new-year-activities

Happy 2024! I've updated this complimentary resource for the upcoming year. If your students delight in unraveling hidden messages, they'll adore these cryptograms. 

How do cryptograms work? Students utilize an alpha-numeric key to decode a string of words, phrases, or a tagline. Each numeral or symbol in the key represents a letter or numeral. In the example shown above, the heart shape signifies the numeral two. Students fill in the missing letters above the numerals and symbols to unveil the secret message.

The phrases range from straightforward facts like the new year's beginning date to resolutions suitable for children. Cryptograms can be a mix of shorter and longer sayings catering to various elementary grade levels.

Once the children gain proficiency in decoding, they can venture into creating keys and codes. See the image shown above. This transition transforms the activity into one fostering higher-order thinking skills. Creating keys and codes involves planing and mapping, encouraging critical thinking. Creative thinking does not take place when codes are provided to children.

Click the image below to access the free new year's cryptograms.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can begin to implement higher order thinking skills, watch my YouTube video HERE.

Have a happy new year!

Copyright 2014, 2023, Lessons by Molly, Molly McMahon





Legend-of-the-Poinsettia

I love the month of December!  There are so many great children's books about the holiday season.  I don't have time to read them all so I try to pick the ones that are the favorites.  One of my favorite holiday books is, The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola.  I love it when extension activities can be used after reading a good book.  It is one of the reasons I created an activity packet that could be used after a reading this story.  My freebie packet was long overdue for an update!  Fortunately, Edu-clips had some terrific graphics that worked well with the additions that I made.  You can read the original blog post here.  I wanted to include at least one activity for each grade level beginning with pre-kindergarten through  third grade.  The packet can be downloaded at my Teachers pay Teachers store.  Here is a sneak peek that will show you both the old and new pages within the packet.

The children can draw pictures to show what took place before and after the miracle.  The green weeds transform into beautiful Poinsettia plants.  This will be an obvious change for the children to understand.  The changes in the emotions of the characters could also be reflected in the facial expressions in the drawings as shown in the drawing above.  This requires a certain level of sophisticated thinking and young children may not be ready for that.  Discussing the emotions of the characters, before and after the miracle, and connecting it with facial expressions might be helpful before the children begin to draw their "before" and "after" pictures.

Here is a "child-made" visual of the people and the only animal mentioned in the story.

Uppercase letter printing.

I made a game for pre-kinders and kindergartners.  (Shown above)  The goal is to get to the hay.  The children  pretend to lead "Pepito" to the hay.  They draw Poinsettia cards from a stack of cards or from inside a bag.  The cards have one, two, or three flowers on them.  They count the flowers and move their markers the same number of spaces.  I used buttons for markers.

I made another game.  This one can be used with first and second graders.  The concept is the same as with the first game.  That is, lead Pepito to the hay.  In this version, the children solve math facts and move the same number of spaces as the sum.  If they "land" on a Poinsettia, they slide forward one space. 

The children can solve the facts mentally as they play the game or they can write in the answers and then cut out the game cards.  

There are a lot of words that can be made with the word "Poinsettia".  In the picture above, the words are categorized according to the number of letters.  I've included a list of possible words in the packet.

I made a "Fill in the bubble" comprehension quiz about the story.

 Here are the goodies again!  I tried to include something for grades pre-k through third.  I hope there's something YOU can use with your class.  There is also a pattern to make a Poinsettia.  Children love making crafts at any age!  My pattern is for making large, paper Poinsettias.  They are nice for holiday programs and decorations.  The original blog post (2012) about this freebie has a few images of the Poinsettia pattern.

The picture below is the updated product cover.  You can click on it to go to my Teachers pay Teachers store and get the free packet. 

Lessons by Molly © 2014  All rights reserved.

homemade-musical-instruments

From Oatmeal Boxes into Drums!  Oh What Fun!  Making homemade (or classroom made) instruments is one of my favorite craft activities.  Making drums tops the list in the fall!  It's not a difficult activity for the children and the LOVE painting their drums. 
First, you'll need to gather your materials.  Here's the list:

1.  Acrylic paint - I purchased my paint at Walmart in the craft section.
2.  Something to put the paint in - I used disposable plastic cups.
3.  Paintbrushes - You'll need both the wide and thin brushes.
4.  Smocks - This will help protect clothing.
5.  Newspapers - Use this to cover the tables.
6.  Cardboard, cylindrical, oatmeal boxes - Either small, large, or both sizes can be used.

