Holidays
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Patriotic Resource Round Up
Summer might’ve just started, but I’m thinking 4th of July lesson plans already! I’ve added a ton of patriotic materials to my TPT store over the last couple of weeks so it felt like a good time to share all of these so that you can start planning for the holiday. Patriotic 4th of July Alphabet Book for Preschool and Kindergarten – This book is a great way to celebrate the 4th of July while encouraging literacy. Each letter corresponds with an American themed vocabulary word which will help children practice letter sounds. Print one for each child, or a few for a center. You could also have children create…
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Framed Art Logos
Father’s Day has a way of sneaking up on me, but this year I’m tackling it early! It can be really easy to come up with Mother’s Day gifts that kids can make, but gifts for dads are a little tougher. This Father’s Day gift idea can be personalized for any hobby or activity that the men in your children’s lives enjoy. I grabbed a couple of Dollar Tree picture frames and printed some black and white logos and coloring pages. Then my daughter colored these in, we cut them out and glued them to a corresponding color of cardstock and popped them in the frame. They turned out so…
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Holidays in the classroom; What to do when you can’t celebrate
I’m the first person to say that I love celebrating holidays – in my personal life that’s definitely something that I’m known for, and it feels natural for me to incorporate that into the classroom. While it is something that I love, there are a variety of reasons that holidays might not be appropriate for the preschool classroom. Some programs don’t allow teachers and students to celebrate in order to create a space where all of the families that they serve feel welcome. Others have specific funding streams that require no holidays be acknowledged, and still others will eliminate these to support specific families and staff. These are all completely…
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St. Patrick’s Day Math and Science
St. Patrick’s day is such a fun holiday to celebrate in the classroom because there are some very different opportunities for exploration than we see with other holidays. Because of this, I’ve included some science activities – which means that this is a math and science center for Preschool St. Patrick’s Day! Let’s take a look at some of these materials. Shamrock Observations – This set is designed to help children focus on small details, which is perfect when it comes to shamrocks and finding that elusive 4-leaf clover. There are images of a variety of different shamrocks, and then zoomed in images of the same shamrocks so that children…
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St. Patrick’s Day Writing Center
I’m so ready to share my St. Patrick’s Day language materials with you! The focus of this center is storytelling, and the items that I have available for the holiday really support that. So let’s dive in! Leprechaun Dress Up – Who wouldn’t want to be a leprechaun?! Chasing rainbows and searching for gold sounds like an amazing adventure, and children can use these materials to act that out. I’ve got tutus, bow ties, feather boas, fun glasses, and headbands. I’ve also included top hats, blazers and vests, and messenger bags in the past. Shamrock Cupcake Letter Match – These cupcakes are just the cutest, and sometimes that’s all it…
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President’s Day with Preschoolers
President’s day can pose a challenge for preschool teachers because so many of the concepts that we connect with commemorating this day are extremely abstract for young children. They don’t understand history, what it means to live in a certain country, or the job of a president. In many cases, not only are these concepts difficult for children to grasp, they also aren’t relevant to their day to day experiences. There are still some great ways to acknowledge President’s day and help children make connections that increase their understanding – here are my favorite President’s day lessons. I’ve created a couple of vocabulary sets that help children have the words…
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Processing a holiday before moving on to the next one
The month of February might have the fewest days, but it packs in all of the holidays – Groundhog day, Valentine’s day, President’s day, and Mardi Gras. If you look at March and April you’re often adding St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Earth day too. It’s a lot to explore over a fairly short amount of time. We usually think of the time between Halloween and Christmas as the “holiday season,” but October, November, and December don’t have nearly as many holidays squeezed into them as the spring months do! This can make late winter and early spring pass pretty quickly, but it can also be really overwhelming, especially for…
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Loose Parts for Valentine’s Day
There’s something about tiny little pieces of pretty much anything that little ones just can’t resist – and I’m here for it because it keeps their attention forever! When it comes to Valentine’s day, I dive all the way into the red, pink, and glittery. Here are some of the loose parts that I love for a Valentine provocation: I put them all on a heart tray, and that helped make them even more enticing – don’t you want to play with all of this?! Here are some of the beautiful images that we created with these pieces – After I made a heart with a necklace that became the…
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Healthy Valentine Snack for School
I signed up to bring a healthy snack for my daughter’s classroom Valentine Party, and knowing how class parties go I had a few requirements in mind. Here’s the healthy Valentine snack for school that I ended up with! First, I wanted to make sure that this was something easy to transport since my kindergartener will have to carry it into the building herself. Second, it needed to be prepackaged so that no one has to worry about allergy concerns and ingredients. Finally, it should be something that doesn’t make a mess or require her teacher to do anything other than pass it out. With those conditions in mind, I…
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Valentine’s Day Math Center Activities
I’m back with some more Valentine’s day ideas! Math centers can be tricky because we want children to enjoy the activities and WANT to do them, while also being able to use the materials independently. Here’s what’s in my Valentine’s Day math center: It doesn’t get more exciting than chocolate! This game is one that your students will definitely want to play – although you might have to monitor the game pieces or they’ll disappear. To play, children pick a candy and match the number on the bottom to the number on their mat. It can be done individually or you can print two sets and have a partner game.…
