21 pages.

Use this "craftivity" for the beginning of the school year and have students complete the summer writing prompt, or use it at the end of the year and have students make the "Taco" 'bout a great year ___________ (fill in grade) was excelente." template. 

20 pages.

This "craftivity" is very versatile, as it includes templates for an end-of-the year memory book, with covers for preschool through 6th grade, plus a blank template.  If you already have a memory book, have students write why they think this grade was terrific.  You can also use this as a self-esteem builder (fill a bucket) activity (use the ______ is "T"-'rrific!" template) and have each classmate write a compliment in everyone's booklet; or fill in the blank with My Dad, or Grandparents and use for Father's or Grandparent's Day.  It also works for back-to-school. Have students write about why their summer was terrific.

1-2-3 Come Build Self-Esteem With Me

"Filling buckets" seems to have really caught on in a lot of schools.  I know we have this program in our school as well.  The idea is to encourage positive behavior.  Children catch on fast and see how easy and rewarding it is to express sincere kindness, appreciation, and love on a daily basis. 

With that in mind, I wanted to think up a quick and easy end-of-the-year "bucket filler" so to speak, that would help promote a child's self-esteem.   Thus the Classmate Compliment Cat Craftivity was born. (Try to say that tongue twister three times!)

Here's How:

Run off the lined paper pattern.  Students accordion fold it following the lines.  This provides wonderful fine motor practice.  Students color and glue their cat to the top of the folded paper. 

Pass out a different color marker/pencil to each student.  Children pass their "compliment cat" to another child to write something nice about about them on one of the accordion-folded sections.

They continue passing 'til everyone has signed something on every child's cat, finally ending up with their own. 

So students get a special compliment from their teacher, make sure you are part of the signing,   Add the finishing touch by having students glue a piece of colorful bulletin board boarder to the top.

Give students time to read the nice things their classmates had to say about them, then have children accordion fold their papers back up and fasten with a paperclip to take home.

Skip refolding and let the compliments dangle; display them on a bulletin board, (cover with paw print wrapping paper) or hang in a long row on a hallway wall.  Your caption could be "A purr-fect way to end our day." or "'Paws"ing To Write."

The packet also includes a bookmark that you can pass out to everyone after they have completed their projects. 

Click on the link to view/download the Classmate Compliments Cat Craftivity packet.

Finally, if you're new to the "Fill A Bucket" idea and would like to add this to your teaching bag of tricks, click on the link for a sweet "Fill A Bucket" song by the Learning Station.

 This link has all of the Fill A Bucket books for children, with some free resources, coloring pages, puzzles, and activities. 

My personal favorite is their alphabetical bucket filling checklist.  

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  If you're looking for more end-of-the-year activities, click on the link to zip on over to that section of my site. 

I always end with some sort of matching quotation.  While looking for one, I found this cute quote-card that fits the idea of giving compliments and filling buckets perfectly. 

Blessing to you and yours, today and always!

"

1-2-3 Come Make A Memory Booklet With Me!

Since I truly enjoy designing stuff, I like to give all sorts of options to my visitors.  Because the Memory Books I've created have been such popular downloads, I thought I'd putz with some more memory-making activities. 

I wanted to come up with something a little less involved for teachers who are in a time-crunch, so I used my "flip for facts file folder" idea and designed something that would be perfect for a mini memory booklet. 

I call it "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things..." and even included the first musical bar from the sheet music, for that finishing touch on the template.

I've included templates for preschool through fifth grade, plus a blank one to fill in with whatever.  Make a sample to share with your students to help explain what you want them to do. 

To save you time, I've included the inside page that I dreamed up, if you want to use it.  To expedite things, especially for little ones, pre-cut the folders, so that the templates fit nicely on the page.

A room helper can assist little ones, or send the page home for parents to work one-on-one with their child to fill in and then send back to assemble.

Students glue the "These are a few of my favorite things..." page to the front and then cut on the lines so that each of the 9 sections flip open to reveal their answers. 

To add a bit more pizzazz, have students choose a different colored marker/pencil to write each answer.   Adding a school photo at the top adds the finishing touch. 

I've included an autograph template that students can glue on the back.  If you're really pressed for time, have everyone sign one paper and then run off a copy for everybody.  (This way you can easily get signatures from the principal, secretaries, librarian etc.)

Click on the link to view/download the Memories Flip Folder.  

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  My "Pin it" button is at the top. I hope that the last few weeks with your kiddos are especially memorable, and that in some small way I helped make things less hectic for you.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -Henry Miller

17 pages.

The packet includes templates that you can use at the beginning of the school year to get to know your students, as well as one to use at the end of the year, plus bookmarks you can give to your kiddos, plus one they can make for your next year's students.

6 pages.

This packet includes a writing prompt craftivity for your current students to make for your next year's students. "You'll have a 'tree-mendous' year in ____________" (Fill in your grade.) as well as a 3D keepsake tree that they help create by tracing their hand (to make branches) and their arm (to make the trunk). 

WRITE on!

Happy Father's Day Venn Diagram Comparison:

Brainstorm with your students how they are the same and different from their dads.  A fun way to do this is with a Venn Diagram. 

I like to use 2 brightly colored hula hoops to do this, and then write words on index cards. 

I then transfer this information to the white board so that students are seeing it again, and can copy what applies to them on their own Venn diagram. 

As an added writing extension students could also compare their grandpa's with their dads.  After they make their Venn Diagrams have them draw a picture of their dad and themselves/grandpa inside the diagram. 

You could also add their school photo.

This makes a cute card to give to their dad's on Father's Day by adding "We may be different, but we are also the same, and this you know is true: I LOVE you!" 

The Sweet Taste of Summer:

Brainstorm with your students of all the fun things they like to eat during the summer that are a bit different than the foods they eat during other months, such as Popsicles, ice cream, things cooked on the grill, stuff they take on a picnic, watermelon, strawberries, etc. 

Run off my master of a Popsicle.  Students cut them out and write their favorite things to eat during the summer.

When they are done, tape a large Popsicle stick to the back of their work. Buy a checkered tablecloth at The Dollar Store, cut it into a small rectangle to look like a picnic table and staple it to your b. board.

Arrange the Popsicle sticks around the table as a border in a crisscross fashion.  The caption: The Sweet Taste Of Summer  

Or... cover your b. board with blue paper.  Cut out two Peach lips. (One top and one bottom) Make these so that the mouth looks open. Cut out a long pink tongue. Place the Popsicles in and around the mouth.  

Wishing On A Summer Star:

Brainstorm with your students some of the places they'd like to go during the summer, if they could go anywhere in the world.  Write them on the white board. 

Run off my masters of the starfish on two different shades of light brown construction paper.  Each student will need one of each color. 

Children cut out their starfish.  On the larger, front view one, they complete the writing prompt: "If I could go any where in the world this summer I'd like to go to... and list all the places they'd like to visit. 

On the other smaller back of the starfish, they glue Cheerio's on the lines, for a nice 3-D touch.  Glue the two stars together in a kitty wampus way. 

Put light blue paper on your bulletin board. Buy a fish net from The Dollar store and staple it diagonally in the middle of the board. 

Sprinkle the starfish on the net.  Caption: Wishing On A Summer Star

Click on the link to view/download Summer Fun Writing Packet

I hope these ideas will excite your students and get them to WANT to write.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you can pop back tomorrow for more fun in the sun activities.

As always if you have a creative idea that your students enjoy doing, I'd love hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com

or feel free to post a comment here, especially if you use one of my ideas.

PIN away if you find something you think would be helpful or interesting to another teacher or parent that home schools!

Wishing you a super summer that simply sizzles with fun!

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.

 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!