If you want the cloth embellishments on the tops of the drums, you'll also need:

1.  Fabric - 1 yard makes at least 10 circles.
2.  Scissors - I used pinking shears in order to have a zigzag edge around the drums.
3.  Paper plate (10 1/4 inch or 26 cm.) - Use it to trace the circles.
4.  Permanent marker - Use it for tracing the circles.)
5.  Rubber bands - Use them hold the cloth in place on the oatmeal boxes.

There are not too many teachers that I know who go through twenty-something oatmeal boxes in one year!  Here are a few ideas to acquire the oatmeal boxes:

1.  Check with your school cafeteria staff.  They might be able to help you.
2.  Ask the parents of your students.  Be sure to specify that you need an empty, cardboard, cylindrical box.
3.  Check with your local universities, restaurants, and nursing homes.

The picture below will give you an idea of what the finished drums might look like:       

From Oatmeal Boxes to Drums!

You might want to send a note home and ask that the children wear old clothing on the days you plan to paint . . . just in case.

 

To get started, have the children put the smocks on and roll up their sleeves.  Spread newspaper out on the tables for the activity.

Make sure you have everything you need before getting started.

1.  Give each child an oatmeal box without the lid.  Make sure the child's name is written on the bottom of the oatmeal box.  (If you're not adding the cloth embellishment, the children can paint the tops of the lids.)  

2.  Pour paint into the disposable cups and place a wide paint brush inside the cups.  

3.  Give each child a cup of paint with the paintbrush in the cup.  

4.  Have the children cover the outside of their oatmeal boxes with paint.  

Emphasize that the paint goes on the OUTSIDE of the box and not on the INSIDE.  If you're working with preschoolers, you might also need to tell them that the paint is not for their HANDS or FACE!

*The darker color paints will cover the oatmeal boxes quickly.

*The lighter colors may require an extra coat of paint.

Painted Oatmeal Boxes

If you paint early in the school day, the "drums" should be dry enough during the afternoon hours to allow the students to use a second color on their drums and paint designs.

Here's where things start to get interesting!  Brainstorm with your students to get ideas for their designs before the second stage of painting begins.  Planning and thinking about what they're going to do is a great activity for young minds!  Model drawing different kinds of lines and shapes on the whiteboard.  A mix of wide and thin paint brushes could be used to explore thick and thin streaks of paint on the drums.  Of course, if it's preschool, they might want to just paint a new color over the first color that they used.

Use a light colored paint over dark paint for contrast.

Creative expression is a part of every high quality educational program.

Once the drums have dried, add a piece of cloth to the top.  Use a large paper plate to trace a circle on a piece of cloth.

One yard of cloth will make about 10 cloth circles.

Trace the circles on the cloth with a permanent marker and a large paper plate.

Cut out the circles that were traced on the cloth.

Use scissors or pinking shears to cut our the cloth circles.

Return and secure the oatmeal box lid to the oatmeal box.  Evenly position the circular cloth over the top of the oatmeal box.  Put a rubber band around the cloth to hold it in place.

Use a rubber band to hold the cloth in place.

Develop real to life sequencing skills by having the students think about the steps involved for painting the drums.

What was the first color used to paint with?

What was the second and third color used to paint with?

Surprise the students by giving each child two new pencils which are not sharpened.  They can use these to beat their drums with!

These drums can be made for any season or holiday.  Change the paint and cloth to red, pink, and white and they could be used as Valentine mailboxes.

Don't forget to send a "Thank you" photo to the local companies that donated the empty oatmeal boxes.  They'll love receiving a picture of the finished drums from your classroom project.

We like making our drums in the fall but this activity could be done anytime during the year.  Can you imagine what these would look like in the month of February with red, pink, purple, and white colors?  The cloth toppers could be Valentine themed fabric.  Kids could open the lids when it's time to exchange cards to use the drums as their "Mailboxes".  

© 2014 Lessons by Molly    

veterans-day-for-kids

Today is Veterans Day!  I have a little freebie for you but you have to take a test first to see if you qualify.  (Just kidding!) 

Here's the question:  "What are the branches of the United States Armed Forces?" 

Let's see how you did:

You probably got this one:

Army

And I know you'll get this one:

Navy

I think you'll get this one too:

Marines

Most of you will get this one as well:

Air Force

Is that all of them?  Just four branches?

No!

Do you remember the fifth one?

Keep going.

Think about it!

