Christmas in July Craft Ideas

July 22, 2017 by lauraschachter@gmail.com (Edit)

By the end of July, summer fun tends to stagnate a little in our house. We need a little something to beat the heat and spark creativity. It’s the perfect time for Christmas in July!  Check out these fun Christmas in July craft ideas that are sure to bring a little Christmas joy to the long hot days of July!

Why Christmas in July?

1. Beat the heat!

The heat continues to rise outside. The pool does not spark the same level of excitement as it did at the beginning of June, so July’s end has us all searching for something new and exciting to occupy our time. The kids and I long for something novel to capture our attention. Christmas crafts give us the perfect chance for creative fun indoors!

2. Bring Christmas kindness back to our lives

Sometimes the giving spirit of Christmas gets lost amidst the ads and hoopla that are associated with the winter holiday time. I love the idea of setting a time that focuses solely on giving and kindness. It helps refocus our daily actions in a more positive way.

3. Creativity with a Christmas twist

Christmastime just makes me smile. I love the reason for Christmas, but I also love all of the traditions and fun that surrounds it. Creating ornaments and decorations is an integral part of our family celebrations. It allows all of us to gather together and get creative! The kids were so excited that it will happen twice this year!

4. Teach kids about delayed gratification

In the age of instant gratification, my kids tons of practice in patience and delayed gratification. The idea of creating fun activities and hiding them away for 6 months, is going to blow their minds! It’s great practice for them (and for me, too!)

Christmas in July Craft Ideas

Whether you are a DIY whiz or afraid of the glue gun, I’ve got you covered! Check out these fun ideas to make your Christmas in July so much fun.

DIY Christmas Crackers

My family loves Christmas crackers. It does not matter what is inside the cracker, the joy is in the anticipation of the mighty pull! You would not believe the excitement over a shoe horn…

I thought July would be the perfect time to create our own set of  Christmas crackers. They are unbelievably easy to make and so much fun. There is unlimited creativity in creating these crackers. The first round of crackers included a joke and a Christmas eraser, but anything can go inside!

Materials:

• Toilet paper rolls or paper towl rolls cut in pieces
• Some type of festive paper (wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, or child-decorated paper)
• Tape
• String or ribbon
• Little trinket (eraser, decoration, ornament, sticker, etc.)
• Optional: Stickers, glitter, or any other type of decoration

DIY Christmas Crackers:

1. Write a joke or special message on a small slip of paper. I used a post-it note.
2. Place the paper inside the toilet paper roll.
3. Put a small trinket inside the toilet paper roll.
4. Wrap a piece of festive paper around the toilet paper roll. Cut about 3-4 inches of extra paper on each end of the toilet paper roll.
5. Tape the paper in the middle.
6. Tie a piece of decorative ribbon or string around each end of the cracker.
7. Decorate the rest of the cracker, if desired.

DIY Christmas Streamers

Make your own Christmas streamers out of cheap materials. Cut up a plastic table cloth and tie it to a pony tail holder. Instant fun for dancing, running, and more!

 

DIY Ornaments

Making ornaments is a tradition in our house. We love creating with salt dough, clothespins and more! By creating ornaments in July, we are able to take our time while making each ornament. The kids love planning out who will get each little treasure. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Salt Dough Ornaments

 

 

Salt dough ornaments are always a hit, so we decided to create some ornaments now to give to friends and family in December. Check out our salt dough fun. My all-time favorite is the kissing hand ornament.

Sporty Ornaments

We have quite a few sport fan relatives, so these ornaments are always a hit. Get the directions for the sporty ornaments here.

Kindness Rocks & Decorations

Kindness rocks are all the rage in our town. My kids are having a ball painting rocks and leaving them around town to brighten someone’s day. They will love creating rocks with a Christmas flair. I can’t wait for the kids to find the perfect spot to leave our rocks. A few easy winter themed rocks are snowmen, Christmas trees, snowflakes, and penguins. I admit, penguins is stretching it a bit!

Summer Themed Ornaments

I have a ton of ornaments on my to-do list for this week. My kids love collecting shells at the beach and lake, so we have a ready supply to use. Check out my Christmas in July pinterest board for tons of great ideas!

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas in July Craft Ideas:

• Light Bulb Ornaments: Upcycle That
• Golf Ball Ornaments: Crafty Morning
• Twiggy Star Ornaments: Happy Hooligans
• Keepsakes with Sand Clay: The Imagination Tree
• Sandy Feet Ornaments: Crayons & Cuties in Kindergarten

Hope you found some fun Christmas in July craft ideas and activities to share with your family, class, or camp. Stay tuned for some ‘Christmas in July’ deals & steals, giveaway and more! The fun starts tomorrow, so get ready for some Christmas in July fun!!!

