. Use travel time for homework reinforcement.

Montessori learning centers: preschool dramatic play and dress up activities

Preschool classrooms function best when organized into Montessori style learning centers. Learning centers are rotational play areas where children perform tasks related to specific content areas: math, reading, science, art, practical life, dramatic play or preschool dress-up areas. Homeschool parents, why not create learning centers in your child's play room? Here's how to organize Montessori preschool dramatic play, or preschool dress-up learning areas. mom designed an at-home dramatic play area.

Encourage young thespians. Dramatic play is the performing arts learning center. This is where costumes, puppets, theater stage and props are kept. This is where kids play dress-up in occupational uniforms, hats, masks, animal costumes, cartoon characters and others. This learning center doesn't have to be extensive. Hang costumes and preschool dress-up clothes, hats, masks and accessories on hooks or coat racks. 

Collect costumes. Go to secondhand stores and look for old Halloween costumes, uniquely patterned and brightly colored clothes, vintage clothing, costume jewelry, funky shoes, wigs and interesting hats. Stock dramatic play learning centers with uniforms, occupational accessories, hats and helmets. These are great for preschool dress-up. Keep an eye out for multicultural, historical costumes. Check for sales at opera companies, theaters and theater costumer sales. Ask senior family members and friends for homeschool contributions. Remember to wash and disinfect all secondhand costumes. 

Make a collapsible cardboard stage for your homeschool. Get a portable ballet barre for dance. This can be taken down and stored easily. Make a puppet theater out of a large cardboard refrigerator box. Cut a window at child height. Hang a curtain on a long shoelace or piece of rope and staple it across the opening. To store, simply collapse the box. For full scale productions, a curtain draped across the room makes a great stage. Let kids improvise with on-hand props. 

Design interchangeable scenery. Have kids color pictures depicting different backgrounds (home, forest, lake, city). Affix scenery to the inside back of the box using putty so the scenes can be changed. To make hanging backdrops (like those in real theaters), kids can draw pictures on white pillowcases, sheets or tablecloths. Attach shoelaces to each side and hand theater backdrops as you did the curtain (only across the back). Draw scenes on both sides so that the backdrop can be changed. 

Make dramatic play learning centers portable. Store costumes in easily accessible tubs. Keep a few costumes on a small free-standing coat tree. Hang a hats, dress up clothes and accessories on it. You might also use coat hooks. Choose costumes that reflect homeschool unit, theme, season or subject. 

Rotate dramatic play themes. Group dramatic play costumes and preschool dress-up accessories according to theme: animals, cowboy, pirate, fashion, Bible, occupations. Coordinate costumes with seasons and holidays. Match them to homeschool lesson plans. Around Labor Day, set out uniforms. Near Thanksgiving, pull out Native American costumes. You will have fond memories of the many impromptu performances your young actors put on for you.

Free printable spring coloring pages, Easter and life science lesson plans

 March 20-22 marks the vernal equinox, the first day of spring in many countries. For those of locked in ice and snow and cold, this date can't come too early. Many have had a long winter and are pretty happy to hear those cheery little birds singing and see tiny crocuses bravely trying to poke their lavender heads up through the snow. How about some free spring coloring pages, Easter holiday activities and spring crafts to occupy those children who are sick of winter and school? 

Coloring Book Fun free printable spring coloring pages are simple enough for the not yet seasoned colorers, and yet offer more challenging pictures for veteran colorers. This site has a huge stock of free printable spring coloring pages and spring crafts based on seasons, weather, Easter holiday activities, topics, Bible based pictures, multi-cultural and animals. You can find just about any cartoon character from G.I.Joe to Barbie to Pokemon to Rug-rats to Rainbow Brite to Dragon Ball Z to Dora, plus all your Disney favorites.

DL-TK provides all sorts of free printable spring coloring pages, seasonal spring crafts, lesson plans, puzzles, crafts, projects, scissor practice, sequencing practice, music, song sheets, stories, spring crafts and Easter holiday activities. DLTK has all kinds of preschool activities that will reinforce prereading, letter and number recognition, fine motor practice, telling time, tying shoes, counting, tracing and other skill builders based around a theme. You will find printables for baby animals, new life, butterflies and other insects, plants, flowers, rain, and more. 

Check out these really cute Easter holiday coloring pages from Print Activities. This site
has a really large data bank of banner and ad-free printables with educational themes, There's no sign up or registration, very few if any pop-ups and easy one click printing. I found many styles of cross-word puzzles, calendars, tracing, mazes, word scrambles, word sorts, connect the dots, connect the dot using math problems, Sudoku, fill in the blanks, color by numbers, color by math (students complete math problems and complete a code to color pictures. All these spring crafts and puzzles are themed on seasons, but you can find other topics with themed puzzles: Easter holiday activities, seasons, animals, It may take a moment to load, but it is worth it

School Fitness Workouts for Kids: Stretching, breathing and Yoga for kids

Schools often put the cart before the horse trying to educate a child's mind while ignoring bodily needs. Tired, hungry, uncomfortable children don't learn well. Here are school fitness workouts for kids to improve mental functioning. Use yoga stretches and breathing exercises for classroom phys ed. Yoga makes perfect winter school fitness workouts for kids because they can do yoga in the classroom--no need to go to the gym or outdoors. Yoga stretches and breathing exercises foster learning. 

