Materials

• Printable Planets and Stars: planets
• Plain dress or pant suit (school uniform types work perfect and often inexpensive once school has started)
• Felt or fabric (or thick paper)
• Fabric scissors
• Tape
• Fabric glue
• Cardboard
• Optional: Paper clips and earring backs or an old pair of earrings, elastic head band

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print the templates and cut them out.  You could add these to your dress in paper, but we decided to use them as a pattern for felt.

• Make some tape donuts and adhere them to your felt, cutting out the planets.  (You could trace around the edges if that makes it easier).

• Add on any details that you might like such as land masses on earth, a ring around Saturn or some texture to Jupiter. We glued them on with fabric glue, but you could sew them if you like.

• Put a sheet of cardboard into your dress and then glue the planets on with fabric glue.  Allow that to dry and then do the reverse side.  The cardboard prevents the two sides of the dress from gluing together!   You could also sew the pieces on as well.

• Cut out your stars from the template as well.  We had some sparkly ones that we used for both the dress and then we glued two onto a pair of old earrings  and to two paper clips, creating some starry earrings and stars for The Frizz’s shoes.  Add some stars to an elastic headband for an extra touch with fabric glue to place on your curled hair (which we spray painted a copper-y red with temporary hair colour)!

• See if you have a pal who would like to be a lizard with you!

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Purpose

• Recognizing characters from children’s literature.
• Celebrating various holidays and traditions.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use fabric scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• If a sewing machine is used, that should be done by an adult or with direct adult supervision, depending on your age and abilities.
• Be sure to put cardboard in between the layers of your outfit, so you don’t accidentally glue them together!
• Follow the product directions and safety guidelines on the glue.

Materials

• Printables: cards
  
• Cardstock
• Paint and/or stamp pads (Be sure to use non-toxic products with the skin contact)
• Wipes
• Thin marker
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Glue stick

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print out the cards on a thicker paper such as cardstock.

• Add your fingerprints (with stamp ink or paint on them) to make:

a) the kernels on the dried/ calico corn

b) leaves for the tree

c) apples on the tree

d) spiders for the web

e) the jack-o-lantern

f) ghosts for the haunted house

• Allow your work to dry overnight.

• Add any details with a thin marker (like stems for the apple, faces for the ghosts, legs for the spiders)

• We have some fancy paper to print for the interior of your cards if you like (and the lines might be helpful for some children).  There are two options:  interlined for younger children and regular lines for those that are older!  Write a note to your friend and pop their card in their mailbox for a fantastic fall surprise!

• Or add the card to a book or special treat!  We are sending this new book from Easy Crafts for Kids: Non-Toy Gifts to my niece who loves paper crafting!  Here are the details: https://nontoygifts.com/paper-crafts-book/

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Purpose

• Providing meaningful real-life opportunities for writing.
• Recognizing some of the symbols associated with various holidays!

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors or a paper cutter  with care and direct, adult supervision.

This is not a sponsored post, nor do we use affiliate links- their wooden craft products are lovely and there is a vast selection of them!  They are great for open-ended possibilities for little crafters and big ones too!   We share things we genuinely like and think people will too! 

Materials

• Wooden Advent calendar: https://woodpeckerscrafts.com/unfinished-wooden-advent-christmas-calendar-house/
• Printable (numbers, decorating items, card) halloween countdown
• Paint (we used acrylic)
• Paint brush
• Glue
• Pencil/ paper

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Paint your house.  We went with the roof and trim (we took out the drawers beforehand) using acrylic paint and allowing it to dry overnight.

• Print and punch (1 inch) or cut out your circles (some boxes have to share a number so you can put two items in them).

• Glue them onto your drawers.

• Print and cut out the additional features and attach them to your house with glue.  If you want items to stick out of the side of your haunted house, simply cut out a tab on the side that you want to attach to your building.  You could make your items too! (Even better!)

• We included a card that you can use in the printable as well, so you can give this countdown to your pal!

• Want to try another one for Christmas?

Peg Doll Family Advent Calendar: http://make-it-your-own.com/family-advent-calendar/

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Purpose

• This is a great way to practise the calendar and follow the sequence of the numbers!
• Recognizing some of the symbols associated with various holidays and celebrations.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors and a glue gun with care and direct, adult supervision.

Materials

• Printable Spiders & Activities stack spiders
  
• Scissors
• Optional:  Play spiders (you can purchase these at craft, dollar stores, online, in science centre/nature shops or at party stores around Hall)
• Optional: Page protectors
• 2 dice, pencil/eraser or dry-erase marker/eraser.

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print the spiders and cut them out carefully, using scissors or have an adult cut them with a paper cutter.

• If you like for durability, place your activity prompts into page protectors.

Counting 

• Add the number of spiders to the TEN FRAME CHART as specified in the box.  You can first put them on the web and then move them to the ten frame or place them directly in the ten frame.  As you place each spider in the chart, count the number as you place it down.  This will help you with ONE-TO-ONE correspondence (that each numeral spoken corresponds to a physical object).  Ten frames help children visually organize and identify numbers.

