Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Holiday Cheer!!


Happy Holidays!!  During this very busy time of year it is important that we take time to reflect on all of the things that we are grateful for and focus on spending time with family and friends.  Here is some information about how different groups around the world celebrate.

Hanukkah information and activities

Ramadan

Diwali

Kwanzaa

Christmas

Additional activities can be found on my Draggo page...

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Laissez les bons temps roulez!!

Let the good times roll (the title of this blog post)!  Today we celebrate Mardi Gras which is the "feast before the fast."  The "fast" refers to the time of lent in the Christian church when many people either give up something that they love or try to take on something new to challenge themselves to be a better person.  Here is some information about Mardi Gras from the www.DLTK-Kids.com website:

What is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday".  The name comes from the ancient custom of parading a fat ox through Paris on this day.  The ox was to remind the people that they were not allowed to eat meat during Lent.  Lent runs from Ash Wednesday thru Easter Sunday.
Mardi Gras moves.  It can be anywhere between February 3rd and March 9th.  The date depends on when Easter falls.
French people who came to the United States brought the custom of Mardi Gras with them.  The most famous festival in the US (and perhaps the world) is at New Orleans in Louisiana.
But Mardi Gras parades happen throughout the world.  Biloxi in Mississipi, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Nice in France, Binche in Belgiun and Viareggio in Italy are just a few examples.
The Tuesday that Mardi Gras falls on is also known as Shrove Tuesday.  The name comes from the custom of confessing on the day before lent.  Shrove means "to be forgiven one's sins."
Mardi Gras Customs: In Southern Italy, people dress up in costumes and put on an ancient play during Mardi Gras
In Rio de Jeneiro, people dance in the streets.
In Nice, France people wear giant masks in the Mardi Gras parade (it looks like a bunch of walking heads with tiny bodies).
In Binche, Belgium people dress in colorful clown costumes (the clowns are called gilles) The clowns wear bunches of ostrich feathers on their heads and dance in the streets.  They carry baskets of oranges which they throw to the watching crowds.
For most of you, Mardi Gras customs are likely of the New Orleans variety.  During the parade, everyone dresses up in costumes.  Trinkets, especially beads and doubloons, are tossed to the crowds from the parade floats.  There are 3 colors associated with Mardi Gras: Purple (symbolizes justice), Green (symbolizes faith), and Gold (symbolizes power).

Mardi Gras Fun:
Mardi Gras Jigsaw Puzzle 
you can change the number of pieces to the puzzle to make it harder/easier
Coloring Pages
you can print these and color them

And since it is a snow day...
Snowball Fight - subtraction
Snowman Math Facts - addition
Decorate a Snowman - just for fun!

Also, I have added some fun things to my Draggo page under the Brain Games and Math tabs.  Let me know what you think!
Draggo Link

Monday, February 9, 2015

Valentine's Day Happys...

History of Valentine's Day and some games:
Click here for history and games


Here are some fun story starters:

1.  Write a Valentine to a character in your favorite book.
2.  In my spare time I love to...
3.  All the Valentines were passed out and the children were ready to open them when suddenly...
4.  Describe one person in your life that you think has the biggest heart.
5.  Pretend that Cupid took this year off from being the Valentine's Day mascot.  Create a new mascot for this year.  Draw a picture and explain your drawing.

And something to make for Valentine's Day:

Crystal Suncatcher:
This Valentine's Day, pair up science and crafting with this simple crystal formation project that's sure to bring a little love into your home.

What You Need:
Clear plastic lids such as the ones found on snack canisters, take out boxes or deli containers,
Push pin, Cork trivet, Red or pink permanent marker, Christmas ornament hooks, Measuring cup, Hot water, Epsom salts, Spoon, Cookie sheet

What You Do:
1. Before getting your young crafter involved, prep the project for hanging. Place a lid on the trivet and use the push pin to carefully poke a hole in the upper edge of the rim or in a ridge. It must be above the water line or in a section that will not have water poured into it or the project will leak. Repeat with remaining lids.
2. Once you have made the holes, thread an ornament hook through each of them.
3. Turn your plastic lids base up and invite your young crafter to draw hearts with the permanent marker on the undersides of the lids.
4. Let the hot water run for a moment before collecting about ¼ cup of water in the measuring cup.
5. Add approximately 4 tablespoons of Epsom salts (you want a 1:1 ratio between water and Epsom salts).
6. Help your child stir the solution until the Epsom salts dissolve.
7. Line up the lids on your cookie sheet.
8. Pour Epsom salt solution into each lid.
9. Place the cookie sheet in a safe place. In about an hour, you will be able to see some crystals. Explain to your child that as the water evaporates, it leaves behind the Epsom salts. The salts cluster together to form regular shapes called crystals. A similar process occurs in nature when minerals in cave water interact, creating stalactites.
10. It may take a day or two for the water to evaporate completely. Once the water has evaporated, carefully hang the suncatchers in a sunny window and let the love shine in!

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Sunday, November 23, 2014

Thanksgiving history and activities...

