Elementary Matters is an educational blog focused on Elementary grades 1-3. These posts will make an elementary teacher's life easier by sharing information about how the brain learns best. It includes time savers, suggestions for classroom management, hints on effective teaching of reading, writing, and math, and several ideas for squeezing Science and Social Studies into daily instruction. These posts include links to several videos, articles, resources, and plenty of free materials.
Summer
is the time of year most people enjoy going to the beach, going
camping, or maybe just hanging out with friends. It's a great time to be
outside!
If you're still in school, or if you're working with kids during the summer, you're probably looking for things to do with the kids that also allows you to enjoy the summer!
Well, I've got a few resources for you, and guess what... they're all free!
If you're into the beach, here are a couple of resources related to the seashore:
I can't believe Easter is almost here! It's not even April, and we still have tons of snow here in New Hampshire!
But it's ok to keep an Easter theme AFTER Easter, too. After all, they'll still be eating chocolate bunnies and jellybeans, right?
When it comes to Easter, I go straight for the classics!
I'm not sure this one would be considered a classic yet, but in my heart, it's a classic!
How about a little Easter Music?
Did you know you can get a wealth of music, often with visuals, for free on Youtube? Here's one example of a fun Easter song, complete with lyrics on the screen! (Yes, it counts as reading, too!)
There's plenty more music videos for kids on Youtube: Just go to Youtube and search "Easter Music for kids." You'll find plenty, but definitely check it first... you never know!
I recently put all my Easter resources together into a bundle. It contains 6 different resources with printables, worksheets, games, and center activities, at an awesome mark down (Almost 50%off!)
This blog post contains links to items on Amazon. These are affiliate links. If you use them, I'll make a small profit from your purchase, but it won't affect what you pay Amazon! If you use them, THANK YOU! (It's not much, but every bit helps!)
I always make sure the children recognize the Irish Flag.
And listen to Irish music.
And, of course, books!
And books by some favorite authors:
I'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Week right after Read Across America Week! I just can't spend a day on any of these great holidays! There is too much fun learning to be had!
How do you enjoy these March holidays with your students?
My students wear red, white, and blue, and the whole school recites the pledge together, outdoors at the flagpole.
We have 1700s USA flags for the kids to color, and copies of the school promise to sign with a quill pen. Sometimes even George Washington and Benjamin Franklin stop by the classrooms with a little skit about the signing of the Constitution.
Of course, I might read a book or two:
Here's one of my favorite Schoolhouse Rock Videos!
Here's a Constitution Trivia Boom Learning Activity:
We have three patriotic holidays coming up! Yep, that's 3! We have Memorial Day at the end of May.
We have Flag Day on June 14th. We have Independence Day on July 4th.
I know there are some teachers out there who will be out of school by Memorial Day. My district gets out just a short week before Independence Day. (We've never gone that late! These kids are done NOW!)
But it's a great opportunity to teach our kids something about our country!
I find literature, the arts, and music are a great way for children to learn any subject, especially social studies! Here are some of the books I use. (Click any image for a link to Amazon!)
Coming to America by Betsy Maestro is a great book to show how most Americans came from other countries. (I often read this one around St. Patrick's Day, as this holiday celebrates Irish-Americans, and gets conversations started about our ancestry.)
How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting tells the story of people escaping a harsh life and coming to America for freedom. It's done with Even Bunting's child friendly language, but also touches their hearts, as many of Eve Bunting's stories do. Although it's subtitled "A Thanksgiving Story," it's very appropriate for any day you want to show the children the risks people take to live in America. It's a great conversation starter to remind children (and ourselves) of the freedoms we have in our country, that people don't have in others.
Speaking of Eve Bunting, The Wall is one of my very favorite books for children. Although I do have trouble getting through this story without tears, it's a nice book to read around Memorial Day or Veterans Day, when we are thinking about those who fight for our freedom, and those that don't come home. (I think this one really gets to me because of the time period... I was "coming of age" during the Vietnam War. Yes, I went to demonstrations and everything, I'm THAT old!)
Here are some informational books that are helpful:
I always want to remind my students about how beautiful our country is. Picture books are great to help with that concept! Here are a couple to help:
Here are a couple more books that have loads of fun activities to share and celebrate our country!
No USA celebration is complete without patriotic music!
This CD has a huge collection of historical USA songs and patriotic songs. Plus, it has the split track for opportunities for the kids to sing with accompaniment!
Here's another collection of classic patriotic songs! This is nice to have if you want to play a patriotic song in the morning to follow the Pledge of Allegiance.
Here's a nice You tube video to America the Beautiful.
Of course, after all that learning about America, the children will need to do some writing. Check out this freebie! Click the image or click here: USA Themed Writing Paper.
Still looking for ideas to celebrate the USA? Check out this blog post from Memorial Day last year: Memorial Day: A Day to Remember! (There are some freebies in there!)
Want a resource with plenty of ideas for patriotic holidays? Try this bundle with 8 different resources PLUS 8 different freebies: Learning About the USA!