Patterning 

• Create a pattern.  You could look varying the attributes of colour, the number of items etc.  You could create a repeating pattern, a growing pattern etc.  This is a great time to identify the core (the main part of the pattern that repeats) and think about the different types of patterns (ABAB, or ABCABC or ABABCABCD etc.).

Sorting by Colour 

• Sort your spiders according to their colours.

Sorting by Size 

• Sort your leaves into their size (e.g. small, medium and large)

Roll and Count 

• Using two dice (if you don’t have these, you could use an app), roll your first die and then add that number of spiders to your ten frames, counting as you go.  Roll the next die and then add those spiders, counting from the previous group of spiders.  Write the total if you like using a dry erase marker.  This is a fun collaborative activity!  (Of course be sure to follow your community’s social distancing protocols during the pandemic, so for example in our video partnerships are with our siblings).

Tic Tac Toe 

• Pick two different types of spiders (you will need 5 each) and play with a partner trying to get 3 spiders in a row (horizontal, diagonal, vertical).  This is a simple introduction to game play- taking turns, developing beginning strategies, encouraging your partner etc.

Match your Spiders 

• Use different coloured play spiders or the spiders in the pack to create matches.  Our son glued one set of the pair into a tray and then had his classmates from last year match the spiders in a bowl (as seen in the video).  You could also use the paper spiders in our package.  Be sure to print the corresponding prompt to put along with your activity!

Practising skills repeatedly in different formats allows the children to more fully integrate the knowledge.  You could use the printable spiders one day, then try them another day with play spiders and even make spiders out of play dough if you wanted to further extend this practise!

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Purpose

• Working with different math concepts in a hands-on manner.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces if you are using play dough.
• Small items such as the play spiders can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths

Materials

• Printable Trees and Leaves leaves on tree
• Printable Math Challenges stack leaves
• Scissors
• Optional:  Wooden leaves (you can purchase these at craft or dollar stores), play dough and/or small collected leaves.
• Optional: Page protectors
• 2 dice, pencil/eraser or dry-erase marker/eraser.

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print the leaves and cut them out carefully, using scissors or have an adult cut them with a paper cutter.

• If you like for durability, place your activity prompts into page protectors.

• If you use wooden leaves we painted ours with liquid watercolours, but you could try any type of paint or food colouring.  For ease you can put the paint into a small container and swirl the leaves around.  Once they were covered in paint we placed them on a drying rack.  This method was quick and easy!  (Use the remaining paint to create a fall picture).

Counting 

• Add the number of leaves to the TEN FRAME CHART as specified in the box.  You can first put them on the tree and then move them to the ten frame or place them directly in the ten frame.  As you place each leaf in the chart, count the number as you place it down.  This will help you with ONE-TO-ONE correspondence (that each numeral spoken corresponds to a physical object).  Ten frames help children visually organize and identify numbers.

Patterning 

• Create a pattern.  You could look varying the attributes of size, shape, the number of items etc.  You could create a repeating pattern, a growing pattern etc.  This is a great time to identify the core (the main part of the pattern that repeats) and think about the different types of patterns (ABAB, or ABCABC or ABABCABCD etc.).

Sorting by Colour 

• Sort your leaves according to their colours.

Sorting by Shape 

• Sort your leaves according to their shapes or types.

Sorting by Size 

• Sort your leaves into their size (e.g. small, medium and large)

Roll and Count 

• Using two dice (if you don’t have these, you could use an app), roll your first die and then add that number of leaves to your ten frames, counting as you go.  Roll the next die and then add those leaves, counting from the previous group of leaves.  Write the total if you like using a dry erase marker.  This is a fun collaborative activity!  (Of course be sure to follow your community’s social distancing protocols during the pandemic, so for example in our video partnerships are with our siblings).

Tic Tac Toe 

• Pick two different types of leaves (you will need 5 each) and play with a partner trying to get 3 leaves in a row (horizontal, diagonal, vertical).  This is a simple introduction to game play- taking turns, developing beginning strategies, encouraging your partner etc.

Stack your Leaves

• Stack your leaves into a pile (this is a great fine motor activity) trying to balance them and see how high you can get.  Now try to blow over your pile!

Practising skills repeatedly in different formats allows the children to more fully integrate the knowledge.  You could use the printable leaves one day, then try them another day with play dough or go on a nature walk and collect leaves to try using an additional day.

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Purpose

• Working with different math concepts in a hands-on manner.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces if you are using play dough.
• Small items such as the wooden leaves can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

Reading is such an important skill for children to acquire as a means of exploring information and expanding their thoughts on various topics.  I used reading as a vehicle for starting every type of lesson as an educator, whether it be creating a music piece to accompany a book, introducing the concept of a math game we were about to play or writing a persuasive letter to a character.  Reading with my own children is definitely my favourite part of the day.  It is a chance to bond, talk about the struggles a character might be facing (and how that might relate to ourselves or our community) and develop the children’s skills of analysis when it comes to reading.  Reading has become a passion for them and I think choosing good quality books that you can really dive into in terms of connections, predictions and exciting story and character development are key.  These are the types of books that Lauren carefully selects!

