Are you looking for a fun way to teach your students about caring for the planet? A classroom book swap is the perfect hands-on activity to bring the 3 R’s, reduce, reuse, and recycle, to life! Not only does it encourage sustainability, but it also gets students excited about reading by giving them a “new-to-them” book.

Teaching young children about the 3 R’s, reduce, reuse, and recycle, helps build lifelong habits that protect our planet. When students learn these concepts early, they begin to understand that small actions can make a big difference. Having a classroom book swap is a perfect example of this in action: instead of buying something new, students reuse books by giving them a second life with a new reader. This not only reduces waste but also shows children that sharing and reusing can be fun, meaningful, and beneficial for everyone!

Free Earth Day Book Swap Note Printable

To make it easy for you to get started, I’ve created a free, ready-to-use printable note you can send home with students to explain the book swap to families. Just download, print, and you’re ready to go! 

To get started, print the note and send it home with students or share it digitally through your classroom communication platform. Give families a clear due date and encourage them to send in a gently used book that their child no longer reads. Once the books are collected, display them on a table or in a designated area of your classroom so students can easily browse. On book swap day, invite each child to choose one “new-to-them” book to take home. It’s a simple, organized way to build excitement while reinforcing the value of reusing and sharing! 

Helpful tip! Make sure to have an extra set of books to add to the display so all students can participate!

Click the green box below to download the Free Earth Day Book Swap Note Printable.

If you’re looking for even more fun and meaningful Earth Day activities, I’ve gathered some of my favorites to share with you! You can also explore a list of my favorite Earth Day read-alouds to pair perfectly with your lessons.

Earth Day centers are one of my favorite ways to help students celebrate and learn about caring for our planet! Your students will love rotating through these hands-on, engaging activities that make learning meaningful and fun.

This resource includes 7 engaging Earth Day center rotations, along with table tents to make classroom setup and organization easy. Activities include an A–Z Earth Day scavenger hunt, 3 R’s sorting, a themed snack, measurement, crafts, Play-Doh dough mats, and an Earth Day hat project.

I hope this Free Earth Day Book Swap Note Printable makes it easy for you to bring a meaningful, hands-on sustainability lesson into your classroom!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Free Earth Day Book Swap Note Printable: Teach Reduce, Reuse, Recycle in a Fun & Meaningful Way appeared first on Primary Playground.

Welcome to April! I have our NEW April Joke of the Day 2nd Edition ready to share with you!

April Joke of the Day 2nd Edition

Have you been following along each day as I share a different joke of the day on Facebook?

Since this is the second edition, there are all new jokes this month! You’ll find some silly weather jokes and some fun animal jokes this month. Each month, I also turn them into a printable so you can easily print them out and have the page handy all month to share with your class or family at home.

These jokes are a simple, fun way to connect with your students and make them laugh. This month we have fun jokes that are sure to make your little ones giggle and maybe get some eye rolls.

Sharing humor can foster a positive, lighthearted environment, whether at home, in the classroom, or among friends. It sets a cheerful tone for the day.

Share the jokes with your class during your morning meeting, getting ready to go to lunch, or when you are packing up for the day before you go home.

I made the joke of the day printable available to print in both color and black and white.

You can download the April Joke of the Day 2nd Edition printable by clicking the green box below.

In case you missed the first edition of the April Joke of the Day printable, you can find that here.

I hope your kiddos will enjoy this new set of jokes just as much as the first!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post April Joke Of the Day 2nd Edition appeared first on Primary Playground.

Volunteers are an invaluable resource to our classrooms and schools. Make sure to celebrate and thank them this year with these Free Volunteer Thank You Cards!

You know me, I love celebrating people and love to show appreciation to them! These Volunteer Thank You Cards are such a easy, inexpensive, thoughtful gift that give to your volunteers that have helped you this year!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Ways to use the Free Volunteer Thank You Cards

Below are just some different ways that you can use the volunteer thank you cars.

• Have you class each make their own thank you card for your volunteer/s. You can give it to them during School Volunteer week in April, or give them to the volunteers at the end of the school year. They will go home with a nice pile of cards to read and have as a keepsake.
• As a whole school project, give each class the thank you notes to decorate for all of the volunteers at the school. Or you could set up a table at lunchtime recess. Give the kids access to decorate them during that time. Collect all of the thank you cards, and then make a beautiful thank you bulletin board somewhere in the school to display them all. If your school has hallways, this would look amazing too!
• If your school has a volunteer thank you breakfast, or luncheon, this would be another great time to use them. Set each table using the cards as place settings or as a form of a centerpiece.

I made two different versions of the thank you cards so you can choose one to use or mix and match. You’ll simply print them out, and the students can color the heart hand, fold the card in half and write a message or draw a picture inside.

You can download the Free Volunteer Thank You Cards cards by clicking the green box below.

I hope these cards make it easy for your class or school to thank all of the special volunteers out there. We couldn’t do it without them!

Jenette

The post Free Volunteer Thank You Cards appeared first on Primary Playground.

April is already quickly approaching so we’re back again with the April Joke Of The Day free printable for you! I can’t believe I’ve been sharing these mostly jokes with you since August! I hope your students have been enjoying them!

If you’re new to the jokes, each day I share a joke on my Facebook page. I also gather them all together into a printable so you can easily share them with your class each day.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

April Joke Of The Day

These jokes are a fun way to connect with your students and have a little laugh each day. Share them during your morning meeting, getting ready to go to lunch or when your packing up for the day before you go home.

