Proudly Flying the Stars and Stripes.
I wanted to whip together some things for Flag Day. Some schools will be out before the 14th, but others go longer because of snow day make up, or they are year round, some are already starting their summer school programs, or perhaps you home school and simply want to teach your little ones about the flag.
I remember after 911 factories couldn't keep up with the demand for flags,they were being flown everywhere; it was truly amazing.
Who Designed The Flag?
I always surf the net for background and history to get ideas.
I found a tremendous amount of interesting information about our flag, everything from the controversies and debate about who designed it: Betsy Ross or Francis Hopkinson to the numerous designs that were actually flown throughout the years.
I love folklore, so I like to think that Betsy was truly asked by George Washington to sew the flag with the circle of 13 stars, but later it was Hopkinson who designed another flag that was adopted by The Continental Congress.
There seems to be enough proof for both arguments, especially Hopkinson who had to submit all sorts of things to get paid.
According to popular legend, the Philadelphia seamstress who made flags for the navy, was acquainted with George Washington.
As you know he was the leader of the Continental Army. The story goes, that in May of 1776, Washington and two representatives from the Continental Congress visited Ross at her upholstery shop and showed her a rough design of the flag.
Although Washington initially favored using a star with six points, Ross advocated for a five-pointed star. They were skeptical, but the gentlemen were won over, when she quickly folded a scrap of fabric and with one quick snip of her scissors produced a perfect 5-pointed star.
Thus we have a five-pointed star on the flag... or so the legend goes. Click on the link to view/print Betsy Ross's 5-pointed star magic trick!
For a Betsy Ross page you can color online as a nice independent computer center, click on the link. Online Betsy Ross Coloring Page
For a regular Betsy Ross coloring page click on the link.
For a coloring page for a Betsy Ross Flag + other flags through 1960 click on the link.
The Betsy Ross star circle flag and the 13-star Hopkinson flag clipart is courtesy of the University of Oklahoma site.
They also have all of the state flags if you’re looking for a project. They give permission for teachers to use their clipart for educational purposes, provided you link back to them.
To color an original 1776 flag click on the link.
Unfortunately, historians have never truly been able to verify these charming events. The story of Washington's visit to the flag maker became popular about the time of the country's first centennial, after William Canby, a grandson of Ross, told about her role in shaping U.S. history in a speech given at the Philadelphia Historical Society in March 1870.
What is known is that the first unofficial national flag, called the Grand Union Flag or the Continental Colors, was raised at the request of General Washington near his headquarters outside Boston, on Jan. 1, 1776.
This flag had 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and the British Union Flag (a predecessor of the Union Jack) in the canton. (Blue part of the flag.)
The Continental Congress approved the first official national flag, also known as the Stars and Stripes, on June 14, 1777. The blue canton contained 13 stars, representing the original 13 colonies, but the layout varied.
Although nobody knows for sure who designed the flag, many believe it may have been Continental Congress member Francis Hopkinson. He was a lawyer, and Congressman from New Jersey, who also signed the Declaration of Independence.
I thought it would be fun to have students read about Betsy Ross and Francis Hopkinson and decide for themselves which story they believe.
Have a discussion and then graph the results. You can also do a Venn diagram of the two flags, either Betsy's or Hopkinson's or a 1700's flag to the current flag. Click on the University of OK site and choose your flags. Click on the link to view/print the Betsy Ross/Francis Hopkinson graph and Venn diagram of their two flags.
I spent several days researching many sites to find what I felt to be kid-friendly and informative. To read more interesting history about the flag, Betsy Ross and Hopkinson click on the links. Hopkinson Site, Betsy Ross Site, Flag Site, US Flag Site, United States Flag Site
Be sure to read part 2 of this article to continue learning about our flag!
By now your students have a nice handle on some basic writing skills. If they are wee-ones, you can brain storm some ideas during Circle Time and write sentences on the board for them to copy.
Have students TRACE the sentences and then complete the rest of the sentence by WRITING in their thoughts on the lines and then drawing and coloring the page to match it.
I've designed 3 booklets for you to choose from, or make it a week-long writing activity and do one every other day.
Laminate the pages and then bind the books.
They make a wonderful keepsake for your new students to read year after year.Make the class books even more personal and special by running off a copy on the photo setting of your printer of your class composite and have each student glue their school picture to their page as well as sign it.
Click on the links to view/print a copy of each one of the end-of-the-year class books. These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things... Class Book, In The Summer I Like To...Class Book, Whew! It's HOT! Class Book or if you like them all, print with one click June Class Books.
