Free printable felt board patterns, book stencils, story templates for preschool reading

 March in National Reading Month. To teach emergent readers, preschool educators use felt boards to illustrate books and tell stories. Here are free printable felt board patterns, stencils and felt board reading lesson templatesfrom First Palette. First Palette has free printable stencils and templates of shapes, animals, nature, leaves and trees, flowers, numbers, letters, people, clothing, cars, transportation, food--any pattern you need for any preschool unit!

DLTK Coloring has over 50 free printable felt board stencils. Templates include geometric shapes, animal outlines, solar system, seasons, weather, holiday, snowflake patterns, food and other preschool theme shapes.

Childcare Land has over 150 free felt board themes. Each theme has free printable felt board patterns, stencils, templates and activities. A helpful teaching video demonstrates how to use each lesson. Each kit has free printable stories. Pattern themes include months, animals, holiday patterns, seasonal, weather, children's literature, clothing, body parts, food, transportation, toys and games. Use free printable felt board patterns for science, social studies, reading, writing and math lessons.

Making Learning Fun has a gigantic assortment of free printable felt board patterns. This site features complete children's book themed felt board patterns: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?, Cat in the Hat, Clifford, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fables and more.

Sunday School teachers used a similar tool called Flannel-Graph. To make felt board pieces, print stencils and cut out patterns. Trace pattern outlines on felt. Or trace templates on flannel. Cut out felt board shapes. As you tell a story, add felt pieces to story board to illustrate. Use as patterns to cut fabric shapes for Halloween costumes, craft appliques, paint stencils, cookie cutter templates for baking or playdoh.

Free Printable Learning Activities and Games for Toddlers, Preschool

Need to occupy a toddler or preschooler? Here are 15 safe, school approved websites for young children. These sites are child-friendly, family-oriented and have lots of educational games and free printable activities for young learners.
Poptropica is cute, engaging, educational and school approved. Children create a character and play
free.
FunBrain touts itself as the #1 educational games website on the
Internet. Teachers and homeschool parents, check out FunBrain for school approved fun while
learning online.

Nick Jr. Check this site for free printable activities, cut and paste and crafts. Your toddlers and
preschool children can color, cut, paste and assemble all sorts of learning craft activities.

JumpStart Kids will recognize these characters from preschool and school activities. This site
requires registration, but once a parent completes and signs, children may play in this virtual world
free.
Disney Family has an nice clean layout that children will love. Starfall and Creative Kids at Home are two other educational sites for preschool. 

Preschool Animal Alphabet Themed Snacks from A-Z Plus ABC Printables

Teachers, here’s a month-long menu of alphabet-themed snacks. Use these for interactive reading lesson plans. Use Alpha-Bits cereal, letter pretzels, cookies for letter shape. Make character sandwiches using any spread and leave open face. Use pretzels or matchstick carrots for whiskers. For eyes, use Cheerios, spray cheese, raisins, olives, banana or kiwi slices. Make ears, nose and mouth from apple bits, pimentos, pepper pieces, triangle chips or crackers. Use pretzel sticks for legs. For cookie creations, use candy or fruit to make faces.  

Free Printable Books for Kids to Make

Here's a perfect lesson plan for preschoolers and emergent readers--homemade books. Use these links for free printable books for kids. Print pages and let children cut and assemble books. Print in black and white and let kids color their books. Teach reading, math, scissors skills, fine motor, sequencing and other vital early childhood skills. Many subjects: ABC, numbers, shapes, patterns, holidays, animals, Bible, safety, nursery rhymes and more. Great for special needs students.

To print coloring books, visit DLTK-Teach. This page lists all the themes for free printable mini books and activity booklets. There are 26 alphabet mini books, one for each letter. They are titled "What begins with the Letter (A, B, C, etc.)?" Words are shown in one color and the letter being explored shows as a different color. If you print in black and white, the letter will appear in a different shade of gray. Ask the child to color the letter a different color than the other words to emphasize it. There are also suggested reading activities to teach each letter using the free printable mini books.

Other subjects for free printable coloring books include Bible: Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Creation, Life of Jesus and Men of the Bible. There is a series of free printable activity booklets for preschool lesson plans called "All About Me," in which the child personalizes to book to himself. There are booklets about "My family," too. These mini books work well for preschool lesson plans on social studies and health

A-Z healthy school lunches recipes, monthly planner of alphabet foods

In 31 years, I've taught every age and subject, including homeschool, preschool, Montessori, special needs and adult ed. I make lesson plans hands on and fun. Food is a great teaching medium. Here are A-Z healthy lunches and snacks.

