Resources for May

 May is here, and the horses are at the gate!

 

Yes, the Kentucky Derby is this week, and there's a close read about the Kentucky Derby in this resource: Science and Social Studies Activities for May!

Here are some Kentucky Derby-themed books that might interest you!

• Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby
• D is for Derby: A Kentucky Derby Alphabet
• America's Favorite Horse Race: 101 Reasons to Love the Kentucky Derby
• B is for Bluegrass: A Kentucky Alphabet            

I'm sure I'll have my kiddos wear fancy hats and find Kentucky on the map! Maybe even read a good horse book! (Images lead to affiliate links from Amazon!)

This week also brings Cinco de Mayo AND Teacher Appreciation Day. 

I plan to celebrate Mexico on both Monday and Tuesday, then celebrate teachers for the rest of the week.

Here are some Cinco de Mayo resources:

Cinco de Mayo No Prep Printables for Literacy and Math!

Here's a fun word work game with a Mexico theme: Mexico Suffixes Go Fish Game!

Of course, students may want to write about Mexico! Writing Paper with a Mexico theme!

For more ideas for celebrating Mexico, see THIS BLOG POST.

This is what I plan on doing for Teacher Appreciation:

I'm going to run off a whole bunch of these Thank You Cards, and have them fill them out for the teachers in the school! I don't let them make them out to me, since there are plenty of other teachers who spend their time helping children. (Any adult who works with children is fair game for Teacher Appreciation, even if they don't have a certificate!)

 

or perhaps you'd like the sampler?

  

For more about the Thank You Cards, see THIS BLOG POST.

Here's some fun Mother's Day stuff: Mother's Day Math!

Mother's Day No Prep Printables: Literacy and Math

And here's my traditional Mother's Day gift:

 

For more information about this Mother's Day gift, see THIS BLOG POST.

Toward the end of the month is Memorial Day. I know some teachers will be enjoying summer by then, but we're not even close yet! 

But it's not too early for Freedom Isn't Free!

Plus, try this activity to help keep track of the Patriotic Holidays!

Plus, keep them moving and thinking about the USA: Patriotic Brain Breaks!

For more information about celebrating patriotic holidays, see THIS BLOG POST.

Of course, I do like to make the lives of busy teachers a little bit easier. Here's a whole bunch of May Reading, Science, and Social Studies activities that will intrigue the children and save time (and money) for teachers: May Bundle!

What are your plans for the month of May?

Baseball Fun and Learning!

I'm so excited that baseball season is finally here! Baseball means spring! 

 After a tough winter, anything that means spring is OK by me! 

 

I've been doing a lot of baseball reading this week, in honor of the opening of baseball season. Here are some favorites: 

• H is for Homerun: a Baseball Alphabet
• My Baseball Book
• Goodnight Baseball
• Play Ball!
• The Lucky Baseball Bat
• Babe Ruth Saves Baseball
• The Berenstain Bears Go Out for the Team
• Baseball Ballerina
• Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia
• Pete the Cat: Play Ball

Baseball and April bring another opportunity: It's National Poetry Month! What a great opportunity to write Diamantes!

Why Diamantes?  Because they are shaped like diamonds!(Get it? baseball diamonds?)

Or check out this resource, with plenty of examples and options!

Speaking of shapes... a baseball diamond could be called a square or a rhombus, but did you realize home plate is shaped like a pentagon?

Have you noticed, when we connect learning to sports, all those little boys perk up?  (Many of the little girls do, too!)

I have a resource I'm VERY excited about called Baseball Geography! 

These are all task cards based on the locations of major league baseball teams! I had such a blast putting this together, and so far my students can't get enough! Plus, they're really getting to know the locations on the US maps!

Here are a couple of other baseball-themed games I've got:

Baseball Antonyms combines a couple of popular games with antonym practice. 

Plus, I have a couple of BINGO games with a baseball theme:

Home Run Two Digit Addition gives the children practice adding 2 two-digit numbers, along with a little strategy. 

 

Home Run Two Syllable Words is a similar BINGO game, but this one gives the children practice reading two-syllable words. 

The students LOVE these BINGO games! 

Come to think of it, they love any time I combine learning with sports!

And, of course, there's one more! A bundle of all of the baseball-themed activities:

How do you integrate sports into the learning process?

Science and Social Studies for February

Do you find it difficult to fit everything in?

I sure do! The toughest things to fit in are Science and Social Studies.

Once we're done with reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, grammar, and math, there's no time left for these two subjects! 

The really sad part is that these are typically the most popular subjects, and the ones where everyone can have success!

I've been working at making it easier to squeeze these fun subjects in, and came up with this: Science and Social Studies Activities for February

It's got printables to make your life easier, yet it still provides learning opportunities in Science and Social Studies, along with February themes and engaged children!

For Super Bowl Sunday, it's got a science exploration that includes rolling balls down a ramp, predictions and revisions.

For Groundhog Day, there's a nonfiction science text and questions about groundhogs, and a "hibernating animal" classification.

