Free Printable Cinco de Mayo Activities and Lessons

Cinco de Mayo means the fifth of May. But it isn't Mexican Independence Day nor the equivalent of the U.S. Fourth of July. Cinco de Mayo is the day Mexicans remember El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (Battle of Puebla). Cinco de Mayo is mostly an Americanized Latino holiday. But also a great day to explore Mexican culture. Here are free printable Cinco de Mayo lesson plans, worksheets and games.

Mr Donn has free printable Cinco de Mayo activities, games, coloring pages, Powerpoint presentations, social studies worksheets, history lesson plans and culture study activities.

Easy Fun School offers printable Cinco de Mayo recipes, crafts, a pinata making how-to and several history and geography lesson plans. Lesson Plans offers links to Cinco de Mayo printables.

A-Z Teacher Stuff has free printable Cinco de Mayo unit and lesson planner kit with materials, worksheets, games, crafts, recipes, movies and activities.

Enchanted Learning has free printable Cinco de Mayo worksheets, mini-booklets, history and social studies lesson plans. Print a map of Mexico, Mexican flag, info on the Battle of Puebla, Mexican leaders, posters, history, images and recipes. Print a nice poster featuring Cesar Chavez and other Mexican labor activists, political figures, scientists, artists, musicians and more.

The Teachers Corner has free printable Cinco de Mayo crafts, counting lessons, words in Spanish, cultural heritage activities and more. Lesson Planet has free printable lesson plans on Cinco de Mayo to sample.

For preschool and younger kids, visit DL-TK for free Cinco de Mayo coloring pages, crafts, games, puzzles and recipes. Kids Soup offers free Cinco de Mayo printables to sample.

Apples 4 the Teacher offers free printable Cinco de Mayo lessons, maps, history projects, puzzles, games, music, crafts, recipes and more. There are ideas for several ages groups. ELCivics has printable Cinco de Mayo lessons for older students.

Free Printable Earth Day Lesson Plans and Activities

April 22 celebrates Earth Day, formerly called Arbor Day. It's such an important holiday that the entire month of April has come to be known as Earth Month. Do you need free printable Earth Day lesson plans for science class? Use these linked science activities in school classrooms, homeschool, scout troops, 4H and environmentalist clubs.

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has free printable Earth Day activities. Print a cartoon-style graphic novel workbook entitled "On the Trail of the Missing Ozone." Students study atmosphere, the importance of the ozone layer and what we can do to protect it. Print in black and white so kids can color the booklet. Use in the science classroom, homeschool or for homework.

EPA Recycle City features interactive games, lessons, activities, printables and online resources for kids. Students explore recycling, landfill dangers, methane gas, trash, wildlife, environmental conditions and much more. Children learn many ways to help protect the earth. This website had activities on biology, earth science, life science and health. Use these resources all during Earth Month.

EPA Students has free printable science lesson plans geared to upper elementary, middle school and high school students also. There are printable science games, coloring pages, booklets and worksheets. There's a science resource page for educators and parents. There are homework helps, too. This comprehensive website features cross-curricular, multidisciplinary, hands-on science activities.

Planet Pals has lots of free printable science worksheets, lessons, games and activities. Planets Pals features an interactive online club format. Children will enjoy interacting as active participants, not just simply passive observers.

For more Earth Day resources and free printable activities, visit my blogs: Free Printable Lesson Plans and Science Experiments and Chemistry Activities

Free Printable Color by Number Lesson Plan Worksheets

Color by number coloring pages are images divided into labeled sections that must be colored according to label. They're similar to paint by number activities that were popular in the 1970s. Some color by number activities are color by letter or math problem. Kids must solve the math problem to know which number to color the space. Color by number coloring pages can be used to teach math, counting, reading and other subjects. Here are free printable color by number puzzles and coloring pages.

Hello Kids has 97 free printable color by number coloring pages. Color by number puzzles are organized into five categories: nature, toys, animals, characters and calculations. The first four categories feature the usual color by number in which each color is represented by a number. The calculations color by number coloring pages require the student to solve a math equation in order to figure out what to color the space. These free printable color by number math problem coloring pages make excellent interactive lesson plans. There are 24 math problems color by number coloring pages which practice different math skills. Each free printable color by number category has different difficulty levels.

Coloring has about 25 free printable color by number and color by letter puzzles. Color by letter coloring pages are very helpful for letter recognition and reading practice. Pictures are labeled with letters from the picture word (BIRD- B, I, R, D).

Crayola has free printable color by number puzzles ranging from easy to challenging. There is an even-odd coloring page that practices even and odd numbers using color by number. There are also a create-your-own code color by number worksheets. Papa Jan has four free printable color by number princess and castle coloring pages. Preschool Learning Online has five free printable color by number puzzles and color by letter coloring pages.

Here's a great educational tip for teachers and homeschool parents. Make up your own color by number, color by letter, or math problem coloring pages. Using regular free printable coloring pages, design a color palette and fill in the numbers according to your code. Free Printable Coloring Pages has great blackline images to use for color by number puzzles. page to practice on. For more free printable activities, visit Free Printable Lesson Plans.

Free Printable Endangered Species Coloring Pages

Earth Day, which replaces the original holiday Arbor Day is celebrated in the United States on April 22. Here's a free printable environmental science booklet, Save our Species, with information, activities and coloring pages exploring endangered species in the US. The purpose of Earth Day is to celebrate the earth, educate people and explore ways to protect natural resources. Protecting our earth include supporting our animals, plants and habitats. Earth Day reminds people that they rely on the earth for sustenance and the earth relies on them for care and safety. Exploring and understanding endangered and threatened species helps us to learn better ways to care for our environment as a whole.

