1-2-3 Come Sequence & Retell a Story With Me

I guess a lot of teachers and homeschoolers read the book “The Scarecrow’s Hat” by Ken Brown because the flip booklet craftivity I blogged about last week, was a big hit. 

It’s one of my personal, all-time favorite scarecrow stories too. 

Because of all the “swapping” going on with the various characters in the story, “Scarecrow’s Hat” is perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.

Those of you who follow me, know that I enjoy designing storytelling "sliders" and wheels, which have also been very popular, as a super-fun way to practice these standards.

However, because the story has a lot of retelling parts to it, a slider would get too long, and the graphics on a wheel too small, so I wanted to think of a different kind of sequencing activity and came up with this “flip it over” 3D hat craft, that’s made out of a yellow bowl.

Run the hat brim off on yellow construction paper. Students assemble and glue the bowl face down, on top of the brim.

There are two options for sequencing and retelling the story.

Students can color, cut and sequence the “beginning of the story” graphics gluing them to the front of the hat; then color, cut and sequence the “end of the story” graphics and glue them to the “back” of the hat, which is now the chicken’s nest. OR …

Children can glue all of the graphics around the front, then simply flip the hat over to reveal the chicken on her nest to tell the end of the story.

I personally like gluing all of the graphics to the front, then for a “big finish” and “wow” of an ending, flip the hat over to reveal why the chicken wanted the scarecrow’s hat.

The chicken is 3-dimensional and “rocks” before you put her inside the base of the bowl.

For my sample, I ran 2 sheets of various shades of brown construction paper through a shredder, to make the lining for hen’s “nest”.

For some more 3D pop, you can also add a jute bow or small, silk sunflower to the base of the bowl, which is the “top” of the scarecrow’s hat.

I’ve included black & white patterns, as well as colorful ones, so that you can quickly & easily make an example to share.

When everyone is done, have children pick a partner and take turns retelling the story of “The Scarecrow’s Hat” to each other.
We sometimes do this sort of thing with our older reading buddies.

To further check comprehension as well as practice sequential writing, I’ve included a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet.

There’s a black & white template for students to fill in, plus a colorful pattern page so you can do this as a whole-group activity with little ones.

Today's featured FREEBIE switches from scarecrows to turkeys. Its titled, "Thanksgiving Shape Up!"  and is filled with a nice variety of games, activities & crafts, which all help reinforce 2D-shapes. 

Thanks for visiting. The scarecrow on my porch is watching the leaves swirl and twirl.

Even though it's a bit dreary, a brisk walk is in order.  Wishing you a warm and cozy afternoon.

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.  Today I am wise, so I'm going to change myself." -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Do A Few More Scarecrow Activities With Me

I thought I was finished diddling around with scarecrows for the season, and was ready to move on to turkeys, until I got a request for some scarecrow alphabet cards. 

I enjoy making ABC cards; they don't take that long, so I'm always happy to oblige special requests, even if they come from only one visitor. I think others will also enjoy them as well.

Click on the link to view/download the scarecrow alphabet cards, along with a 3-page tip list of what else to use them for, and some "Kaboom!" cards to make alphabet games even more fun.

A teacher from Michigan, e-mailed me that she really liked The Scarecrow's Shapely Nose packet and wondered if I could make a shape slider of a scarecrow like the puppy pal.  Great idea Lynn! 

Click on the link to view/download The Scarecrow's Nose Shape Slider.  For extra pizzazz I added "straw" that was made by running yellow construction paper through my husband's shredder!

Children are bound to get antsy when doing seatwork, so I liked to include some gross motor activities to help get the "wiggles" out.  Brain breaks are equally important.  I tried to include my theme whenever I could. 

One of my Y5's favorite movement-songs was This Scarecrow.  It's sung to the tune of This Old Man.  The packet is filled with lots of silly rhyming fun. 

I hope your kiddo's enjoy "snapping, clapping, tapping, and slapping" as much as mine did. Click on the link to view/download it.

Finally, because it's difficult to fit in science to an already packed day, I try and design things that incorporate some science, along with a variety of other Common Core State Standards.  My Scarecrow's Senses does just that. 

Students read, trace, write, add end punctuation, underline the adjectives and color.  After asking the scarecrow what he see's, hears, feels, smells and tastes, it's the child's turn to write about their autumn senses.  Click on the link to view/download My Scarecrow's Senses.

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily.  I hope you can stop by tomorrow for the newest FREEBIES that I so enjoy sharing.  Feel free to PIN away.   If you'd like to take a look at all of the wonderfully-creative educational items that I pin, click on the heart button to the right of the blog.

"For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and in every child there lies the adult that will be." -John Connolly

1-2-3 Come Do Some Scarecrow Activities With Me!

I love scarecrows; they were one of my favorite things to draw as a child.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, I enjoyed seeing the variety of these farmer-creations that kept watch over the pastoral countryside.