You may also want to check out the FREE Easy Reader for this month entitled: My Summer Senses. It's a great way to review your study of the 5 senses.
If you're looking for another Easy Reader fill-in check out: The Colors Of Summer.
It's a nice review of the color words and includes flashcards, skill sheets, and a certificate of praise. When my students are done, we read the booklets as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.
I take the children outside and read their class books under a shady tree while they slurp on a well-deserved popsicle.
Happy writing, sharing and reading!
The year is winding down, students have nailed the standards, temperatures are getting warmer (finally!) and vacation is just around the corner, so I wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.
One of my readers e-mailed me this wonderful Beach Party idea and gave permission to share her name and ideas on the blog. I thought they were so cute; perfect timing too, incase any of you want to throw a luau or beach party. Here's what she had to say:
Hi Diane I enjoy reading your blog and thought I would pass along some ideas I use for my classroom at the end of the school year that are a hit with my kindergarten students in Den Haag [The Netherlands]
We celebrate the end of the school year and beginning of summer by having a "beach party."
Decorations:
- I decorate the classroom with beach things, most of which I have either in the classroom or at home, and the rest can be purchased at a Dollar Store.
- Use beach towels as tablecloths or to sit on during reading time/circle. etc.
- 
Wash Frisbees, flip over and use as plates for snack.
- Have inflatable beach balls, sand, water and seashells in a texture table
- Lei's (from The Dollar Store) for prizes
- I have a CD of whale songs and we go "whale watching" at the beach.
Snacks
- Make blue Jell-O with gummy fish mixed in. (Use clear plastic cups so that you can see the fish:)
- We also have "Seaside cupcakes." Frost each cupcake with vanilla/white icing.
- Sprinkle yellow sugar on one half to create the “beach” and blue sugar on the other half to create the “ocean.” (Or use blue icing to make the ocean)
- Open and insert a parasol into each “beach.”
- Attach a gummy bear with a dab of icing onto a life saver “raft” and place onto the blue “ocean.”
- Eat snack outside (weather permitting) and sit on our beach towels
Reading:
At the end of the school year I read Goodbye House and Goodnight Moon. The children are encouraged to draw things they would like to say goodbye to, and then during circle time we talk about what each child drew, and that it's okay to be sad and miss all of the things we did during the school year.
Just thought I would share. Danku for all of your ideas. I hope you continue throughout the summer as we get ready for the fall. Katja Zeldenthuis
Thank YOU Katja for this wonderful idea, and I WILL be continuing to design things through out the summer.
I'm working on all sorts of fun science things, The solar system and outer space, weather, more things on seasons, nocturnal animals, insects, some more mini offices, + some geography things to name just a few.
These were all requested by more than one person so they are a top priority. Then there's a house to clean, all the usual teaching stuff to organize and sort, gardening, a new puppy, family and grandchildren to enjoy and love, well you know...and the summer is gone before you can say Happy Memorial Day weekend! Stay Safe.
Sweet Summer Dreamin' Pillowcases
Another fun project I like to do with my students at the end of the year I call "Sweet Summer Dreamin' Pillowcases."
Just about every month we have practiced the art of stamping something with a foam stamp.
I have collected them through out the years to use for our science units. They make fun art projects and are great for math extensions as well.
My Y5's self-esteem is also built, because the process is quite easy and the results are simply smashing. They pat paint on a foam stamp and then press it onto paper and a lovely print of something is left.
They make beautiful collages, paintings and patterns and are quiet proud of their projects. They have become quite skilled at this technique.
Instead of doing an autograph book, I thought it would be fun for my students to autograph a pillowcase that they have stamped with all of the various foam stamps, depicting everything they have studied throughout the year. This makes a wonderful keepsake for them.
I send a letter home to parents asking them to send in a plain, light-colored pillowcase and ask if they would be able to volunteer to help.
I've found that having 4 helpers makes the process go faster and stay organized, but I've done it with only one daddy as well.
One year I asked several 5th graders if they could come and help during their study hour when I was short on parents and they worked well with the little ones too.
They all had been my Y5 students so that made it extra fun as they even remembered doing the project when they were little!
I do this project on the floor in our entry hall atrium so that the children can spread out. Lay plastic down in case of spills. There are very few, but The Dollar Store plastic tablecloths make clean up a breeze. I put 5 children in a row and make a large square.