This month I have some fun jokes about weather, insects and of course Easter! They will have your students giggling and maybe get a few eye rolls. Everyone can use a little extra laugh each day!

I made the April Joke Of The Day free printable available in both color and black and white.

You can download the April Joke Of The Day free printable by clicking the green box below.

In case you’re missed any of the other months of jokes that I’ve shared, you can find them here. 

August Joke Of The Day

September Joke Of The Day

October joke Of The Day

November Joke Of The Day

December Joke Of The Day

January Joke Of The Day

February Joke Of The Day

March Joke OF The Day

Make sure to come back next month to grab the May jokes! Let me know if your kids have a favorite joke this month!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post April Joke Of The Day appeared first on Primary Playground.

Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. Books are such a fantastic way to teach and introduce little learners to new subjects. I’m sharing with you today, The Best Earth Day Read-Alouds.

Earth Day is such an important topic to learn about. There are so many fun activities that can be done alongside all of the books below. I’ve divided them up by books about the earth, recycling, trees, water, gardening – composting and beess.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

This article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

The Earth and Earth Day

Earth Day Every Day by Lisa Bullard

On Earth Day, we find ways to help the Earth. Trina plants trees with her class. She forms an Earth Day club with her friends. What can you do to make every day Earth Day? Do your part to be a planet protector!

Earth Day–Hooray!  by Stuart J. Murphy

Earth Day is on the way, and Ryan, Luke, and Carly have a plan. If they manage to collect and recycle 5,000 aluminum cans, they can make enough money to buy some beautiful flowers for nearby Gilroy Park. CAN they do it? Counting the cans gives Ryan, Luke, and Carly—along with readers—a lesson in place value. And facts about recycling throughout the story will help readers understand how important it is to take care of the earth.

Earth Day Birthday! by Maureen Wright

In this fun read-aloud, it’s April 22, and Lion and his friends want to plant trees, recycle bottles, and have fun on Earth Day. But not Monkey. He wants to celebrate his birthday. Can he convince the other animals that it really is his birthday?  Students with birthday’s on holidays will especially relate to Monkey in this story.

My Friend Earth by Patricia MacLachlan 

This is a beautiful book that has many die-cut pages that help celebrates everything Earth does for us, all the while reminding us to be a good friend in return.

Trash and Recycling

Why Should I Recycle? by Jen Green

What if everybody threw away old bottles and newspapers, littering the world with glass and plastic and tin cans that should be recycled and made into new products? Mr. Jones is a teacher who sets a good example for kids by separating his trash for recycling. When he takes them on a class trip to a recycling plant they learn the value of recycling.

Recycling Is Fun by Charles Ghigna

Children learn that sorting recycling and giving new life to old things is not only good for the environment.  It is a whole lot of fun, too!

What Does It Mean to Be Green? by Rana DiOrio

In this book, a young boy and girl discover amazing facts (like how our food travels an average of 1,500 miles to be on our plate!) and explore all the different ways they―and we―can help protect the Earth’s most precious resources to save the planet and live “green” lifestyles.

One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole

This is a wordless book. I always love these books because you can fill in the narrative. This is not an “Earth Day” book perse but is a great read to understand the concept of reusing.

From a tall tree growing in the forest–to the checkout counter at the grocery store–one little bag finds its way into the hands of a young boy. And so begins an incredible journey of one little bag that is used and reused and reused again.

What A Waste by Jess French

This book is not so much a read-aloud but I didn’t want to leave it out because it’s a great book. It is a lively kid’s educational book with fabulous illustrations and fun facts about the world broken into easy-to-digest bite-sized bits. Each page can be looked at in short bursts or longer reads for more detail when talking about specific topics.

Here’s a free Earth Day Word Search for your students to do to review a lot of the vocabulary they have learned throughout these books.

Trees

Curious George Plants a Tree by H. A. Rey

When George finds out that the science museum is planning a “Green Day” dedicated to recycling and planting trees, he is curious and wants to help out! But then George begins to recycle things around town that aren’t quite ready for the recycling bin, and he gets into a jam. Thankfully, George isn’t the only one who wants to help—the whole community can’t wait to lend a hand! 

Trees Make Perfect Pets by Paul Czajak

Abigail is determined to get the perfect pet.

So she chooses Fido. He keeps her cool from the sun, stays where she tells him, and even gives her air to breathe. That’s because Fido is a tree!

But not everyone thinks having a tree as a pet is a good idea, though, especially when Fido starts to grow. Will Abigail be able to keep her perfect pet?

Zonia’s Rain Forest  by Juana Martinez-Neal 

Zonia’s home is the Amazon rain forest, where it is always green and full of life. Every morning, the rain forest calls to Zonia, and every morning, she answers. She visits the sloth family, greets the giant anteater, and runs with the speedy jaguar. But one morning, the rain forest calls to her in a troubled voice. How will Zonia answer? How will we all answer?

The Magic and Mystery Of Trees by Jen Green

This book is not so much a read-aloud but I didn’t want to leave it out. In this book, kids will discover how trees communicate and warn each other of predators, how they nurture their networks, record the past, and anticipate the future to ensure their survival. There’s so much more to trees than meets the eye. 

There are some particularly good pages near the end of the book that would be great to share in regards to Earth Day. From the trees and the plant, the water cycle, trees that are at risk, and helping trees.

Water

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

This book is inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption.