One of the first Art & Activities units that I designed was on scarecrows.  This was prior to all of the software programs, fonts and clip art that I now have at my disposal, but I think you'll still enjoy making some of these cuties from my hand drawn patterns.  Click on the link to view/download the 66-page Scarecrow Art & Activities packet. 

Here are a few samples:

Patrick, the paper chain scarecrow, can help your kiddo's countdown to Thanksgiving break.  Choose 2-colors for the links and review an ABAB pattern, or add a 3rd color to do ABCABC. 

You can simply make one to hang in your classroom, or set this scarecrow up as an independent center and have children work on one of their own. (Assign as many links as are appropriate for your age group.)  To incorporate blends, have students write an sc word on each link.

Carl, the counting scarecrow, will help your students review numbers 1-10, skip counting by 2's, 5's and 10's as well as the spatial directions of left and right. 

Five Little Crows in a Cornfield, is a "craftivity" that also includes math practice.

My all-time favorite scarecrow craft I call "Personal Scarecrows."  They are "jointed" so you can pose them in different ways.

Cut out a variety of colored construction paper shapes to use as "patches" for a quick and easy shape review.

I enlarged my students' school photo.  This became the scarecrow's head. The picture appeared very pixilated, which added to the awesome scarecrow looking effect. 

If you don't have the ability to do this, I've also included a scarecrow head template your children can cut and color.

When I was a freelance writer for Mailbox Magazine, my editor asked me to write a scarecrow poem.  The personal scarecrows were my inspiration. 

We received zillions of compliments on our hallway display, and my Y5's really enjoyed making them.  Click on the link to view/print the Personal Scarecrow craftivity.  

On a smaller scale, you could do Sam/Samantha the Shapely Scarecrows.   Give students the option of whether they want to make a boy or girl scarecrow. 

With the personal scarecrow, students got in some great cutting practice, by snipping on the lines of a square to make "hay". They glued these to the ends of the scarecrow's arms and legs. 

For Sam/Samantha, I ran yellow construction paper through my husband's shredder.  Pick up a bunch, crinkle it even more and tape the end to the back of the scarecrow. 

If you don't have a shredder, The Dollar Store sells bags of all sorts of colors.  Look for shredded paper in the gift bag section.  Most school offices have a shredder; you can ask to borrow it. 

To make "stuffing hay" a bit easier for little ones, put a piece of double-sided tape on the back. Children pick up pieces of shred and press them on the tape, when they are done, cover the stickiness with a piece of regular tape.

Remind students ahead of time, that if they throw the shred around and make a mess, that they will not be able to use some on their scarecrow. I think it gave Sam/Samantha that finishing touch. 

A template of additional shapes is included. Students can cut and glue as many "patches" to Sam's/Samantha's clothes as they desire.  I used a piece of yarn to make a dangler.  If you want this to look good on both sides when they spin, each child needs 2 of everything. 

A simpler way to assemble the scarecrow is to have students glue their pieces together.  Punch a hole in the triangle and suspend from the ceiling back-to-back with another child's scarecrow.   Adding a few real buttons adds a bit more pizzazz.  Click on the link to view/download Sam/Samantha The Shapely Scarecrow craftivity.

Finally, my favorite scarecrow easy-reader is My Scarecrow's Nose.  It too reviews shapes, as the scarecrow tries on different shaped noses.  In the end, he gets his favorite, the triangle. Children read, trace, write, color and draw. 

A graphing extension is included, where students vote on their favorite nose for the scarecrow; 2 worksheets continue the shape review.  Click on the link to view/download My Scarecrow's Nose.

I have a nice variety of other scarecrow activities on the site, including scarecrow 10 frames, and a scarecrow glyph.  Click on the link to zip on over to the scarecrow section. 

Thanks for visiting today.  I design and blog daily, so I hope you can pop by tomorrow to grab the newest FREEBIES. 

You may PIN anything you want.  If you'd like to take a peek at all of the cute-educational stuff I PIN, click on the heart button on the right.

"It will not always be summer; build barns." -Hesiod

Yes There Is Time For Art AND Common Core--Just Combine Them.  Don't Be Scared; Make A Scarecrow!

November is not just turkeys and pilgrims. After the election excitement, spice things up with not-so-scary scarecrows!

Here's a sampling of the 66 - pages of adorable scarecrow arts & crafts projects and activities that will help you teach a variety of subjects and Common Core State Standards.

Some full color pictures + copy-ready patterns and step-by-step directions for each project are included.

These projects all involve many of your report card standards, so children are learning and reinforcing much-needed math, writing, and science concepts while enjoying art.

Hands-on “craftivities” are a great way to help increase listening and following direction skills, as well as practice and improve cutting and other fine motor skills.

You can use completed projects as gifts, bulletin boards, hallway and classroom decorations or for portfolios.

Many make great keepsakes for parents. Some of the projects include songs and poems to reinforce those concepts too.

Click on the link to view/download the Scarecrow Art + Activity Book.

Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything that you think others might find helpful.

“The world of imagination is boundless.” –Jean Jacques Rousseau