Showing posts with label games and recess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games and recess. Show all posts

Predator vs. Prey: The Food Chain Game

Animals and food chains are popular topics for children to learn during science class. There are many books and crafts available about food chains that make children excited about what they're learning. This post is about The Food Chain Game which children can play outdoors during science, STEM, and even recess. Keep reading to learn more!

Learn about carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, predators, prey, and decomposers while playing this food chain game during your science/STEM classes.

Minecraft Math: Star Ways Day Pixel Art

Star Wars Day is here again and it’s a terrific time to integrate Star Wars activities into your STEM and other technology lessons. Many teachers think of science experiments when it comes to STEM, however, STEM is not just about science. It includes the integration of math and technology as well.

Today's post is about a pixel art STEM activity that integrates students’ love for Minecraft with their love for Star Wars. It can be a challenging activity and can take anywhere from several hours to several days to complete. There is a potential for students to get frustrated with this activity, so I recommend this activity for students in the middle elementary grades and above.

Children can build this R2D2 pixel art in Minecraft by following a pattern on a graph. Creative mode. Minecraft math, STEM, technology activity.

How to Make a Spring Flowers Busy Bag

One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was about making pizza bags for your children. That was a fun post to write and lots of children had fun creating different types of pizza with the pieces in their busy bags. This blog post is about making another type of busy bag your students and children may enjoy... spring flowers! Keep reading for directions.

Directions, material list and photos to make a spring flowers busy bag for young children. Felt, craft foam, pom poms, ribbons, and pipecleaners.

10 Games for Indoor Recess Days

I live in a part of the United States that can see snow up to six months out of the year. It can get so cold and blustery that on rare occasions we've had snow as early as October and as late as May and June! When it is too cold and snowy for outside recess, I open my closet of board games and puzzles and let the children play quietly with each other for their 45 minutes of recess. Here is a list of their absolute favorite board games to play!

Six board games to play during inside recess and four games to avoid. Checkers, chess, Battleship, Connect 4, Candy Land, card games. K to 3rd grade.

Minecraft Math: Thanksgiving Pixel Art

I love Minecraft pixel art. Back in September, I wrote a blog post about the advantages of having children create pixel art while playing Minecraft, described how creating pixel art can strengthen their math skills, and shared directions for making three Halloween pumpkin designs. In today's post, I'm sharing the directions you need to make this Thanksgiving turkey pixel art in Minecraft. Keep reading for details!

Children can build this Thanksgiving turkey pixel art in Minecraft by following a pattern on a graph. Minecraft math, STEM, technology activity. #kellysclassroomonline

Simple Activities for Toddlers: A Practical Play-At-Home Handbook for Parents by Lisa Forsythe

Back in March, I wrote a blog post about Crackle and Pop! Bible Science Experiments by Hanna Holwerda. Crackle and Pop! is a fun collection of STEM and science activities that parents and teachers could use with their students. In today's guest post, author Lisa Forsythe tells us about her new book Simple Activities for Toddlers. Simple Activities for Toddlers is another fun collection of activities parents and teachers need to know about. It is packed full of crafts, games, STEM activities, and other fun ideas. Keep reading to learn about Simple Activities for Toddlers and how it can be a tremendous resource for parents... and teachers... of our littlest learners!

Simple Activities fSimple Activities for Toddlers by Lisa Forsythe is a terrific resource for parents & teachers of toddlers and preschoolers. Games, crafts, STEM & moreor Toddlers: A Practical Play-At-Home Handbook for Parents by Lisa Forsythe

This is a guest post written by Lisa Forsythe, author of Simple Activities for Toddlers. To learn more about guest posts, please visit the Authors, Publishers, and Sponsors page. Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

How to Use Minecraft to Teach Creative Writing to Kids

Several days ago, I wrote a blog post about making Halloween pixel art in Minecraft. A few weeks before that, I described how to practice finding the area of objects in Minecraft. In this blog post, I'm going to write about how you can use Minecraft during your language arts lessons as an inspiration for creative writing. Keep reading to learn more!

Children practice their writing skills with this Minecraft inspired journal writing lesson plan. Creative writing, technology, Minecraft learning, ELA

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

Minecraft Math Halloween Pixel Art

Anybody who knows me will be able to tell you about my love for the game Minecraft. In a previous post, I wrote about how you can use Minecraft to teach finding the area of an object in math. With Halloween right around the corner, I’d like to share another fun STEAM activity with you in today's post… how to use math and technology skills to create Halloween pictures in Minecraft. In the Minecraft community, these types of pictures are called pixel art. But in the classroom, teachers often refer to them as graph art.

Kids practice their geometry and other math skills when they create Halloween pixel art designs in Minecraft. STEM and STEAM activity. Minecraft math.

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

Minecraft Math Find the Area

With Minecraft being the rage among children... and adults... of all ages, teachers are wondering how they can tap into the excitement and use Minecraft as a teaching tool. Believe it or not, Minecraft can be used to teach math skills such as finding the area, volume, and perimeter of shapes. 

For the purpose of this blog post, I’m not going to teach you how to play Minecraft. There are many resources online and books you can read to learn how to play it. Rather, I’m going to show you how to use Minecraft to introduce finding the area to your young students.

Practice finding the area of an object with this Minecraft Math activity. Kids can count blocks, use arrays, or use length x width to find the area.
Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

15 Reasons Why Children Need Recess

In February 2014, The Learning Network conducted an interesting survey about recess in schools. They asked children in middle school and high school... 13 years old and older... to read an article called The Students Who Lose Recess Are the Ones Who Need It the Most by Jessica Lahley. After reading the article, the children were asked to respond to some questions and give their opinions.  These are their responses in their own words.  Read on to see what these children had to say!

Children were asked to read an article about recess & answer questions about it. Do they think they need recess? Yes, they do! Read their reasons why!
Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

How to Make Your Own Playdough

When I taught preschool years ago, making my own playdough was something I did on a regular basis.  The children loved playing with it and we probably went through a batch every other week.  I'm not sure where the recipe I used came from; it hung faithfully on the school's kitchen wall ever since I could remember.  The one thing that made this recipe different from the others I tried was the secret ingredient... Kool-Aid packets.  Keep reading for that recipe!

Learn how to make playdough with this simple recipe. You will need flour, salt, cream of tartar, vegetable oil, water and Kool Aid packets.

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

How to Play Mum-ball / Mumball

Have you ever played mum-ball / mumball with your students?  It's a terrific game to play during recess or when your students need a quick brain break.  It gets the children up and moving and is super easy.  There are very few rules you need to remember and only one item you need. . . a big, bouncy, beach ball from your local department store.

Mumball/ Mum-ball is a fun game to play as a brain break or for inside recess.  Learn the rules of playing mum-ball.

This is an updated version of a blog post I wrote in 2015.
Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

Celebrating Pirate Day with Pete the Cat and the Treasure Map by James Dean

It's August and we're in the midst of the pirate season.  All over the country, there are pirate festivals and celebrations.  Children enjoy dressing up as pirates, singing songs about pirates, and playing pirate games this time of year.  Are you looking for a fun activity to try with your children and students?  Try painting rocks to make pirate gold and going on a treasure hunt!

Read Pete the Cat and the Treasure Map by James Dean, hunt for pirate gold, and have a tasty treat for National Pirate Day!

This is an updated version of a blog post I wrote in 2015.  Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.