Gardening in the Classroom

Here are a few ideas for starting a small garden in the classroom.  Students enjoy watching their seeds grow, and there are several options available for just how to do it.

• Intellokids has a wide range of seed-plating methods for the classroom.  This contains descriptions of planting seeds in jars, in fish tanks and on paper towels, among other places.
• This is actually a craft project that describes using recycled materials to create a "garden" of flowers and other plants.  This is a good activity for Earth Day or any lesson about recycling or reusing materials, perfect for spring. 
• This idea comes from Family Fun magazine, a good way to save space by using a window for your seeds:

Hanging Garden

Spring Crafts: Caterpillars, Bees and Other Insects

These projects were designed to recognize the crawling and buzzing creatures that thrive in the spring.  I've included butterfly and ladybug crafts in previous posts, but these ideas highlight the less glamorous bugs that kids nevertheless find interesting:

• These cute caterpillars are made from egg cartons.  The creator astutely suggests pairing this project with a reading of Eric Carle's classic Very Hungry Caterpillar.
• This is a simple bumblebee project that's ideal for young students.
• These bees are made from paper plates.
• This last resource is actually a list (provided by Scholastic) of science activities that focus on insects. These engaging activities include everything from exploring bee pheromones, to journeying outside and predicting what foods attract the most ants, to using butterflies as a model for symmetry.  If you like these, there is another list with even more suggestions for springtime science activities.  

image: microsoft

Spring Crafts: Make Kites, Umbrellas, & Birds

Here a few more ideas for spring classroom crafts:

• This first grade teacher introduced her class to dictionary skills with little kite decorations.   What a great idea for spring! 

• These adorable, vibrantly colored birds are a nice project for the ambitious and talented.  They're made from lightbulbs!  The step-by-step process is clearly outlined.

• Speaking of birds, why not combine a springtime theme with Poetry Month lessons?  The Crafty Classroom shows what can happen when birdseed and poetry unite in this simple activity.  A downloadable template is included.

• If you’re reading any books about rain, or looking for a craft project to accompany a lesson on weather, how about these April shower umbrellas made from paper plates?

• Finally, check out these beautiful window silhouettes decorated as Easter eggs and bunnies!  Lovely adornments for your windows at this time of year.

Enjoy!

5 Butterfly Crafts for Spring

If you want your students to create these beautiful insects to celebrate the spring season, explore these 5 ideas from various sites:

• ·      These are some of the most eye-catching butterflies that I’ve found, and the site even features some helpful templates.
• ·      This art class used tissue paper and liquid starch to make these colorful butterflies.
• ·      These butterflies would look wonderful hanging near a window where they can catch the sunlight.     
•      This easy butterfly project is made from a paper plate.
• ·      From the Mailbox:  use templates to trace the butterfly body, and then trace the wings onto black construction paper.  Use some glue on the wings, and then sprinkle glitter over the glue.  Shake off the excess after drying, overlap the wings, and then glue the body over them.  Add antennae and other decorations.  Here is an illustration from their site:

image:   The Education Center

6 Flower Crafts for Spring

Flowers are a quintessential part of spring, and these craft ideas are perfect classroom projects for this time of year:

• ·       Make a daffodil from paper and an egg carton, with a link for a template 
• ·      This blog shows you how to make a bouquet of flowers from an egg carton, toilet paper roll and pipe cleaners 
• ·      These prettily designed flowers are made entirely from paper
• ·      Even more colorful, paper flowers
• ·      A flower made from the bottom of a 2-liter bottle
• ·      If you want to make your flowers part of a science lesson, check out these creations with labeled plant parts

3 Ladybug Crafts for Spring

Celebrate spring by having your students create lovely ladybugs!  I’ve looked around the net for ladybug classroom craft projects, and here are my three favorites:

•        This Fabulous First Grade teacher shows you how to make ladybugs from paper plates.  Click the comments to view the teacher’s instructions.   She also included a printable to use this activity with a popular Eric Carle book.  
•     Arts and Crafts Kids’ website provides an easy, step-by-step process for ladybugs, also made from paper plates.  The photos and instructions are quite easy to follow.
•     Another idea from The Mailbox:  use the same paper plate ladybug concept, but cut the wings in half, hole punch the top, and connect the wings with brads (or, use this template from teachers.net).  Underneath the wings, glue an index cards for students to write a poem about ladybugs.

 Enjoy!

  -Veronica

image:  The Education Center