Movie days are always a hit in the classroom! Whether your class has earned the movie party, it’s a movie you’re showing during a party, or at the end of the year, it’s always something they look forward to! You know me, and my love for hats, so today I’m sharing a Free Printable Movie Day Hat for your students to make while they are watching the movie!

Not only is this movie day hat adorable, but it also gives students a fun and quiet activity to work on while they enjoy the movie. Instead of wiggling in their seats or chatting with friends, they can color, cut, and assemble their hats as they watch! It’s the perfect low-prep way to keep little hands busy and engaged, while still letting everyone relax and enjoy the special movie day together.

Free Printable Movie Day Hat

You can download the Free Movie Day Hat by clicking the green box below.

I hope your students love this Free Printable Movie Day Hat as much as mine do! It’s such a simple way to make classroom movie days feel even more special and memorable. Just print, color, create, and enjoy the show! Be sure to save this activity for your next classroom celebration, reward day, or end-of-year movie party.

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Movie Day Hat appeared first on Primary Playground.

Have you ever played Minute To Win It games? They are always a hit with the kids and adults alike! I have 5 St. Patrick’s Day Minute To Win It Ideas that are perfect to use in your classroom!

Minute To Win It Games are perfect for the classroom. You can break students up into 5 groups and have them work together and take turns playing the games, and then all rotate. Or you can play as a class. Split our students into 2 groups and choose a student or a few to come up and play each of the games against each other.

These games have other great benefits too like working on fine motor skills, counting, sorting, eye hand coordination, social skills, and cognitive skills. This makes it a great addition to your classroom to play on St. Patrick’s Day, before your Spring Break, or for a Fun Friday activity!

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.

Lucky Charms

Supplies you’ll need

A bowl, Lucky Charms cereal, kids tweezers or kitchen tongs and additional container to put the marshmallows in.

To Play

The student will sift through and pick out all of the marshmallows from a bowl of Lucky Charms using a pair of kids tweezer or tongs. At the end of the minute, count how many marshmallows they were able to find.

Pot Of Gold

Supplies you’ll need

5 pennies and a popsicle stick.

To Play

The student will need 5 pennies. The student will carefully stack the 5 pennies on the end of a popsicle stick. They will then try and walk across the room without dropping the pennies.

For older kids or adults, add some extra pennies.

End Of The Rainbow

Supplies You’ll Need

A pile of Fruit Loops cereal and a pipe cleaner.

To Play

The students will try to thread the cereal onto the pipe cleaner in a minute creating a rainbow.

For older kids or adults, have them create the rainbow only using one hand.

Gold Coin Stack

Supplies You’ll Need

25 plastic gold coins or chocolate coins. -You can usually find these at Dollar Tree or Oriental Trading as well.

To Play

Give the student 25 gold coins. See if they can stack them all without falling in one minute.

For older kids or adults, have them stack the coins only using one hand.

Lucky Puzzles

Supplies You’ll Need

A Lucky Charms cereal box – I happened to find this fun St. Patrick’s Day themed box at Target.

To Play

For this game, you’ll need to cut up the Lucky Charms box. You’ll want to use the front of the box, and cut it into up into several squares. Have your students see if they can put the “puzzle” back together in one minute.

For older kids or adults, cut up both the front and the back of the box and have them put both “puzzles” together in a minute.

I hope your students enjoy playing these games as much as mine do. Are there any other St. Patrick’s Day activities that you enjoying doing in the classroom?

If you’re looking for more Minute to Win It games, click here to see our fall minute to win it game idea, winter minute to win it ideas here and here for our spring minute to win it game ideas. We also share donut minute to win it games to play here. 

Let us know if you have any other fun games you like to play with your class in the comments below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post St. Patrick’s Day Minute To Win It Ideas appeared first on Primary Playground.

I’m seeing hearts everywhere which means Valentine’s Day is coming! Today I have a fun LoVe Bug Hat, perfect for your students to make and wear! There are so many fun ways you could use this Free Printable Love Bug Hat! Keep reading for some of our favorite ideas!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WTIH

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.

There are so many fun ways you could use this hat! Here are some ideas:

• Have your students make the love bug hats as part of your Valentine’s Day party! You could have them make them at the beginning of the party to wear, or use it as one of your party/center rotations. Here are some more ideas for your Valentine’s Day party too.

• Have your class make the love bug hats. Then, read your class LuLu the Love Bug. It’s a great story about a love bug that is having a hard time making friends. Each new friend she reaches out to only points out how different they are and how they could not be friends. In the end, she realizes how you can be friends with anyone, even if you are very different.

• The students can make their love bug hats and then read one of our suggested read-alouds and make the literacy snack to go along with the book. You can check out The Day It Rained Hearts here., A Crankenstein Valentine here, and Love Monster and the Last Chocolate here.

Free Printable Love Bug Hat

To make the love bug hat, simply print the 2 pages of the hat out for each student. You can use card stock to make it more sturdy or just plain paper will work just fine too. Have the students color the hat and cut out the 2 pieces.