Rocket Says Clean Up! by Nathan Bryon

Rocket is off to the islands to visit her grandparents. Her family loves nothing better than to beach comb and surf together…but the beach is clogged with trash! When she finds a turtle tangled in a net, Rocket decides that something must be done! Like a mini Greta Thunberg, our young activist’s enthusiasm brings everyone together…to clean up the beach and prevent plastics from spoiling nature. 

The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord

The Mess That We Made explores the environmental impact of trash and plastic on the ocean and marine life, and it inspires kids to do their part to combat pollution. The first half of the book portrays the growing magnitude of the issue, and the second half rallies children and adults to make the necessary changes to save our oceans. 

Gardening – Composting – Bees

Anywhere Garden by Phyllis Root 

You might think a farm means fields, tractors, and a barnyard full of animals. But you can plant a farm anywhere you like! A box or a bucket, a boot or a pan — almost anything can be turned into a home for green, growing things. Windows, balconies, and front steps all make wonderful spots to start. 

Compost Stew By Mary McKenna Siddals

This book is a fun A to Z recipe of all kinds of different items that can be put into a compost pile.

If Bees Disappeared by Lily Williams 

What would happen if bees disappeared? Though bees are small, their importance is BIG. Today there are over 250,000 species of bees but all of them are in danger. Because of disease, pesticide exposure, lack of foraging habitats, and poor nutrition, entire honey bee hives are dying. This book explains how they are being harmed and ways that we can help.

Give Bees A Chance by Bethany Barton 

Give Bees a Chance is for anyone who doesn’t quite appreciate how extra special and important bees are to the world, and even to humankind! Besides making yummy honey, they help plants grow fruits and vegetables. And most bees wouldn’t hurt a fly (unless it was in self-defense!). 

If you’re looking for a fun way to review Earth Day vocabulary after reading a bunch of these books, we have our Earth Day bingo. You can check it out here.

I hope your students enjoy some of The Best Earth Day Read-Alouds. Do you have any other’s that you would add to our list?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post The Best Earth Day Read-Alouds appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

This week’s literacy snack bee read-aloud is a great one for spring to go with your spring-insect unit or can be used at the beginning of the school as a read-aloud about the importance of sharing. We are reading, The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman.

In the book, the bee is very greedy and will not share his nectar with anyone! He finds the juiciest flowers, ends up eating too much, and gets stuck. He makes some friends that help him on his journey back home, and In the end, he shares all of his best honey with his new friends.

This is a great story that gives the opportunity to describe the character throughout the text. It helps the kids learn that they shouldn’t be greedy, to share and that sometimes you may need to ask for help from others.

For our snack this week, we’ll be making a bee!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

supplies needed per student

1 Keebler Fudge Stripes Cookie

1 pretzel stick broke in half

2 pretzel twists

2 candy eyeballs

to assemble

To make the bee snack, have your students start with the cookie. Next, take the 2 pretzel twists and place them under the cookie a little bit to look like the wings. Take the 2 pretzel stick halves and add them to the top of the bee as the antennae. Last, add the eyes and he’s done! Isn’t he cute!

Another option instead of making the bee snack is to have your kids taste test, honey. Grab a box of Ritz Crackers and a bottle of honey from the store and give each student 2 crackers with some honey on each as a snack.

This would make a great opportunity to graph with your class the number of people who like honey and the number of people that do not. We have a fun page in our Bee Activities Pack that goes perfectly with this too!

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their bee snack. They will get to draw and write about how the bee acted at the beginning of the story and then how the bee acted at the end of the story.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another fun activity to go along with the book is our bee craft! They look adorable hanging on the bulletin board or in the hallway! Click here to check it out now.

To also go along with the bee theme, we have this fun free Honey Bee Sight Word Game that you can grab to help your students practice their sight words. You can hop over and grab that for free here.

I hope your students enjoy this Literacy Snack Bee Read-Aloud!

Do you have any favorite books you like to read about the bees or sharing? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Bee Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Learning about the weather is always fun! There are so many fun activities, hands-on activities, and experiments that can be done! Today, we have a Literacy Snack Weather Read-Aloud. We are reading, Miss Mingo Weathers The Storm by Jamie Harper.

In our read-aloud today, Miss Mingo takes her class on a field trip to the weather station. The class experiences all kinds of weather and crazy atmospheric changes throughout their trip!

This book is sprinkled with great weather and animal habitat facts too!

For our snack this week, we’ll be making rain clouds!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

supplies needed per student

• Approx 6 blueberries
• Approx 25 mini marshmallows (or about a handful)

to assemble

To make the rain cloud, have the students use their mini marshmallows to create a cloud. After they have made their cloud, they can use their blueberries as raindrops falling from the cloud.

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their rain cloud snack. They will get to draw and write about their favorite type of weather.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another fun activity to go along with the book is our Umbrella Craft With Writing Prompts. They look great hanging on the bulletin board or in the hallways all spring long! Click here to check it out now.

And we also have our Weather Bingo. It’s a great way to review weather vocabulary while having some fun! Click here to grab it now.

I hope your students enjoy this Literacy Snack Weather Read-Aloud!

Do you have any favorite books you like to read about the weather? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Weather Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

Need a fun way to get your students reading each month instead of a reading log? Come try out our Free Printable April Reading Bingo!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

In this April Reading Bingo, your students will get to choose fun places and different ways to read, like reading in an empty bathtub and reading while eating a piece of fruit for a snack. There are even some spaces that give different types of book theme suggestions. (You can download the April Reading Bingo at the bottom of the post.)

