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15 Fun Weather STEM Activities for Kids

February 11, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

STEM activities for kids are super popular these days.

And with good reason! If you can incorporate several subjects into a hands-on activity, it’s always a hit with students.

With spring rapidly approaching, it’s a great time to learn about weather with kids. And these fun weather STEM activities make this topic easy and fun!

These simple STEM experiments are perfect for small groups, weather units, science centers, after school, homeschooling, and more!

If you’re feeling intimidated by teaching STEM, using a familiar science concept like weather is a great way to get started.

Personally, once I started using STEM projects with students, I found that it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as I thought it would be.

And, with a fun concept like weather, it’s easy to get kids excited about these hands-on science projects!

Read on to see the full list of fun weather activities for kids. And for more ways to work with STEM, don’t miss our list of easy STEM activities for early grades!

15 Fun Weather STEM Activities for Kids

1. Coffee Can Condensation – Look! We’re Learning!

2. Hands-On Weather Graphing Activity – Rainy Day Mum

3. International Weather Tracking Activity – Mama Smiles

4. Wind Science Experiment – Teach Me Mommy

5. Build a Wind Turbine – Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls

6. DIY Lightning Experiment – Learn Play Imagine

7. Rain Cloud Weather Experiment – Little Bins for Little Hands

8. Make a Tornado In a Bottle – Gift of Curiosity

9. Snowstorm In a Jar Experiment – B-Inspired Mama

10. DIY Pudding Cup Anemometer – Parenting Chaos

11. Make a DIY Thermometer – Lemon Lime Adventures

12. DIY Hurricane Experiment – Inspiration Laboratories

13. Shadow Towers STEM Challenge – No Time for Flashcards

14. Kite Flying Wind Activity – KC Edventures

15. Solar Heat STEM Activity – STEAM Powered Family

Did you enjoy these Weather STEM activities for kids? Take a look at these other science learning ideas!

Follow my It’s Science! Pinterest board for more ways to make learning science fun!

Free Mother Goose Rhyme Copywork Worksheets

February 10, 2020 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Remember going to nursery school? (That’s preschool for those of you born after 1990.)

You basically spent the day playing, singing songs, eating snacks, and listening to stories. It was the highlight of my four-year-old existence.

My nursery school was named “Shady Oaks”, which still makes me think of sitting under a giant oak tree and reading a storybook.

At nursery school, I heard Mother Goose rhymes almost everyday. And I still love them.

They’re wonderful resources for helping preschoolers learn to memorize basic poetry, get introduced to rhyming, and more.

My four-year-old uses Starfall all the time. And guess what they do to cover poetry? They use Mother Goose rhymes too! Some things never go out-of-date.

Since Mother Goose rhymes are so short, they’re also good copywork practice for young children who are learning to form letters.

And that’s why I put together this simple Mother Goose Rhyme Copywork pack, which is absolutely free!

Read on to get a copy for yourself!

And be sure to check out my list of 100 memorable picture books for preschoolers if you’re looking for some wonderful stories to share with your four-year-old.

Free Mother Goose Rhyme Copywork Worksheets

To use these Mother Goose rhyme copywork worksheets, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For more, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer paper
Pencils
Laminator (optional)
Dry erase markers (optional)

This product includes the lyrics to three classic Mother Goose rhymes:

Hey, Diddle, Diddle
Hickory Dickory Dock
and Humpty Dumpty

Each page has illustrations that go along with the stories, so they’re good storytelling exercises, especially for pre-readers.

After reading each set of lyrics, see if your child can retell the story to you using the pictures as prompts.

The pack includes one page featuring traceable lyrics to each story and one page of blank lines so that kids can rewrite the lyrics on their own.

There are six trace and write pages in all.

These would be fantastic for literacy centers!

Simply laminate the pages and use them with dry erase markers for small groups!

Scroll down to get your free Mother Goose Rhyme Copywork worksheets!

Stop by to check out these other ELA ideas for kids!

And follow my Learning for Little Ones Pinterest board for more early education ideas!

To get your copy of our Free Mother Goose Rhyme Copywork, click the image or the link below to download it free from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>>Mother Goose Copywork – Teachers Pay Teachers <<<

This post is part of the Mother Goose Unit Study roundup! Stop over to read more Mother Goose learning ideas from my fellow bloggers!

Little Boy Blue: Free Printables & Activities by Faith and Good Works

Mother Goose Word Search by Schooling a Monkey

Mother Goose Anthologies for Children by The Jenny Evolution

Shape Sort! Shape Sorting Activity Mats for Kids

February 6, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Shapes are all around us. We often learn about them as individual items, but we really see them everywhere we go!

When my kids were small, they loved spotting shapes as we went about the day.