The answer is here:

Coast Guard

Here's the freebie.  Students use an alpha-numeric code to help them answer questions.  
  
Click on the picture below to get the FREEBIE!

If you would like more Veterans Day codes for your students, click on the product shown below to see it at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  This packet includes seven activity sheets.  There is a sheet for each of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces along with two additional activity sheets for higher level thinking. The activity sheets range in difficulty although they are best suited for second and third graders. Your students will love using the "secret" codes to find out the answers to each question. They'll also discover an interesting fact about each branch of the United States Armed Forces.

© 2014 Lessons by Molly  All rights reserved.

repeating-patterns

Here are a few tips on teaching kindergarten and first grade children how to extend a repeating pattern.  But before I get started, here's a short story that might interest you:

"It's October and first year teacher Miss Larson prepares a math lesson on extending a repeating pattern.  The evening before the lessons, she carefully counts out 8 purple and blue cubes and she puts them in a sandwich bag.  She repeats this procedure 19 more times.  All 20 of her kindergartners will have their own bag of manipulatives to work with at their tables.  Miss Larson is confident that her upcoming lesson will be a success.  During the entire month of September she has used the a-b-a-b-a-b pattern on the September calendar by alternating apples with leaves.  She had pointed out the red and white stripes on the American flag and discussed the repeating pattern.  The week before her lesson she had a "Show and Tell" day in which the children came to school in striped clothing to demonstrate alternating color patterns.  She was sure that EVERYONE would easily master a-b-a-b-a-b patterning during her lesson.  Much to her surprise, a little guy in her class named Jerry randomly places the purple and blue cubes (in no particular order) in a neat row.  No repeating pattern!  Miss Larson is stumped.  Jerry was the calendar helper during the last week of September and demonstrated the a-b-a-b-a-b pattern sequence with the apples and leaves without hesitation.  Miss Larson does not realize that Jerry has color vision deficiency.  (aka:  "colorblindness")  If only she had known.  She would have used a different medium (something other than color) to teach and assess Jerry's understanding of the concept of repeating patterns."

Using color as the medium to teach patterning concepts may not be the best choice.

In Virginia, one of our kindergarten math standards deals with repeating patterns.  It falls under the Patterns, Functions, and Algebra strand.  Some of the key skills require the children to create and extend repeating patterns.  Luckily for Jerry, several kinds of mediums can be used to teach this!

Using size as the medium might be a better choice than color.  The picture above shows the a-b-a-b-a-b pattern with big and small buttons.  A perceptive child might also notice that the small buttons have two holes and the big ones have four.

What other mediums can be used to create repeating patterns?  LOTS!  Size, texture, sound, movement with their bodies, and quantity are a few examples.  Using a variety of media AND manipulatives, may foster growth in their modalities of learning as well.  It's best to start patterning with two objects that are VERY DIFFERENT from each other.

Using two, very different mediums will avoid common misconceptions.  These misconceptions are unrelated to the concept at hand which is to repeat and extend a pattern.  The wooden cubes and the aquarium decor shown above, are two, very different types of materials. 

Virginia kindergarten students also need to identify the core in a repeating pattern.  Another word for the core is the unit pattern.  The core is where the pattern starts and ends before it is duplicated.  In the pattern ABBABBABB, the core would be ABB.  It's best to make sure that children have mastery of the a-b-a-b-a-b pattern before introducing new patterns (such as the a-b-c-a-b-c-a-b-c and a-a-b-b-a-a-b-b).

This is an "a-b-a-b-a-b" pattern.  The pattern is expressed with position of the milk caps . . . "cap up-cap down-cap up-cap down . . . "

One way to cause a little "disequilibrium" for students that are becoming competent in their patterning concepts is to give them just one type of material.  Then ask them to create an "a-b-a-b-a-b" pattern from it.  At first they might be confused until they realize that position or quantity can be used as the medium.  The photo above is an "a-b-a-b-a-b" pattern.  The position of the milk caps is utilized as the expression of the pattern.

The children's patterning days aren't over when they enter first grade either.  In addition to using what they learned about patterning in kindergarten, they also need to TRANSFER a pattern from one form to another.

They need to transfer a pattern from one form to another.  Get this freebie sheet by clicking here!

First graders also need to create GROWING patterns . . . and there is a difference between a repeating pattern and a growing pattern.  It's important to use manipulatives and visuals when introducing growing patterns.  A written numeric form of a pattern such as:  "5, 8, 11 . . . "  Can be very confusing to young children and therefore is not the best method of teaching the concept of a growing pattern.

