Teaching Tips Archives - Page 10 of 38

5 Mother’s Day Craft Ideas for Kids

April 15, 2022 teachersbrain Craft Ideas, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Mother’s Day is just weeks away and this is the time of year where people everywhere are searching for the perfect homemade Mother’s Day gifts. We all know that nothing says I love you like sweet DIY Mother’s Day gifts from her children.

If you are looking for Mother’s Day DIY ideas or some Mother’s Day crafts that your students can easily create with their own two hands, you are in the right spot! When I was in the classroom, I always tried to make sure that students had homemade gifts for mom that they could proudly take home and give to her.

Here are my favorite Mother’s Day craft and Mother’s Day gift ideas for students

Mother’s Day Lap Book

With this craft, students will color and decorate a special gift for their mom. They can write a letter to mom, draw a picture of the two of them, give them tea, share what they love about her, create Mother’s Day coupons, and more. This gift is sure to be a hit with all moms!

You can have a Mother’s Day Tea Party and invite all of the moms and caregivers to the classroom for tea and treats. Students will love the opportunity to spend some special time with their moms and the parents are sure to love it too!

Mother’s Day Coupon Book Craft

Another one of my favorite Mother’s Day craft ideas is this coupon book. It’s perfect if you are looking for something simple, quick, and sure to put a smile on any mom’s face. This Mother’s Day Coupon Book is cute and quick! It looks like a matchbook and makes an adorable keepsake!

Mother’s Day Flower Card Writing Activity

Show moms how loved and appreciated they are with this adorable flower craft! These Mother’s Day printables will allow you to create 3D flowers as a card, craft, or wall display to accompany opinion writing! They make great art centers, small group activities, and bulletin boards!

Mother’s Day Foldable Card

This sweet craft is a great way for students to express themselves with some Mother’s Day art! They can create a portrait of their mom and decorate it using other art supplies. As a bonus, this card comes with a Father’s Day card as well!

Digital Mother’s Day Card

Looking for digital Mother’s Day craft ideas or cards? Look no further! This resource is completely digital. Students can create a card for their moms in an easy, mess free way! These Google Slides can be used in person or while distance learning. You can easily add images of mom in!

I hope you loved these homemade gifts for mom. Students will be so excited to present their moms with something they made on their own.

Which activity is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! If you are looking for more Mother’s Day activities, check out my post here!

Star Wars Day School Activities Students Will Love

April 8, 2022 teachersbrain Distance Learning, education, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

May 4th will now forever be known as Star Wars Day! This is a day where we all happily showcase our love for the beloved franchise by greeting everyone around us with a happy “May the 4th Be With You” and participating in some fun and stellar Star Wars activities!

This day is particularly fun with kids. If you are an elementary teacher looking for ways to celebrate, you’re in the right place! You may be wondering- how do people celebrate May 4th? Or what can kids do on Star Wars Day?

Don’t worry, I have you covered! I knew students would love the galactic theme so of course, I came up with some super fun, low-prep activities that you can use to get your students engaged in Star Wars-themed activities.

Check out these Star Wars Day school activities!

My May the 4th Be With You Star Wars Themed Day Plan is full of Star Wars Day printables that will get students engaged in their lessons all day long.

This resource includes a full day of fun with training, activities for finding planets, instructions for cool intergalactic treats, and activities to learn force and motion. These activities are perfect for pre-k, kindergarten, first, or second grade students.

Here’s what’s included

Donations Please Page for Parents, Create a Space Creature activity, Give you space creature a personality activity, Sweet Fighter Treats instructions (EASY to Make), Venn diagram of Earth vs any other planet you choose, Venn diagram of Earth vs a star, Venn Diagram answer key, I SPY Planets activity, ODA SODA (ingredients and directions to make punch, galactic water labels for water bottles, fight training code of conduct poster, training laser directions, Training Academy certificate, Push, Pull, Force, and Motion Posters.

Check it out here!

Another one of my favorite May the 4th activities is this Star Wars Day digital escape room!

This space escape activity will help students to review planets, and practice problem-solving. Digital Escapes™ is a fun way to get students to learn without even realizing it. No printing and no prep needed for this digital escape! Students will love these Star Wars-inspired challenges!

To play, students will click an audio button for directions and watch a short video with a problem to solve to help with their first clue. During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues to escape the room.

There is a pdf included in this download with directions, the link to the site, an answer key, and an optional note-taking worksheet for students. This activity takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete but students will remember it for years!