Lest any parent object to the use of yoga in schools, for religious reasons or otherwise, this isn't meditative yoga, it's just basic asanas or postures. Call it Brain Gym or just phys ed if that makes parents feel better. 

Why use yoga in the classroom? For 6-8 hours a day, students sit in uncomfortable desks, breathing stale, recycled air. When she's not sitting, she's lugging around an achingly heavy backpack. She gets very little healthy exercise but a lot a stress and strain. Many schools have phys ed, but generally only one to three times per week. High school students get none unless it's an elective. School fitness workouts for kids are essential, even if they're just short ones. 

Do short periods of yoga for kids or other stretching and breathing exercises throughout the school day serves several purposes. Yoga strengthens lungs by teaching students to breathe deeply and use oxygen more efficiently. Yoga breathing calms the mind, body and spirit. It puts students in a tranquil, receptive frame of mind for learning. Yoga stretches and breathing exercises, even without meditation, purges the body of negative energy. Yoga is particularly useful for special needs students who can't do certain exercises or who suffer anxiety. 

The benefits of stretching periodically are many. Students experience fewer cramped muscles, stomachaches, headaches and discomfort. They are more attentive when given a chance to limber up. Students are happier and more willing to cooperate when they know that teacher cares about their whole self, not just the thinking part. Yoga requires no special equipment. It's perfect for school fitness workouts for kids and in-class phys ed. 

Try doing whole group yoga for kids stretches and breathing exercises twice a day. Start first thing in the morning and immediately after lunch. Utilize "waiting in line" time and walking halls for mini phys ed breaks. School fitness workouts for kids help keep them focused. Do whole body stretches and deep breathing exercises. If kids are concentrating on yoga stretches, there will be less need for obligatory teacher shushing in the hallway. Once students get the hang of yoga stretches, fitness workouts and breathing exercises while walking, they will do it automatically whenever they are waiting somewhere. Here are yoga for kids videos. 

Easter Egg Crafts and Bible Object Lesson Plans

For Catholic Christians, the Lenten season, which begins after Ash Wednesday is a journey with Jesus. The Catholic Church prays the Stations of the Cross, tries to imitate Christ in humility, prayer and sacrifice or fasting. Lent culminates at Palm Sunday and Holy Week which ends in the Passion, death and resurrection of Christ at Easter. Here are Lenten devotions and Bible object lesson plans using Easter eggs. Use these Easter egg crafts to teach science too. 

Holy Trinity Bible object lessons. Decorating Easter eggs is a great time to teach Bible object lessons. Use Easter egg crafts to teach children about the Holy Trinity. Show children that the eggshell is white, smooth and pure. It holds everything together and so represents God the Father. Hidden inside is the yolk, the source of life. The yolk represents God's most important gift, His son Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the intercessor, the go-between. So the egg white represents the Holy Spirit as it is in the middle.

New life Bible object lessons. Easter eggs symbolize fertility and rebirth. In Lenten devotions, teach children that Easter eggs represent eternal life. Just as birds care for their young in eggs and rejoice when newborns emerge, a Christian experiences new life or rebirth from old sins in Jesus. Hiding Easter eggs simulates how a Christian should seek God. Easter baskets simulate nests which shelter baby birds. God shelters his children in safety of his love. Children might decorate their Easter egg crafts with images of birds, nest, chicks, spring, the cross or Jesus.

Resurrection Eggs Lenten devotions: Catholic Holy Week countdown using Easter eggs. For these Easter egg crafts. you'll need 8 plastic eggs, a basket and Easter grass or green construction paper. For Bible object lessons, place one item in each egg that relates to the Easter story and a slip of paper with the Bible verse that mentions the item. You'll find the Easter story in the Gospel of Luke chapter 22, 23 and 24 (verse 1-12), or Mark chapter 11 (verse 1-11)chapter 14, 15 and 16 (verses 1-8). It's contained in the other two gospels as well, but Luke and Mark are the best retellings.

Label each egg as follows and place these items inside:

Palm Sunday--a piece of palm, dry grass or a plastic donkey (to remember Palm Sunday, when Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem)

Monday of Catholic Holy Week--a piece of cracker or crouton (to remember Christ's institution of Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper)

Tuesday of Catholic Holy Week--a dime (the 30 pieces of silver Judas was paid to betray his friend Jesus)

Wednesday of Holy Week--a tiny piece of branch with thorns (Crown of thorns)

Holy Thursday--a nail (to symbolize that His hands and feet were nailed to a cross)

Good Friday--a cocktail sword or toothpick (to remember that Jesus was pierced with a sword in his side, from which poured water and blood)

Holy Saturday--a stone (the stone that was placed in front of the tomb of Christ and later miraculously removed)

Easter Sunday--Nothing! This reminds us of the empty tomb on Easter morning.