With school being online and at home for many children currently, Lauren’s new e-book PARADE: Family Book Club is a helpful guide for selecting meaningful books and connecting with your children, all while teaching them important skills for becoming more sophisticated readers.

The e-book focuses on picture books to teach social and emotional skills and gives you a weekly book suggestions and activities to develop your child’s understanding of the themes of the books and extend them through talk, play, creating and action- implementing what they learned into their own lives.

Find out more about the book here: https://happilyeverelephants.com/childrens-book-club

*This is not a sponsored post, nor do we use affiliate links.

We only share things that we genuinely love and think would help families and educators .*

Here’s an example of one of the activities we tried, along with a page of the e-book in its convenient digital format:

Materials

• Printable: Canadian/ UK version: portrait-UK  American version: portrait-US
• Multi-cultural Markers/crayons
• Scissors
• Glue
• Pencil/eraser
• Markers
• Thin black pens
• You could extend this to a 3D experience, embellishing yourself with buttons, gems, fabric etc.

We always find these items useful too:

Directions

• Print the printables (we used cardstock to provide a bit of thickness).

• Sketch yourself out lightly with pencil.

• Colour in your skin tone.

• Add details and colour to your hair, eyes, jewellery etc.

• Colour in your frame and/or background to make your work pop!

• Choose topics from the list that are meaningful to you and/or create your own to share about yourself.  Cut them out and glue them in the title box.

• You could extend this to a 3D experience, embellishing yourself with buttons, gems, fabric etc.

• Write about you and your world and share it by creating a booklet, putting it up on display (you could back your work in a coordinating colour) and/or taking a photo to share with your online classmates.
• We’d love to see if you do this project!  TAG us on Social Media:

More printable ideas:

http://make-it-your-own.com/?s=printables

http://make-it-your-own.com/?s=printables

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Purpose

• Meaningful writing experiences.
• Building community.
• Celebrating our individuality and discovering others.

Safety Notes

• We suggest that you use a tray and a smock to protect your clothing and surfaces.
• Use scissors with care and direct, adult supervision.
• If you use embellishments, please remember: A) Cord, yarn etc. can be a strangulation hazard, therefore be sure to use with direct supervision and for its intended purpose. B) Small items (such as beads, buttons etc.) can be a choking hazard, therefore be sure to keep them out of the reach of children ages 0-3 years of age or those that tend to put things into their mouths.

We made some free printable alphabet cards so that your child or students can work on creating their own names, those of their friends and words!  

Materials

• Printable Letter Cards & Prompts Letters
• Printable Sign Stand paper stand 2
• Cardstock
• Scissors or paper cutter (to be used by an adult)
• Tray
• Containers

Directions

• Read the book Your Name is a Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (https://jamilahthewriter.com/), illustrated by Luisa Uribe (https://luisauribe.com/).  Here’s the video that goes along with the book https://www.theinnovationpress.com/yournameisasongvideo

Canadians can find it here:

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/your-name-is-a-song/9781943147724-item.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Your-Name-Song-Jamilah-Thompkins-Bigelow/dp/B07W4XJ184/

Americans can find it here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Name-Song-Jamilah-Thompkins-Bigelow/dp/B07W4XJ184/

*Disclaimer:  We received a copy of the book for review as I love so many books from: http://www.theinnovationpress.com/.  This is not a sponsored post and nor do we use affiliate links.*

• Print your cards on sturdy paper and cut out the letters.  You may want to print several copies, particularly if the names you are working with have more than one of each letter.

• Put the letters in a container or shallow tray.  We used two trays, sorting the letters into upper and lower case.

• Place out a big tray to arrange the letters of your name.

• Print out the handy stand on sturdy paper, cut it out and fold along the dotted line.  Isn’t this so creative?!  My host teacher when I was in University taught me that simple paper trick- great for labels of displays of the children’s work, prompts etc. and so inexpensive!

• Print out the name prompt on sturdy paper and then add it to your activity!  This activity would be great for back to school in September for children in Pre-K/ Preschool/ Playschool, Kindergarten and Grade 1!

• We added a poster variation for children to make their friends’ names (you could print an additional stand and add photos to this).

• We also added a poster for making words with the letters- this would be a great way for children to work on common words, words that they working on or words that are interest to them.  You could put out certain letters or use the whole alphabet bank.

Another Alphabet Idea:

Find the printable here: http://make-it-your-own.com/alphabet-booklet/

Other printable projects (fairy garden, paper farm, puppet theatre, writing activities etc.) http://make-it-your-own.com/?s=printable+

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Purpose

• Learning about our names, recognizing the letters that comprise them.
• Creating familiar words that are meaningful to the child.

Safety Notes

• Use scissors or a paper cutter with care and direct, adult supervision.