Back to School Activities

We have a big collection of printables and teaching ideas to help you get ready for back to school! I want to share a few of my favorites with you here but you can also find more ideas over on our website page.

 

Back to School Blog Posts

Find more ideas, resources and freebies on some of our past blog posts!

Free Coloring Pages

We have a growing collection of school themed coloring and activity pages over in our Pond Coloring Club. These make perfect warm-up activities for the very first day. 

3 of My Favorite Printables

Printable Alphabet Posters

Our Alphabet Posters make introducing the letter sounds to your students fun while contributing to your classroom aesthetic. An editable version is included should you wish to use a specific font that suits your learning context. As you learn each letter, reveal the new poster, creating a wall or alphabet line as you progress through all 26.

Pick Me Sticks

Make a flower for each of your students, recording their name on the stem. Pop them into a flower pot and use them as random-name selectors when you have to choose or 'pick' a student! They will love the fairness and excitement of the routine. 

Better Together Classroom Door Display

New to our door decorations range is the We're Better Together message board and name tags. Rainbow, cloud and sun accents are included too. We think it will make your learners smile the moment they see it!

We hope you have a wonderful time getting your classroom ready for your sweet learners - we know you love this time as much as we love supporting you. If you have a request or particular need, do not hesitate to contact us and let us know!

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Back to School, Coloring Page

Cloudy Day Tracing Page

To complement the finger play we shared with you earlier this week we added a tracing page to our free coloring page library. 

Tracing is a great prewriting activity to help your students get their eyes, hands and fingers ready for writing! 

Think about:

• letting them use a writing tool that will make them feel successful - a texta, marker or crayon gives a good solid clear line more easily than a thin, fine pencil
• encouraging your learners to trace the picture with their finger prior to starting - guide them around the page with verbal cues and encourage them to listen to you as you direct them with support for correct formation - e.g. let's start at the top of the rain and trace downward - zig, zag, zig, zag
• embed early writing skills - top to bottom strokes, left to right direction etc

 

Extend the prewriting into a more creative art experience by giving your students soft pencil or chalk pastel to shade with. They can glue some small pieces of cotton to the clouds, using fine motor skills to pull the cotton apart and attach with glue to their page.

A basic lesson outline in the classroom, using this page, may look as follows:

1. Read and learn our Across the Sky Finger Play
2. Show students the tracing page
3. Tell students that today they will trace the picture to help their writing skills
4. Model how to hold a pencil correctly
5. Put the page in front of the students and model how to trace carefully - verbalize how you are selecting a part to trace first, keeping your eye on the line, putting the tip of the pencil down on the page and following the line with your eye. Verbalize also how to keep your eye and hand moving together along the line until you complete the shape. Make a few mistakes where your pencil leaves the tracing line to demonstrate to the students that this is OK, and how to self-correct and find the line again. Model persistence and trying hard to keep the pencil moving.
6. Distribute a paper for each student and provide appropriate writing tools for them to complete the page. 
7. Encourage students to trace the picture first with their finger, especially the rain - encouraging the downstroke and top to bottom movement. 
8. Monitor your students and give them verbal support and encouragement. 
9. When all student work is complete, display them to celebrate your students' hard work!

We have available to you from our store, a pack full of additional pages should you wish to extend your learners or provide more opportunities for them to trace and have fun! Don't forget to find the free finger play too!

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Pre Writing, Tracing

Rainbow Finger Play

I love making and sharing  printable finger play action rhymes with you! Have you seen our growing collection? They make great beahvior management tools for your classroom and integrate language and literacy in a fun practical way!

Today I have a new one for you - Across the Sky! I think it is perfect for kindergarten or preschool - it is easy to remember and incorporates some simple actions to learn. 

The actions provide an opportunity for your little learners to stretch, flow from big arm movement to finger movement and finish with their hands rested in their laps ready to learn. 

Once you've introduced the action rhyme keep it on display for the week and encourage your class to say it often. Consider:

• using it when you notice students need to have a wriggle
• extending it into a  literacy experience - point to the text as you say the words
• using it as you transition between lessons
• using it as a text to study - look at the language and talk about what some of the words mean

I have this new finger play in Google Drive ready for you!

A blackline version is included for you too. Have students color it and take it home to share with their families. This makes a great literacy link between home and school. 

Also available is a full comprehensive resource pack that includes the text and additional support materials to create a range of learning experiences in your creative classroom!