The EPA has developed a free printable 28 page environmental science activity and coloring booklet entitled Save Our Species. This free printable endangered species resource book is perfect for Earth Day. It has been developed for and provided to the public as an educational information guide. On Earth Day, and all Earth Month, students can explore endangered and threatened species in the United States, by coloring the animals, plants and habitats. This free printable environmental science activity book can be used as a field guide or zoo field trip planner. This booklet includes free printable coloring pages of endangered species and threatened species (species whose habitats are being encroached upon and destroyed). It explores 16 species of endangered animals in the United States and five threatened species.

Save our Species is available to download and print online or may be ordered free of charge as a bound booklet. Further environmental science and endangered species lesson plans are available at EPA. This free printable environmental science resources makes an excellent Earth Day tool for classroom, homeschool, scouting, 4H and any organizations dedicated to the preservation of natural resources. The website includes a free printable Save Our Species poster and lesson plans for teachers and homeschoolers. Decorate the school hallway for Earth Day by assigning each student to color a certain number of endangered species images. Place a large map on the wall and arrange endangered and threatened species pictures around the map with arrows pointing out areas to which the endangered species is native.

Free Printable Earth Day Insects and Bugs Coloring Pages, Spring Lessons

Do you like insects and spiders or do bugs bug you? Whether you're a hexapoda aficionado (bug lover) or a you have a arachnophobia, it's important to understand insects and spiders and their place in the environment. Here are free printable insects activities and bugs lesson plans. If there's something creepy crawly in your neighborhood, who you gonna call? Bug Busters, aka Orkin Pest Control. Check out Orkin's online learning center for free printable insects lesson plans, bug identification charts, insect coloring pages, bug information, insect activity booklets, games, puzzles and worksheets.

Here's a beautifully illustrated free printable Insect Identification booklet. This free printable guide to insects features detailed images of bugs, plus information on bug habits and habitats. This will help identify safe and dangerous insects in the home, yard and environment. There are free printable insects lesson plans. Click here for the Orkin Pest Library with free printable insects diagrams, charts, images and activities. There are materials about ants, flies, cockroaches, rodents, termites, spiders, stinging pest, other pests and wildlife. Here's a free printable insects booklet with bug coloring pages, games, puzzles, experiments and crafts.

The Orkin Insect Zoo at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History offers free printable lesson plans spiders, butterflies and insects booklet. Here's a free printable butterfly coloring pages. Insects, bugs and spiders are perfect spring science lesson plans. Explore caterpillars, butterflies and cocoons, spiders and spider webs. Here are free printable insects and spiders coloring pages. Print coloring pages of caterpillars, butterflies, ladybugs, bees, ants, dragonflies, moths, grasshoppers, beetles, praying mantis, mosquitoes, scorpions, flies, termites and fireflies or lightning bugs.

Spiders are not insects, but arachnids. Use free printable spider coloring pages to compare and contrast spiders and insects. Free Printable Coloring pages has nearly 50 insects and spiders coloring pages. Some are cartoon bugs but most are realistic images. Click this link for beautifully detailed butterfly coloring pages. Each butterfly species is labeled. Images look like stained glass windows coloring pages. Use them for science lessons on insects, butterflies, spring, metamorphosis or new life.

Coloring Castle has free printable coloring pages of bees and butterflies, There are also free printable ladybug coloring pages and lesson plans of a ladybugs 100 chart and a numbers 1-10 pyramid. Coloring Book Fun has free printable insect coloring pages, mostly cartoons.
Edupics has over 100 free printable insects coloring pages and 41 butterflies coloring pages. For more coloring book fun, visit the Grand Rapids Parenting Examiner at Free Coloring Pages 4U 

Free Printable Easter Coloring Pages, Bible Stories

The Easter Triduum, including Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil (or Holy Saturday) represents the most sacred days in the Catholic liturgical calendar. I was a homeschool mom in the early 1990s, before the Internet. I made all our curriculum. During Lent, we counted down to Easter with Lenten crafts, lesson plans and activities.

Pope John Paul II spoke of the family as the primary educators of children. He encouraged parents and children to set up altars in their home. Create a niche with votive candles, crucifix and holy relics. Pray with children before the altar.

Use my article to get free printable Catholic Holy Week activities. Help children explore Easter beyond bunnies and Easter eggs. Here are printable Palm Sunday crafts to make with kids. Print donkeys, a palm basket and other child-centered religious lessons.

Pray the Via Dolorosa or Way of the Cross. Use these free printable Stations of the Cross coloring pages. The Stations of the Cross is one of the most important Lenten devotions. On Good Friday, the faithful gather to follow the footsteps of Our Lord to Calvary. These free printable coloring pages form a devotional booklet that helps children understand each station of the cross. You might make your own Stations of the Cross by arranging children's pictures in the hallway (we did this). Or kids' could make outdoor dioramas and arrange in a prayer garden.

Here are more free printable Lenten lesson plans for Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. Use these activities to practice the spiritual exercises of prayer, fasting and alms-giving. You can print games, crafts, devotional exercises and lesson plans. Have children color Bible Easter images. Think coloring is too worldy an activity for the holy season of Easter? Consider this: Children learn by doing. What better way to learn about their faith and experience it more deeply than by doing activities that focus their minds and hearts on God?