This is such a special time of year as the seasons change and we look forward to spending time with family and friends for the holidays.  I especially enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday as the focus is "food, family, friends, and fellowship"!  While you are relaxing and hanging out, here are some activities that you can do to learn about the history of Thanksgiving and some fun games to play.  Don't forgot that the Penguin Project (see previous posts) is also a great way to be a part of something exciting happening many miles away:)

Thanksgiving History -
The First Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Timeline
Be A Historian

Thanksgiving Games -
Too Many Turkeys
Spot the differences
Turkey Swap
Word Search
Thanksgiving Bounce
Dress A Turkey
Make A Silly Turkey
Create A Thanksgiving Card
Thanksgiving Tale
"Fill In" Thanksgiving Story

Thanksgiving Stories -

The Story of Squanto
The Kitchen
Two Bad Pilgrims



Thanks to Emily Starr (of Starrmatica) for some of the suggested activities:)

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Halloween Fun...SPOOKY




Happy Halloween!  I know that many of our students recently enjoyed participating in the fun activities at the Upper School Halloween Bazaar and this next week will be full of excitement as the big "Trick or Treating" day approaches.  Here are some fun activities that you can do at home and a link to a great Time for Kids page with lots of interesting information about the history of Halloween, printable pages to color, costume and make-up ideas, and even recipes for spooky treats like the monster cupcake pictured.   Have a safe and fun time with your friends and family this week!

Carve a Pumpkin game 
(several different spooky online games can be located here)

The First Trick or Treaters


Time for Kids Halloween History
 (click on the topics on the left side of the page to see more Halloween things)


More Halloween History

Halloween Q and A





Creative Writing Prompt:
"What if you found some unusual footprints in your backyard? Would you follow them to see where they went or would you be too scared to follow them?  Write a paragraph about this situation and don't forget to say what you found!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Holiday Break Activities

I want to share with you some websites with activities that would be fun to do over the holiday break.  I also found some websites that include books about winter time.  

Build a Snowman:

http://www.castlearcana.com/christmas/snowman/ 
http://www.think-bank.com/iwb/flash/snowman.html
http://dressupwho.net/i-files/swf/182-snowman.swf 

Create a Snowflake:

http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/ 


Design a card:

http://www.iboard.co.uk/resource/Christmas-Card-Designer-migrated_swfs_3099.swf

Christmas Tree Maker:

http://www.iboard.co.uk/iwb/Xmas-Tree-Maker-1891

Make your own wrapping paper design:

http://www.iboard.co.uk/activity/Christmas-Wrapping-Paper-Maker--540

Build your own gingerbread house/gingerbread man:

http://www.highlightskids.com/flash/gingerbread-house
 http://besplatneigrice.ba/content/games/slatkisi.swf
http://www.jennybharris.com/activities/home/sweethome.htm 
 http://sprintsweets.com/



Christmas Games:

http://www.thekidzpage.com/freekidsgames/games/alllights/christmaslights.swf 
 http://dingo.care2.com/cards/new/0422/Do-a-rain-deer.swf http://www.learn-ict.org.uk/resources/rudolph/rudolph.htm
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=1191 
http://www.akidsheart.com/flash3/diffgame/diffchristmas.swf 
https://hwb.wales.gov.uk/cms/hwbcontent/Shared%20Documents/vtc/ngfl/re/b-dag/ngfl-container/re-unit1-en.html 
 http://www.iboard.co.uk/resource/Christmas-Present-Sorting-migrated_swfs_3490.swf
 http://www.akidsheart.com/flash3/edgegaame/edgeorns.swf


Christmas Math:

http://www.iboard.co.uk/resource/Twelve-Games-of-Christmas-Elf-Sorter-1353586595838714.swf 
http://www.iboard.co.uk/iwb/Christmas-Symmetry-Game-1894 
Math Facts 
http://www.iboard.co.uk/activity/Toy-Timeline-542 
http://www.iboard.co.uk/resource/Twelve-Games-of-Christmas-Presents-in-the-Snow-1353586555951361.swf 
http://www.iboard.co.uk/resource/Twelve-Games-of-Christmas-Fling-the-Elf-1354025236573480.swf 
http://www.iboard.co.uk/resource/Twelve-Games-of-Christmas-Christmas-Tree-Coordinates-1353593601982258.swf 


Winter Stories:

http://www.speakaboos.com/story/the-gingerbread-man 
http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/the-snowy-day/reader 
http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/snowmen-at-night/reader 
http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/frosty-the-snowman/reader 

General Stories:

http://www.storylineonline.net/


Also, the students that I work with in small reading groups can access a webiste called Reading Eggs from home.  This site includes a space where they can read and quiz on the stories that they read.  This is great practice for AR and is something that we sometimes do in the Think Tank.  Your daughter should know her username, but if you have any questions please email or call me.  After logging in to Reading Eggs, click on the Library icon on the Reading Eggspress side of the website. (Note that Reading Eggspress is geared toward readers age 7+.)  There are many fun activities in Reading Eggspress; however, many are still too difficult for 1st grade readers (although don't be afraid to do them with your child).  Back to the Library, after entering the library immediately modify the reading age to an appropriate one and then browse the different genres of book until you find one that interests your daughter.  She can then read the book (or some have an audio component where the book is read to them) and then "quiz" on it (even leaving the quiz open on the page while she looks for the answer). The "game" type feel is fun for the students and a challenge to collect different "cards" as they go along.  It also is building the skill of reading and then finding an answer in the text.

Happy Holidays!!