What a great time to incorporate more rainbow themed activities! Find some more from our growing collection on our website page. 

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Behavior, Finger Play, rainbows

Cactus Classroom Welcome Posters

Having a welcome sign on your classroom door is a lovely way to set the tone for your learning environment and greet your students with positivity from the start of the school year! 

Our printable one page welcome signs are a fast-prep option for you to have something on display before your students set foot in the school! 

Simply print the page of your choice (multiple options are included in each pack) and write the name of your class or grade. I've included a text-editable version too, so you can type your class name if preferred. 

 

I recently created this cactus themed set and know your little ones will love the happy faces and pencils included on the cute cacti!

You can find these welcome posters in our store and create your welcome display in minutes!

Find more cactus themed teaching resources on our website page!

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Back to School, Classroom Decor

Ordering Numbers Math Game

Here is a fun and fast-prep game your students can play to practice ordering numbers. 

You need:

• craft sticks labelled with numerals - just write them on with a Sharpie
• soft toy - we used an apple

To play:

1. Distribute the sticks (choose a range of numbers that suits your learners - e.g. 1-30 for kindergarten) randomly to the children playing (at least 2 students)
2. On 'go' they work towards putting their sticks into order - lowest to highest numbers, or highest to lowest
3. The first student who orders their sticks, 'grabs' the apple
4. Encourage students to check the accuracy of the winning sort
5. Put the apple back in the middle, re-distribute the sticks and play again

If you do not have an apple, you can play with any other toy or novelty - its purpose is simply to add an element of novelty and to identify a winner. Perhaps a fox, wolf or a dragon might work for you! 

Find more apple teaching ideas here

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Apples, Kindergarten, Number Games

Classroom Birthdays

We're getting ready to send our Pond Update to you this week with a special birthday themed exclusive printable for you. As well we added a fun birthday pencil coloring page to the free coloring page library this week! 

I thought it would be a good time to remind you of some of the classroom birthday resources we have in our collection - perfect for back to school!

Cupcake Birthday Posters

These are a treasure original and we have revised them several times. The pack offers you many different variations and options including monthly cupcakes, a one page poster, birthday announcement poster and card to give your special student! 

Cake Play Dough Activity Mats

In our activity mat collection you'll find our birthday cake themed counting mats. Students can say the rhyme as they create candles from play dough - or use dry erase markers or craft equipment like sticks.

Counting Cake One Page Craft

In the coloring club craft category you can find a simple craft for students to color, cut and glue. Ask them to put the number of candles on the cake that represents their age! 

Classroom Birthdays Display

Another option for a classroom birthday display is using our cute animal posters! This pack also included multiple options including a student birthday card!

Find some past blog posts with ideas for celebrating birthdays with your students too!

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Birthday, Coloring Page

Learning letters of the alphabet

Teaching the 26 letters sounds in kindergarten can be more manageable and successful with a consistent routine. 

Our Let's Learn the Alphabet packets help you do that easily! Each pack has the same style of activities with different vocabulary and letter focus. 

We have offered the Letter P pack free for some time now as a way for you to review the resources before you secure in the entire collection. 

The pack is filled with 13 activities to support your instruction - from introducing and reviewing the sound, letter formation, decodable words and writing practice. There is even a craft included too! 

We especially love the sky, grass, ground posters and paper to practice getting the proportions of the letter correct. A blackline version is included too. 

Extra Ideas

• laminate and use with dry erase markers
• laminate the poster and use with play dough - ask students to make the letter with play dough to experience the proportions with their hands
• drive a toy car over the letter to show the path a pencil takes to write the letter - add simple verbal cues - down, up and around

The word cards are a great to showcase and display in your first lesson. Leave them up for students to look at, read and refer to as you work through all the activities. Have students guess the words before you show each one. Ask them to suggest words that start with the sound and flip them as they are suggested. Write additional words on chart paper too.

Extra Ideas

• leave an additional set on a ring in the writing center so your students can practice writing the words
• print 2 sets and play a matching game
• use your print setting to print all 8 cards on one page and use as a bingo board for a fun letter game
• play a guessing game and give your students clues for which picture you are thinking of

Take a peek at the Letter P pack, I'm sure you'll love it! 

I will pop back to the blog here over the coming days to show you a few more of the included activities. 

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Alphabet, Kindergarten, Let's Learn the Alphabet