The Tortoise and the Hare Reader and Activities

Hello friends! I've got quite a handful of activities to share with you.

Get ready to feel excited about fables with The Story of the Tortoise and the Hare emergent reader! Your littles will LOVE having their very own kid-friendly version of this story to read on their own.

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Bek

Summer Goals Flip Book Plus 3 FREE Downloads

{This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission at no cost to you when you click on the link and purchase something through Amazon.}

My how the school year flies by! It's already Spring Break this week for my kids, which means one thing: The countdown until summer break has begun! 

We had one snow day this year, which means our last day is now after Memorial Day. I'd love to hear when YOUR last day of school is? (Leave in comments below!) 

Today I'm going to highlight a brand new end of the year activity that I'm super excited to use with my kids. Plus, I'm going to share some fun ideas and also give you three free downloads that you can print now and set aside for use at the end of the year with your students. This way you won't be scrambling at the last minute looking for something new and fun to do. 

So this Summer Goals Craftivity is fun, easy, and will go right along with the other activities, ideas, and crafts that you have planned for your kids to do at the end of the school year.

Six tabs provide a variety of goals for your Preschool, Kindergarten, or First Grade littles to make as they begin to think about planning out their summer break. Pssst... they will also be incorporating writing practice at the same time!

Let me show you  a closer look!

There are actually six different covers that you can choose from for this activity. There are ten different characters for your kiddos to pick from. 5 girls and 5 boys. Encourage them to find the one that most resembles them. They can improvise if needed (add glasses, or whatnot).

I had my Kindergarten daughter help me make a sample so that you can see the steps students need to take to complete this project. 

Start by having them pick a cover and color it. 

Then they can grab a pencil and fill out the beginner writing portions of all the pages included. The first page has the "I will eat..." and "I will read..." tabs. Nali (my daughter) plans to eat ice cream and read Pete the Cat books!

The next page gives students a place to write a goal about something they want to play. I plan to encourage my kids to think about something new to try. My daughter was not creative at all in her example, as she has been very eager for warm weather so that she can play outside!

Then, students can make a goal about how they can help someone this summer. My daughter wants to help her next door neighbor clean up her toys, how sweet!

Next, students plan somewhere they would like to visit. For this one, I suggest encouraging them to think of somewhere reasonable. This is a good opportunity to talk about making goals that are reachable! The zoo is a great goal for a place to visit this summer. The moon? Maybe not so much!

Then they will have a chance to write out five goals. They can be the same five goals they already created but now all in one easy-to-see place, or they could even be five additional goals. My daughter did a mix of both:

Time to cut it all out! Simple cutting and easy assembly allows for all students to happily succeed.
Throw some math in there, and have your students practice measuring by laying out the tabs from shortest to tallest!

Then glue the tabs together to make a flip book!

Now your students can take turns reading their flip books to their peers before taking hanging them up in the hallway!

You can get this activity here: All About Me Back to School Flip Book

Before I give you a few FREE DOWNLOADS, let me show you some other end of the year ideas I found on Pinterest that I can't wait to try this year:

I know the kids are going to go crazy over this popping balloons idea!

Check how how sweet this 'waving goodbye' idea is!

I am a huge watermelon fan and there are so many cute ideas in this theme:

With the new school year quickly approaching, I know that many teachers are already starting to get things organized and ready for this Back to School this fall. I've shared this download before, so some of you may have already grabbed it!  But these Student Information Sheets are a great way for you to print out NOW and tuck in your Back to School file folder for when it's time to think about the new year:

FREE STUDENT INFORMATION SHEETS DOWNLOAD

Another FREE DOWNLOAD I'd like to share is especially for YOU this summer!


SUMMER FAMILY-FRIENDLY DRINK & TREAT RECIPES

Ok, one more! Summer is the time to think about camping. Here are some FREE Camping themed sticker incentive charts that come in both full and less ink options. Enjoy!

GONE CAMPING STICKER INCENTIVE CHARTS

-Til next time

     

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Bek

Grandparents Day Activities

Grandparents Day is just a few weeks away (September 10th) so I thought I'd share some activities that you can use with your kiddos in celebration of their loved ones.