Open one egg each day from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. Light a candle for this special time. Ask a young child to explain to the family or group what this item could mean. The family can share their ideas, experiences or scripture references to the item. You might all sing a hymn or chant to remember this part of the story. Sing Crown Him with Many Crowns, All Hail the Power of Jesus's Name or Te Deum. Extend Easter egg crafts, by having children to illustrate Bible object lessons they've learned. Combine illustrations in a family memory book and use for Lenten devotions in years to come.

Free Field Trips for Homeschool or Summer Enrichment

My husband and I homeschooled four children in a single-wide mobile home, living on one income. What we don't know about living minimalist and frugal, isn't worth knowing. Here's our budget list of free or dirt cheap educational summer field trips. 

Airport

Park

Nature center

Interpretive guided nature tour

Petting zoo

Historical re-enactment

Civil War encampment

Medieval fair

Community concert

Church festival. 

Community kiddie carnival

Picnic

Rock quarry

Ship tour

Lighthouse

Hobby shop

Military demonstration

Army climbing wall

Amusement park coupon days

Craig's Cruisers coupon days

Historic business or building

Historic home tour

Historic village

Historic fort.

Knight's of Columbus (Lions, Eagles, Elks) kids' events

Ice cream social

Circus (look for coupons)

Scouting event

Aviary

Zoo

Sportsman's expo

Fish farm

School enrichment program

School festival

Vineyard

Orchard

Pumpkin patch

Bridge walk

Spelunking (cave exploration)

Native American pow-wow

Cookoff

Fundraiser

Community garden

College sponsored activities

Poetry slam

Book signing

Storytelling

That's just a start! More to follow

Reading response journal activities for book report alternatives, ELA lesson plans

March is National Reading Month, starting with the NEA's "Read Across America." Looking for ideas to inspire a life-long love of books? Here are reading response activities, interactive ELA (English language arts) lessons, book-based crafts and literature response lessons. Book activities are hands-on, multi-sensory, cross-curricular Montessori-style. Use for interactive Readers Workshop, special education students, reluctant readers, divergent learners and summer reading enrichment.

Reading response journal. Have kids create personalized reading logs, respond to literature and complete book-based activities. Check off ELA activities as completed. Check out my other post for a reading response journal rubric. 

Homemade books. Cut book covers from cereal box. Cover with scrap wrapping paper or wallpaper. Cover with magazine picture collage. Decoupage by painting pictures with watered-down school glue, front and back. Cut lined paper pages (for text) and blank paper (for illustrations). Or use scrap paper and draw in text lines. These make great hands on reading response activities for readers workshop and writers workshop. They are the perfect book report alternative for English language arts lesson plans. 

Book-based promotional materials. Have kids play marketer for their favorite book or author. Make posters, book covers advertising literature. Create 3-D sculptures, models or dioramas based on books. Make book-based merchandise: toys, snacks, food, games. In homeschooling, my 6th grade son designed a "Hobbit Holes" cereal box designed on his favorite J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

Book diorama book report alternative. Create scenes from books using recycled products. Arrange scene in shoe box. Use small dolls (Lego, Fisher-Price, Little Tikes, Polly Pockets) as characters.

Story-reading audio/video presentations. Using cellphones, have students create videos of themselves reading books. Encourage them to create a literature podcasts or vlogs. Upload videos to Youtube or Tik Tok. Reading aloud boosts confidence in ELA subject matter. 

Story-telling. Students read aloud to younger students. Students act out children's books and present to younger or special needs classes. In high school, our oldest daughter acted out a Shel Silverstein's poem "Noise Day" for special education kids. They loved when she skateboarded across the stage! Talk about an interactive reading response activity! 

Book-music connections. Create music playlists based on books. Select metaphorical songs. Kids will love choosing modern songs to represent story themes. Our family saw a production of "Macbeth." The play was set to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," "The Decemberists "This is Why We Fight" and "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant. It really resonated with students and helped them understand and relate to Shakespeare. Plays and music help connect English language art activities to life. 

Help students brainstorm on creative book report alternatives and reading response activites. 

Harry Potter magic chemistry experiments, kitchen science activities

Looking for some "wizard" science experiments to impress students? How about some Harry Potter magic tricks using simple household chemistry! Here are 10 easy hands-on kitchen science activities.

Eerie Ectoplasm (AKA silly putty, noise or farting putty): Mix equal parts Elmer's school glue and liquid laundry starch. Work together with fingers until it forms a rubbery putty. Have kids experiment with folding it and making a loud burp noise. Explain that because air is trapped, it pops, like a latex balloon. This is how we prove that air is a gas, takes up space and creates pressure. Use these kitchen science experiments in lesson plans on matter. 

Ghost Writing or Invisible Ink: Dip a cotton swab or toothpick in lemon juice or milk. Write a message  to a friend. Or write a magic spell from Harry Potter. To read the invisible ink, hold it over a warm light bulb, candle or flame. The writing will magically appear. Use these kitchen science experiments in chemistry lesson plans. 