Have an adult help them staple it together to form the hat. You could also have them attach it to a sentence strip or as another option if you need to make the hat larger for some kiddos, print out a few extra of the back strap pages and use them to extend the hats.

Click the green box below to download the Free Printable Love Bug Hat.

Here are some of our other favorite Valentine’s Day activities!

This heart sort is a great way to practice phonological awareness! The students will sort the hearts into the correct bucket depending on whether it’s a real word or a nonsense word. You can grab the set here.

This quick-prep Valentine’s Day A to Z write the room center is a perfect way to incorporate movement in your reading / ELA center rotation. This is a great way to allow your students to get up and move about the classroom while being on task. They are a great way to introduce students to new vocabulary too!

Do you have any fun Valentine’s Day activities you like to do with your students? I hope they enjoy these fun hats to make the day special!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Love Bug Hat appeared first on Primary Playground.

This Snowman Paper Bag Craft is a fun and easy craft idea! Keep reading to download the template so your class can make some of their own!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WTIH

Supplies Needed For The Craft

• A white paper bag for each student – I found mine at Walmart
• Glue sticks
• Scissors
• Black Sharpie, marker, or crayon
• Crayons
• Printed Template – you can find it at the bottom of the post.

To make the Snowman Paper Bag Craft

First, have the students start by coloring all of the pieces on the printed template. Next, they will cut out all of the pieces. They can then glue them all onto the white paper bag creating their snowman! Super easy, and cute to make!

These snowman paper bags would make a fun addition to your winter class party! The students can make it as a craft during the party and then can use it to bring home all of their goodies from the party. Another fun idea would to have the students make the snowman paper bag and use it as a gift bag to wrap up a gift they’ve made for their family. Our snowman ornaments would be a perfect fit if you need a quick and easy idea!

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

Let us know if you have your class make these adorable snowman paper bags!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Snowman Paper Bag Craft appeared first on Primary Playground.

If you’re looking for an Easy Christmas Party Game Idea, we’ve got you covered! This game requires just a few supplies, and takes just a couple of minutes to get ready to play. Keep reading to get all of the details.

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Items that you’ll need to setup the game

• Four boxes that fit inside of each other – Any boxes will do as long as they fit inside of each other. I used 4 Christmas nesting gift boxes that I found at Hobby Lobby. They are super sturdy and I have been using them over and over again for many years now. Well worth the investment.
• Wrapping paper, scissors, and tape.
• A special treat to go inside of the smallest box. You’ll want to have enough for one for everyone playing the game. I like to use candy canes. Christmas socks are another fun idea.

When it comes time to play the game, you will need access to music. Your phone will work great.

Game Setup

First, you’ll take the smallest box and fill it with your special gifts or treats. Next, wrap the box with wrapping paper. You’ll then place the wrapped box and place it into the next smallest box and wrap it. Keep doing this until you have one “gift”.

How To Play The Game

To play the game, have everyone sit in a circle. Choose one person to give the gift to to start the game. When you start the music everyone will pass the wrapped gift around the circle. When the music stops, that person will get to open the gift. They of course will find another wrapped gift. Start the music again and continue the game the same way until the last person open the “gift” and gets to hand out a treat to everyone in the circle.

The kids have such a fun time playing this and are always thinking that they will be the one to finally open the gift. You could always make it harder by wrapping more boxes and more boxes. The game is even fun for adults to play too, just add some fun adult treats inside the final box.

If you’re looking for some more games to play during your Christmas party, you might want to check out our Holidays Sock Exchange. Similar to this game that I shared, but each person passes around a wrapped gift while a book is being read.

We also have a bunch of great bingo games that are always a hit with the kiddos!

Christmas Bingo

Gingerbread Bingo

North Pole Bingo

Christmas Songs Bingo

And we also have Christmas cake walk numbers. Fun prize ideas are cupcakes, candy canes, or books!

Let me know if you try out this quick and easy game with your kiddos!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Easy Christmas Party Game Idea 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.

It’s that time of year again to start thinking about class holiday parties. I’ve gathered up some of my favorite Reindeer Theme Class Party Ideas. There’s something about those cute reindeer that I just can’t get enough of! I’m sharing some snack ideas, crafts, and a game so keep reading to find out more.

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For my class parties, I always like to have some fun activities but like to keep things simple. Usually, we only have about an hour and a half for the party and hopefully, a parent volunteer or two to help out. I get everything possible done before the day of the party so things run quickly and smoothly.

If you have volunteers, setting up stations for them to come to is extremely helpful and while they are waiting for their turn sitting at their desk, they can be making their reindeer hats and eating their snacks.

To get the party started, everyone made reindeer hats to wear during the party. You can download the reindeer hat template for FREE here.

Snack Ideas

Reindeer Water Bottles

Water bottles are my go-to during class parties. So much easier to avoid any spills etc with juice and other drinks. But just because we’re having water doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.

I dressed up the bottles to make them into reindeer by taking off the label and hot gluing googly eyes and red pom pom balls onto the water bottles. Then I wrapped a pipe cleaner around just below the lid and added two extra small pieces to each end to make antlers. You can actually grab a whole craft set from Amazon here that includes the pipe cleaners, eyes, and pom poms.