This would be great to send home with your student on the first of the month along with your class newsletter. Have them return it at the end of the month completed for points or a trip to the treasure chest.

I’ve made reading bingos for each month of the school year as well. (August-May) So if your students enjoy this Free Printable April Reading Bingo, you can grab the whole school year here. Each month is full of different ideas and different book theme suggestions depending on the season or holidays.

You can grab the Monthly Reading Bingo here on TpT or directly from PrimaryPlayground here.

And if you need another reading bingo for the summer months, June and July, we have a Free Printable Summer Reading Bingo that you can grab here.

You can download the April Reading Bingo by clicking the green box below.

I have your kiddos have fun reading this month!

Jenette

The post Free Printable April Reading Bingo appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring is officially here, so for this week we’re focusing on birds and we are reading Nesting by Henry Cole for our Literacy Snack Robin’s Nest Read-Aloud.

In this black-and-white picture book highlighted with robin’s egg blue, the students will follow two robins as they build a nest with twigs and grass. The mother robin lays four beautiful blue eggs and keeps the eggs warm in the nest until they hatch into four baby robins.

The father robin protects the babies until they can fly on their own. The perils the babies encounter are many, including snakes and storms. The nest is always their safe place.

This book provides a great introduction to animal science concepts for young children.

For our snack this week, we’ll be making our own robin’s nest.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

snack idea

supplies needed per student

• One rice crispy treat. You can make them yourself to bring in for the class if you are allowed, or you can purchase individually wrapped rice crispy treats. They also make full pre-packaged rice crispy sheets now that would work great for this too.
• 3 Mini Robin Egg candies

to assemble

To make the robin’s nest, have the students take their rice crispy treat and form it into a bowl or nest shape. Add the 3 robin’s eggs in the nest and you’re done! This snack is super easy peasy!

free printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their robin’s nest snack. They will get to draw and write about one thing that they learned about robins from the book.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another fun activity to go along with the book is our bird nest counting mats. Buy an extra bag of Robin Egg candies to use as the counters. (They’re my favorite Easter candy!)

If you are looking for some more great spring literacy snack read-alouds here are some of the ones we’ve shared.

When Spring Comes

The Tiny Seed

Kite Day

Worm Weather

Do you have any favorite books you like to read in spring? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Robin’s Nest Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

Learning about plants and flowers is a favorite of mine for springtime. I’m a huge sucker for handprint crafts too! So today, I’m sharing with your a fun Parts Of A Plant Handprint Craft to go along with your plant unit. I also have a free printable part of a flower printable for you too!

I love using crafts to help kids learn. Hands-on activities help them retain what they are learning better and they are getting in some great fine motor skills work with tracing their hands and cutting everything out.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Here’s one of our favorite songs/videos from Harry Kindergarten that helps teach kids about the parts of a flower.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Supplies to make the Parts Of A Flower Handprint Craft

• 4 pieces of construction paper in total – brown, green, yellow and the color you’d like to use for the flower, I chose pink for mine.
• scissors
• pencil
• glue stick
• can of food or something similar in size to trace a circle for the middle of the flower

To Make the Craft

To make the parts of a flower handprint craft, you’ll want to start by having the students trace their hands 4 different times on the color paper that they chose for their flower.

Next, they will trace their hands 2 times on both the green and the brown paper. Also using the green paper, they will need to cut a strip approx an inch thick, which doesn’t have to be perfect, the length of the piece of construction paper to use as the stem. You’ll then have them trace around the can of food on the yellow paper to make a circle. Now, have them cut out their 8 handprints and the circle.

To make the flower, have them layout the 4 same-colored handprints in a circle so they are all touching just a bit. (Tip-have them place the side they traced-outlined on face down so you don’t see the pencil marks.) Next, have them use their glue stick on the circle and place it in the middle of the 4 hands.

For the next part, they will need the stem and the 2 green handprints, and 2 brown handprints. They will use the glue stick to attach the 2 green handprints to the stem as leaves and then the 2 brown handprints to the bottom of the stem as the roots. Last, have them put some glue on the top of the stem and attach the flower.

After the flower is all put together, we also then labeled the parts of the flower using a marker. These are so fun hanging up in the classroom for spring!

I also made a free parts of a flower printable to go along with the craft too. I made 2 options for it as well. The first option, the kids cut and glue the parts of a flower in the correct spot and let them color it. I also made a version that the kids can write in the answers, or you can even use it for a little quiz or review after going over them together as a group.

Click the green box below to download the free printable.

If you’re looking for even more fun hands-on flower activities, we have our How Does A Plant Grow Sequencing Activities. This is a fun way to incorporate many different learning standards. In this pack, the students are learning writing, sequencing, retelling, life skills, and much more. It’s a great hands-on activity to get the students excited to learn.

And if you’re looking for a great read-aloud to go with teaching about the parts of a flower, The Tiny Seed is our top pick. We share a snack idea and a free printable to go along with the book that you can find here.

Do you have any other fun hands-on activities that you like to do when teaching about flowers and plants?

Jenette

The post Parts Of A Flower Handprint Craft appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring officially starts this weekend, so for this week, we are reading When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes for our Literacy Snack Spring Read-Aloud.

“Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it. “

This book takes you along on the beautiful transformation that happens between winter and spring. And for our snack idea this week, we are making my favorite part of spring, a flower!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Supplies Needed Per Student

-1 to 2 strawberries thinly sliced (depending on the size of the berries)

-approx 8 blueberries

-a thin slice of green apple

-2 spring lettuce leaves or spinach leaves

To Assemble

To make the flower, start by laying out the strawberries in a circle like the petals. Add the blueberries in the middle. Next, add the green apple slice as the stem. Last, add the lettuce as the leaves.

You could use many different types of different fruits for this activity if you want to change it up. For example, use orange slices as the flower petals and sliced grapes in the middle. Tons of possibilities!

Free Printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their flower snack. They will get to draw and write about their favorite thing to do in spring. Also about how they feel, what they smell, and what they see in the spring.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

We have another fun flower snack idea to go along with the book, The Tiny Seed. Click here to check that one out and grab the free printable to go along with the book.

And to help us welcome spring, we have our Spring Bingo which is perfect to play all season long. Click here to grab it now.

What are some of your other favorite books or ways to welcome spring?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Spring Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring is in the air and the days are beautiful outside! This week, we have a Literacy Snack Kite Read-Aloud that takes us outdoors. We are reading Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand.

On a windy spring day, Bear sniffs the air.  Could it be. . . Kite day? Bear and his friend Mole build a kite of their own. But when the storm gets too strong, the kite snaps and lands in a tree. Not all is lost though, as the kite is stuck in the tree it protects a nest full of birds from the rain.

This is a fun read-aloud for spring or is a great addition to your weather unit. For our snack this week, we’ll be making our very own kites!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Snack Idea

Supplies Needed Per Student

-Half of a graham cracker (so one square)

-Approx 12 M&M’s or Skittles

-1/2 of 1 piece of pull-n-peel licorice

-3 mini marshmallows (for this snack, I left the bag open overnight to let the marshmallows dry out a bit. It makes it easier for the kids to form them into the bows.)

To Assemble

To make the kite, start with laying out the square graham cracker and turning it so it looks like a diamond. Place the M&M’s or Skittles along the outer edges of the inside of the graham cracker. Next, add the licorice piece as the kite tail. Last, take the 3 mini marshmallows and pinch them in the middles to create the bows. Place them on top of the licorice tail as the bows. Cute as can be for their very own kite!

Free Printable

I made a free printable for your students to work on while they are enjoying their kite snack. They will get to draw and write about a time that they got to fly a kite. Or if they haven’t flown a kite before, they can draw and write about a kite they’d like to fly.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

We have a fun kite math activity that would go along with this book perfectly too! The kites look adorable hanging up around the classroom for spring. You can get all of the details and download the kite template for free here.

Do you have any other fun kite activities to go along with the book? Share with us below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Kite Read-Aloud appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

I love creating activities to go along with books we love! Today we’re reading Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes!

Pete the Cat and his friend Gus are making cupcakes for a cupcake party they are having. When they have finished making the cupcakes, they suddenly start to disappear. They continue to do so and they try to figure out who has been taking them. By the end of the book, they find out who the cupcake muncher has been, they forgive him and invite him to the cupcake party as well.

To go along with the story, I made this Cupcake Subtraction Craft Activity.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WTIH

Cupcake Subtraction Activity

This would make a great hands-on math activity for the kiddos. You can use it as a center, or you could use it as a visual while reading the book aloud to the class or group.

You’ll simply print out the 2 pages that you can download at the bottom of this post for each student. Have them color the pictures and cut them out. They can use them to make different subtraction problems. Or you could create subtraction problems on index cards and have them complete them using the cupcakes as counters to help.

Using them as a whole group, just print out and color one copy. You could even laminate so it can be used over and over again. As you read the story, each time 2 of the cupcakes disappear, have a student remove that many. Have the class complete the new subtraction problem each time.

Cupcake Subtraction Craft

My favorite is to use it as a math craft project to display in the classroom. Follow the same as above, print, color, and cut out the 2 pages. To make it into a craft, each student will need a large piece of construction paper.

Before gluing everything down on the paper, have them start with ten cupcakes. They can choose how many cupcakes to take away to create their subtraction problem. Have them fill in the numbers on the rectangle word problem paper. They can then glue the number of cupcakes on the sheet that matches their answer. They can glue the cupcakes they took away to the top of the construction paper or under the word problem rectangle if they have room.

They look adorable all hanging up in the classroom!

You can download the free printable Cupcake Subtraction Craft Activity by clicking the green box below.

Do you have any other fun books you like to use when teaching subtraction?

See you next time!

Jenette

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Earth Day is quickly approaching and I wanted to make something fun for the kids to work on this week to celebrate it. So today I’m sharing these Free Printable Earth Day Color By Code sight word pages.

These color by codes are always such a fun way to reinforce those sight words with your little learners. This Free Printable Earth Day Color By Code is an activity that can be used in a variety of ways. Color by code sight words works well for morning work, early finishers,  literacy centers or homework. It’s a great way to reinforce the sight words they’ve learned at school and for them to practice them at home again easily.

The first time the students do this activity, encourage them to color the crayons first so they can easily see which color the sight word needs to be.

To do the color by code sight words, the students will carefully color the picture one area at a time using the matching color for the sight words. The students will continue coloring the sight words until the entire picture has been completed. They will then be able to see their hidden picture!

I made 2 different pages for them to do, one with the Earth and one with a tree.

You can download them by clicking the green box below.