A

--apples and almond butter

--ants on a log (celery spread with cream cheese and raisins) 

B

--banana animal boat: Peel banana. Cut a slit; add animal crackers.

--bunny bites (baby carrots, broccoli)

--berry blue blaster (blueberry or blackberry yogurt) 

C

--cheese and crackers

--C3 crudités  (celery, cauliflower, carrots with cream cheese) 

--Cheery cherry cat cookies (frosted cookies with maraschino cherry eyes and nose)

D

--dill pickles

--dolphin crackers

--dog chow (square and round breakfast cereals--Life, Cheerios, Kix)

--duck duck goose (marshmallow Peeps, animal crackers)

E

--elephant eggs (deviled eggs) 

--Cadbury Eggs

To read the rest of the alphabet snacks and recipes, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers site. 

Autumn Leaf Crafts, Printables Fall Lessons

Michigan's leaves are getting a slow start turning colors this fall. I shudder to think what that bodes, winter-wise. Living on (darn near in) Lake Michigan, we have lake effect snow, marine conditions to contend with. But what better way to enjoy a fall day than with an impromptu party in the leaves. Here's a day of crafts, activities, games, printables and snacks to enjoy! Preschoolers and little ones will love it! Parents will love that its cheap and easy.

Autumn in Michigan means apples. Apples are a common theme for preschool and elementary school students. Teachers and homeschoolers, are you teaching a fall apple unit? Here's a sweet treat for you: 166 pages of free printable apple themed worksheets and lesson plans.

Northville Cider Mill in Northville, Michigan offers a free printable apple-themed activities booklet, There are printable coloring pages, worksheets, puzzles, games, word searches and crossword puzzles on apples. There are apple-themed cross-curricular science experiments, social studies connections, economics lessons, Michigan history activities, apple math problems and more.

Each lesson has a printable student copy and teacher answer key. Use this book for all ages from preschool to grade 8. It can easily be used with special education students, too.

Now scoot over to A to Z Teacher Stuff for more links to dozens of free printable apple lesson plans, crafts, mini booklets, games and worksheets. Most are geared to ages pre-K to grades 4.

Kinderplans has cute free printable apple themed reading and phonics lessons for preschool and kindergarten. There are other printables based on apples, too. Print apple math lessons on counting, addition and subtraction. Print reading activities and games for emergent and reluctant readers. Special education will love the bright, cheery apple activities geared no-fail fun.

Free printable animal masks for Halloween, animal coloring pages, crafts for Feast of St. Francis

October is a special month in the Catholic liturgical calendar. It's the month of Our Lady. Oct. 4 is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (patron saint of animals). October 31 is the eve of All Saints Day, November 1. Here are printable coloring pages of saints to gear up for All Saints. There are printable Bible character activities for Christian-themed Halloween costumes. And I've included printable animal crafts and masks for the Feast of St. Francis. These would be good for Catholic or Christian school, especially preschool units.

Trick-or-treat is all about dressing up in Halloween costumes, right? So how about free printable Halloween masks for kids to color, cut and paste? Perfect for preschool, special education and school Halloween parties. For families who don't do Halloween, I included links for generic masks so kids can still enjoy craft fun. Masks are grouped by theme.

* Various: Colorbook Masks free printable Halloween masks in dozens of themes and styles. There are tribal masks from Africa, Bali, Native American, Aztec, Mayan, Inuit, Asian and more. Print animal, Mardi Gras, Harlequin, Tiki, calavera (skull) masks for Day of the Dead. To find the masks, you have to create a free account and log in. Click each mask image to get to different mask design pages.

* Animals: Activity Village has lots of free printable animals masks.

* Disney: Check Disney Family for free printable Disney Halloween masks. Print 3D masks of Winnie the Pooh, Ironman, Disney princesses, Hulk, Captain America, Frankenweenie and more.

* Famous people: Forbes publishes free printable masks of trending famous people, politicians and world leaders.

* Scary: Check Ravensblight for free printable monster masks. The Hannibal Lector iron jaw mask is downright horrifying.

* Samhain and fantasy: Phee Mcfaddel has free printable fairy masks plus other Wiccan-inspired designs. Some are rather eerie and some quite pretty and floral.

* Monsters, ghouls and zombies: Paper Marcos Front has free printable creepy monster masks and 3D paper toys.

* Doctor Who: Visit BBC for free printable Doctor Who villains masks. Dress as Ood, a Silurian, one of the Doppelganger twins, a Peg doll, a Weeping Angel or (creepiest of all) a monster baby cherub.