They found shapes on streetlights, traffic signs, buildings, and especially their favorite foods.

To help early learners recognize shapes all around them, I’m sharing these fun shape sorting activity mats for preschoolers!

These are so cute for morning tubs and early math centers! Kids will love challenging themselves to find all the shape objects.

Read on to see how to get your set! And, for more fun with shapes, don’t miss our Apple Seek and Find Shapes Worksheets!

Shape Sort! Shape Sorting Activity Mats

To use these printable shape sorting activity mats, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This product includes mats and shape cards for:

Circle
Square
Triangle
and Oval

Each shape mat has six spaces to place the six objects that have the specified shape.

The cards are also color coded, so it’s easy – even for little ones – to match them up.

If a student is unsure which shape goes where, ask them to lay the shape card directly on the shape shown on the mat.

Then they can trace around the shape with their finger to see which shape it resembles the most.

This can be used as a one-time cut and paste activity for students, but it really works wonderfully as a reusable lesson.

Just laminate the mats and cards and then add hook and loop sticky dots for a quick go-to whenever you want to reinforce shape recognition.

These are also fantastic for busy bags!

Scroll down to get your Printable Shape Sorting Activity Mats!

Take a look at these other early learning activities for students!

And don’t miss more ways to teach for early ages on my Learning for Little Ones Pinterest board!

To get your copy of these Shape Sort! Shape Sorting Activity Mats, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Shape Sorting Activity Mats – Teachers Pay Teachers <<<

Los Colores! Printable Spanish Color Words Book

February 4, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Are you teaching Spanish to early learners?

There are so many fun ways to reinforce basic Spanish vocabulary practice with young students. You can play memory games, listen to Spanish vocabulary songs, or you can use printable activities.

If you’re looking for a simple printable for Spanish color words vocabulary, look no further!

This little printable Spanish tracing color words book is an easy and fun way to practice vocabulary and handwriting at once!

This would make a fantastic literacy center activity for ESL students too!

Read on to see how to get your copy. And, for more fun learning Spanish words for colors, don’t miss our Spanish Color by Word Lesson!

Los Colores! Spanish Color Words Book for Kids

To use this printable Spanish color words book for kids, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Scissors
Pencils
Laminator (optional)
Dry erase markers (optional)

This product includes printable tracing pages for nine different colors in Spanish.

A title page for the book is also included.

To assemble the book, simply cut apart each of the pages. Stack them together, add staples along the side, and you’re done!

If you’re working with small groups, you can rotate this lesson so that you don’t have to assemble so many books at one time.

Or if you want to reuse the activity, turn it into a literacy center lesson!

Laminate the pages, place them on a ring, and let students practice tracing and writing the color words with dry erase markers.

Scroll down to get your Tracing Spanish Color Words Book!

Stop by to check out these other ways to teach Spanish in the classroom!

And see more ways to learn foreign languages on my Foreign Languages for Kids Pinterest board!

To get your copy of Los Colores! Tracing Spanish Color Words Book for Kids, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Tracing Spanish Color Words Book – Teachers Pay Teachers <<<

Share A Donut! Making Equal Shares Activity for Early Grades

February 3, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

When I was in school…ahem…several years ago…we learned about equal parts when we got to fractions.

There wasn’t an introductory lesson about it in early grades.

So I think it’s good that students get to learn about making equal shares in first and second grade – before they get to the concept of fractions. It makes the concept much clearer later on.

I wanted to make a hands on math activity that would help first and second graders to learn this geometry concept – this Share A Donut! Making Equal Shares Activity!

I feel pretty confident that I’m not the only donut lover on Earth, so I thought this would be a fun math center activity for early grades!

Read on to see how to get your copy. And, for more fun with donuts, take a look at our Donut Colors! Sentence Writing Activity!

Share A Donut! Making Equal Shares Activity

To use this making equal shares activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

This product includes:

Two pages of unlabeled color donut pieces
Two pages of labeled color donut pieces
Eight line art fill in the blank donut cards
A full answer key
And a set of instructions!

You can use this as a one-time cut and paste lesson.

Just print the pages, let students cut out the parts, and then glue them into the donut cards to fill in the donut with the correct number of equal shares.

Be sure to have students label the number of shares and use the unlabeled donut pieces to name each part as a fraction (if you like).

You can also make this into a reusable math center!

Laminate the pages and cut out the donut shares. Then add hook and loop sticky dots to the back of the donut parts and the donut cards.

Students can use them over and over again!

Scroll down to get this Donut Making Equal Shares Activity!

Don’t miss these other hands-on math ideas for early grades!

$Pick up these pumpkin pie fraction clip cards to help students practice fraction skills during fall! So fun for fall morning tubs and math centers!$

And see more ways to teach math on my Math Mania! Pinterest board!