Reindeer Pudding Cup Snack

For our snack, I made reindeer pudding cups, and then the students got to add extra ingredients during the party. I added the same googly eyes and red pom poms to the chocolate pudding cups.

During the party, each student got 2 small candy canes to add as the antlers and 1 Christmas Oreo to crumble up on top. They were a huge hit with the kids!

Craft Ideas

So our first craft was the reindeer hats but now how about making something fun as a parent gift from the students since you probably have some extra volunteer hands.

Handprint Reindeer Ornament

We’ve made 2 different reindeer ornaments in the past. The first is an adorable handprint render ornament. You can never go wrong with a handprint ornament! For this one, you’ll need brown cardstock, brown paint, larger googly eye,s and a larger red pom pom for the nose.

To make the ornament, start by cutting each of the brown pieces of cardstock in half. Have each student make a brown handprint on the paper. While they are drying, on the leftover part of the brown cardstock, have them write their name and year and cut that part out.

After they dry, have your student cut out around the handprint too. Next, glue the brown paper that they wrote their name and year onto the back of the handprint. This is a great place to add a school photo of them as well on the back. Lasly, laminate the handprint. and then help them hot glue on the eyes and the nose. Use a small hole punch to add a hotel and tie a ribbon or string so it can hang.

Reindeer Ornament

The second option is also a reindeer ornament using a clear plastic ornament. For this one, you’ll need a clear plastic ornament for each student. I find mine at Michael’s and I use the type that can be filled from the top, not the shell ones that can be opened in half. You’ll also need brown crinkle cut paper filler, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and a red pom pom.

Have the students stuff the brown crinkle paper into the plastic ornament and add the top back on. Then help them hot glue on the eyes and nose, Use a pipe cleaner to add the antlers at the end. You can use a Sharpie paint pen on the back of the ornament if you want to have them write their name and year.

Reindeer Gift Bag

And then once the reindeer ornaments are complete, you need a fun way to gift wrap them right? Check out these fun reindeer gift bags that are super easy for the kids to make too!

Games and Activities

Reindeer Food

Another one of our stations is making reindeer food. Such a quick and fun activity for the kids to be able to take home with them to share with their families. You can get the details of the supplies you’ll need for this activity and print out the FREE bag topper here.

And lastly, our game to play to finish out our holiday party, Reindeer Bingo! Always such a hit with the kids. Christmas M&M’s make a fun way to make their cards. Hand out candy canes to the winner of each game to keep it inexpensive and fun. You can grab the reindeer bingo here.

Whew and now it’s time to go home, but what a fantastic reindeer-filled time we had! Do you have any other fun reindeer ideas that you’ve done in the past? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Reindeer Theme Class Party Ideas appeared first on Primary Playground.

Do you need a quick, easy and yummy snack idea for your class party? I’ve got you covered with this harvest mix! Make sure to grab the Free Printable Harvest Mix Bag Topper too!

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 Needed

• pretzels sticks
• chocolate chips
• Autumn candy mix
• Rice Chex cereal
• mini marshmallows
• bowls
• spoons
• snack bags
• stapler
• scissors
• free harvest mix bag topper (download at the end of the post)

Before the party, you’ll want to download, print and cut out the harvest mix bag toppers so they are ready to go. To get ready for the party, you’ll want to put each snack item in their own bowls and add a spoon.

During the party, it is easiest to have the students come up 4 students at a time. They will each need a snack bag, and they can fill it with items from the table to make the harvest mix. When they are done, they can take the bag topper, fold it in half and shape it to the top of the snack bag.

They can then take it home if you just want this to be a fun activity or they can enjoy their snack in class. Another option would be for you to pre-make this for each student and let them enjoy it during your fall class party.

Click the green box below to download the Free Printable Harvest Mix Bag Topper.

If you need some more ideas for your fall class party, I share a ton of easy ideas here.

I hope your students have a fun time making their harvest mix snacks!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Harvest Mix Bag Topper appeared first on Primary Playground.

I wanted to share a fun little paper bag reindeer craft we put together last year right before winter break. I had some extra red glitter foam ornament circles left over and thought they would make cute Rudolph noses so here we are!

They work great as a craft, or if you’re having a winter party, they make a great way to carry home any fun items they may receive or make. The paper bag reindeer craft could also be used to wrap parent gifts that they make too!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Supplies you’ll Need

Each student will need

1 paper bag

the eyes, nose and antler template that you can download below

glue stick

Sharpie or crayon

Optional – Instead of using the nose from the template, you can use red glitter foam and cut the circle for the nose to use. Or you could always use the nose from the template and add some red glitter to that too.

To Assemble

To make the paper bag reindeer craft, you’ll start by cutting out the eyes, nose and antlers. If you’re not printing on colored paper you’ll want to have the students color the pieces before cutting them out. After the items are cut out, they can glue them onto the bag. Use a sharpie or crayon to draw on the mouth and any other special details they may want to add.

Perfect for taking goodies home after your winter party or wrapping up their parent’s/caregivers gifts!

Click the green box to download the paper bag reindeer craft template.