 

For Valentine's Day, there's a fact sheet about the heart, and an exploration on exercise and heart rate.

For Presidents Day, there's a nonfiction text and questions about Abraham Lincoln, a timeline on Abraham Lincoln's life, and a mapping activity identifying states in which presidents were born.

I hope this makes your life easier, and a little more fun for your kiddos! You can see this product here: Science and Social Studies Activities for February.

 I hope this makes your teaching life a bit easier!

Show Your Patriotism!

I'm sitting here watching the annual 4th of July Boston Pops Concert and swelling with pride for my country. 

It seems these concerts just keep getting better and better! Back in the old days, we used to drive down to Boston, spend all day saving our spots on the Esplanade, then watch the concert live. The traffic and crowds never bothered us, it was always worth it! 

Nowadays I sit in my living room and watch it on TV. It's not quite as exciting as watching it live, but it sure is more convenient!

In honor of the holiday, I've created some brain breaks with a patriotic theme.

Research tells us that moving aides learning by bringing oxygen to the brain! I do love to include anything the kids are learning as brain breaks. I usually manage to include seasonal or holiday brain breaks when I can. These Patriotic Brain Breaks can be used for any Patriotic holiday: Constitution Day, Veterans Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, or Independence Day!

 

 

See the image or see here to download this fun resource: Patriotic Brain Breaks!

Learning About New Hampshire!

What better way to learn about your home state (and the nearby states) than reading in a fun book?

I've joined up with a group of bloggers for Booking Across the USA!

I was lucky enough to be involved in this project last year (See THIS blog post) and I couldn't wait to do it again!

For more about the Booking Across the USA Project, click the image below or click HERE:

This year is particularly cool, since we got to use these books, thanks to Blue Apple Books!

I shared Travelin' the Northeast with my class, and it's adorable! Each book represents a section of the United States, and has a page about each state, along with facts about that state. The best part? There's this cute little dog named Charlie that's on every page, and they absolutely LOVE searching through each state for Charlie!

Here are some of the facts we learned about New Hampshire from this book:

• The first free public library was established in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

• Tupperware was invented in New Hampshire.

• The alarm clock was invented by Levi Hutchins in Concord, New Hampshire in 1787.

• Alan Shepard, the first US Astronaut in space, was born in Derry, New Hampshire November 23, 1923.

• Plus, there are some cool pictures on the map page of New Hampshire that give us more information about the state!

• Brain research tells us making connections to the arts help children remember.

• Most teachers have these around their classrooms:

If not, they're easy to find!

How about these?

Pipe cleaners are easy to find! If you put these two

materials together, you can make something like this:

Here's how it works:  Each time a child can share a fact about one of the states they've learned, they get a new bead for their bracelet. As they build up beads, they can go through the beads, remembering each of the facts they have learned. The beads are helping the memory!

Another way to use the beads: Attach another bead to the bracelet for each state the children can find on the map!

An InLinkz Link-up

5 Patriotic Options for Veterans Day or Any Patriotic Holiday

The last couple of days, we spent a lot of time discussing what a veteran is and why it's important to honor them. 

(I always like my kids to know WHY we get a day off!) True, they're due for a break (as are the teachers!) We survived a marathon day of teaching and parent-teacher conferences this week, so we deserve a day off to recover!

1.  First of all, there are books! I absolutely love to introduce concepts to children through quality literature! I admit. The Wall gets me choked up every time I read it. As I read it yesterday, the children were totally silent. (My group is NEVER totally silent!) It affected them deeply.

The Wall

America: A Patriotic Primer

H is for Honor: A Military Family Alphabet

My Dad's a Hero

Night Catch

F is for Flag

2.  Next, I like to show some videos. I try to time it so we watch a video on Thursday during snack time since Thursday is popcorn day in our school. It just seems appropriate! Here is a great patriotic video, and the kids really take to it!

 

3.  I play music frequently through the school day. I make sure I have music playing in the morning as the children arrive, but I also make sure they hear music at different times of the day. Sometimes it's soft background music, and sometimes it's lively, fun music. Both kinds of music have their place. Here are a couple that I love!

God Bless America: The Ultimate Patriotic Album

Party Tyme Karaoke Patriotic

   

4.  I did this Veterans True or False activity with my students on Thursday, and it was awesome! Interestingly, our assistant principal came in while we played the game and told the students he was a veteran. My students broke out into applause! (I was so proud!) Of course, most of my little guys went nuts when they found out he drove a tank! Click the image or click HERE for the link!

Do you have active students? After they read this text, they can have a blast moving around to answer the questions in Reading Comprehension for Active Learners: Freedom Isn't Free!

5.  Here's a freebie that I did with my students on Friday.  They wrote thank you letters to Veterans! Their notes were heartwarming and proud to me. They understood how lucky we are to be Americans and have these wonderful people risking their lives for our freedom!

Thank You Veterans Writing Paper

How do you celebrate Patriotic Days?