Magic Rubber Bone: Turn ordinary chicken or turkey bones into a bendable "rubber bone." Soak a clean bone in white vinegar for 24 hours. Tell students that you have cast a spell upon the bone to make it bend. When you take the bone out of the vinegar, it will bend and not break. These chemistry experiments shows how acid (vinegar) dissolves the hardened calcium and mineral deposits it the bone.

Unbreakable plastic bags: Tell students that you have special magic bags that will not leak even if you poke them. Fill Ziploc bags with colored water and seal. Gently push a sharpened pencil through the bag and remove it. Use these science experiments to demonstrate a polymer works. Plastic is a polymer that will stretch to close the gap and not let any liquid spill.

Magic fire shield (adults only): Tell students that you have magic that prevents clothing from catching fire. Dip a bandanna in magic fire shield solution (rubbing alcohol). Squeeze it out and don't let it dry. Hold a match to the tip of the bandanna. Flames will engulf the bandanna but it will not burn up. After a moment, the flames will burn out and the bandanna will be un touched. Explain that alcohol burns at a very low heat. 

Magic beans: For this science activity, get Mexican jumping beans from Amazon. These are little beans with a live worm inside. When the worm moves (especially in your warm hand) the beans jump. Pretend to talk to the beans, ask them questions, etc. The beans will seem to move in answer to your questions. 

Magic rainbow (color chromatography): Gather assorted brands (Sharpie, El Marko, Crayola) and styles (water color, permanent) black markers. Touch each marker tip to a separate piece of damp paper towel. Watch each ink blob diffuse and separate into a color spectrum. Use this chemistry activity show that black is made up of many colors. 

Fleeing fleas: Fill a pie tin with water. Add black pepper and then red pepper. The different pepper types will repel each other like magnets. What's really happening is that the pepper is disturbing the meniscus--or molecular force that holds water inside a glass. Use this for water or magnet science experiments. 

Wizard Water: Further explain meniscus by slowly over-filling a bottle. The water will actually rise above the level but stay in place by the meniscus "skin" till too much is added and it breaks. 

Genie in a bottle. Rinse a glass bottle and freeze it. Place a dime atop the bottle and then call the genie out. Slowly the dime will lift to let trapped air escape. Then the dime will clink back in place. It will repeat this several times. What's happening is that as the frost inside the bottle melts, it expands. These make great science lesson plans on states of matter. 

Health science lesson plans: Nutrition chemistry and recipes to fight obesity

Childhood obesity is a dangerous health issue that affects more kids annually. What can we as parents and teachers do about it? Weight loss under age 13 is tricky because preteens are still growing. Better to teach good nutrition in health and science lesson plans. Here are healthy food swaps for favorites kid foods and ways to teach nutrition in the classroom. 

* Salt: Teach properties of salt in kitchen chemistry lesson plans. Teach children to read labels and seek out low-sodium varieties of favorite snacks. Put out healthy snacks and let kids make trail mix in snack size bags to control portions. Make low salt popcorn in class. For fun nutrition lesson plans, instruct kids to research salt substitutes--lemon juice, vinegar and herbs.

* Soda pop. Have students study nutrition labels to discover how much sugar pop contains. In chemistry
science lesson plans, demonstrate how sugar dehydrates, and how the acid in pop burns grime off a penny and in the same way burns stomach lining and tooth enamel. Help students create healthy carbonated drink recipes with 100 percent fruit juice and soda water. Demonstrate the importance of plain water in curbing obesity and overall health. 

* Pizza: Kids love pizza and there are a million great ways it can be used in lesson plans. Let students make clock faces with vegetables and cheese on personal crusts. Experiment with creative pizza recipes using healthy toppings and creative crust food swaps. Made right, pizza can actually fight childhood obesity. 

* Veggies and dip: Kids love vegetables in ranch dip so let them invent healthy dip and dressing recipes. Use food swaps of yogurt, garlic, pepper and a little Parmesan cheese. Teach colors and patterns with cut vegetables. Help them to explore texture and taste and then write descriptively. 

* Spreads and condiments: This is a great place to learn measurement and portion size. Let kids practice measuring serving sizes of ketchup, jam for PBJ, butter, mayo, etc. Explore calories and teach math by counting and adding calories in math lesson plans. 

* Breads: Help kids explore healthy vs. unhealthy ingredients in breads. Bring in your bread machine and use it to teach cooking, nutrition and kitchen chemistry lesson plans. Help kids invent and write nutritious bread recipes using different grains, nuts, seeds and dried fruits. 

No nutrition lesson plans are complete without the fitness component. Get kids away from screens and outside playing. Active children will not need to worry about weight loss and obesity. 

Dr. Seuss activities, games, crafts, lesson plans for preschool learning centers

The Cat in the Hat doffs his cap on March 2, to honor the 117th birthday of his creator Ted Geisel, better known as the beloved Dr. Seuss. To celebrate Seuss, the NEA (National Education Association) hosts "Read Across America." March is also National Reading Month and a perfect time to explore Dr. Seuss. Here are a hatful of literature-based activities to extend reading in preschool learning centers.