To get your copy of this Share A Donut! Making Equal Shares Activity, click the image or the link below to grab it from my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Share A Donut! Making Equal Shares Math Center – Teachers Pay Teachers <<<

Robot Number Tracing Worksheets for Kids

January 28, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Math centers are my new obsession. They’re so awesome.

Kids get to gather around the center in small groups and work with math activities that are actually fun. It’s great for taking math off the page.

The key to a simple math center, though, is finding a simple interactive resource you can use again and again.

Which is where these simple robot number tracing worksheets come in handy!

These are good for a one-time practice lesson, but with just a few minutes of prep, you can easily make them reusable.

Perfect for math centers!

Read on to see how to get your set! And, for more fun with math centers, don’t miss my English and Spanish Cupcake Number Word Activity!

Robot Numbers! Number Tracing Worksheets for Kids

To use these number tracing worksheets, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper (I used Astrobright paper)
Laminator (optional)
Dry erase crayons or Dry erase markers (optional)

This product includes ten robot-themed number tracing printables.

Each has the selected number shown on the robot with nine tracing numerals for students to the right.

I like to use colorful Astrobright paper and then laminate these.

Then, you can simply let kids use dry erase crayons or dry erase markers to practice tracing each numeral.

When they’re done, just wipe them off and they’re ready to go for the next group!

These are also fantastic for morning tubs.

Just print them, place them on a ring and include dry erase crayons in the tub.

Scroll down to get your copy of these Robot Number Tracing Worksheets!

Stop by to see these other hands-on math activities for early grade students!

See more ways to make math fun on my Math Mania! Pinterest board!

To get your copy of these Robot Numbers! Number Tracing Worksheets, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Robot Number Tracing Worksheets – Teachers Pay Teachers <<<

Snowball Smiles! Emotions Board Game for Kids

January 27, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Learning to talk about feelings is a critical vocabulary skill for early grade learners.

Actually, it’s a critical vocabulary skill for children of all ages.

It can be difficult for students to express exactly what they feel without fear of being criticized, particularly in groups.

And that’s why this Snowball Smiles! emotions board game is such a great social skills tool!

Instead of putting students on the spot, you can use this resource to help them find words for their feelings and learn how to use them in a fun and comfortable environment.

Plus, it’s just a fun game to play!

Read on to see how to get your copy of this feelings game.

And, for more practicing using emotional vocabulary with kids, pick up a set of our Spanish Feelings Flashcards too!

Snowball Emotions Board Game for Kids

To use this snowball emotions board game, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Laminator (optional)
Scissors
Math counters or Mini erasers” to use as game pieces

This emoji board game is a simple one to play.

The resource includes:

One game board
Six emotions cards for up to three players (but you can always print more copies if you like)
And a set of instructions

As students move around the game board, they’ll land on different feelings that match the ones on their cards.

This is a great time to reinforce ELA skills by using adjectives in sentences.

For example, if a student lands on “disgusted”, ask him or her: Have you ever felt disgusted by something? What was it?

And then really listen to each response.

It won’t take long before each player is sharing a feeling of their own!

If you laminate the cards and the game board, this can be a reusable resource for early finishers as well.

Scroll down to get your copy of this Snowball Smiles! Emotions Board Game!

Take a look at these other early learning games for kids!

And be sure to follow my Indoor Play board on Pinterest for more ways to bring play inside!

To get your copy of this Snowball Smiles! Feelings Board Game, click the image or the link below to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

>>> Snowball Smiles! Emotions Board Game – Teachers Pay Teachers <<<

Living Color History! Black History Figure Coloring Pages

January 23, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Black history is one of the reasons I taught my children at home for the early grades.

Black History Month is wonderful, but I wanted my children to learn about the accomplishments of African-Americans all year round.

When we homeschooled, we learned about so many fascinating people right from the start.

Since I’m passionate about the topic, I still like to share black history resources for educators who observe Black History Month. And that’s why these black history figure coloring pages are so helpful for early grade education!

Printable Black History Coloring Pages for Kids

These are a fun and simple way to introduce students to 36 African-Americans they may not have learned about.

They’re simple enough for early learners, but they also include facts about each person for older students.

And they’re a great springboard for further research!

Read on to see how to get your set.

If you’re looking for more ways to introduce these notable Black Americans to students, take a look at our printable and digital Black History matching puzzles too!

These black history coloring pages are a fun way to introduce students to notable Black Americans in history!

Living Color History! Black History Figure Coloring Pages

These are wonderful for art extension if you’ve been learning about any of these figures with your class.

And, if you’d like to broaden your black history knowledge, these figures are a great place to start!

