Springtime Learning: Engaging Activities for the Elementary Classroom

As the flowers bloom and the birds chirp, it's time to infuse your classroom with the spirit of spring! With the arrival of this vibrant season, elementary teachers have so many opportunities to engage young minds while celebrating the beauty of nature and fostering essential skills. From art projects to math activities and everything in between, here are some delightful spring-themed activities to enrich your curriculum and keep your students excited about learning.

Sunflower Directed Drawings

Embrace the sunny vibes of spring with sunflower directed drawings! Guiding students through the steps of drawing a bright and cheerful sunflower not only encourages creativity but also helps develop their fine motor skills. Plus, it's a wonderful way to incorporate elements of nature into your art curriculum. Read the blog post for more details: Sunflower Directed Drawings

Spring Math Crafts

Combine the freshness of spring with essential math skills through engaging math crafts. From creating flower patterns to modeling addition and subtraction skills, these hands-on activities make learning math fun and tangible for young learners. Ready to learn more? Grab your freebie craft here

No-Prep Worksheets for Grammar and Math

For busy teachers seeking convenient resources, no-prep worksheets offer a quick and effective way to reinforce grammar and math concepts. With spring-themed worksheets featuring engaging puzzles to enhance vocabulary, review skills and helping them work independently or in small groups, they will  keep your students engaged while reviewing essential skills. Get more details here.

Earth Day Activities

Celebrate Earth Day by engaging students in activities that promote environmental awareness and stewardship. From planting seeds in biodegradable pots to conducting nature scavenger hunts, these activities encourage students to appreciate and protect our planet while learning about ecology and sustainability.

Boom Learning Activities

Incorporate technology into your spring curriculum with Boom Learning activities that offer interactive and engaging learning experiences. Whether practicing grammar skills with digital flashcards or reviewing fact and opinion skills, these activities cater to diverse learning styles and preferences.

Pop Art Bunny Drawings

This is an oldie but a goodie in my classroom! Add a touch of whimsy to your art lessons with pop art bunny drawings! I originally discovered this idea on Pinterest from TeachStarter a gazillion years ago. I adapted the original idea to work for my students. I am happy to let you know that TeachStarter offers the templates for FREE! Hop on over to their site to grab them. This year I used AstroBrights neon cardstock for a POP of color. I just love how they turned out!

Spring Paper Bag Books

Take a multidisciplinary approach to learning with spring paper bag books that cover a range of topics, including Earth Day facts, the life cycle of a chicken, the water cycle, and different types of clouds. By integrating reading, writing, and science content into a single project, students gain a deeper understanding of seasonal themes and concepts.

Incorporating these spring activities into your lesson plans can breathe new life into your classroom and ignite a sense of wonder and curiosity in your students. Whether exploring the beauty of nature through art, reinforcing academic skills through hands-on projects, or fostering environmental consciousness through themed activities, there's something for every teacher and student to enjoy as we welcome the arrival of spring. Let the learning blossom!

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10 Earth Day Ideas for Any Elementary Classroom

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As an elementary teacher, I believe it is important to teach our students about the importance of protecting the environment. Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to engage students in learning about the environment and taking action to protect it.

Enjoy these 10 Earth Day ideas, which are perfect for any elementary classroom.

PLANT A TREE: One of the most effective ways to celebrate Earth Day is by planting a tree. You can involve your students in the process by asking them to select a location somewhere at school, digging the hole, and then planting the tree.

LITTER CLEANUP: Schedule a day to pick up litter around the school or even at a local park. Have students wear gloves or even use litter grabbers to safely collect the trash.

START A COMPOST BIN: A compost bin is an excellent way to teach students about the importance of reducing waste and recycling. You can start a compost bin in your school garden.

CREATE A RECYCLING PROGRAM: Encourage your students to recycle by setting up a recycling program in your classroom and/or school. Provide bins for plastic, paper, and other recyclable materials. 