 Dr. Seuss is right at home in the book or library learning center. Fill your book corner with Seuss books. Emergent readers will love the pictures. Scatter some comfy pillows and any Seuss character toys. If you're like me and not into licensed characters, gather generic stuffed animals with Seussian theme: from Horton Hears a Who: elephants (Horton), birds (Daisy-headed Maisie), monkeys (Wickersham brothers), kangaroo and joey, turtles (Yertle), moose (Thidwick), cats (in silly hats), dogs (Max from the Grinch). From The Lorax; swans, bears, fish. Throw a Seuss story party (details to follow in my next post). 

For a Dr. Seuss art center, display his books: The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Each day of Read Across America week, create Seuss-inspired artwork. Paint some of his crazy creatures at easels with brightly colored paints. Model creatures in clay or playdough. Create silly Seuss sculptures by poking recycled materials in Styrofoam blocks. But don't just model...create your own! 

To teach Dr. Seuss at the collage center, make Seuss toys from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Put out oddly shaped cardboard containers, egg cartons, aluminum foil and cans, plastic containers and colored fabric scraps. Students can design their own version of a Whoville Jing Tingler, Flu Flooper, Tar Tinkers, Who Hoover or Who Carnio Flunx. Make silly hats like Bartholomew Cubbins' 500! 

Bringing Dr. Seuss to music learning centers, is as easy as cut, glue, decorate! Using ideas from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", make homemade Seuss-ical instruments. Create noise-makers like the Grinch's hated Gar Ginkers Trum Tupers Slu Slumkers Blum Bloopers Who Wompers and Zu Zitter Carzays. Encourage students to give their musical instruments silly sounding names. 

Dr. Seuss fits perfectly in dramatic play or dress up learning centers. Have students design masks of Seuss characters: Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Horton the elephant, Yertle the Turtle, Maisie the bird, the Wickersham monkeys, the Kangaroo and her joey.  Let children create their own Seuss creatures. Encourage kids to perform a Dr. Seuss parade like the one in his first book "And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street." Dress in homemade Seuss costumes, play musical instruments and show off homemade toys.

Dr. Seuss finds a play in science learning centers, using Lorax inspired life lessons. The Lorax deals with environmentalism and respect for biomes and animals on the planet. Set up an experiment on decomposition and pollution. Place different pieces of trash in zippered bags with a little water. Monitor them over time to show students how slowly trash decomposes. Students could also tend "truffula seeds" (use any flower seeds, sunflower, cosmos or daisy). Explore the food chain and animal species and habitats using these free printable habitat dioramas from First-Palette. Make Oobleck mixing liquid laundry starch and white school glue.

To teach a Dr. Seuss practical life area, use "The Cat in the Hat", "Green Eggs and Ham" and "Horton Hears a Who." These books deal with caring for others, preparing food and house cleaning. Do a Cat in the Hat tidy up relay race. Cook green eggs and ham. Care for an insect or goldfish.

Supplement with these free printable Dr. Seuss activities from Rock Your Homeschool. These are just a few of the Dr. Seuss activities to inspire a love of learning and reading in preschoolers. 

Cardboard castle craft project for social studies, medieval history, book-based activities

Here's a craft project that can be used for anything from home, to classroom to youth theater: a cardboard castle. Make it grand enough to grace a stage or simple enough to stow in the closet for children's rainy day fun. Create one for preschool learning centers or high school history projects. This castle project makes a perfect complement to medieval social studies units. It can be a book-based literature response activity or book report alternative.

To start, make cardboard castle walls. Cut open two large, recycled cardboard refrigerator boxes. Tape two boxes together to make an octagon castle "keep." Cut cardboard castle battlements. Castle walls had a series of crenelations and merlons (squared edge thingys) along the top. Here are free printable patterns for medieval crafts and castle design ideas. Cut cardboard castle keep windows: Draw a four-pane window and cut openings.

Decorate recycled cardboard castle. Draw in bricks and a medieval family crest. Cut a drawbridge opening in the side of cardboard castle. Attach yarn to both sides of to lower and raise drawbridge. Cut holes in the top to tie drawbridge closed when the royal inhabitants aren't receiving company. Place blue blankets around the outside for the castle moat. Fill with stuffed animal dragons, fish, alligators and other aquatic creatures.

Make flags for cardboard castle. Royals had ancient family crests that symbolized their clan. These were placed on banners flown when the family was in residence. Banners were carried standards into battles. Have kids design their royal family crest. Here are free printable heraldry stencils for medieval crafts for kids. Make banners on squares of fabric cut from old bed sheets or towels. Draw or paint crest using permanent marker or fabric paint.

Make secret entrances for your recycled cardboard castle. Line chairs up to make a crawl-through tunnel entrance into castle. Drape sheets, blankets and bed linens over tunnel. Establish a
dungeon. Make a parapet (walkway) by placing several chairs or a bench along the inside edge of the castle. Soldiers keep lookout here and send prisoners to sit under the chairs in the dungeon sit under bench. Fashion a turret. Put a collapsible net laundry hamper upside down on a
chair inside the castle. Children crawl into hamper and onto chair to look out of the turret.