15 Ways to Inspire Outdoor Play

June 1, 2017

What Are Your Kids Doing This Summer?

As a child, summertime was a magical time. We went outside early in the morning and didn’t come back inside until dinner. I want my kids to experience that same magical, summertime outdoor play… Easier said, than done.

My kids get to choose one week of summer camp for the entire summer. The rest of the time, they are home with me.  I love having the luxury of staying home with my kids in the summer; however, it does require some creativity to keep my sanity.

Limit Screen Time

We’ve all heard that too much technology can have a detrimental effect on the health and well being of children. One month week into summer, I feel the temptation to give into the temporary quiet of screen time. At the one month mark, the novelty of summer has worn off and I begin to hear the inevitable “We have nothing to do…”

This year I am going to be prepared! I’ve teamed up with Joe Black, from Nature Rated, to share some great outdoor activities to preempt the “nothing-to-do” summer comments. Can’t wait to get the kids into some outdoor play!

Let’s Get Outside

While I am a crafting fool, I recognize the importance of and joy in getting outside. I still love digging for worms with my kids, exploring in the woods, and spending hours catching frogs and minnows. My kids love to do all of these things, too. However, they often need a little direction getting an activity started.

Joe, at Nature Rated, understands this all too well and has put together an infographic with 15 Summer activities to help your kids appreciate nature. From baking a blackberry pie to constructing a pond or insect hotel, there’s plenty of ideas for summer fun. Head on over to his site for step-by-step instructions on ways to get your kids outside this summer. Put these activities in your back pocket, for those “I’m bored” days!

Check out more ways to interact with nature over at Joe’s blog, Nature Rated!

Do you have more ideas for nature fun? I’d love to hear about them. Leave me a comment and let me know how you keep your kids excited all summer!

Want some crafts & learning ideas for summer?

Get busy with some sensory table fun.

Check out some summer math activities.

 

Check out some crafty shark fun. 

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

An outdoor enthusiast, Joe is the lead editor at Nature Rated; a website which rates and reviews the best outdoor gear for people who quickly want to know what to get. He believes in no fluff, to the point reviews, which help you choose the right gear for your next adventure.

Whenever daily life gets him down he heads to the nearest lake or river with his kayak and camera spending time recharging his batteries.

 

 

Portable Word Wall Center

Portable Word Wall Station 

Portable word walls are fantastic. They help make words accessible to students in so many ways. Kids are able to physically hold and the words or word lists and the words can travel with them. Many of the children that I have worked with over the years, have difficulty copying words from the board or across the room. By using portable word walls, children bring the words right to their work space. I wanted to create a portable word wall station that is quick and easy to make. While also being space saving and user-friendly in the classroom. 

What is a Portable Word Wall?

A portable word wall is a set of words that is available for students to use right at their work space. Portable word walls can take many forms, but the main benefit is that it brings the words to the student! Check out this post with some of the portable word walls that I use with my kids.

Why Use Portable Word Walls?

There are many reasons to use portable word walls, but my primary reason for using them is that students are able to physically interact with the words. Allowing students to use some type of portable word wall brings the words right to their work space. Some children have great difficulty in copying words from a distance, so this eliminates the stress and error of copying from across the room. It is easier for students to focus on the specific words when they are right in front of them.

DIY: Portable Word Wall Station

Now for the DIY! This word wall station was inspired by the science fair. Every year, I can’t wait for science fair season. I love exploring hands-on science with my kids and (I confess) helping them create the display for the science fair. I do dread discarding the tri-fold board after the fair is over, so I had to come up with an idea to reuse the tri-fold science fair. Since I am crazy for thematic word walls (and my husband is tired of seeing me ruin the walls), I decided to make a portable word wall station. Check out this easy DIY: Tri fold Portable Word Wall Station!

This DIY is very simple.  All you need is a tri fold presentation board, word walls on metal rings, and some plastic hooks with adhesive. I used 3M Command Hooks.

1. Gather all your materials.
2. Lay out the portable word walls on top of the tri-fold board.
3. After the word wall rings are spaced evenly along the board, simply attach the plastic hooks to the board.
4. Place a title on the board. Get mine for free here.
5. You are ready to use your word wall station!

Word Walls for Your New Station

Thematic word walls are engaging and will boost student vocabulary AND can come in a variety of forms. Check out some of the word walls that I use with my new portable word wall station. My collection of word walls includes both word lists and word cards. Use my word walls with your new station, or create your own- Just make sure to get your kids’ hands on a portable word wall!