Check out the video preview!

Check it out here!

I hope these Star Wars Day ideas inspired you to have an out-of-this-world celebration with your elementary students! What’s your favorite May the 4th activity? Let me know in the comments!

For more themed day fun, check out my post here!

Beginner to Advanced Scissor Skills TIPS

April 6, 2022 teachersbrain Teaching Tips

After teaching in primary classrooms for twenty years, you learn a few tips and tricks to help students with their scissor skills! Children need a lot of exposure to scissor practice to become successful and confident learners in future grade levels where they use more difficult cutting skills.

WHY ARE SCISSOR SKILLS IMPORTANT?

Cutting with scissors not only builds fine motor skills, but also helps to develop hand-eye coordination in young students. When students feel confident with their coordination, they tend to complete tasks quickly and correctly when fine motor skills are needed in other activities.

TIPS

If the child has never used scissors before, you will want to do a few activities with them before they get a pair of scissors. First, let students put some fine motor skills to the test by tearing paper into small pieces. Let that prior knowledge lead them to the reason why we use scissors. If they want to cut a line with precision, scissors are the tool to help them do it.

RULES

Next, cover the rules. The main rule with scissors is to teach students that they only cut paper when they first learn how to cut things. If you don’t remind them repeatedly, they tend to try cutting things like hair or shoelaces while exploring. Another rule that proves useful is how to hold the scissors if you are walking with them. Tell them they should never run with scissors because it is dangerous. Students should hold them by wrapping their hand around the tip. Finally, show students how to hold scissors correctly.

TEACHING KIDS HOW TO HOLD SCISSORS THE RIGHT WAY

If the child is using regular safety scissors, a good tip to help your child remember how to position their hand is to draw a smiley face on the thumbnail of their cutting hand. Remind your child that they should always be able to see the smiley face while they’re cutting paper. This will prevents the child from turning their hand upside down while cutting.

holding scissors

Give students lots of practice by letting them begin with cutting straight, curvy or zigzag lines. Once they find those skills easy, it’s time to learn how to cut shapes out of the middle of images or other shapes.

HOW TO CUT THE MIDDLE

If the item is soft and flexible like paper, fold it in half so you can see half of the image you are cutting out on either side. Using sharp safety scissors, cut a small slit in the center. Be careful not to cut past the marked edge of the part you are cutting out. Then, stick the tip of the scissors in the slit and proceed to cut around the marked edge of the part you are cutting out.

Another option is to use a hole punch in the center of the part you want to cut out. Then, use that hole as a starting point with scissors.

Spring Would You Rather Game For Elementary That Students Will Love!

April 1, 2022 teachersbrain Distance Learning, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips, Writing

There’s nothing I love more than when students get excited to learn. It’s the best feeling to see their faces light up as they fully engage in their lesson. It’s every teacher’s dream! However, it can be tricky to achieve. Especially as we approach the end of the school year. Students start to get a little restless so it takes a little creativity to really capture, and keep, their attention.

One of my favorite ways to do that is by playing games! Games in the classroom are proven to increase engagement, learning outcomes, and fun! In fact, research says that along with increased participation, playing games with your students can also encourage social and emotional learning and motivate students to take more risks.

One of my favorite games to play in the classroom has to be Would You Rather!

If you aren’t familiar, Would You Rather is a fun game where you have to choose between two different scenarios or items. For example, would you rather see a bird or a butterfly? These questions are intended to be silly and fun and encourage creative thinking. It’s guaranteed to get your students giggling.

With spring officially here, I created a spring-themed Would You Rather game that your students will love!

These Google Slides come with several questions to get your students thinking about spring. After making their choice, students will then use the paper provided to explain why they made that decision.

These Google Slides are interactive and editable. Which means you can change them up to fit your needs. Feel free to delete slides, add your own directions, or change the pictures as you see fit.

You can have students hold up one or two fingers to share what they would pick. It even comes with a movable highlighter to highlight your student’s most popular choice! This resource comes with 50 colorful slides for endless writing fun. If you are distance learning, this resource is easily adaptable to do digitally as well.

If you love this activity, you can also get it for every season!

The complete bundle comes with Would You Rather slides for Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. This means you get over 200 colorful slides. A great way to teach students the seasons as well!

What are your favorite games to play in the classroom? Let me know in the comments!

Looking for some more fun spring resources? Create a bunny trap with this resource!