If you’re looking for more Earth day ideas, we have our Earth Day Activities pack full of math, literacy and science activities

Or we have our favorite, Earth Day bingo! A great way to review Earth Day vocabulary.

And don’t forget about our fun Earth Day Scavenger Hunt! You can find all of our other scavenger hunts here too.

I hope these add a little fun to Earth Day for your kiddos! Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

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I’m always looking for new ways for students to practice their sight words. As you know, games are my thing and are my favorite way of having students practice different things they are learning. My favorite part is that when they play a game, they don’t even realize they are learning and practicing things that they have been taught.

So today, I’m sharing a Honey Bee Sight Word Game to help your students practice their pre-primer sight words.

The Setup

To play the game, all you need to do is download the printable at the bottom of the post. Cut out all of the squares and laminate so you can play the game over and over again. You will also need some kind of container to put the cards in. I used a tin bucket I had on hand, but anything you have will work.

To Play

This game can be played with one student or many. You will put all of the cards into the container and shake them up. Have a student pull out a card, look at it, and read the sight word. If they cannot read the word help tell them what the word is and put the card back into the container. If they got the word correct and if they are playing alone, choose another card and repeat. And if you are playing with other students, move to the next person to take a turn.

There are some cards that have a pot of honey on them. If that card gets pulled, the player gets to take another turn.

There are also some cards that say BZZZ! If a student chooses a BZZZ! card, they say BZZZ! and put all of their sight word cards back in the container and it’s the next players’ turn or they can start over again if playing alone. Keep playing until all of the words have been read.

Click the green box below to download the Honey Bee Sight Word Game.

If you’re looking for more fun ways to practice sight words. you may like our color by sight word packs.

And if you’re looking for more sight words games, we have our FREE pancake stack game. You can check that out here.

Do you have any other fun games you like to play to practice sight words?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Honey Bee Sight Word Game appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

I bet you had a lemonade stand at some point when you were a kid. I know I sure did! For this week’s Literacy Snack Lemonade Stand Read-Aloud, we’re reading, Caterina and the Lemonade Stand.

It’s a fantastic book that shows that if you want something, maybe like a new scooter like Caterina, then you need to work hard to earn it. Caterina has her very own lemonade stand to earn money, but others are selling lemonade too. She needs to find a way to be creative and stand out so she’s not like all of the rest.

So for our snack to go along with the book, we’re of course having lemonade!

Snack Idea

You can go as easy as grabbing some SimplyLemonade from the grocery store to making a couple of cans of frozen lemonade to actually squeezing lemons and making lemonade from scratch. No judgment here, do what works best for you. The kids will enjoy getting to have lemonade no matter which way.

Free Printable

I made a printable for the kiddos to work on while they are enjoying their lemonade. They get to decorate a lemonade stand of their own and make their own creative type of lemonade.

You can download the Literacy Snack Lemonade Stand Read-Aloud free printable below from my TeachersPayTeachers store.

If you want to take it a little further, you may like our Cooking Class How To Make Lemonade.

This is a fun way to incorporate many different learning standards. In this pack, the students are learning writing, sequencing, retelling, life skills and much more. It’s a great hands-on activity to get the students excited to learn.

I hope your kids enjoy the story and their lemonade treat.

See you next time!

Jenette

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Butterflies are one of my favorite spring activities! So for this week’s Literacy Snack Butterfly Read Aloud, I’m sharing one of the books about butterflies that is part of my butterfly book study.  We are reading Velma Gratch & the way cool butterfly, by Alan Madison and Kevin Hawkes.

“It’s hard to be Velma, the littlest Gratch, entering the first grade. That’s because everyone has marvelous memories of her two older sisters, who were practically perfect first graders. Poor Velma—people can barely remember her name. But all that changes on a class trip to the magnificent Butterfly Conservatory—a place neither of her sisters has ever been. When a monarch roosts on Velma’s finger and won’t budge for days . . . well, no one will forget Velma ever again.” -amazon

Not only is this a wonderful book about butterflies, but it also is a great story about how to be different and how to stand out the right way. The illustrations are a lot of fun too!

So for our literacy snack this week, we are of course making butterflies!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Ingredients

Each student will need

1  pretzel stick

2 thin slices of oranges

5 blueberries

Assemble

To make the butterfly, first have the students carefully cut their orange slices in half, using a plastic knife. Or you can skip this step and have all the orange slices up in half already, depending on your class ability. Next, have the students make a vertical line with their blueberries. Carefully place the orange slices next to the blueberries as the butterflies 4 wings. Last, break the pretzel stick in half and add on as the antennae.

Free Printable

While your students are enjoying their butterfly snack, I’m sharing a free printable from my butterfly book study for them to work on. The students will cut and glue the pictures in the correct order of the butterflies’ life cycle, or metamorphosis.

You can download the Literacy Snack Butterfly Read Aloud free printable from my teacherspayteachers store below.

If you enjoyed this activity, make sure to check out my butterfly book study that goes along with 4 butterfly books. It’s loaded with vocabulary, sequencing activities, centers, and games.

I hope your students enjoyed making their butterfly snacks this week!

See you next time!

Jenette

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Do you have a paraprofessional who works in your classroom with a student or two? As you know, these people have a very important job and can be a tremendous help to us in our classroom.

Did you know that Wednesday, April 3rd is Paraprofessional Day? I wanted to make sure our wonderful paras are recognized for all of their hard work so I came up with a simple, inexpensive gift idea to give each one of them.