If you’re looking for some more fun reindeer activities we have a bunch of fun ideas!

Your students will have so much fun wearing these cute reindeer hats! You can grab it for free here.

Reindeer bingo would be the perfect addition to your winter party along with making these paper bag reindeer. You can check out our reindeer bingo here.

And another fun activity to add to your winter party is making reindeer food! Click here to get all the details.

If you’re class makes the paper bag reminder craft, we’d love to see them! Share with us on Facebook here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Paper Bag Reindeer 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.

Truth be told, I’m kind of obsessed with reindeer at Christmas time. I mean aren’t they just ADORABLE?! So I love to do many fun activities centered around them. Today I’m sharing a super cute Free Printable Reindeer Hat.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

There are so many fun ways you could use this hat! Here are some ideas:

• After your students have made their hats, read aloud to your class, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer while sipping some yummy hot chocolate.

• Watch the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer movie and have the kids color and cut out the hats while watching.

• Use the reindeer hats as one of your holiday party activities, We’ve made them from construction paper and google eyes, etc before, but these are soooo much easier and faster for the little ones to make.

• Have your students make the reindeer hats and spend an hour playing reindeer games!

• Have your students make the reindeer hat and then make reindeer food to go along with for them to sprinkle at home on Christmas eve.

Free Printable Reindeer Hat

To make the reindeer hat, simply print the 2 pages of the hat out for each student. You can use card stock to make it more sturdy or just plain paper will work just fine too. Have the students color the hat and cut out the 2 pieces.

Have an adult help them staple it together to form the hat. You could also have them attach it to a sentence strip or as another option if you need to make the hat larger for some kiddos, print out a few extra of the back strap pages and use them to extend the hats.

Click the green box below to download the Free Printable Reindeer Hat.

Here are some of our other favorite reindeer activities!

These reindeer counting mats are such a fun addition to your math centers during your reindeer week. Your students will practice counting by adding red pom pom balls, or Rudolph noses onto the paper and can then practice writing the number.

Or this reindeer craft with writing prompts is such a fun craft for the kids to make and looks ADORABLE hanging in the hallway!

Or maybe your class is working on their 2D shapes right now. We have a reindeer as part of our 2D shape crafts set. You can find out more about those here.

Do you have any other fun reindeer activities you like to do with your students? I hope they enjoy these fun hats to make the day special!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Reindeer Hat appeared first on Primary Playground.

Have you ever done class rotations instead of having a Halloween party? Where you have a mad scientist theme and in each classroom, you get to do or watch a different creepy science experiment. It makes for such a fun and engaging day, still having fun on the holiday but with a different, twist if you cannot actually celebrate Halloween. I’m sharing with you a bunch of Creepy Science Experiments For the Classroom.

Potions, brews, and eruptions

In these science lab experiments, your little scientists can make their own crazy chemical reactions. The best part is, the experiments are completely kid-safe while also providing tons of fun for kiddos of all ages.

See how Fun With Mama creates this awesome witches’ brew using baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap.

Have you seen a pumpkin erupt before? Little Bins Little Hands uses a jack-o-lantern and makes it erupt using baking soda and vinegar!

Here’s another fun experiment from Messy Little Monster making a magic potion that uses glitter!!

Brains, eyes, hearts oh my!

All of these experiments involve body parts! It makes for some very creepy fun that you’ll get a ton of ewww that’s gross comments!

Make a heart or brain out of gelatin and let the kids explore. Give them an eye dropper and some red-colored water to add in some blood. -Little Bins For Little Hands

Or see how Little Bins For Little Hands makes Frankenstein frozen brains and uses eye droppers and warm water to melt his brain away.

Pink Stripey Socks shows us how to dig for skeleton bones with this perfectly gross activity!

And watch monster eyes fly with this creepy experiment using water, oil, and antacid tablets from The Educators Spin On It.

Slime and Goo

My kids are still obsessed with slime and anything that gets their hands messy. Here are a bunch of ooey-gooey recipes. Make a batch with each class and use small containers to give each student some to take home with them.

This eyeball slime is my favorite! Little Bins for Little Hands combines slime and eyeballs making a perfect combination!

• You’ll get some ohhh and ahhhh’s making this glow-in-the-dark slime by Red Ted Art.

This awesome pumpkin slime from Little Bins for Little Hands is made with real pumpkin seeds and looks just like the insides of a pumpkin! So cool!

And we can’t leave out oobleck! Your kids will love making and playing with this oobleck filled with spiders and eyeballs!

Even more awesomely creepy science experiments

Mama Smiles shows us how to make ghosts’ balloons inflate by creating carbon dioxide.

Create pumpkin circuits to light up a pumpkin made from a pool noodle using insulating dough and conductive dough from Steam Powered Family.

Your kids will love watching the creepy wiggly worms wiggle around the jar in this fun experiment using vinegar and baking soda.

And lastly,, who doesn’t LOVE bubbles? Here’s a fun holiday twist on blowing bubbles with this Ghost Bubble Science from Little Bins Little Hands.