* Day of the Dead: How about free printable calavera masks? Happy Thoughts will email you free 3D skull mask printables if you submit your email. Here's another printable skull mask pattern from Instructables.

Many of the masks print in black and white so children can color them. Making homemade Halloween costume crafts means you keep antsy kids occupied productively as they await trick-or-treat.

Free Printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear Lesson Plans, Crafts, Worksheets

"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" Thus begins a charming, eponymous children's literature classic by author Bill Martin. Via illustrator Eric Carle's pictures, preschoolers learn about colors, animals. patterns, math and also friendship. Here are free printable games, coloring pages, crafts, worksheets and learning activities from the children's literature classic, along with the companion Martin/Carle book "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" Use these activities to celebrate Children's Book Week 2015--May 4-10.

DLTK-Teach has free printable activities from Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? There are pictures of book characters: brown bear, red bird, yellow duck, blue horse, green frog, purple cat, white dog, black sheep, goldfish, mother (teacher), and children (students). Print in color and use for worksheets, reading booklets and lessons. Or, extend learning activities by printing in black and white and using as coloring pages. Have kids cut out animals to practice eye-hand coordination. Children learn color, pattern, rhyme, fine motor skills, spelling and writing in multisensory ways. Teachers and homeschoolers, use animals templates as felt board patterns. Trace image on appropriate felt color. Add each animal to board as you read the story. There are printable activities for Brown Bear in Spanish, too.

DLTK-Teach also has free printables from "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear?" Polar Bear, Polar Bear was written 25 years after Martin and Carle's Brown Bear came out in 1967. I remember how tickled our eldest was to find that her beloved Brown Bear had a friend. Images from this story include zoo animals: polar bear, lion, hippopotamus, flamingo, zebra, boa constrictor, elephant, leopard, peacock, walrus, zookeeper and children.

1+1+1=1 is a homeschool blog with mom-created a free printable Brown Bear, Brown Bear activitiespacket which includes reading and math games: matching, graphing, spelling, writing, 3-part cards, 1-10 counting puzzle, tracing and color by word.

This blog has other free printable kindergarten learning games and preschool activity packages. Themes include: ballerinas, princess, rainbow, ocean, pond life, love, Christmas, winter, spring, bugs, cats, baby animals, birds, construction trucks and machines, monsters, farm and more. There are printable reading packs on children's literature favorites: Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Noah's Ark, Veggie Tales, Word World, Nemo, Hermie, Tarzan, Word World, Doc McStuffins, Dora the Explorer, Octonauts, Little Einsteins, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, Five Little Monkeys, Dinosaur Train and Thomas the Train.

We homeschooled our four children from 1992-2005. Home education was pretty new and computer resources nil. Our kids now 28,26, 24 and 18, loved the Martin-Carle books in preschool. Our twin grandsons love these books thanks to their mama (she who loved Brown Bear so as a tot). The boys already have Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear, Polar Bear on their bookshelves! It's good to pass these classics on to another generation!

Free Printable Valentine's Day Countdown Calendar

Countdown calendars are becoming very popular to help children count down the days to special events and holidays. Here are free printable valentine countdown calendars to number the days till Valentine’s Day. These cute cut and paste craft works well for preschool, special needs kids, elementary classrooms, homeschool and Girl Scout troop activities.

Make free printable valentine countdown calendars reusable by laminating or printing and pasting to the inside of a file folder or recycled cardboard. There are a variety of ways to label days till Valentines Day. Here are religious Christian valentine countdown calendars with Bible verses. Print in black and white and let children color them. To print in black and white set your printer "preferences" to "black ink cartridge" or "print in gray scale". Children should cut them out and arrange in order 1-14. They can also do a backwards valentine countdown calendar to learn counting backwards. Holiday themed activities for kids are always a hit!

Here are more Valentine Day countdown calendars and activities for kids. Pinterest has several free printable valentine countdown calendars, too. This website also has an assortment of Valentines Day calendars to print free. Kids might do one of the free printable valentine crafts activities for kids or make recipes from Disney Family each day till Valentines Day to countdown to the holiday.

Valentines Day countdown calendars and crafts activities for kids are great for practicing math, fine motor and scissor skills. Calendars are ideal for use with younger preschool, kindergarten and special needs students. They're simple and user-friendly making calendars ideal for children who are easily frustrated. Countdown calendars are also great for teaching math skills like counting, sequencing, patterns and calendar skills.