Supplies

Candy of your choice – I stacked 4 candy bars on top of each other

curling ribbon

scissors

hole punch

free printable tag you can download at the bottom of the post

Assemble

To make these quick and easy gifts, I simply stacked the 4 candy bars on top of each other, I chose a Recess’s Cup for the bottom to use as a nice base. Download, print and cut out the free printable paraprofessional gift idea tags. Punch a hold in one corner. Use ribbon to wrap the candies together and tie. Slide one end of the ribbon through your hole you punched on the tag and tie again.  Then curl the ribbon

Such a simple gift idea, but it is sure to put a smile on their face to show you thought about them and appreciate all of the hard work they do each day!

You can download the free printable paraprofessional gift idea tag below.

Do you have paras in your classroom each day?

See you next time!

Jenette

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I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate math into something fun. Today we’re are working on our number bonds to ten with this fun kite craft perfect for spring.

This math craftivity is a fun way to conclude your unit on ways to make ten and the kites look adorable hanging up around the classroom for spring.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Supplies

Each student needs

the free kite printable you can download for free at the bottom of the post

tape

scissors

crayons

a long piece of yarn

Instructions

To make the number bonds to ten kite craft, the students will first write in all the different ways to make ten on the bows on the free printable. They can then color the bows if they choose to and color the kite as well. Next, they will cut out all of the bows and the kite.

Last, they will tape the yarn to the back of the kite as a tail. Then tape each of the bows to the yarn all the way down. Cut off any remaining yarn.

We even took them outside to let them blow in the wind since it was a windy day. so much fun in this little project!

Don’t they come out adorable? Perfect to display in the classroom or hall for spring.

Click on the green box below to download the free printable, number bonds to ten kite craft from my TeachersPayTeachers store.

If your little learners need a bit mor3e practice with making ten with number bonds, these number bond task cards are perfect to add to your math centers, or even as send home practice.

What are some of your other favorite ways to practice making ten with number bonds?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Number Bonds To Ten Kite Craft appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

Spring is in the air and it’s my favorite time of year to get to study insects and plants and flowers! There so many fun things to learn about this time of year. Right now, we’re focusing on ladybugs, get all of the details of what we do for our unit here.  So we are sticking with ladybugs this week, and we are reading, The Grouchy Ladybug, by Eric Carle for this week’s literacy snack.

As children follow the Grouchy Ladybug on her journey, they will learn the important concepts of time, size, and shape, as well as the benefits of friendship and good manners.

This is a story of a bad-tempered bug who won’t say “please” or “thank you,” won’t share, and thinks she is bigger and better than anyone else. This book will help your little learners learn that maybe being grouchy isn’t always the best option.

For this week’s snack to go along with the book, we are making our very own ladybugs.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Ingredients

each student will need

1 strawberry cut in half

a small number of chocolate chips, approx 12

4 candy eyeballs

A small amount of cream cheese to use as glue for the eyes

Assemble

The student will each have a half on strawberry. They can take a few chocolate chips and push them carefully into the strawberry pointy side into the strawberry. Last, have them put a tiny bit of cream cheese onto each eyeball to use as a glue to attach the eyeballs onto the strawberry.

While the students are enjoying their ladybug snack, I creat4ed a free printable for them to work on to go along with the story. They get to draw a picture and write about what makes them grouchy.

You can download the free printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store below.

If you’re working on ladybugs in your classroom, we have some other fun ideas for you to go along with your unit and this book. Making these insect lifecycle hats is one of the kids favorite activities to do! You can never go wrong with making hats!

Or these ladybug counting mats make practicing counting fun in a hands-on way.

Or make a ladybug craft to go along with the story and use the free printable as the writing piece to add to the construction paper to display.

What are some of your favorite ladybug activities that would go along with this story?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Literacy Snack Idea Ladybug + Free Printable appeared first on Primary Playground.

this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of.  clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way.

I don’t know about you, but it sure has been raining a TON here lately. My kids have been exploring on recess and have found a few worms and they all go crazy for them. I had received this book in my latest Scholastic book order and knew that now was the perfect time to pull it out with all of the rain and mud. So for this week’s literacy snack idea, we are reading, Worm Weather by  Jean Taft.

This Literacy Snack Worms Read Aloud is a simple playful book describing the weather and how the worms love the rain too.

The book pairs well with a worm unit or a weather unit  For our snack today, we are making dirt and worm cups.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

ingredients

Package of Oreo cookies

2 boxes  of chocolate pudding made at home or  a chocolate pudding  cup for each student

2-3 gummy worms per student

supplies

rolling pin

clear plastic cups

plastic spoons

a few sandwich bags

Assemble

There’s a good chance that you have alr4aedy made dirt and worms cups before, but I’ll give you a rundown of how to make them.  First, you’ll want to already have the pudding made for this activity.  Make it at home if you like to use the box kind or ask parents to donate enough chocolate pudding cups for each student to have one.  To make the dirt and worm snack, the students put 2 Oreo cookies into a sandwich bag, seal it and use the rolling pin to smash the cookies into pieces.

Next, the students are ready to start layering the ingredients into their cups. First, have them scoop half of their crushed cookies into the bottom of their cup. Next, have them scoop their pudding on top of their cookies in the cup. Add the remaining crushed-up cookies onto the pudding. Last they can add their gummy worms into the dirt.

