1-2-3 Come Make A Graduation Memory Book With Me

If you teach preschool or kindergarten and your kiddos are graduating, you might enjoy making this adorable Graduation Memory book, that's sure to become a cherished keepsake.

Here's How: Run off the mortarboard (graduation cap) pieces on a variety of colors, or give just 2 school color choices to your students.

They cut and glue together to make the back cover. Another cap makes the front cover.

Students could choose both of your school colors to make their cover.  One color for the back and the other one for the front.

To add a bit of 3D pizzazz, poke a hole in the center, insert a brass brad and tie with a yarn tassel.

If you have the budget, there are many companies that you can buy real tassels from that include a year charm.

Choose which master pages you want to include in your booklets; run off the pages on white copy paper and distribute one at a time to them.

Students complete their pages, cut them out, collate in whatever order you want them to, and then add their cover. 

Make sure you make a sample and then display each page on the board in the order you want them to assemble them.

Staple the pages together at the top point, so the booklet flips up.

To expedite things, for the "classmate" autograph page, have each student sign one page the day before, and then run it off. 

Do the same thing with the "special" autograph page, by having the principal, secretary, librarian etc. sign one page.

For the "High five's!" page, you can paint your students' hand and then press it on their page, or have a room helper trace their hand on a sheet of construction paper and cut them out, so students can glue it to their page or have students choose a partner and have them trace each other's hand.  When they are done, they can color their print.

I think the self-portrait page, as well as including a graduation photograph, will make this booklet even more special.

The last page is a short graduation poem, that was inspired by over a dozen others, that I found while Pinning away.

I hope you enjoy my version, and have as much fun making these memory books, as I did designing them.  I wish you a wonderful graduation day.

Click on the link to view/download the Kindergarten/Preschool Graduation Memory Booklet.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  There's a "Pin it" button at the top.

"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  Anyone who keeps learning stays young." -Henry Ford

1-2-3 Come Write With Me!

If your students are like mine, they'll enjoy sharing things about themselves and giving their opinion, so making a bio-writing prompt "craftivity" will be interesting and fun for them.

I've included a mortarboard (graduation cap) template, so if you teach kindergarten or preschool and your kiddo's have a graduation ceremony, this makes a wonderful keepsake.

You can give students a variety of color choices or run the template off on just your school colors.

If you don't need the mortarboard, simply give students skin-tone colored construction paper and have them draw a large self portrait of just their head and neck.

Showing them a sample you made, will help them follow the directions of drawing just their head and making sure that they use the entire paper. 

My Y5's had a tendency to draw stick figures or too small of a circle for their face.  Children color and cut their portrait out and glue the bio writing prompt template at the bottom.

To make this "craftivity" even more of a keepsake, as well as add some 3D pizzazz, students pick a partner and trace their hand on a folded sheet of skin-tone colored construction paper.

This way they can cut once, and have 2 hands.  You may want this step done by a room helper to expedite things for preschoolers.

Show them your sample and explain that they glue the base of each hand to either side of their bio page, and then gently fold their fingers forward, gluing the tip of one finger to the front.

Completed projects make an adorable end-of-the-year bulletin board.  For that extra finishing touch, use wiggle eyes and fasten them with glue dots.

Adding a tassel to the center of the graduation cap also adds pow.  I made mine out of yarn, but you can also buy "real" tassels from a party store.   Some even have a little year charm on them.  If you have time, have students share their work with their classmates.

If you've already got enough end of the year activities, these bios are wonderful for a  "getting to know you" icebreaker for the beginning of the school year as well.

To expedite things, include the writing portion in your "welcome to school" letter or open house packet.   Parents can then help little ones fill in the information; children bring this to school the first day, where they'll make the head and hands and attach the bio paper.

For teachers who want to skip the "craftivity" portion, I've also included a bio-writing prompt sheet that has a small space for students to simply draw a mini self-portrait. 

Another idea is to have students fill this out at the beginning of the year, and then do it again the last week of school to see how things have changed.  In the past, I've seen a ton of growth in their self-portraits!

This page could also be included in whatever memory book you are making for your students' last day, or collect and collate the pages to make a class book during the first week of school.

Click on the link to view/download the Bio-Writing Prompt Craftivity.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  My "pin it" button is at the top of the page.

"If the heavens were all parchment, and the trees of the forest all pens, and every human being were a scribe, it would [still] be impossible to record all that I have learned from my teachers." -Jack Zakkai

1-2-3 Come Make Some "Fin-tastic" Treat Bags With Me!

If you're looking for a quick, easy and inexpensive little something to give your students the last day of school, I think you'll enjoy whipping these together.

You can buy Goldfish Crackers at Sam's or Costco for $9, and have more than enough to fill 20-30 Snack Baggies.

Simply run off the "I hope you have a 'fin-tastic' summer!" template on yellow or orange construction paper. Lime green, hot pink, turquoise and purple also look great.

Cut them out, add each child's name to the top and then sign the fish at the bottom. For a bit more pizzazz add a wiggle eye with a glue dot.

Fill the Snack Baggies and stick the fish to the top with a piece of tape, (I don't like using staples on snacks.) and you're done!

I've also included a sweet bookmark you can clip to the baggie as well.

This packet includes templates for a back-to-school fishy treat bag as well as a bookmark for the fall.

Click on the link to view/download the "Fin-tastic" Fishy Cracker Snack Bag and bookmark packet.

Do you have an end of the year gift you could share with us? I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com or simply post a comment or link here.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten." -B.F. Skinner

1-2-3 Make A Preschool or Kindergarten Graduation Gift With Me

Are you making a gift bag, or giving a book to your kiddo's for graduation and looking for things to tuck in it?

I've designed 7 different graduation bookmarks as well as 2 graduation certificates from preschool and kindergarten. 

You can tuck both in your gift bag or book, or cut toilet paper tubes in half, wrap the "rings" with tissue or gift wrap, roll the items and insert the papers.

Click on the link to view/download the graduation bookmarks and/or the graduation certificates.

I have lots of other graduation ideas, tips and gifts.  Just click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.

I hope you can pop back tomorrow for a quick and easy graduation gift bag.

"If someone doesn't appreciate your presence, make them appreciate your absence." -Unknown