Thematic Word Lists

Check out a post about my thematic word lists here. Get them from my TeachersPayTeachers store here.

Want to make a Mini Anchor Chart Stand to hold word wall lists? Check out this post with clear directions on how to create a tabletop anchor chart stand.

Thematic Word Cards

Check out a blog post that shows the word cards in action. Get a free sample to try out here.

  

And get a free sample to try out here!

Free Leprechaun Activities

February 24, 2017 by lauraschachter@gmail.com (Edit)

These free leprechaun activities are sure to make your St. Patrick’s Day a magical time! Prep them now and you will be all set for some St. Patrick’s Day learning fun. What is more magical than leprechauns, pots of gold, & rainbows? Use these free leprechaun activities to get kids excited about learning math with leprechauns!

Free Leprechaun Activities

 I have two freebies to share with you! These free leprechaun activities are great for young kids, because they involve lots of interaction and hands-on learning. Kids learn best through “doing”, so these activities are sure to be a hit! Get your free leprechaun activities here.

Leaping Leprechauns Subtraction Poem

Close your eyes and picture a leaping leprechaun. The picture that comes to my mind is a joyful, mischievous being- not unlike both of my spirited kids! Poetry is the perfect medium to convey the whimsical nature of the leaping leprechaun.

“Five” as a Benchmark

I love using addition and subtraction poems based around the number five and number ten. Five and ten are the perfect benchmarks for young children, because they correspond to the number of fingers on one and both hands. Children easily pick up that they have 5 fingers on one hand and 10 fingers included on both hands.  It is a natural and real-world way to get kids comfortable with 5 and 10. By consistently working with fives and tens, you are helping kids create a solid mathematical base.  Through the years, I’ve created a ton of “FIVES” based poetry that you can use with your kids.  See more blog posts with “Fives” poetry in action here.  You can get the “Fives” poetry packs here.

The poem begins with 5 leaping leprechauns. In each stanza of the poem, the leprechauns encounter St. Patrick’s Day themed items. At the end of each stanza, one leprechaun leaves the poem.  It’s a really fun way to explore the theme of leprechauns and reinforce counting backwards and beginning subtraction.

Interactive Poetry

The poem comes in both color and black & white, along with pictures to use as visual cues. Write the poem on sentence strips and use in a pocket chart, display with a document camera, or just read it aloud.  Use the pictures to sequence the poem, identify matching words in the poem, to retell the story, or put on a ring for a quick and easy St. Patrick’s Day word wall.

Leaping Leprechauns Number Line Activities

The next free leprechaun activity is one of my absolute favorites! Kids need to move. This math game is perfect for getting them up and moving, while they are involved in meaningful learning activities.  This pack includes numerals to create a large “walkable” number line, as well as, small number lines to use at their seats.

Build Number Sense With Movement

Kids are able to actually move up and down the number line by moving their bodies. It is a great activity for kinesthetic learners and young children, because they are able to experience the placement of number lines by moving up and down the number line. They are building number sense by physically interacting with the number line. Priceless.

 Focus Wands

Leprechauns are all about magic, so use it! This pack also includes large and small focus wands. Focus wands are really great for directing focus to a specific numeral. The hole in the wand directs the student’s eye to the targeted numeral. It is especially useful with children who have difficulty focusing their attention.

The large and small focus wands fit the numerals on the large and small number lines. One student can demonstrate on the large number line, while the rest of the class completes the same activity on the personal number lines.  It is a great way to keep the class engaged! This blog post explains exactly how I use this set.

More St. Patrick’s Day Learning Activities

Leprechauns are so much fun! Hope you found some ideas that you can use with your own kids. Looking for more St. Patrick’s Day ideas?  Check out some other St. Patrick’s Day resources here.

St. Patrick’s Day Portable Word Walls

Portable word walls are a great way to explore themes! Grab this set of March word walls to enhance your home or classroom.

March Portable Word Walls

Sight Word Fluency Fun

Practice sight words with this set of editable games!

Editable Sight Word Fluency Games

St. Patrick’s Day Math Scavenger Hunts

There are so many uses for the cards in this set- use for memory, “WAR”, scavenger hunts, or anything else you dream up!  Save some egg cartons to use as ten frames and kids can draw a card and build the number on the ten frame.   See the egg cartons in action here.  It’s a great way to make ten frames concrete.

St. Patrick’s Day Math Scavenger Hunts

Alphabet Scavenger Hunts

You can use these cards for a letter hunt, memory, matching upper and lower case letters, and so many other ways.  Check out the different ways I use these cards here.

St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Free Focus Wands

As a last treat, head over and pick up a variety of free focus wands here!