1-2-3 Come Color Mom's World With Me

This fingerprint keepsake card is a quick, easy and fun craftivity, with wonderful results.  I've included 2 options for creating them.  Little ones can simply color the letters and then carefully press fingerprints on the paper. 

Older students can place the letter templates over the blank poem-page and then press their prints in and around the letters.  After they are content with the look of their paper, they carefully lift off the templates to reveal the word mom. 

This is the technique that I used on the photograph.  I saw a similar poem all over the Internet, and revamped it for this project.  The original author is unknown.  Here is my version:

"I've left some little fingerprints on just about every wall, on furniture, doors and windows, I've really marked them all.  Here are some that won't rub off to remember when I was small, because I'll love you forever, even when I'm big and tall."

Show children your sample and have them read the word MOM, then flip the page upside down and ask them to read the "new" word WOW.  Encourage them to share this demostration with their own card, explaining that they think their mom is a wow mom. 

Click on the link to view/download the Fingerprint Mother's Day Keepsake Card.

Another colorful card is the Mother's Day Rainbow Writing Prompt Mobile. Have students brainstorm with you, thinking of ways their mothers color their world with love, caring, joy etc.  List these on the board.

Cut strips of construction paper.  Students fold the strips in half.  Using a glue stick, they rub glue over one section, place a piece of yarn down the middle and then press shut.  They continue this process until they have all of the colors of the rainbow represented.

Students complete the writing prompt by composing a sentence on each strip.  Older students can write on both sides.  Add the finishing touch by including a photograph. 

Click on the link to view/download the Mother's Day Rainbow Writing Prompt Mobile.  Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away. 

"The phrase 'working mother' is redundant." -Jane Sellman

1-2-3 Come Do Some Very Hungry Caterpillar Activities and Crafts With Me

My life seems to be flying by!  Can anyone else out there relate?  I had planned to get these cute little caterpillars done the first week of April, but the past few days filled up with so many other responsibilities, that the caterpillars had to stay in their "chrysalis state" 'til now. 

I hope you can still use them, or as the life of a pack-rat teacher goes, tuck these ideas away for next year.  Since so many people read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I wanted to use Eric Carle's cute litter critter as a spring board to studying a variety of other things. 

I created the caterpillar template and made a list of all sorts of ways I could use it, then set about to design the details.   You can choose which one you want your students to do, or give them a choice.  A friend of mine liked them so much, that she plans to make 3 (a different one each week).

In The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats the Alphabet, students trace and write upper and lowercase letters.  I've also included a set where a bit of the butterfly's life cycle is also included with the letters. 

For example, for the Zz letter, I added:  Zzzzzz sleeping in a chrysalis, and then included a butterfly pattern with the letters all over her wings to be cut and glued on the last section.  

I glued just the thorax portion to the last "body" circle and bent the wings up so that the butterfly looks like she's flying.

Older students could also make a list of a food the caterpillar could eat that begins with that letter.  You may want to read Lois Ehlert's book Eating the Alphabet (Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z) to give students some ideas.  Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats the Alphabet packet. 

If you'd like to review just the life cycle of a butterfly, you'll want to take a look at The Life Cycle Of The Very Hungry Caterpillar packet.  Students trace and write the words, then color, cut and glue the pictures. 

If you look closely, you'll see that I glued down just the thorax with this butterfly too, so it looks 3 dimensional, like the larger one above.  Click on the link to view/download it. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats a Rainbow, reinforces colors as well as the days of the week.  Before hand, brainstorm what kinds of things the caterpillar could eat that are the various colors.  Write these words on the board to help children with spelling.

Students trace and write the color words and complete the sentence with something the caterpillar ate that was that color.  Adding end punctuation reviews another standard.  

Children then draw and color a picture.  I've included my sample so that you can quickly make one to share with your students. Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats a Rainbow packet.

You may also want to read one of the following books for some great examples of rainbow-colorful food: I Eat A Rainbow, by Bobbie Kalman;  Can You Eat a Rainbow? by Anastasia Suen;  and/or  I Can Eat A Rainbow, by Annabel Karmel.   

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Numbers includes counting from zero to ten, where students trace and write the numbers as well as the number words.  I've  included a butterfly pattern to glue to the last section if you want.

There are also caterpillar "body" circles for skip counting by 2's 3's, 5's, and 10's. 

In all of the packets there are patterns for the caterpillar's head if you want it to be made out of construction paper, as well as a pattern that students can color, like the "Skip count by 10's" caterpillar in the photo.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Numbers.

Since I have many requests for shape craftivities, particulary 3D shapes, I thought I'd make The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Shapes. 

This is the largest packet, as I've included a caterpillar that reviews 2D shapes, as well as the days of the week.  For this caterpillar, students trace and write the shape words, as well as draw the shapes. 

I've included a butterfly pattern with the various shapes sprinkled on the wings, if you'd like to include that on the last "body" section.  For a cool 3D effect, fold the wings up and glue only the thorax portion down.

Another caterpillar, is a cut and glue the 2D shapes on the "body" circles.  Besides the standard 2D shapes, you can also choose to include the hexagon, pentagon, & octagon, and/or the pattern block shapes: rhombus and trapezoid. 

There's also a separate caterpillar that simply eats all of the 3D shapes. As with the above activity, students cut and glue the 3D shapes to the "body" circles.  Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Some Shapes.

Finally, rather than make a caterpillar that covered story elements using this pattern, I made a graphic organizer - worksheet, to change things up a bit. 

To save you time, I included a template with the answers, so that you can make a quick sample to share with your students. Click on the link to view/download the graphic organizer for The Very Hungry Caterpillar's story elements. 

Thanks for visiting today.  As always, feel free to PIN away.   

 "Everyone is like a [caterpillar].  They start out ugly and awkward, and then morph into beautiful and graceful butterflies that everyone loves." -Drew Barrymore