Insert a piece of tag board (I recycle them each year) inside of their pillow case so that the paint does not bleed through. I write their name in large print on the edge of their pillowcase.
I buy primary and pastel colors of the acrylic permanent paints that are only .59 cents at a hobby/craft store and spill a dollop of one color on a paper plate.
That paper plate, a foam brush and a stamp is given to a helper who pats the paint on the stamp and hands it to a child, they press that stamp anywhere on their pillowcase and then wait for the next stamp.
We rotate all of the stamps in this assembly line fashion until everyone has done every stamp and every color.
This takes about 45 minutes if I have help. Afterwards, the children go wash up and they go outside for recess.
When they come back in the paint is dry. We flip the pillowcases over and everyone is given a permanent marker.
I have 10 different colors. I remind them that they cannot rest the markers on the pillowcase as they will start to bleed into the material and run.
I also tell them that it is hard to write on fabric so that they need to hold the fabric taught. I demonstrate this as I "autograph" a pillowcase.
Everyone signs their own pillowcase first, then they stand up when they are done so that I can see when everyone is finished; when everyone is standing, they move to the next pillowcase and sign their name; when they are done, they stand up again.
We do this until they are back to their own pillowcase and have signed everyone's. Make sure you remind them that they are writing THEIR name and "autographing" eachother's pillowcases.
I had one little guy who was trying to write each person's name on the pillowcases instead of his own!
In the beginning I had the children sign the fronts of the pillowcases where the stamps were, then a mom thought it would look nicer, since the children wrote so big, to sign the backs! I've done it that way ever since.
I don't paint the backs of the pillowcases, because the paint is scratchy when it dries.
I type up a little note about washing directions which reads: When your child brings their pillowcase home, turn it inside out and toss in the dryer on high . This will set the paint. Wash in cold water on gentle cycle for years of wear. Sleep on the side that is not painted. I hope you enjoy your sweet summer dreamin' pillowcase and that it helps you to remember all of the fun we had learning and making these wonderful friends!
I've gotten lots of positive feedback about this project, and my students absolutely love making these pillowcases.
Bulletin Boards For Back-To-School
This time of year is a little more relaxed for me. My students know the standards and we've come a long way.
We're winding down, and many of you, like me, might even be counting down the days with your students.
I do this via a paper chain that's been hanging up in our classroom all year and is changed each month. Click on the link to view/print one. Monthly paper chain.
Some of you may be looking for a few fun things to plug in. One thing that my students enjoy is making two of my in-class bulletin boards for my new students.
Let's face it, summer zips by and before you know it, we're all back in the classroom. My list of "to do" things is miles long.
Although I really enjoy decorating my room and starting fresh, it's often extremely hot in August so if I don't have to put up a few bulletin boards that's a wonderful time saver.
We study apples and dinosaurs for our science units in September, so those are the themes of the two bulletin boards. Even if you don't study apples & dinosaurs these make nice "Welcome" boards for you to put up for the first week.
The dinosaur bulletin board's caption is: Have A Dino-mite Year! Each dinosaur egg says: "I'm wishing you a dino-mite year in Young Fives!" The template simply says: "I'm wishing you a dino-mite year!"
For the Back-To-School Apple bulletin board I cut out a large red heart and put a large yellow apple in the center with the words: "Can you find your new kindergarten friend in the cafeteria?" I've made templates for you that say: Can you find your new preschool/kindergarten/first grade friend?
When I take down the bulletin boards, I give each of my new students an apple or dinosaur. My Y5's have the same lunch and recess times as the kindergarten students do; once I make sure that these students still go to our school, the cafeteria helpers and I help them find their "new older friend".
Last year's students have signed their name, and their photo is also on the apple or dinosaur.
The K's enjoy talking with the "little one's" about Y5's and feel special and "mature", the Y5's have a blast hanging onto their apple or dinosaur and looking for the matching kindergartner who made it for them.
It's an adventure and a nice win-win for everyone, especially me who didn't have to spend a day dreaming up, making and putting up two more bulletin boards in my hot classroom!
If you can't close your blinds over the summer, or if someone else is using your room, make sure you cover your boards with paper so they don't fade or get messed up.
If you'll be moving, simply keep all your pieces in a manila envelope so they're ready to staple them on the board and you're all set! You'll be glad you took the time now and thanking yourself when summer's over and you're in "hurricane-mode" trying to get everything done!
Click on the link to view/print the masters. Dinosaur-Apple Back-to-School Bulletin Boards.