Free printable Thanksgiving activities, booklets, worksheets, lesson plans

Thanksgiving Day is October 12 in Canada and the third Thursday in November in the U.S. Here are free printable Thanksgiving booklets and fall themed activities and lesson plans for Thanksgiving Day. These activities explore pilgrim settlements, early American and Canadian exploration, Acadian settlements and western history. Activities cover native Americans, tribes in Canada and their interactions with Europeans. There are also coloring pages of turkeys, pilgrims, Indians, fall and autumn crafts and more. Teach children that Thanksgiving isn't just eating. It's about gratitude for blessings. Make Thanksgiving crafts and send as greeting cards to shut-ins.

U Create is mom blog that provides this free printable Thanksgiving booklet. It contains word games, word searches, puzzles, crossword and tic-tac-toe games based on Thanksgiving vocabulary. Homeschoolers and teachers, use for homework! Homeschooled Kids has free printable Thanksgiving activity booklets. There are lots of crafts, greeting cards, games, recipes to accompany it. You'll find enough for a complete Thanksgiving party guide.

Go to Enchanted Learning scads of free printable Thanksgiving mini-booklets. Activities cover a spectrum of Thanksgiving topics and learning connections: math, writing, spelling, reading, counting, social studies, science and more. Print maps, charts, diagrams, crafts, games and puzzles, too. DL-TK has a printable preschool Thanksgiving theme booklet. Use these activities to keep bored kids productively occupied in holiday preparations! Use for homeschool, rainy days, sick kids stuck and home, homework or just for fun!

Free printable Day of the Dead activities for Halloween

Looking for Halloween or Day of the Dead printables to use as lesson plans? Count down the days to Trick or Treat with dozens of free printable Halloween activities, coloring pages and crafts from Making Friends.com. Print free craft projects for all sorts themes. Making Friends has a really holiday activities, coloring pages, cut and paste, paper dolls, Trick or treat wrappers, worksheets, Halloween puzzles and mazes. Print word searches, crossword puzzles and word games, perfect for Halloween language arts lessons. Print Halloween card games, flash cards, dioramas, masks and pumpkin carving patterns and stencils.

Here free printable Halloween lesson plans, worksheets, games, coloring pages, activities and puzzles. Use for Trick or Treat themed math, reading, writing, literature, science, language, social studies and crafts. All Free Printables has free Halloween crafts, greeting cards, party invitations, decorations, cut-outs, coloring pages, masks, party invitations, name tags, treat bags, pumpkin cut-outs, book marks, picture frames and lots more. Puzzlemaker lets you create templates for printable Halloween worksheets, puzzles, mazes, jigsaws, dot to dot, Soduku, crosswords and activities galore.

Print Activities is another mega site for all your school and family activity printing needs. Look for units, printable worksheets and lessons focused around Halloween and trick-or-treat. Disney Family offers a plethora of free printable Halloween Disney activities, crafts and coloring pages. Coolest Holiday Parties has free printable Halloween party supplies. You'll find cards, invitations, treat and punch bowl printables, banners, place cards, name tags, wall hangings for a ghoulish party.

Free Printable Spider-Man Coloring Pages for Math and Reading Flashcards

Here's a lesson plan to use Spider-Man or any superhero to teach reading. Choose your favorite superhero or cartoon favorite (you can print DC or Marvel superheroes, Barbie, Disney, PBS, Looney Tunes and more). Print small 2x3 versions of coloring pages. Have children color the images and make this activity do double duty as a craft project. Attach to index cards and label. 

Write lists of associated words on the back For Spider-Man, you might use: spider, arachnid, insect, bug, super, hero, fly, web, city, save, science, villain, spin, swing, octopus, mask, sky, night. Use these flashcards to help children learn to read in fun, hands-on ways. Children might write stories of Spiderman's adventures using these words. Here are free printable superhero coloring pages and activities. 

For Marvel comics printables from Captain America Civil War including Iron Man, Avengers, check out Pic Gifs.  I've linked to Spider-Man but search the bar for any free printable Marvel or DC superhero coloring pages. Coloring-Book.info has more free printable Spider-Man coloring pages. Use the search bar for to find any free superhero printables for Superman, Flash, Thor, Captain America and more. Disney Family has free printable Avengers Captain America Civil War crafts. 

KidZone has free printable spider lesson plans. Learn about spiders with these games, crafts, puzzles. math activities, songs and stories, writing prompts, science worksheets and diagrams and reading lesson plans too. 

No Roses for Harry Recycled Yarn Craft, Book based Snacks, Printables

Are your kids going winter stir-crazy? You need a craft afternoon. I learned as a teacher/homeschool mom to make lesson plans hands-on. My craft parties include an interactive story and snack and lots of free printable book-based activities. 

One of my husband's favorite children's literature characters is Harry the Dirty Dog, created by Gene Zion and drawn by Margaret Bloy Graham. There are several books featuring Harry the Dog. My mom described a yarn bush she made for the birds and it reminded me of Harry. Here are activities based on "No Roses for Harry."

