The Lorax is coming to town

If you've perused around the World Wide Web at all recently you can see that teachers and parents alike are excited about the story of the Lorax coming to theaters this weekend. This Dr. Seuss classic (our love of Dr. Seuss continues as his birthday soon approaches!) written in the early 1970s is still as relevant today, if not more, as it was forty years ago. Through rhyme and vibrant illustrations, readers are reminded that greed and lack of concern for the environment can cause serious problems! When the silly ole Once-ler ignores the wise Lorax, it becomes a environmental disaster.

In my classroom we sit down with the Lorax around Earth Day in April, but with the movie about to hit the big screen this is a great time to do some Lorax activities.

A few ideas of how to bring the Lorax to life in your classroom or home...

*Have your young artists make a Truffula Trees with cotton balls, paint, pipe cleaners, glue, and construction paper (or substitute recycled paper from the recycling bin or repurpose the inside of an old cereal box).



Step by step directions.

*Take a trip outside to investigate some trees near you (they might be Oak instead of Truffula, but that's okay!). Click here for a free printable tree journal.

*Download the Lorax App to let kids give themselves a Lorax mustache.



*If a digital stache won’t do the trick, make your own using this template. Kids can make a mask or attach the mustache to a pencil to channel their inner Lorax.



*Let kids visit the official movie website and learn some Earth friendly tips. As a class or a family discuss some ideas that would work for your classroom or home. Have kids draft a family or classroom pledge. Encourage them to list a few things Earth friendly habits that they could do each and every day!

I'm sure all teachers would agree that the book is always better than the movie. Sometime this week make sure to read the book to your kids. You're sure to have a lively conversation to follow. Concepts like nonrenewable resources and conservation are intertwined throughout Dr. Seuss’ rhymes and nonsense words. What a timeless tale to share with children of all ages, and a lot of us adults too!

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Writing lessons that POP!

One of the best ways to give a young author’s writing purpose is to put it on display. By simply putting student’s writing from the week in a portfolio for their classmates and family to enjoy, you have created memorable masterpieces. A creative way to display the portfolio is in an empty popcorn box. On the last day of this expository writing unit have a popcorn taste test. Students get to try out three different kinds of popcorn. Then put their persuasive writing skills to the test. They must convince others that their favorite is #1!

Want to take this idea a step farther?
*Go through the steps of the scientific method with a popcorn taste test.
*Practice gathering and organizing data with graphs about your class taste test results.
*Have students use their power of persuasion to write and direct commercials that advertise the yummiest brand.

To download this entire writing portfolio click here. Happy Writing!

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Dr. Seuss Classroom Party

New book, old book, little book, big book…it doesn’t matter! Just grab a book because March 2nd marks Read Across America Day and it just so happens to be the beloved children’s author, Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Classrooms across the country will be cracking open their favorite silly Seuss stories for this special occasion. We all know that a celebration wouldn’t be complete without a party!

Here are some Seuss-gestions of how to celebrate the Dr.’s birthday in style:

*Have a read-a-thon. Encourage children to bring in their favorite books and snuggle up and read. Take it an extra step by inviting parents and grandparents to join in on the fun. If you make it a pajama party, you are sure to be the favorite teacher of all!

*Invite celebrity readers. Reach out to well known community members to read aloud stories to your class on this special day.

*Create your own Seussical. Have students act out their favorite Dr. Seuss stories. Too shy for the stage? Allow students to write a rhyming story full of fun nonsense just like Dr. Seuss.

*Have a big buddy read. Invite former students that are now in middle school or high school to join your students in reading. What a great way for students to act as a role model!

*Oh and of course throw a party. Make sure not to get icing on those book pages!

If you can’t think of a Thing 1 or Thing 2 to do for a party, you can find all these Suesstastic items in the Simply Sprout Etsy shop here.

Want to win a Dr. Seuss Read Across America Day package for your class?
* Simply leave us a comment and tell us what your favorite Dr. Seuss book is.
* Like us on Facebook.
We’ll be drawing a winner on Monday!

Thing 1 Thing 2 cupcakes made with blue cotton candy

 

Purchase, Print....Party! It's as easy as 1-2-3. Simply purchase your Dr. Seuss party pack here and print items on cardstock. To assemble the banner we used different types of ribbon found at a local Hobby Lobby.

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Getting Organized

Getting organized and keeping it simple are hard to do with a busy family. Creating a family binder with essential information, paperwork and family calendars will help you to keep it all together. These cute printables can be found at Magic By Marcy on etsy.

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Valentine's Day Freebie

Here is a Valentines Freebie for you to use on all those special little Valentine's treat bags!

Insert image into a word document and print two to a page onto card stock. Cut them out and fold in half. Fill up a cellophane bag with your favorite Valentine's Day treat and then staple the sides...its that easy!
 To see more visit Magic By Marcy

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Valentines counting

Today Kaitlyn helped me to make her Valentines for her little friends. We worked on colors and numbers. She had to count out 15 candy hearts for each bag, fill the bag and then pass it to me to put the topper on...it took a lot longer than me just doing them peacefully during naptime. But they mean a whole lot more to her than you can imagine. She helped to make a list of a couple friends she wanted to give them to and even knew exactly which bag she wanted each person to have! Great way to reinforce those basic skills while including your child in making their own valentines.

It's not too late to purchase these printable just go to Magic By Marcy and get them for just $3!

Print at home on cardstock in just a few minutes you can have unique valentines for you little one to share with their friends.

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Hearts...Hearts...Hearts

Making a heart bouquet

We had a lot of fun playing with some old crayons the other day. Kaitlyn sorted them into colors and chose her two favorites red and purple. We peeled back the paper and placed them into a clear ziploc bag. She practiced her hand eye coordination by using the hammer to smash the crayons inside the bag...I have to say she is pretty good at swinging the hammer, I see lots of DIY projects in her future.
Next we sprinkled the smashed crayon pieces onto a layer of wax paper, then covered it with another layer. I used the iron...on a medium setting.... to iron the wax paper melting the crayons. Once the color had transferred onto the wax paper I placed the left over crayon pieces into a ziploc bag to keep for future projects. Kaitlyn helped me trace some hearts I cut out of old file folders and then I cut the hearts out for her. I glued wooden dowels onto the back of each heart using a hot glue gun. added a little tuelle ribbon for grass in a small pot and viola...a heart bouquet!

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Love is in the air....

It's starting to look like Valentine's Day around the house!

Kaitlyn and I had a lot of fun decorating for Valentine's Day. We came up with some pretty crafty ways to use things we already had on our craft shelf....in fact I put the entire mantle together without making any trips to my local Hobby Lobby! Which my husband definitely appreciates! Here's how you can get this look using things you might already have around the house.

To make the hearts banner I used heart ornaments I bought from Target after Christmas for 90% off....I bought 4 packs for $1, I went to my fabric bin and found all the scraps I had in reds and pinks, I cut them into 3 inch long strips and layered them to tie the hearts together.

Each season or holiday I try to utilize my glass jars on my fireplace mantle to reflect the season, but I ran out of ideas and money for February....so I simply used what I had. Kaitlyn used her cutting skills to help me cut small squares of fabric, they weren't perfect and it made quite a mess but that was half the fun. I filled the jars halfway with my fabric pieces and then added some left over glitter candles from Christmas....and Viola! A great look that didn't cost a whole lot of money!.........How do you decorate for valentine's day at your house?

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