Memorial Day Teaching Unit - Book and Activities for Young Learners

 Hello everyone,

I hope you are hanging in there and ready for the summer!

Memorial Day is approaching, and my teaching resources are here to help. A few years ago, I wrote a downloadable book explaining Memorial Day to children attending kindergarten through third grade.

Many of you have already discovered this little book at my TpT store. If you haven't, you can find it here: Memorial Day Social Studies - History Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

I had hoped that more books like that would pop up and help teachers and parents of young learners explain history in a simple, age-appropriate way. After some research, I realized there is still a need for clear and concise narration for young learners and tailor-made activities in one.

This is how it looks inside:

This is a downloadable book and a complete unit for Memorial Day, with over 130 excellent reviews on Teachers Pay Teachers. Don't miss out! 

I have also recently discovered an excellent Memorial Day activity (also suitable for the 4th of July!): This beautiful US Map coloring tablecloth on Amazon by a company called "eat sleep doodle"!

This activity can bring adults and kids together for fun and educational time. The tablecloth is washable, 100% cotton, and, therefore, reusable! It includes markers, but if you are doing this activity in the classroom, you might need more washable markers for all your students. You can have a closer look at it here: US Map washable tablecloth coloring activity #ad

Hope you have fun and learn in the classroom or at home with these activities!

Dina - The Constant Kindergartener

Johnny Appleseed's Story - A Feelings Map for Kindergarten and First Grade {Free Download} ! Plus an Apple Clipart - FREE!

Hey, everyone!

I know I have been a bit..AWOL here on the blog and haven't been creating as much as I used to either, BUT I am slowly coming back! I do have one or two relatively new and FREE stuff for you which I haven't blogged about. They are available to download and can be used in your classroom or at home.

Those of you who follow me on TpT have definitely spotted them.

The first one is a feelings map. I have received so much positive feedback on the first feelings map I created: "The Gingerbread Man Story feelings map," so I decided I would make one for Johnny Appleseed's story as well. I have shortened the story and created clear visuals to make it easier for pre-k and kindergarten kiddos to "read." They color how they feel under every image. You can click on the cover below and download it for free! Please leave some thoughtful feedback for me to know what you think and if I should make more feelings maps.

If you are looking for a FULL and kiddo-friendly version of Johnny Appleseed's story, you can see the one I created here --> https://goo.gl/zGvoMU . It has also received wonderful feedback from fellow educators!

The second little thing I have for you is an apple clipart you can use on worksheets or resources of your own. I offer it both in color and black and white if you want to save your ink. You can see it and download it by clicking on the image below! Should I make more clipart..?😊😊 Let me know in the comments or by leaving some feedback on TpT.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have fun with these in class or at home!

Dina - The Constant Kindergartener

The CrAlphabet! 26 Alphabet Craft Projects with Phonics Activities. Two Free Printables Included!

Hey everyone!

It's a new school year! Hope you and your new kiddos are adjusting smoothly. 

I have a new creation I am very excited to talk (blog) about! I have been working on it for the last 3 months. It took me that much time to design, draw, and test every template and craft before finally listing the entire packet on TpT.

I believe that all learning should be fun and engaging. In my classroom, I always organize art projects to facilitate learning and teach different subjects as I have seen how well the students respond. As teachers, we know how important teaching letters and sounds is because this knowledge ultimately leads students to early reading. Taking these facts into consideration, I created "The CrAlphabet". The name is a playful merge of the words “crafts” and “alphabet” and the packet includes art-based projects which introduce letters and letter - sound correspondences.

The Cover

It contains 26 templates for craftivities - one for each letter of the alphabet.  These were first hand-drawn, which took me forever..(!)

..then, they were edited digitally and finally beginning sounds activities were put inside the templates. How they look like now:

The shapes are easy to cut out and require only one fold.

Some examples or how-to :

 

Easy phonics graphic organizers/activities are also included in this packet.

Although "The CrAlphabet" took some time and effort to make, I had so much fun creating it and I hope you also have fun with it in your classroom or at home!

If you want to see more details about this teaching tool, you can follow this link --> The CrAlphabet! 26 Alphabet Craft Projects with Phonics Activities

I am also giving away two templates which were originally part of "The CrAlphabet"! Click on the images below to download the files for free (4 pages each).

                      

Hope your students learn and have fun with these!

Wishing you a happy and fulfilling school year,

                                                                                       Dina

New Year's Activity and Craft for Pre-k and Kindergarten! How To and Free Printable.

Hey everyone!

Hope you are enjoying the holidays and getting some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

The Christmas-y atmosphere in the house and all around, got my brain in gear and I created a New Year's craftivity for kiddos in pre-k and kindergarten. It is a way to have fun and practice writing on the first day of the year, or on the first day you are back at school, after the year has changed.

Materials you'll need:

- Markers or crayons

- Scissors

- Pencil or pen

- Black cardstock (A4)

- Colored cardstock

- Tape

- Gold star confetti or glitter

- The writing printable (provided below)

How to:

1. Grab the printable below. Print.

2. Ask the children about their hopes and dreams for next year. Then, give them the printable above. Τhey can write the new year's number, trace the phrase "Happy New Year", cut along the black outlines, write, and color.

