Summer

I have a confession. I really don't mind teaching summer school. Actually, I might even go as far as saying I like teaching summer school! Now don't get me wrong, I like being on vacation even more and I cannot wait to join all of you who decided to take a much needed, well deserved break! But I do enjoy the shorter school days, much smaller class size, and slightly more relaxed environment that summer school brings.

If you are teaching summer school or just looking for some fun in the sun themed activities to help prevent the "summer slide", read on to find several literacy, math, and science ideas to try out this summer! Be sure to grab your Summer themed freebie before you leave!

These are always a hit and fun to make after reading a non-fiction book about sea creatures. Add a little more science to this activity by discussing how the oil and water always separate, no matter how hard you shake the bottle! You could also point out how the sensory bottle has different layers and discuss the layers of the ocean.

These hats are ADORABLE and give lots of patterning practice! To make them all you need is construction paper, a sentence strip, dot markers (or crayons/markers), and glue or a stapler. Measure the sentence strip to fit around the child's head. Cut 8 strips of paper for the octopus' legs and a rounded shape for the octopus' head. Instruct students to create a pattern on each of the 8 tentacles. Attach the "head" and "tentacles" to the sentence strip for an adorable Octopus Pattern hat!  

Another beachy way to practice patterning is this fun pattern identifying and extending activity. Students identify what kind of pattern is on each strip then extend the pattern by filling in the missing piece. You can find this activity here.

This ice cream cone matching activity is another summer favorite for math.  Students can match the ice cream numeral to the correct quantity using either the 10 frame or the tally mark ice cream cones. You can find this activity here.

Sand and seashells make this letter hunt activity really fun and engaging! I love to place the letter sand bucket cards in a tub filled with play sand. Students  draw a card, identify the letter, and then cover the matching letter with a seashell on the sandcastle page. You can find this printable letter recognition activity here.

I am sure by now you have heard of and probably tried making jello "oceans" with students. While that activity is an oldy and a goody, pudding oceans are a great alternative if you need instant gratification (and an instant snack)! For this activity, students mix a drop or two of blue food coloring into white vanilla pudding. Once your pudding is a lovely blue color, add gummy sea creatures. If you want to add "sand" to the mix, crushed graham cracker does the trick! I like to have students write a how to after they are finished to tie this tasty treat into writing practice. Can you read those sweet little pre-k instructions I have pictured? 

Speaking of tasty treats, if this letter matching and beginning sound activity doesn't scream summer, I don't know what does! Students have to find the capital letter, lowercase letter, and a picture with that begins what that letter's sound to complete the red, white, and blue Popsicle. You can find this printable here.

Another fun in the sun literacy activity is this rhyming match. These cards are the perfect addition to a summer themed sensory bin or if you are working with a small group, you can turn the cards upside down to play a rhyming memory match game! You can find this printable rhyming match activity here.

I have done several versions of this paper plate whale craft over the years and they always turn out so cute! After we have learned a few facts about whales, students will write their favorite fact and then create their own whale by coloring and cutting up a paper plate. 

The last idea I have for you today are these vocabulary cards featuring 24 different fun in the sun words and illustrations. There are so many great ways you can use these cards but here are a few ideas:

•Students can put vocabulary on the word wall by beginning sound

•Students can use vocabulary cards in the writing center to help them write about summer, the beach, the pool, etc.

•Students can build vocabulary words with magnetic letters, stamps, letter beads, etc.

•Place a thin layer of sand in a tray and students can write the words in the sand.

•If you can cut the picture off of the word, students can read the vocabulary words and match them to the pictures.

•Students can put the vocabulary words in ABC order

Grab your Vocabulary Cards HERE!

I hope you found a few ideas to use with your kiddos! If do use any of these activities, I would LOVE to see them! Please tag me @teachglittergrow so I can share out your amazing hard work on social! 

Happy teaching! 

-Cole 

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St. Patrick's Day Classroom Activities

Today I have rounded up some of my favorite hands-on St. Patrick's Day themed activities that we like to use all March long during centers, small group, and whole group instruction! Make sure you keep scrolling to snag the fun freebie below! 

First up is this fun and easy St. Patrick's day craft! To make these cute shamrocks and/or 4 leaf clovers, all you need are some bell peppers, paper, and paint!  

Cut the tops and bottoms off of the bell pepper. Bonus points if you get a pepper with a long stem - they make a great handle for little hands!  Place pepper "stamps" and a squirt of paint on a paper plate. 

Invite children to dip the pepper in the paint and stamp their fun St. Patrick's day shapes on the paper. 

 

These Number Sense 4 Leaf Clover Puzzles are the perfect addition to your March math block and can be used all spring long! To complete this activity, students will form each 4 leaf clover by matching the numeral, tally marks, 10 frame, and subitizing dots.

With this Irish Flag CVC Word Building and Worksheet activity, students can sound out and spell 27 different CVC words by placing one letter on each section of the Irish flag. Once students have spelled all of their words, they can show their work on the recording worksheet. You can give students magnetic letters to complete this activity or print and laminate letters in this pack.

These adorable St. Patrick's Day Kids  are the perfect way to incorporate many different skills into your literacy block in a fun, thematic way! Prep once and differentiate for your class using the following ideas:

♦ Match capital letter hats to lowercase letter kids

♦ Put capital letters in ABC order

♦ Put lowercase letters in ABC

♦ Match capital to capital using magnetic letters

♦ Match lowercase to lowercase using magnetic letters

♦ Match letters to objects by beginning sound

♦ Pull letters out of a hat/bag and name the letter

♦ Pull letters out of a hat/bag and produce the letter sound

♦ Pull letters out of a hat/bag and produce a word that begins with that sound.

These 4 Leaf Clover Beginning Sound Puzzles  are perfect for practicing capital and lower case letter matching, beginning sounds, and alliteration. Students can have fun building these puzzles all March long during whole group, small group, intervention, or for independent practice during workstations or centers.

Do you have students who are currently learning letters or students who are struggling with recognizing letters of the alphabet? This St. Patrick's day themed Pot of Gold Letter Recognition Freebie is a fun, hands-on way for them to practice!  I have even pulled out just the letters in a student's name so that they can practice putting the letters in the correct order and identifying all of the letters in their name. 

All of these activities (plus 8 MORE engaging learning opportunities) can be found in the March Math and Literacy Activities  bundle. The bundle is perfect for providing a wide variety of hands-on practice to meet the needs of all learners in your class and you receive a big discount when you buy them all together!

No time to check out all these fun activities now? Pin this image so you can easily find, print, and prep lots of Saint Patrick's Day fun for your littles! 

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