MAKE BIRD FEEDERS: Students can make bird feeders using recycled materials such as milk cartons, plastic bottles, or tin cans. You can even make them with toilet paper rolls. When complete, hang the bird feeders around school.

READ ENVIRONMENTAL BOOKS: Read books that teach children about the environment and the importance of protecting it. Some of my favorite read-alouds are: We Are Water Protectors, Compost Stew, What A Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting Our Planet, and the classic The Great Kapok Tree.

CREATE ECO-FRIENDLY ART: Encourage students to create art using recycled materials such as cardboard, newspaper, magazines, or paper towel rolls. Display the art around school or in your classroom. You can also try this Recycled Garden Activity that incorporates art and measurement skills.

EARTH DAY MATH CRAFT: Students can apply their math skills and create these hanging Earth Day math crafts or these bees, butterflies and flowers math crafts. 

EARTH DAY SKILLS ACTIVITIES: Review reduce, reuse, recycle concepts with these skills based activities that include fact and opinion, cause and effect, ABC order, writing and more!

EARTH DAY NO PREP ACTIVITIES AND BOOM DECK: Review reading and math skills with this set of NO PREP activities which come in PRINT and DIGITAL formats to meet all your needs. These lessons are also great to review for state testing skills. Use these activities during morning work, small groups, homework or for fast finishers to review their skills. 

I hope you enjoy these 10 Earth Day ideas to help your students to develop an understanding of the importance of protecting the environment.

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April Currently and Earth Day Love Giveaway

Oh my goodness... Could it be.... April already???? It is so, I checked my calendar and there it was- in black and white-April 1st! WOW! I am linking up with Farley for this month's Currently.

1. My  boys are at my mom's getting in some "nana" time and my house is super quiet. All I hear is the beautiful sound of my sweet Labrador sawing logs. Love it!

2.I have completely enjoyed the time with my boys this last week. We got to spend a ton of quality time together and that makes my heart melt.

3. Today is my last day of Spring Break and I am sad :(

4. We start State testing in 2 weeks and I want my kids to feel super confident. As soon a school starts back up tomorrow, it is REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!

5. With Spring, comes warmer weather. And that also means, I need to go shopping for some bright colored spring clothing.

6. When it comes to blogging, I believe, if you write from your heart and write about what you are proud of, it will shine through and people will know how much you love what you do.

I just posted a new unit that I am really excited about: Earth Day LOVE! It is a packet filled with activities, centers and a writing craftivity. 

I have it discounted in my TpT store for the next couple days. I am going to give ONE lucky follower a copy of my new unit. Just make sure to be a follower of my blog and leave a comment below. I will choose a random winner on Thursday evening to receive a copy.

Make sure to head on over and link up with Farley for this month's Currently. I can't wait to read what you are all up to!

Getting Ready for Earth Day and Giveaways

A quick post for today, my friends.

I can't believe it... SPRING BREAK has finally arrived!!! I LOVE waking up on my own in the morning instead of the sound of an alarm going off in my head! Even if I still wake up early, it is SO much better to do it on my own. 

I have decided to spend some of my vacation updating items in my store that I posted when I was just opening my TpT store and starting my little blog. I have learned so much since then and a few products definitely need an overhaul. The first product that has been revamped is my Recycling Frog Glyph. It is perfect for Earth Day activities. I have added some new graphics and a writing component to the packet. If you have already purchased this item, please make sure to download the new version.

We will be making these little guys when we get back from Spring Break. The kids are going to write about how they recycle at home too. 

Many of my blogging friends are having giveaways right now that are AMAZING!

My friend Kate at EduKate and Inspire is celebrating 400 followers. She has tons of great prizes and sweet bloggers helping her out. Hop on over and take a look!

Kyp at Mrs. McClaren's Little Super Heros is celebrating 100 followers with a giveaway too! Stop by and show her the love.

Hope you are all enjoying your week!