 

Story Party Book Activity: Read "No Roses for Harry" in ebook online at Open Library. You can hear an audio reading on Youtube. Pause the story at various points and encourage children predict what will happen next. Let children color these free printable Harry the Dirty Dog coloring pages, make a booklet and retell the story. Here's are printable No Roses for Harry coloring pages. 

Story Party Science Activity: Make a yarn bush. Gather up recycled bits of string and yarn. Place them in trees and bushes for the birds to use in nest building, like the bird did in "No Roses for Harry." Look for your yarn in bird's nests. My mother says her yarn has been disappearing, so she knows the birds are nesting. You might get a bird guide and ID the birds you see in the yard. 

Story Party Recycle Bin Craft: Teach kids divide by 2 by braiding yarn. Wind yarn braid into a concentric circle Sew a few stitches to hold it together and you have a recycled craft pot holder. These are great for preschool crafts. If you are crafty like Grama in "No Roses for Harry" teach children simple finger knitting or use large blunt needles. Let them knit a washcloth. 

Story Party Math Craft. Use this free printable rose pattern to make paper roses. Teach about spiral patterns. 

Story Party Snack: Make "roses" by spreading cream cheese on a scallion, pickle spear, carrot or celery stick. Wrap a slice of ham or other lunchmeat around it. Cut radish or tomato roses. Make open face jam sandwiches cut in flower shapes. Make flower shaped pancakes. 

Story Party Math Craft Snack: Make flower cookies. Roll sugar cookie dough in little balls. Arrange four in a square or five in a circle. Bake and frost. Decorate with candy sprinkles and an M&M in the center. Decorating cookies is a great preschool craft snack!  

Warm up after snow day play with cocoa cookies and more Harry stories! Or cool down after summer play with lemonade and Harry the Dirty Dog, Harry and the Lady Next Door or Harry By the Sea. 

Recycle Bin Crafts for Bored Kids: Homemade Hats for Learning Centers

So this Covid 19 quarantine is getting long, huh? A lot of you parents got thrust into the role of teacher unexpectedly. If you're homeschooling children, maybe you need my teacher mama first aid kit, with quick, easy CHEAP ideas to perk up the school day. 

Just in time for earth Earth Day on April 22, how about recycle bin trash craft? Homeschoolers and teachers, your recycle bin in your best craft supply resource. Let kids repurpose, recycle and reuse household stuff in science projects and eco-friendly crafts.  

Today's recycled trash crafts feature homemade hats for kids! The prototype was developed by our oldest daughter at 20 months old. We kept her toys sorted in recycled 5 pound peanut butter pails. One day, Little Miss emptied one, plopped it on her head, tucked handle under chin and voila—an instant helmet. Then she proceeded to saddle up and ride baby brother like her noble steed! I removed the bucket handle for her safety and her from brother for his. 

But I realized what really cool homemade hats for kids can be made with a little repurpose and reuse. Let kids sort through your recycle bin for plastic ice cream buckets, butter tubs and coffee canisters. Organize by size.  This is a great way to teach preschool sorting, measurement math and Earth Day environmental science. 

Make helmets for hands-on social studies crafts. Repurpose and reuse recycle bin milk jugs as knight's helmets. Remove handle, cut a flap to use as a helmet visor. Cut a piece of plastic and attach with brads to make a visor flap. Wrap in aluminum foil for an armored helmet. Explore the history of helmets and armor with these free printable coat of arms activities from Pinterest. 

Teach STEM lesson plans making homemade hats for robots, soldiers, aliens, animals, astronauts. Make homemade crowns for kings and queens and princesses (cut both ends out to make cylinder shape and decorate. Here are free printable paper crown patterns too. 

Make cone-shaped medieval lady hats for kids by rolling a square of paper in a funnel shape. Trim edge even. Staple recycled crepe paper streamers to hat. Cut decorations from recycle bin stuff. Repurpose and reuse old headgear in cute homemade hats for kids costumes. Repurpose and reuse silk flowers, fabric scraps, ribbons, yarn, buttons, appliques, and faux gems as decorations for your recycled trash crafts. 

Earth Day recycled trash crafts: Cross-curricular Cellphone Cases

Looking for jazzy recycled trash craft projects for Earth Day? How about homemade cellphone cases? You can pick up cheap cases for iPhone or Android and decorate them. Empty the recycle bin and let students create mosaic or patterned cellphone cases from recycled trash. Make cross-curricular crafts. 

Math crafts: Make tesseracts, mosaics, 3D images, spirals (to teach Fibonacci numbers) and other mathematical patterns. 

History and social studies crafts: make cellphone cases with timelines, statues of famous people, Egyptian scarabs or jeweled reliquaries. 

Geography crafts: Draw maps on cellphone cases. Create your own treasure map! 

Literature crafts for lesson plans: Make a cellphone case that resembles a book, or index from card catalog. Choose a favorite book and make cellphone cases on that theme. This could be an extension for hands-on book reports. 