This is a simple, growing pattern.

The photo above shows a growing pattern.  It is a "Plus One" pattern which shows the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Later on, a child might be able to show a sequence with a stack of 3 cubes, then 7 cubes, then 10, then 13, and so forth to show an increasing pattern of "Plus 3". 

The pattern shown above is a-b-a-b-a-b. It could be stated as:  "one-two-one-three-one-four-one-five".

Sometimes patterns can express both a repeating and growing sequences.  The photo shown above is one such pattern which is a higher level of complexity than simple, repeating patterns.

I'm excited to tell you about a little resource I've created to help your students with patterning.  The packet is solely for the a-b-a-b-a-b pattern.  Perfect for kindergartners in the month of October!  My little fellow is testing out the product.  He already has mastered simple, repeating patterns but was willing to try out my activities.

First he has to continue the pattern by drawing more candy corn and pumpkins.  

In row two, he'll need to draw the candy corn upside down.

The medium in row three is about size.  So he'll make big and little candy corn.

Since "thinking about thinking" (or meta-cognition) is so important in order to make a concept stick, it's necessary that THEY create their OWN patterns.  In the first worksheet, the pattern was already made up for him.  All he needed to do was extend it!  Now he has to CREATE the a-b-a-b-a-b pattern.  The medium is color.  He has to "program" the candy corn that gets cut out as well, using  the appropriate colors.  (The color medium is fine for him because he does not have "colorblindness".  It's always a good thing to know your students!)

I think at this point, he had a plan to take a short cut.  It was faster for him to keep the same color in his hand and skip the uncolored images.

Then he went back and colored the rest of the candy corn in the row.

He chose, what looked like, two shades of orange for the final row.  Go figure!

I really liked that HE got to choose the colors for his candy corn math instead of being told what colors to use.  This makes the activity a little more open-ended instead of having a "cookie-cutter" look displayed for student work.

I used square shapes for the cut-outs which is much easier to cut than any other shape.  There's no point in frustrating kindergartners with their "cut and paste" activities.  He was so focused on the cutting that he didn't even pay attention to the paper falling off the dining room table!

 Then we glued the "programmed" pieces.

The finished work!

The packet also has a few photos that are sized for pocket charts. They're photos of candy corn and the pumpkin variety of candy corn. 

Click on the image below to view the product at my shop.

 

Lessons by Molly © 2014  All rights reserved.

free-school-calendar

Free-School-Calendar

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2015!  

I've updated my calendar for the 2015-16 school year.  I used the same same style as I had for the 2014-15 year.  Click on the image shown below to get the new school calendar. 

The rest of this post is from August 2014.  It shows images of the monthly calendar from last year which are the same for the 2015-16 year.  I also share my ideas about calendar activities and include my state's standards in terms of calendar skills.  Read it if you'd like.

Last year I made a free, printable calendar in honor of my one year anniversary as a seller on the TeacherspayTeachers website.  The calendar was for the 2013-14 school year.  Laura Strickland creates AMAZING graphics and has them available on both of her websites, My Cute Graphics and Whimsy Clips.  I used graphics from her website, "My Cute Graphics" to decorate each of the months with on the calendar that I created.  Did I mention, her graphics ARE really cute!  But they're not just cute, Laura has mastered the art of making her graphics MEANINGFUL to young children. 

It was easy for me to use my template from last year to make another, FREE calendar for the 2014-15 school year.  I am happy with the way they turned out and thrilled that I can offer these to you again.  This calendar comes to you with no strings attached . . . no "liking" me on Facebook or signing up for my newsletter!  The calendar starts with the month of August 2014 and ends with August 2015.  Since August 2014 has past, I will start by showing what September looks like:

First graders are not ready to learn abbreviations . . . at least not at the beginning of the year.  Since I created my calendar for this age group, there are NO ABBREVIATIONS for the names of the months or the days of the week.  If the goal is to teach calendar skills, there is no point in confusing young children with abbreviations that they don't recognize.  In my opinion, lessons for beginning calendar skills are not the ideal times to provide exposure to abbreviations. In with October: 

Aside from football taking place in October, this yearly calendar does not have seasonal changes, holidays, or other events attached to each month.  Why did I do this?  I wanted this calendar to be useful for as many locations around the globe as possible.  Whether you live in the tropics, sub-tropics, on the East Coast of the United States, or elsewhere.  I love to celebrate holidays that are meaningful to me, but not everyone celebrates the same things. This is a "Holiday-Neutral" calendar.  Here comes November:

On many standard calendars, there are just five rows across the grid for each month.  If this were the case on the November calendar shown above, the "30" would be sharing a space with the number "23".  While adults understand the format, young children find this very confusing!  There are NO SHARED DATES on my school calendar.  Here is what December looks like:

 

Your students will love COLORING in the children displayed for each month!  Now comes the new year starting with January:

There are exactly four weeks in February . . . . no more and no less.  This would be a great month to introduce the concept of "The week before." or "The week after." This month begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday.  This is a very straightforward representation of weeks in a month and easy for children to comprehend.  The following month, (March) starts on a Sunday.  This makes for a smooth transition into learning more about weeks in terms of a week before or a week after a given date.  March 2015 is slightly harder than February with the end of the month falling in the early part of the week.

I numbered the dates in this school calendar set . . . just as REAL-WORLD calendars are numbered. The numerals are printed in the upper left corners of the boxes. The students can write or draw symbols to signify special dates. This calendar set is not editable. Teachers can print one copy and write in their special dates. Then print copies for the entire class.  Enter March:

So fun to see the children waving in April!  Their school days are nearing the end . . . . for the grade level they're in.  By this point in the year, little first graders have come a long way in so many of their skills . . . including their CALENDAR SKILLS!  In Virginia, we don't have the Common Core Standards.  We have Standards of Learning and calendar skills falls under the first grade measurement strand.  I've listed the required first grade, "calendar skills" for my home state at the end of this post.

I put the year on each month. For some months I positioned it in the center. Other months will have it on the right or left side. This gives me a chance to practice prepositions with phrases like, "to the left of", "to the right of" and "in between", when asking the location of the printed year, in relation to the picture.  On the way to May:

These calendars are INK-FRIENDLY. Black and white text and images make it so!  June is next:

The month of July is included in this school calendar set because some schools are "YEAR-ROUND" or on different schedules than the old standard, "Labor Day to Memorial Day".

We've come full circle!  If you start school in August, you'll want to keep your calendar activities fun and engaging for young children.  Here are three great video-songs I found on YouTube that will help you do just that.  Don't forget to come back and get your free school calendar!

1.  Days of The Week Song For Kids Children can echo the days of the week at the start of the song, learn the hand and arm motions, and pretend to play the guitar!

2.  Days of The Week

3.  7 Days of the Week

I hate to post this reminder, however, it is necessary.  Before you get the freebie, please note that all content on my blog is copyrighted and is my own original work.  This includes freebies that I offer from time to time.  You are not permitted to post my free materials, or engage in "link sharing" on school websites, blogs, private and public Facebook groups or pages, or anywhere else.  Doing so, is a violation of the Digital Millenniam Copyright Act.  You MAY pin to Pinterest!  If you create your own blog post about calendar skills, and reference anything I have mentioned, please link back to this post or my blog's home page.  If you find this calendar set anywhere other than on my blog, please notify me.  Thank you!

Here is the free printable calendar.  Just click on the picture below to get it!

So what about those Virginia Standards of Learning for calendar skills in first grade?  Here it is in a nutshell: 

1.  Calendar Literacy - Students should be able to find and read dates within a given month.

2.  Days of the Week/Months of the Year - Students should recognize, read, and recite them.

3.  Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow - Students should name the dates before and after given dates.

4.  Past and Future Days AND Weeks - (This is a tricky one.  The month of February might be a good place to start.  Eg. "Today is February 5th.  How many weeks will pass until it is February 26th?")

5.  Identify Specified Dates  - Eg.  "What date is the second Wednesday in August?"  (They'll need to have a working knowledge of ordinals to do this . . . . won't they?)

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Happy May 2015!  The SMART Notebook Calendar product described below is now FREE!   It's nearing the end of the school year and there is just about a month and a half month left.  Enjoy using it.  If you teach summer school, the summer months are included as well.  Click on the image below to get it! 

*  I created a SMART Notebook 11 file for the calendar set shown above.  The SMART Notebook file is a color version on the calendar set above.  I scanned each page into SMART Notebook.  Students can view their printable calendar while the educator displays the corresponding month on the SMART Board.  There are a few activities related to the months of the year and one for the days of the week within the file.  There are no lessons included.  It's intended for you to create your own lessons with.  It's DIY!  Click the picture below to get it:

Lessons by Molly © 2014  All rights reserved.