This day is a really hard one for me to blog about, as it brings to mind memories of many dear grandparents who are no longer with us. At the time that these activities were made, a very special Great-Grandma had just passed. These resources were made in special honor of her.

Alright, let's brush those tears aside and dive into some things that will give your littles a chance to appreciate and celebrate the grandparents in their lives!

You never know what activity or craft their grandparents will hold dear to their hearts. Earlier this year, Great-Grandpa also passed. Amongst some of his belongings was one of the Love Notes (I'll show you them below) that one of my kids had written him from this resource pack! So I encourage you to encourage your students to pass on their completed cards, coloring pages, and notes to their grandparents. It will be a very special to them if it was saved and they receive it back some day.

So the "We Love Grandparents" pack includes 22 pages that you can print and use. It was made with Kindergarten in mind, but can be used for Preschool and even First Grade.

It has both Upper and Lower case Alphabet letter tracing practice. Number tracing too. Multiple mazes with no blocks give all learners a chance to succeed. Students can make it harder if they'd like by drawing in their own blocks! Phonics beginning, middle vowel (CVC), and end sounds practice has adorable grandparent pictures on them.

And here are the Love Notes I mentioned above. There are a bunch to choose from, including a foldable card! A color-by-number and also coloring sheet are included for some color word fun.

Some simple syllable and measurement activities will give students the extra practice they may need. And some simple cut-out puzzles in both black/white and full color are also available. *Note that not all of the pages included in the pack are shown here in the blog.*

Does your school host a Grandparents Day event?
If so, you may want to pull some of these activities for your littles to do with their special person(s)! This next activity is perfect for that...

Grandparents Day BINGO!
(High Frequency Word style!)

If Grandparents are coming (and even if they're not) this is an excellent way for students to show off the sight words they've learned so far. It's also an easy opportunity for their grandparents to take part in helping them if needed!

There are THIRTY Bingo cards to choose from.

And the following 48 words are scrambled amongst the various boards:

The calling cards are LARGE so that all students (and grandparents) can easily see them from the front of the room.


Enjoy preparing for Grandparents Day for your littles! I know that their loved ones will appreciate the time and effort you spend making their special day memorable!

-Til next time

       

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Bek

FREE How to Survive as a Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book

**Book images created by Erica Salcedo are used with permission from The Innovation Press**
**This post contains affiliate links.**

I was recently given a copy of the book 
How to Survive as a Firefly 

by Kristen Lootes and illustrated by Erica Salcedo. 

It was my first time seeing (or even having heard of) the book, so I was excited to read it.  Before even opening the book, I realized that I really don't know anything at all about fireflies...except that they are a ton of fun to catch in the summer at dusk! 

I found this book to be a delightful and incredibly funny informational book for kids ages 5-10. If you teach an insect unit, or about fireflies or the life cycle of fireflies, then this book is a must-have for you and your students. 

I made a FREE Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book for students to use as a fun way to gather and organize facts that they learn while reading! 

Ok, so let me tell you a little bit about the book. You can also download a PREVIEW of the book and take a look for yourself!

"How to Survive as a Firefly"  is written in a story format, having an adult firefly educate the newly hatched firefly eggs on what they will need to do throughout their life to survive. 

It covers everything in a very humorous, yet informationally accurate way. From life cycle info, to vocabulary terms, to parts of the body...it has it all! Even a glosser is included at the end of the book. 

Students can work on the companion resource before reading the book. This will give them time to gather any background information they have on fireflies, as well as wonder about them. 
Have them start out by coloring the flip book cover page.

Then they can cut out all of the pages and glue them together. It can dry while they initially read the book. After reading it, they can go back and look for information that they'd like to include in the flip book. The first page has students simply write out the four stages of a firefly's life cycle. They can add quick sketches of each stage too, if they'd like!

Then they can write down facts specific to each stage of the life cycle. Starting with the Egg stage:

Then on to the Larva stage:

And next the Pupa stage:

And finally, the adult stage:

The final page give students a chance to jot down some unique, or their favorite, facts that they learned about fireflies.