These Earth Day recycle bin trash crafts are perfect for interactive art lesson plans too. 

 

History, Sociology, Culture Detectives on Holiday Travel

Wherever my husband and I travel, we view with an anthropologist's  eye as well as a sight-seer. We're fascinated by history, people, customs, art, food, music, etc. I guess you could call us culture detectives. We explore not just the surface, but the stories beneath. What happened to that big vacant factory? Why is that restaurant going out of business? How was that bridge made? 

Educators and homeschoolers, I encourage you to do this when you travel. Round out your curriculum with practical experience. Help students see the big picture. Help students create travel journals and note what they see. 

Urban Exploration, City Spelunking, a History-Lovers Dream

Warning: do not read unless you want to become instantly obsessed. We're history and travel buffs in my family. We homeschooled our four kids starting in 1995. Since I'm a hands-on kind of teacher, a get out and do gal, I taught my kids on the "I hear, I forget, I see I remember, I do, I learn" mantra. Every outing is an adventure and every adventure a lesson. 

Recently on Youtube we urban spelunking. That's where intrepid (slightly crazy) people explore defunct (or not) urban structures like regular spelunkers explore caves. Sometimes the places are abandoned, like the rocket storage facility in the Florida everglades. The documentary "Into the Darkness" touched on the discovery of a ginormous rocket left in a mine shaft in the 1960s.  The image on the left is an old, abandoned (queue spine-tingles) amusement park. While it might not be safe to explore broken down buildings, you can research the history. You can visit places with an eye to the background. Teach kids to watch for details of old architecture, sealed off rooms, basement structures, etc.

Free Printable Labor Day Coloring Pages and Lesson Plans

Spring is a poignant time in labor history. March 25, 1911 remembers 146 workers, mostly women, lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. April 16 mourns Ireland's Easter Rising of slain Feinians. April 28 marks Workers' Memorial Day, on which the organized labor movement pays tribute to the fallen in workplace accidents or in organized labor struggles. May 1 is May Day, honoring International Workers' Day. May 4 commemorates casualties at Chicago's Haymarket riot at a 1886 labor rally. May 19, 1920 is a day when the organized labor movement grieves the Matewan and Mingo County massacre of coal miners. On May 26, 1937 those who would from unions were assaulted at Ford's River Rouge plant "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.

Organized labor history is taught as part of American history, but there is no American (or world) history without labor history. Unions, collective bargaining--the fight for workers' rights impact every industry, occupation and person. Teachers and homeschoolers, you can educate students about unions with these free printable May Day and labor history lesson plans. These links include websites, activities, worksheets, movies and books on the organized labor movement.

The American Labor Studies Center offers a gamut of free printable organized labor movement lesson plans. It covers history, events, strikes, lockouts, workplace injuries, child labor, working conditions, collective bargaining, 8-hour workday, sweatshops, slavery, organizing, indentured servitude, socialism and labor, women's rights, African American labor issues, minority discrimination concerns, ULP (unfair labor practices). Lessons cover the Triangle fire (the worst workplace accident in history), West Virginia labor, Pullman Strike (1894), Lawrence Textile Strike (1913), Lowell Strike, Paterson Silk Strike, agriculture strikes and other events. Get free printable union labor worksheets, fill-ins, puzzles and study guides. There are links to films

Explore famous labor leaders: Noam Chomsky, Joe Hill, "Big Bill" Haywood, Pete Seeger, Jimmy Hoffa, Caesar Chavez, the Wisconsin 14 and others from the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), AFL-CIO, Teamsters and more. This site has biographies of women labor leaders including Elizabeth Gurley Flynn Mary Harris "Mother" Jones and more. To use in lessons, print the list of names on one side and short bios on the other side (mixed up). Students match person with details. Print photos and pin to a map at places they are associated with. Or make a time line along the wall. Plot images in history.

The National Endowment for the Humanities offers two companion lessons in its series The Industrial Age in America. "Sweatshops, Steel Mills and Factories" and "Robber Barons and Captains of Industry" define the problems faced by workers in labor history and the reasons for the organized labor movement. Use the worksheets and activities with middle school and high school students.

The Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University in Detroit maintains the largest organized labor history archive in the U.S. It has an impressive collection of images in physical exhibits and digital archives on The Labor Movement and Organizations. Walther Reuther who was one of several injured at Ford's Rouge factory "Battle of the Overpass" in Detroit.

The United Farm Workers is the union begun by Cesar Chavez that tends to itinerant and agricultural labor issues. Along with labor movement, the UFW educates people about food safety, immigration, deportation, earth and green initiatives, pesticides and more. An important piece is the youth activism page. UFW seeks to take union and agricultural awareness beyond the classroom walls and into real life.

In honor of May Day, here's a quote from the Albert Shanker Institute. "Imagine opening a high school U.S. history textbook and finding no mention of-or at most a passing sentence about-Valley Forge, the Missouri Compromise...Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark. Imagine if these key events and people just disappeared as if they'd never existed...That is what has happened in history textbooks when it comes to labor's part in the American story." Use these lesson plans to keep the May Day stories and message alive.