I hope you’re inspired to try to some Creepy Science Experiments in your classroom this month! Share with us if you have any other favorite activities you love doing with your class this month.

See you next time!

Jenette

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Does your school have a Halloween carnival? Ours does and guess who got volunteered to be in charge of the Creepy Cake Walk? Me! So today I’m sharing with you the Creepy Cake Walk Numbers that I made for our event.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Truth be told, the cake walk has always been one of my favorite activities at carnivals. We’ve changed it up a bit over the years at our school and do not give out actual cakes anymore, but cupcakes to each winner. We’ve also done Creepy Book Walks, in which the winner will get to choose a Halloween book! That’s my favorite!

You can use these Creepy Cake Walk Numbers for a large school-wide carnival, or you could use them in the classroom as part of your Halloween party. Your students will LOVE it!

Find a great Halloween music station on Pandora or Spotify to play on your phone or through your smart board and you’re set to go!

Cake Walk Instructions

Just in case you haven’t done a cakewalk before, here’s a quick review of the game. Download, print, and laminate the Creepy Cakewalk Numbers. I made numbers go up to 30 but you can use as many numbers as you’d like to depending on how many people you want to play at once. Use duct tape or painter’s tape to secure the numbers to the floor where you will be playing. Print and cut out the calling numbers and place them in a container that you can draw from when playing the game.

To play, have a person stand on each number. Turn some fun Halloween music on, and have everyone walk in a circle until the music stops. Draw a number out of the container and the person standing on that number is the winner! The game is now over and the next group of people get to come in and play.

You can download the Creepy Cake Walk Numbers below.

And in case your school doesn’t do Halloween, I have a set of Fall Cake Walk Numbers that you can grab here.

What is your favorite game to play at your school carnival?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Creepy Cake Walk Numbers appeared first on Primary Playground.

Have you ever played minute to win it games in your classroom? The games are obviously always fun, but really they can also be categorized as stem activities too! We are also practicing our fine motor skills and sorting but your little learners won’t even realize it I’m sharing 5 of our favorite Fall Minute To Win It Ideas with you.

These games are perfect to play during your fall class party. You can set up 5 different rotations and separate the class into groups. Ask for parent volunteers to come in and help be a guide for each game.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

I’ve made table tents that you can print as well with the game’s name on them along with the game’s instructions. It’s made it so much easier when I use these in the classroom. My parent volunteers can just read the back to get the instructions and it makes things so much easier for us all. You can download them for free at the bottom of the post.

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.

Harvest Sort

You’ll need:

a cup

a tray

different sorting materials – we used candy corn, candy pumpkins, plastic leaf table scatter I found at Hobby Lobby, and acorns.

instructions: In this game, the students will sort as many of the items in the cup as they can in one minute.

Candy Corn Stack It

You’ll need:

bag of candy corn

Instructions: The students will see how many candy corn they can stand up in one minute.

Leaf Blower

You’ll need:

2 leaves, they can be real leaves that are dried out or fake leaves.

straws

Instructions: Two students will use a new straw to blow/race the leaf to the other end of the table.

Pumpkin Toss

You’ll need:

A bag of candy pumpkins

2 cups per team of 2 students

Instructions: There are two students per team. Have them stand 6 feet apart. The students will try to toss as many pumpkins in the cup their teammate is holding as they can in one minute.

Buckets of Acorns

You’ll need:

2 bowls

jumbo kid tweezers

A bunch of acorns – if you don’t have acorns where you live, you could use brown pom poms.

Instructions: The students will have one minute to try and get as many acorns as they can into the empty bowl using only the tweezers.

You can download the Fall Minute To Win It Ideas game table tents below.

Do you have any other fun games you like to play?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Fall Minute To Win It Ideas appeared first on Primary Playground.

Valentine’s day is quickly approaching! So I’m trying to be ahead of the game and work on our valentines.

Both of my kids are obsessed with dinosaurs! I wanted to share with you these free printable dinosaur valentines that I made for my daughter to hand out to her classmates this year.

They are quick, simple, and inexpensive to put together.

Supplies needed

The free printable valentines printed on cardstock  (you can download them below)

twine or string

dinosaur erasers (we found ours in the Valentine’s section at Target)

scissors

needle (optional)

Assemble

You’ll want to download and print the valentines on cardstock and then cut them out. To attach the dinosaur to the valentine, I used a need to puncture through the cardstock in two different spots.

I then used scissors to make a slit using my holes as a guide to start. Next, you’ll cut a piece of twin and feed it up through the holes to the front.

Place your dinosaur down and tie in on with a bow. Don’t forget to have your kids sign their names too!

The valentines come together quickly and turn out super cute! My daughter is so excited to hand them out to her friends this year.

You can download the free printable dinosaur valentines below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Dinosaur Valentines 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.

Making reindeer food is one of our favorite activities to do during our holiday party. It’s a quick and easy project for the students that they get to take home with them and share with their family.