3. Give your students some colored cardstock to trace their hand. They can choose whatever color they like. Then, they will need to cut out their handprints.

4. Bend the fingers to create the "fingers crossed" hand gesture. You can use some tape to keep the index and middle finger together.

5. Glue the printable and the handprint on black cardstock (A4). It will look something like this :

6. Add gold star confetti around the printable or glitter! (optional) 

I used gold star confetti and this was the final result :

Now we are one step closer to being (almost) prepared for the first day of school after New Year's Day!

Happy New Year!

                                                                                            Dina

Halloween Teaching Resources for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade - Roundup!

Hey everyone!

We are only days away from..Halloween! I like dressing up, but I haven't decided what I should be yet.. (I think I am enjoying this more than the kids..lol !) Two years ago, I dressed as a witch at school. I thought my students would be scared of me but..nope! They were so excited about the hat, makeup and everything.

Teaching during this time of year is fun! All the scary/spooky/gooey/slimy stuff around, can inspire a number of engaging activities in the classroom or at home. Last year, I prepared some early literacy, math, and social studies - history activities for young learners. Here is a roundup of them :

Free Halloween Vocabulary and Alphabet Cards

Free Halloween Writing and Notes Papers

Halloween Math - All Cut&Paste Activities and Word Problems

The Legend of Jack O' Lantern - Social Studies - History

I have also collected many great ideas from fellow educators on my "Halloween Class Ideas and Crafts" Pinterest board. You can check them out by clicking below.

Take your pick!

Hope you have fun in your classroom or at home with these activities! 

Happy Halloween!

Dina

5 Things about This Kindergarten Teacher's Summer!

Hey everyone!

I have been refusing to write this end-of-the-summer blog post for...well, too long! Teaching is an amazing job, but who doesn't love the summer..?

Labor Day is behind us and it is back to school time for everyone. However, I won't let go of my summer memories so fast! So...here are 5 things about my summer and I would love to read all about yours in the comments!

1. After 3 years of not being able to travel anywhere but our..balcony during the summer (due to financial difficulties), we finally managed to save enough for a trip to Italy! Italy is my favorite country to travel to and..the only foreign country I have ever been to. A pic I took from a very tall tower we went on:

City of Verona

2. I love pizza so I ate a lot..! I'm a diet coke addict too (..pizza and then diet coke..Lol!)

3. Ice cream was amazing..!

4. My dogs are members of my family and I NEVER go anywhere without them, so of course they were with me. They explored a lot! Italian shops and restaurants are so dog friendly, that they let us inside almost everywhere.

5. I couldn't have left there, without buying one or two picture books..even though I don't speak or read Italian..I could not resist!

                                 What kindergarten teacher could resist a pop-up book? Hehe!

or....

                                                              ...a book about crafts?

Not me for sure..!

I hope you all had a wonderful summer. I will be back with posts with teaching ideas and resources for your classroom or home.

Happy September and I wish us all a happy and safe teaching time this year!

                                                                                                                                                                              Dina

Summer Thoughts, 4th of July and Summer Craft Ideas!

Hey everyone!

Finally..it's SUMMER!

How are you spending your days?

I just want to lie in bed, take long walks with the doggies, watch t.v shows, films and of course..go to the beach!

My fur babies are surely enjoying the walks and relaxed mood too. Here they are at a lovely seaside coffee shop we went to the other day..

Don't you just love the summer?

Getting to something teaching related..

I am preparing a pirates&mermaids math pack, but the hot weather is making me work slower...! I hope I'll have it ready soon, as I know many homeschoolers enjoy these activities and a number of parents asked me for more..please be patient!

In the meantime, I have revised the text in my 4th of July nonftiction story and I am in the process of adding activities and worksheets. If you are looking for an easy way to explain 4th of July to your kinders...look no further! You can check it out by clicking on the image below:

Everything in my TpT store will be on sale until Friday, including this one!

During the summer, crafts are sometimes the only thing the kiddos can concentrate on doing! You can go to my "Class Crafts" page here for some ideas. Crafts are categorized by season!

For free printables and more summer crafts, have a look at my "Summer Ideas and  Crafts" pinterest board (click below!):

Happy 4th of July!

                                                                                       

                                                                                     Dina - The Constant Kindergartener

Memorial Day and End of the Year Teaching Resources!

Hey everyone!

The school year is almost over and at this point, I know teachers are like busy bees!

Memorial Day is just around the corner and the end of the year preparations are in progress. Last year, I created some teaching materials for kindergarten - 3rd grade, for both occasions. Here is a roundup of those, which I hope you find both helpful and fun in class or at home!

• Free vocabulary cards for Memorial Day! (click below to download!)

• Free Medieval graduation diplomas for kindergarten! (click below to download!)

• A social studies - history unit for kindergarten - 2nd grade! (Click below to check it out!)

• A SUPER superheroes end of the year pack full of awards, diplomas, a memory book, a vacation journal and superhero craftivities! Editable to fit any class level (Click below to check it out!)

I know for sure I look a lot like this at the end of the year..

Hang in there and think..summer thoughts!

Thank you for stopping by!

You can follow this blog to keep up with new posts and activities!

                                                                               

                                                                                  Dina - The Constant Kindergartener