Mother's Day Is Coming!

Mother's Day falls on Sunday May 11th this year, which means, 

for teachers, we have to have gifts and cards ready to go home on  FRIDAY MAY 9th !!! Time to get cracking!

This year, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different so...

I added a new digitally-editable gift option to my Mother's Day Made Easy pack. HOW CUTE?! I made it so you can add your students' faces in either the flower or the bee or BOTH!  

But wait, there's more! 😅

4 more to be exact...5 options in total!

I get it, bookmarks--like tie cards for dad--were seriously overused years ago and I think we were all scarred from that and that's why they kind of lost popularity...but I want to bring them back! Because if you don't have a book on the go at all times then either your life is too busy and you need to make a change or there's something wrong with you (but we can still be friends 😉💛).

Anyways, need a card to go with it? 👇

This is another classic favourite: the Mother's Day newspaper article. I still love doing this one because I like pairing the activity with a little literacy study on newspapers. It's rare that a child sees a real life newspaper anymore (and by child I also mean myself as well...seriously, who still reads the paper?). 

But to keep it current, I like to bring one in (purchased from our local grocer) and we briefly look at the different sections, general layout, and chat about the "style" and tone of a newspaper article. This helps to give our Mother's Day card some deeper context and remedies the abstract concept of an "article" about mom.

Okay. I got distracted. Back to the bookmarks. 

The first option (pictured on the left up there) is just a print-and-colour option which is great if you want to keep it super simple or are short on time (or, for example, if we've done a painting or digital bookmark earlier in the week and a student has been away then I just have them complete that option).

The next 3 are different paint/ink fingerprint templates. And the last one is my favourite: the digitally-editable photo option, which I think mom's would absolutely love...I know I would!

The above templates (and more!) are included in my Mother's Day Made Easy pack. What are some of your favourite Mother's Day gift ideas? Let's share some ideas in the comments! 

Cinco de Mayo Activities

Que felicidad! 

I know it's still April but Justin has already been running around the internet since the beginning of the month making sure that we all are aware that in just a few days

Year after year, it never gets old 😆

Thanks for the heads up, JT! That must mean that our next seasonal opportunity for some more learning and FUN involves celebrating the rich culture of our neighbours to the south 🇲🇽

If you're looking for ways to share this holiday with your students, I've got some video, read aloud, and activity suggestions for you!

  INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS  

A quick search on YouTube will give you tons of clip options to introduce Cinco de Mayo to your students. To save you some time, here are my two favourite:

This one is perfect for Primary. It's simple and PACKED with fun and informative facts (which come in handy for the flag activity below!). 

This next one is a bit more in-depth in explaining WHY Cinco de Mayo is celebrated. It also includes fun facts at the end. I would recommend this one more for Junior grades.

  READ ALOUDS  

The concept of why Mexican people celebrate Cinco de Mayo can be a challenging thing to grasp, so Cinco de Mouse-O! is a great option for the littlest learners.

Younger students can experience what a traditional celebration is like without the sometimes confusing addition of battles and historical people. If you can't find a physical copy of this book, you can watch the read aloud HERE.

A great read aloud for younger students is Celebrating Cinco de Mayo: Fiesta Time!

It does share about the WHY behind the holiday but focuses more on HOW Cinco de Mayo is celebrated. If you can't find a physical copy of this book, you can watch the read aloud HERE.

  ACTIVITIES  

papel picado

Besides having your own lively classroom celebration (perhaps including chips & salsa, dancing to the Mexican Hat Dance, and decorating with colourful papel picado!), students can get crafty by making their own paper fans:

I LOVE these beautiful watercolour fans! You can whip out your paints or just keep it simple and have students use markers/crayons to decorate their own piece of paper to then fold into a fan. Then turn up the mariachi music and have a fan dance party!

Next up, students will have so much fun creating and working through their own Mexican flag activity book!

You can get the FLAG BOOKLET here.

And who doesn't love a guided drawing?! 

This is my favourite little guy to draw with students:

Do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo with your students? 

What are some of your favourite activities?

Earth Day Every Day

Earth Day always bothered me. 

Starting back in University, I began becoming more and more aware of my impact on the planet and what that truly means. I won't get into preaching, but it has become an incredibly important topic for me.

(from Topic #3: Sustainable Materials, Processes, and Actions, "Making Sustainable Choices" lesson extension)

Fast forward to my first grade classroom when April rolled around and I started searching for Earth Day activities. Although there's lots of great stuff out there, I always found the cute crafts and activities lacking depth, impact, and true connection. I wanted the message of Earth Day (to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our planet and it's natural resources for future generations) to really resonate with my students in a FUN, easy-going way.

(students make their own activity cards from Topic #3: Sustainable Materials, Processes, and Actions, "Making Sustainable Choices" lesson extension)

So we take Earth Day up a notch and spend a few days/weeks learning about and loving our planet! Students get to appreciate our planet and enjoy all that nature has to offer for more than JUST ONE DAY.

(from Topic #4: Healthy Planet=Healthy People, "Earth & Us" lesson extension craft)

We begin by exploring what "nature" means and what that means for us as humans.

(from Topic #1: We ARE Nature, "Me as a Tree" extension activity)

Next, we GET OUTSIDE and actually experience nature. (This is my favourite part!)

(from Topic #2: Building a Relationship With Nature, "I LOVE Nature" extension activity)

Then, this is where sh*t gets real😬 

...but in a FUN way of course!! 😆

It's so eye-opening for students when we discuss how when you throw something away, it doesn't actually go AWAY. Everything has to go somewhere. And playing the "How Long 'til It's Gone?" game (pictured above) really drives home the consequences of our choices. Students love guessing how long until something has fully broken down:

(from Topic #3: Sustainable Materials, Processes, and Actions, "The Wonders of Plastic" lesson extension)

And, to keep it light-hearted, we CRAFT! 

(from Topic #3: Sustainable Materials, Processes, and Actions, "The Wonders of Plastic" extension craft)

I love creating a hallway display from their finished creations inspired by these murals-with-a-message:

Depending on my class, I usually like to do a small classroom waste audit as well at some point in the month. This helps students see, in a concrete way, how much waste we produce on a daily basis and what exactly we are throwing away.

Next up is the Four Rs: We practice gratitude to Reduce our consuming, get creative to Reuse everyday items,

(from Topic #5: The Four Rs, "Reuse & Repair; Again, and Again, and Again..." extension craft)

and Recycle to make our own paper! 

This one is a particular student-favourite year after year, and a teacher favourite too since it is WAY easier than you think 🥳

(from Topic #5: The Four Rs, "Recycle; New Again!" extension craft)

Finally, we wrap up all our learning by putting our passion into action and going on a Litter Mission. The students love walking around their community to pick up trash and make our shared home a little bit nicer.

(from Topic #6: Little Changes, BIG Impact, "Every litter bit counts" extension craft)

Do you want to bring more authenticity, meaning, and hands-on FUN into your classroom this year, too? All of these activities (and MORE!) are included in my Earth Day Every Day mini unit:

I hope you had a wonderful Easter break!

How are you celebrating Earth Day with your students this year?