THIS RESOURCE WORKS WELL WITH

Items needed

2 large containers of oatmeal

4 bottles of colored sugar sprinkles

a box of snack size baggies

a large bowl

a scoop or spoon for the oats – a 1/2 cup measuring spoon is the perfect amount in a snack bag

free printable reindeer food bag topper (at the bottom of the post)

stapler

To Assemble

I pour the oatmeal into a large bowl. Each student will scoop 1/2 cup of the oats into their snack bag. Next, they get to shake some sprinkles into their baggie. We always use sprinkles and never glitter for this since they will be spreading this on the lawn. You don’t want the birds to end up eating the glitter. After they have a good about of sprinkles in their bag, have them seal it up. They can then shake the bag to help mix in the sprinkles. Help them add the free printable reindeer food bag topper by stapling it on. Now they’re done and have a fun activity to take home and share with their family on Christmas Eve.

Click the green box to download the free printable reindeer food bag toppers.

If you’re looking for some more fun ideas you could use during a holiday party, you might like How To Make Hot Chocolate In the Classroom.

Or learn how to host a holiday sock exchange in your classroom.

Do you have any other fun activities you do with your class this time of year?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Reindeer Food Bag Topper appeared first on Primary Playground.

Our class had such a FUN time with our holiday class holiday sock exchange last year! Kids still come up to me months later and tell me that they wore their holiday socks they got just the other day. It’s one of the most memorable activities that we’ve ever done at one of our class holiday parties.

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Supplies you’ll need

You will need one pair of holiday socks for each student.

wrapping paper and wrapping supplies

a book to read – I chose Santa’s Underwear

I chose to purchase all of the socks on my own but I’ve made a free printable note to send home requesting that each student send in a pair of wrapped holiday socks for the exchange. You can download the free printable at the bottom of this post. If you choose to do it this way, just make sure that you have enough backup pairs for any students that didn’t bring in a pair so everyone can participate.

To Play

I like to play this game to get our party starts so that the kids can wear their new holiday socks during the whole party.

You may have played a game similar to this before, but I changed it up a bit so anyone can play it easily. Normally you read a story and pass the wrapped socks back and forth when the words right and left are read. Instead, I chose a book that I wanted to read to the class, Santa’s Underwear. You can’t go wrong with a book like this, underwear is a magical word in any class as you know. So I read the book to the class, and every time that I said the word, underwear, they had to pass the wrapped gift.

Since I was the one who bought the socks and wrapped them all up, the students didn’t know what it was that they were passing around. I heard a few whispers that they were passing around wrapped underwear since they feel similar. Exactly what I was hoping for! When the story is finished, the students can open the gift they have in their hands. Everyone put on their socks and wore them for the rest of our party.

If you’d like to send home a flyer to have the students send in wrapped socks for the party, you can download the free printable below.

I hope your students love this holiday tradition as much as mine do!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Class Holiday Sock Exchange appeared first on Primary Playground.

I love celebrating birthdays! At our school, kids are still allowed to bring in a treat to share on their birthday but it has to be prepackaged. I wanted to add something special for the kiddos on their day but keep it low cost for me, so I made this free printable birthday hat for them to wear.

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Simply print out the hat, and have the birthday kid color it in. On the back strap, I left it blank. It would be fun to have all of the students sign their names on it, like a card for the birthday kid. During morning work would be a good time to do this, so they get to wear their hat all day and have everyone they pass by tell them Happy Birthday. It makes them feel so special.

During the last 15 minutes of the day, set aside time to have their birthday treat if they bring one in. It makes the celebration quick and easy.

You can download the free printable birthday hat below.

How do you handle birthdays in your classroom?

Jenette

The post Free Printable Birthday Hat 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!

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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

The post Donuts With Dudes- Donut Minute to Win It appeared first on Primary Playground.

I have 5 fun spring minute to win it games for the students to play. Everything you need for the games is easy to find and you probably have most of it on hand already. In these games, the students will be doing stem, and practicing their counting, color matching, and fine motor skills.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WTIH

Spring Minute To Win It In The Classroom

Egg Match

Supplies needed

A bunch of plastic colored eggs – the more colors the better!

A container to put the eggs in

Take apart each of the plastic eggs. The students will quickly choose a half of an egg and try to find it’s color match and then put it into the basket. Try to match and put together the most eggs in one minute.

Egg Drop

Supplies Needed

Plastic spoons

Plastic eggs

This is a fun one to do with teams. The students will place the plastic egg on the spoon and try to carefully walk to their teammate without the egg dropping. If the egg drops they will go back to where they started. The first team to finish is the winner or see how many students can make it within one minute.

Bunny Tail Toss

Supplies Needed

Bunny tails – I found actual “bunny tails” in the Dollar Spot at Target. You can also use snowballs, socks rolled up, cotton balls or even marshmallows.

A basket

The students will try to see how many bunny tails they can toss in the basket within a minute. Make it a bit more challenging by having them toss from further away. You can have another students help retrieve the missed bunny tails and bring them back quickly or you can have that be part of the fun for the tosser.

Jellybean Jumble

Supplies needed

Free printable jellybean mat

A bag of jellybeans

Print out the jellybean mat or you can just have them sort the jellybeans on the table. Give the student a cup full of the jellybeans and see how many they can sort by the correct color within one minute.