To use this set of black history figure coloring pages, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

These coloring sheets feature realistic depictions of 36 different notable African-Americans!

How to Use Black History Coloring Pages with Kids

Plus, a blurb about what they accomplished in their careers and in history.

Learning about Black History with Coloring Pages

This resource includes coloring pages for:

Arthur Ashe
Barack Obama
Condoleezza Rice
Jackie Robinson
Mae Jemison
Oprah Winfrey
Ruby Bridges
W.E.B. DuBois
and many more!

How to Use Black History Coloring Pages with Students

There are several ways to use this resource with your students.

Naturally, they’re a great fit for use during Black History Month.

Printable Black History Coloring Book for Kids

But, if you’re planning a year-long unit, there are 36 individuals featured. So you can bind the entire resource and focus on one individual per week.

Using Black History Coloring Pages at Centers

You can print the resource at half size and place the pages on a ring for review.

Or, print the pages on colorful paper at 25%. Students can cut the pages apart and make a Black history booklet!

You can even challenge students to find out an interesting fact or two about the person on their sheet. Let them share what they learned the next day in class!

Get a look at all of the Black Americans featured in these black history coloring sheets below!

Scroll down to get your copy of these black history coloring pages!

Take a look at these other black history learning activities!

Digital and Print Ruby Bridges History Lesson

These Black history matching puzzles are a fun way to teach elementary students about notable Black Americans!

20 Fascinating Books about Black Inventors and Scientists for Kids to Read - Perfect for Black History Month!

Living Color History Black History Coloring Book

To get your copy of Living Color History! Black History Figure Coloring Pages, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store or check it out below!

Polar Animals I Spy Activity for Kids

January 21, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Last week, I took the kids to the library and I checked out a Where’s Waldo? Find the Differences book.

After about 10 minutes of staring at one picture, my head started to hurt.

I found Waldo pretty quickly, but finding all the differences in each of the pictures almost killed me. The kids thought it was funny.

Look and find activities are really popular with kids (and adults like me), so I thought this fun Polar Animals I Spy Activity would be a cool winter project for early learners!

This winter I Spy activity is a simple, no prep learning game for little ones!

Read on to see how to get yours – free! And, for more early learning ideas for winter, don’t miss our Roll A Snowman Art Activity!

Polar Animals I Spy Activity

To use this Polar Animals I Spy Activity, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper
Laminator (optional)
Dry erase markers (optional)

This product includes two separate Polar Animal I Spy pages:

A simple I Spy activity for preschoolers
A more challenging I Spy activity for older children

These would be fantastic for morning tubs or math centers!

Simply laminate each activity page and let students use dry erase markers to count each polar animal they find.

The answers are included in the product too. 🙂

Scroll down to get your Polar Animals I Spy Activity!

Take a look at these other winter learning activities for early ages!

Follow my Winter Activities for Kids board on Pinterest for more ideas!

To get your copy of this Polar Animals I Spy Activity, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll get this printable, plus lots more, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!

Get started by using the widget below.

NOTE: If you don’t receive the welcome email with the library access instructions, check your spam folder or send me an email at selena@lookwerelearning.com.

Yeti Math! Math Practice for Early Grades

January 16, 2020 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Learning how to count by twos, threes, and fives is such a critical skill for early learners.

But it doesn’t end there!

Counting leads to recognizing inequalities – which numbers are greater or less – and recognizing the difference between even and odd numbers as well.

Since teaching during winter can be a bit of a drag (at least it can for me), I thought this fun Yeti math practice for early grades lesson would be a fun way to perk up these basic math skills!

These fun snowman-themed practice drills feature skip counting, odd and even, inequalities, and more – all at a level that is perfect for early elementary grades!

Read on to see how to get your set – free! And, for more winter learning fun, don’t miss my Snow Globe Grammar Parts of Speech Sorting Activity!

Yeti Math! Math Practice for Early Grades

To use this math practice for early grades lesson, you’ll need the following: (This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Printer (with ink)
Printer Paper (I used Astrobright paper)
Pencils

This product includes:

Seven skip counting practice sheets
Two inequality practice sheets
Two odd and even number practice sheets
And four addition and subtraction practice sheets

If you want to use these for a math review, hand out each sheet and let students practice on their own.

You could also use them as a math center activity for several lessons!

Just laminate each page and let students practice completing them with dry erase markers.

Then they can try all over again the next day!

Scroll down to get your copy of Yeti Math! Math Practice for Early Grades!

Take a look at these other early math resources!

And see more ways to teach math on my Math Mania Pinterest board!

To get your copy of Yeti Math! Math Practice for Early Grades free, sign up for our email newsletter! You’ll receive access to this resource, plus loads more, in our exclusive Subscriber Library!