Free Printable Apple Lesson Plans for Fall Preschool Activities

Apples are a popular theme for preschool fall lesson plans. Looking for apple activities? Have I got a great "sweet" treat for you--a plethora of free printable apple-themed fun. This booklet includes apple math activities, science puzzles, social studies lessons and history extensions. There are printable creative writing prompts, word games and more. Read more

Free Printable Preschool Games, Hands on Activities, Lesson Plans

Parents, are you looking for free printable paper crafts activities for older children? Teachers, how about free printable lesson plans for upper elementary? Homeschool parents, maybe you want free printable educational activities for older kids? Little ones are easy to find printable activities for, but older children--not so easy. Older children are super sensitive to being patronized or (heaven forbid) bored. Older children want to act young, be treated older and still play with (shh don't tell) younger kid activities like coloring and craft projects.

Here 20 safe, school-approved websites free printable paper crafts and educational activities for kids that will challenge and be fun and won't bore, Some websites require subscriptions or charge fees for premium activities have many free printable activities for older children. Free printable activities for kids over 7, including learning games, puzzles, coloring pages, learning activities, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, skill builders, cut and paste paper crafts, dioramas, paper dolls, paper toys and worksheets for subject you can name!

American Girl has free printable activities, learning games, scrapbooks, games, maps and paper crafts based from American Girl. This site includes many historical and cultural activities activities to print.

Apples 4 the Teacher has free printable activities educational activities for kids including worksheets, lesson plans, units, educational games, puzzles, flashcards, maps, paper crafts for all subject matter.

PBS Kids has free printable paper crafts, activities for older children and learning games from Arthur, Peg + Cat, Dinosaur Train, Cyberchase, Design Squad, Super Why, Odd Squad, Ready Jet Go, Wild Kratts, Fizzy's Lunch Lab, Sid the Science Kid, Sesame Street, It's a Big, Big World, Jakers, Postcards from Buster, Maya and Miguel, Reading Rainbow, Cat in the Hat, Oh Noah!, SciGirls, Martha Speaks, Bob the Builder, The Electric Company, Dot's Story Factory, Wilson & Ditch Digging America, The Greens, Dragonfly TV, Eek World, Kart Kingdom, Word Girl, Between the Lions, Clifford, Caillou, Hooper, Plum Landing, Barney, Berenstain Bears, Curious George, Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, Cyberchase, Boobah, Teletubbies and more! Each show has it's own site with lots of activities.

Barbie Kids has free printable educational activities for kids from Mattel characters Barbie, Polly Pocket, Bratz, MyScene and more. You'll find cut and color paper dolls with all sorts of clothing, shoes and accessories you can design. Everything girl also has stationary, calendars and more to print.

Activity Village might be the best site for free printable holiday educational activities for kids, It's got all the world holidays with printable paper crafts, worksheets, puzzles, jigsaws, social studies lessons, around the world coloring pages and learning games.

There are Printables for Kids galore at this link, dedicated to free printable educational activities for kids.

DL-TK is the best site for free printable educational craft activities for kids. There are free printable coloring pages, cut and paste paper crafts, dioramas, mini books, paper dolls, on every theme of childhood.

Kidz Page is the free printable educational learning games for kids site. Print crossword and jigsaw puzzles, worksheets, mazes and clipart. Kids love the bright colorful comic book style layout.

ABC Teach boasts 5,000+ free printable worksheets making it tied for second in educational activities for kids. Get activities for math, reading, language, social studies, culture, geography, science, holidays. Includes flash cards, learning games, puzzles, Sudoku, booklets, word searches, crossword puzzles and more.

Enchanted Learning is the best in free printable paper crafts and educational activities for kids with booklets, science lessons, biomes, maps, languages, famous people, works of art, etc.

Dover: Sign up for email notices with links to free printable paper crafts and vintage educational activities for kids from Dover's vast collection of vintage books.

Scholastic has dozens of free printable activities for kids up to eighth grade based upon the wonderful books from Scholastic. This site is excellent for middle school students also. You'll find Charlie Bone, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Manga, Magic TreeHouse Series, Captain Underpants, and so much more.

First School is a leader in free printable crafts and educational activities for kids 7-10 on Bible, religion and holidays.

First Palette leads the way in free printable crafts patterns, templates, clipart and educational coloring pages.

Creative Kids at Home has free printable science projects, learning games, crafts and fun! You can also access the site to get archived newsletters with loads of easy stuff for all ages to do at home, school, day care, etc!

Making Friends has lots of free printable educational crafts and activities for kids but the specialty is free printable paper dolls from around the world.

Free Kids Crafts specializes in free printable educational crafts templates and activities for kids.

The Toymaker is queen of free printable vintage toys and educational crafts for kids.

Disney Family specializes in everything free printable Disney crafts for kids. Look for activiteis from all your favorite Disney characters including Frozen, Zootopia, Star Wars, Toy Story, Cars and more.