Peep Stack

Supplies needed

One package of bunny Peeps.

Make sure the buy the Peeps a few days before hand and take them out of the package and let them get nice and crisp. If they are too fresh, they will be a gooey, marshmallowy, mess when they try to play.

To play the game, have the students see how many of the Peep bunnies they can stack on top of each other in a minute without the stack tumbling.

If you’re looking for even more minute to win it games to play in your classroom, you can find winter minute to win it games ideas here. Donut minute to win it games idea here and fall minute to win it game ideas here.

I hope your students have fun playing these spring games!

Jenette

The post Spring Minute To Win It In The Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

For Valentine’s Day, we have a Friends Social. We are celebrating the friendships that we have!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Food

Since we have this party in the morning, I like to change it up a bit and go for healthy red  breakfast foods. We have strawberries, raspberries, apple slices, red grapes and mini bagels with cream cheese with some fun sprinkles.

Valentine cards

Earlier in the week, we make our Valentine bags during class so everyone has one. We make these puppy craft bags to hold all of our goodies. You can print the template for free here.

I ask the students not to address the card, just to fill in the from. It makes it so much easier and quicker for them to go down the rows passing out their cards.

You can find this letter in my Room Parent Binder.

Activities

With the rock painting craze, we are doing a new activity this year during our party. We’re painting friendship rocks! You can get all the details here.

And for our game, my students are always begging me to play bingo so it’s a must during our parties!

Another fun option would be to have a cupcake or book walk as your party game. I have Valentine’s Day calk walk numbers here to make set up quick and easy.

What other kind of Valentine’s Day Class Party Ideas do you have for your parties?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Valentine’s Day Class Party Ideas appeared first on Primary Playground.

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I’m sharing this adorable  FREE Puppy Valentine Craft.

He’s the perfect addition to your class’s Valentine’s Day party this year!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Supplies needed

Each student will need the printout of the puppy.

Scissors

Glue stick or glue sponges

Paper lunch sack

There are 2 options included. A black and white version that the students can color and put together, or individual pages for the different pieces for you to print out on colored paper.

As the students are making their puppies, we talk about the shapes we use to put make them. It’s a great review of our 2D shapes. Each student will write their name on the heart so everyone knows who’s is who’s.

You can have the students make their own bags a couple of days ahead of time to use as a mailbox for their Valentine’s or you can have them even make them as part of your Valentine’s Day party. You can never go wrong with sweet puppies!

Click the green box below to download the Puppy Valentine Craft for FREE.

I’d love for you to share them with us on my Facebook page if your class makes them!

If you like this craft, check out some of my other crafts perfect for February learning.

And if you’re looking for more ideas for your Valentine’s Day party, I have a bunch of ideas gathered here.

I hope your class enjoys making this craft! See you next time!

Jenette

The post Puppy Valentine Craft appeared first on Primary Playground.

We love making Making Christmas Tree Cones In The Classroom! I prefer them over gingerbread houses since there’s less prep work involved. Keep reading to get all the my tips and tricks to make it simple and fun!

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

for your shopping convenience, there are amazon affiliate links provided in this blog post.

Supplies needed for a class of 30

3 Pillsbury Funfetti Happy Birthday! Vibrant Green Vanilla Frosting – I find them in the regular baking section at Target.

3 sugar cone packages – 12 to a box – this gives you a couple extra in case you have a broken one or two

2 packages of Diamond Daily disposable mini cups with lids. 2oz 50 count

1 bottle of gold Wilton star sprinkles  – I found mine at Michael’s

1 package of Pull ‘n Peel Twizzlers

1-2 bottles of sprinkles

1 bag of mini M&M baking bits

small paper plates

napkins

plastic knives

Optional: 16oz cups with lids to transport cones home.

I prepare everything before the party so the party set up is super quick and simple. You’ll need to fill a mini cup for each student with all the items they’ll need to decorate their Christmas tree.

In each of my mini cups,  I put in the following items

2 pieces of peeled Twizzler rope

1 star

25 mini M&M baking bits

A few good shakes of sprinkles

In a separate mini cup, I fill it 3/4 full of the green frosting.

Having everything put together already makes setting up the party a breeze. I have parents help pass everything out and we’re ready!

It is one of the quietest times in the classroom. The kids are concentrating so hard on making their trees and are so proud of them.

I give them the option to either eat their trees when they are finished, or they can take them home. If you are having the trees go home with them, you can just send them home with them on the plate, preferably handing them to the pickup adult so they don’t drop them. Another great option is to grab some 16oz plastic cups with lids. Place the tree on the lid, and then place the cup over the tree and snap it down. It makes transporting them home a lot easier.

When they’re done decorating their trees, we finish up with some Christmas bingo! It’s always a hit!

I hope your students love Making Christmas Tree Cones In The Classroom. I’d love to see your students trees if you decide to make them! Share them with us on my Facebook page.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Making Christmas Tree Cones In The Classroom 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 making hot chocolate in the classroom! I’ve been making it this way for years now and I promise it is super simple. No more hot water, opening packets, mixing, etc, and tastes sooo much better! This will make a full crockpot and should serve approx 30 students.