After it's finished, students can use it to review or reflect on. They can use it to study from (if there is any type of assessment over the information) or just take it home to share what they learned with family and friends! 

Enjoy How to Survive as a Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book absolutely FREE. Don't forget to leave a review of the resource. I very much appreciate your opinions and feedback on activities that I create!

-Til next time

     

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Bek

Fly Swatter Game Reviews Letters Sounds Numbers High Frequency Words and More

Looking for Back to School activities? Or just something to help you reinforce the basics?

 This Fly Swatter Game is a fun and fast paced way to practice letter ID, sounds, numbers, color words, and high frequency words! 

**This post contains affiliate links.**

You'll want to get some fun classroom fly swatters for this Fly Swatter game! 

And also choose which flies you want to use (letters, numbers, colors, sight words...) so that you can print them out, and even laminate them for added durability. Over 450 flies are available to print. 

You'll love to hear that this game can grow with students as they learn. That means you can use it all year long! And the flies are large in size so that all student can easily see them. 

To set this game up, tape or velcro dot the selected flies around the classroom or on the front board. Have your fly swatters nearby and ready. 

To play, call out a letter, sound, number, or sight word. Have students run up to swat the corresponding fly. It's a great way to informally assess where students are at and what they need to work a little more on. You can keep a notebook or post-its close by and jot down what you notice as students play. 

Students can play individually, helping each other review and learn. Or have them race against each other to see who swats the fly first. It's a fun and fast paced game. I guarantee your littles will cheer every time you pull it out to play.

To make sure these flies last a long time, I recommend to print them out on card stock and to laminate them. That way they won't get bent easily. I use my Scotch laminator and laminating pouches to make it quick and easy. 

Organize and store them in large Ziploc bags and put them in your file folder or drawer. 

Don't miss out on having the smartest, fastest fly-swatting students around!

Find it here: Fly Swatter Game

-Til next time

     

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Bek

Back to School All About Me Flip Book Activity and a FREE DOWNLOAD

Back to School is coming up faster than we realize, so I wanted to give you a few ideas (including a FREE DOWNLOAD) that you can set aside NOW so that you're not scrambling at the last minute looking for something new and fun to do with your students! 

This All About Me Flip Book Craftivity is fun, easy, and will go right along with the other activities, ideas, and crafts that you have planned for your kids to do this fall for Back to School.

Six tabs provide information for your Preschool, Kindergarten, or First Grade littles to share about themselves while incorporating beginning writing practice at the same time. 

Let me show you  a closer look!

There are actually six different covers that you can choose from for this activity. There are ten different characters for your kiddos to pick from. 5 girls and 5 boys. Encourage them to find the one that most resembles them. They can improvise if needed (add glasses, or whatnot).

I had my five year old (who will be entering Kindergarten this fall) make a sample so that you can see the steps students need to take to complete this project. 

Start by having them pick a cover and color it. 

Then they can grab a pencil and fill out the beginner writing portions of all the pages included. The first page has the "All About" and "Favorites" tabs. Her favorite food is (believe it or not) "Robin Noodles".... Ramen Noodles (bleh!).

The next page encourages students to write about something they dislikes. My daughter is a sensitive soul and greatly dislikes when people are mean or use a harsh tone with her.


Next, students will draw a self portrait.


Then they will write out what dreams they have. I like this Big Dream! That's a big green dinosaur she drew.

Finally, they write 5 reasons why they are unique.

Time to cut it all out! Simple cutting and easy assembly allows for all students to happily succeed.
Throw some math in there, and have your students practice measuring by laying out the tabs from shortest to tallest!

Then glue the tabs together to make a flip book!

Now your students can take turns reading their flip books to their peers before taking hanging them up in the hallway!

You can get this activity here: All About Me Back to School Flip Book

Before I give you a FREE DOWNLOAD, let me show you some other All About Me ideas I found on Pinterest that I loved:

With the new school year quickly approaching, I know that many teachers are already starting to get things organized and ready for this Back to School this fall.
Here's a FREE DOWNLOAD for you to print out now that will be a perfect way for you to keep track of information about your students:

FREE STUDENT INFORMATION SHEETS DOWNLOAD

-Til next time

     

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Bek