Free Printable

While the students are enjoying their worm snack, I made a free printable for them to work on. In this sequencing activity, the students will number the order of the pictures to make the dirt and worms snack and then color the pictures.

If your students enjoy this type of activity, you may consider adding a monthly cooking class to your planning. I have cooking class sets, for making pancakes, to hot chocolate, to making banana splits and a bunch more! Cooking class is a fun way to incorporate many different learning standards. In this pack, the students are learning writing, sequencing, retelling, life skills, and much more. It’s a great hands-on activity to get the students excited to learn.

You can download the Literacy Snack Worms Read Aloud free dirt and worms printable from my TeachersPayTeachers store below.

If you’re looking for another fun weather read-aloud you may want to check out our literacy snack idea for the book, Miss Mingo Weather’s The Storm. Click here to get the details of the snack and download the free printable to go along with the book.

Do you have any other fun books ideas about worms that would tie in well with the dirt and worms snack?

See you next time!

Jenette

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Spring is right around the corner and I love that there are so many fun science, nature activities to do this time of year. For our literacy snack idea this week, we’re reading Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!  by Candace Fleming.

“Tippy, tippy, tippy, Pat!
That’s the sound three hungry bunnies make when the sun goes down and the moon comes up and Mr. McGreely’s garden smells yum, yum, yummy. While he’s dreaming of his mouth-watering carrots, the bunnies are diving over fences and swimming trenches to get the veggies first!
Hammer, hammer, hammer, Saw!
That’s the sound Mr. McGreely makes when the sun comes up and the moon goes down and he sees what those twitch-whiskers have done….Nibbled leaves! Empty stalks! Mr. McGreely will build something bigger and better, sure to keep even pesky puff-tails away. ”

This is such a fun book to read to incorporate during many different activities in spring. You can use it as a book to help welcome spring, learn about gardens and learn where fruits and vegetables come from or integrate it into your teaching about plants and even the life cycle.

For our snack idea this week,  the kids will get to enjoy some of the fresh veggies like the ones that Mr. McGreely grows in his garden.

Snack Idea

We’re going the easy and quick route today with our snack. I chose to do broccoli and baby carrots for our snack. I just grabbed a bag of each already cut up for me from the grocery store. While the kids we having their vegetables, you can continue the conversation about how to plant the garden and what other types of food grows in the garden.

Free Printable

While your students ar4e enjoying their snack, I made a free printable for them to work on to go along with the story. They get to draw and write about how they would keep the bunnies out of their garden.

You can download the free printable from my teacherspayteachers store below.

If you’re looking for more ideas to go with your garden theme, you’ll love this DIY garden to add to your centers in your classroom. Find out how to make your own here,

And turn it into different centers using this garden center bundle.

I hope your students enjoy this fun story as much as mine do!

See you next time!

Jenette

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These fun inflatable dice come in a pack of 5, so you can set up 2 groups of students to work with each other at a time. If you can’t find these inflatable dice, you can use any type you have, regular size, or I’ve even seen larger hard foam ones at Dollar Tree.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

To Play Dice Addition

To play dice addition, pair 2 students together. They will take turns rolling the dice and recording the numbers on their dice addition recording sheet I’ve made for you. Have the student roll one die. The other student will record that number. Have the student roll the second die and the other student will again record the number that was rolled. They can work together to solve the math problem.

 You could have the students work on this as an individual activity or center and use regular size dice too.

You can download the free dice addition recording sheet below.

I love using whatever I can find to turn things into math games to help make the learning process fun and engaging for the students.

Do you have any other fun ways to use dice in the classroom?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Dice Addition appeared first on Primary Playground.

We get out of school in May, but we like to still celebrate these awesome men in our children’s lives before the end of the school year. Figuring out what to have the dad’s come in and do on the other hand is a bit tricky. Mother’s day is much easier with options like a tea party, a spa day, or making a craft. Hence, I came up with 4 fun donut minute to win it games that can easily be played in a classroom with dads or even be used in a whole school setting if your school celebrates that way. Here are my Donuts With Dad- Donut Minute to Win It game ideas!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Donut Memory Game

I created this quick memory game that works perfectly as a donut minute to win it station. The student and their guest will work together to see if they can find all of the correct matches in one minute.

You can download the game below by clicking the green box.

Donut Hole Toss

For this game, you’ll need a donut inner tube (I found mine in the Target Dollar Spot) and some white balls. They are the same ones that I used as snowballs for these winter minute to win it games and as bunny tails in these spring minute to win it games. You could always use rolled-up socks, cotton balls, or marshmallows too. To play the game, have the players see how many mini donuts they can toss into the donut hole in one minute.

Donut Munch

This is one of my favorites to watch! You’ll need a ball of yarn, tape, and mini donuts. Tie a piece of yarn through the donut and tape it from the ceiling. The student and their guest will have one minute to see if they can eat the donut without using their hands, only their mouths. 

And the last game we play is

Donut Stack

My kids just can’t get enough of stacking things so we’re bringing it back again. You’ll need 6 or 7 mini donuts per player for this game. Have the players stack the donuts as high as they can without them toppling over in one minute.

And one last fun option for you would be to do a donut walk, just like a cakewalk. You can find the numbers here to make the setup super quick and easy! You can grab the donut cakewalk numbers here.

I hope this gives you some fun ideas to play for your Donuts With Dad- Donut Minute to Win It when you have dads come into your classroom!

See you next time!

Jenette

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