This article works well with these resources from Primary Playground.

Let’s get to the yummy part!

ingredients

1 cup of white sugar

1 cup of cocoa powder

2 cups of water

10 cups of milk

whipped cream and mini marshmallows

small Styrofoam cups

You can find a printable version of the recipe further down in the post. 

Instructions

You’ll need to do the “hard” part at home the night or the morning before. You’ll mix the sugar, cocoa powder, and water in a saucepan and bring to a slight boil. Let it cool and put it in a container to bring to school with you. When you’re ready to put it together in the classroom, pour your chocolate mixture in the crockpot and add in 10 cups of milk. Turn your crockpot on low. It’ll take about 2 hours on low for it to be hot. You may want to turn it off about 20 minutes before you start serving so it’s not quite as hot for the students. You’ll have a couple of cups of milk leftover, and if you’re getting low on the hot chocolate as your serving, you can add some of the leftover milk. It will still be plenty chocolaty.

After you make it this way, you’ll never want to go back. I even use the same recipe for Christmas at home too. Let me know if you try it!

If you’d like a printable version of the recipe click the green box below. It is a half sheet of paper, share the other with another teacher or a parent that comes to help!

One of our favorite activities to have hot chocolate with is when we’re working on our hot chocolate craft and writing prompts. They get to enjoy their hot chocolate while making their craft and writing about it. They look adorable all hanging up on the bulletin board!

And our Cooking Class How To Make Hot Chocolate is another favorite of the kids. 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.

I hope your students enjoy their hot chocolate as much as mine do!

Jenette

The post Making Hot Chocolate In The Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

I’ve made table tents that you can print as well with the game’s name on it along with the game’s instructions. It’s made it so much easier when I use these in the classroom. My parent volunteers can just read the back to get the instructions and it makes things so much easier for us all. You can download them for free at the bottom of the post.

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Do You Want To Build A Snowman?

You’ll need popsicle sticks and mini or regular size marshmallows depending on how hard you want to make it. The students will put the popsicle stick in their mouth and try to build a snowman using 3 marshmallows on the end of their stick.

Snowball Race

You’ll need a few cotton balls and straws. The students will use the straw and try to blow the “snowball” to the other side of the table. You can make it more difficult by using some painters tape and making a square on the table that they have to try to blow their snowball into.

Snowman Bounce

You’ll need a paper plate paint stir stick, duct tape, and white balloons. Draw a snowman face on the paper plate and attach it to the stick using the duct tape. The students will use the snowman paddle to keep the snowball bouncing in the air for one minute.

Snowball Toss

You’ll need 2 cups per team and a bunch of mini marshmallows. There are 2 students to a team for this game. Have them stand on opposite ends of a table or 6 feet apart.  The snowball tosser will try and get as many snowballs into the cup as possible in one minute.

Snowball Scoop

You’ll need 2 large bowls, 2 bags of cotton balls, a large salad spoon or tongs and a blindfold. Place all of the cotton balls into one bowl and put it beside the second bowl on the table. Blindfold the student, and using the salad spoon, they’ll see how many “snowballs” they can move from the full bowl to the empty bowl using only the spoon in one minute.

Click the green box below to download the Winter Minute to Win It Games table tents with each game’s instructions on them for your volunteers.

Wind down with from the party fun with some hot chocolate in the classroom. It’s always a hit!

I hope your students enjoy playing these games as much as mine do. Are there any other winter games you enjoying playing in the classroom?

If you’re looking for more Minute to Win It games, click here to see our fall minute to win ute game idea and here for our spring minute to win it game ideas. We also share donut minute to win it games to play here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Winter Minute to Win It Games appeared first on Primary Playground.

for your shopping convenience, there are amazon affiliate links provided in this blog post.

These Free Printable Bookworm Bag Topper are a fun way to celebrate reading accomplishments with your students!

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I wanted to come up with a fun idea to help celebrate the students AR reading each quarter. The students have a personal AR reading goal each quarter and If they reach the goal, they get to come to our AR party! Any of the students that don’t reach their goal will go to our buddy rooms.

Each quarter will have a different celebration. We have 45 minutes set aside so nothing too big, but something fun for their hard work.

The Plan

1st quarter

Bookworm certificates  ~ bag of gummy worms & recess time

2nd quarter

Star Reader certificates ~ hot cocoa bar

3rd quarter

Super Reader certificates ~  popcorn bar

4th quarter

Remarkable Reader certificates  ~ popsicles

Bookworm Treats

I created reading certificates that each of the students received. Since the certificate is bookworm themed, I knew that gummy worms had to be involved! These bookworm bag toppers worked out perfectly. I put some sour gummy worms in a snack bag and and stapled on the bag toppers and you’re done! Simple and quick is my favorite kind of project.

Click the green box to download the Free Printable Bookworm Bag Topper,

The students absolutely loved the gummy worms and were so proud to take their certificates home to show their parents. Anything little thing that we can do to make reading that much more enjoyable for these kiddos is good with me!

What are some ideas you’ve used in your classroom to celebrate reading?

Jenette

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