Free Printable HOP Coloring Pages and Activities

HOP is a fun, funky movie that came out around Easter, 2011. E.B. (voiced by Russel Brand) is the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. Like the 1980s Roger Rabbit and Space Jam, HOP features live actors with animation. Here are free printable crafts and coloring pages from HOP.

Begin your free printable HOP activities quest at On Coloring. Scroll down for several free printable coloring pages featuring E.B. and his skateboard. There are also two free coloring pages of Carlos and E.B.'s dad. There are free printable HOP Easter bunny mazes. Help E.B. collect eggs and Easter treats. Further down the page are free printable HOP codebreaker games and connect the dots activities.

Easter Coloring Pages has gobs of free Easter Bunny themed printables. There are letters from the Easter Bunny, rabbit ears, masks, coloring pages and more. Kooker Kids has loads more free printable Easter Bunny crafts and coloring pages. Mama Dweeb has more printable HOP the movie coloring pages. Here are free printable 3-D Easter Bunny crafts. And here are still more Easter Bunny crafts to print.

Hip and Hop are not from the HOP movie, They are two bunnies from the PBS Driver Dan Story Train television show. Here are free printable cut and paste puppets of Hip and Hop, Driver Dan, Milly, Lilly, Taloulah, Vrooms, Loopy, Precious and Sweetie. Children may like to use these free printables to make friends for E.B.

Free Printable Berenstain Bears Coloring Pages and Activities

Children's literature celebrates an important birthday soon--Theodore Geisel or Dr Seuss--on March 2. This auspicious event kicks of National Reading Month in March and Read Across America, the first week of March. To celebrate Dr Seuss, why not explore his books and those he collaborated on. Stan and Jan Berenstain, creators of the Berenstain Bears, worked with Dr Seuss on the Beginner Books reading series in the 1960s and 1970s. The books featured the Berenstain Bears Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Small Bear. Small Bear became Brother Bear with the birth of Sister Bear and later the baby, Honey Bear.

The Berenstain Bears have been loved by children and adults for over five decades! The first book, "The Big Honey Hunt," was published in 1962 after which the Berenstain Bears had many adventures including those with Dr Seuss. If you love the Berenstain Bears books and PBS TV series, you should check out Berenstain Bears Live! in a fun new stage production called Family Matters: The Musical. Menawhile, you should definitely check out these free printable Berenstain Bears coloring pages,worksheets, book activities, games and crafts.

The Berenstain Bears are all about learning, both in childhood and adulthood. Children learn virtues and core democratic values, through the adventures and misadventures of the family. All childhood dilemmas and foibles--and some adult ones--are explored in the books, typically with one topic per book. The Berenstain Bears became a TV cartoon series on PBS in 1985. The free printableBerenstain Bears book activities are very educational, in keeping with the show's learning theme. Print Berenstain Bears coloring pages, book activities and paper dolls coloring pages. Each character comes with eight different outfits.

Random House has free printable Berenstain Bears worksheets, coloring pages and Dr Seuss book activities, games and crafts from Berenstain Bears creators. There are math worksheets, pictures frames, word search, word games, reading worksheets, spelling worksheets and more. Get a free printable Berenstain Bears Honey Hunt board game. Everything you need to print and play the game can be downloaded to your computer and printed on your printer: dice, game pieces, game board and cards. There are free printable Berenstain Bears puzzles, word search, crossword and mazes. PBS Kids has free printable Berenstain Bears cartoon and book activities, crafts, cards and coloring pages. Here's a cute free printable Teddy bear board game just for fun!

Free Printable Preschool Valentines Day Lesson Plans

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, Pinterest, email, and blogs overflow with valentine crafts. Alas, many are also costly. So, don't pay. Here are free printable preschool valentine worksheets, games, crafts, learning activities and lesson plans. Fru-gals and fru-guys, use these for Valentine's Day fun.

Over the Big Moon is a mom-blog with 31 pages of free printable preschool Valentine's Day worksheets. They've added an extension pack with even more free printable preschool Valentine lesson plans for children. These kits are perfect for little ones ages 30 months to six. The activities are mostly for pre-readers and emergent readers. All the activities have a valentine theme.

To practice literacy and writing skills, there are letter tracing sheets focusing on the letter "V", vocabulary cards, phonics activities, word and sound matching and shadow letter tracing activities.

For early math skills reinforcement, there are valentine-themed counting worksheets, sorting activities, pattern extensions and sequencing games. There are several activities to develop visual acuity and eye hand coordination, including spot-the-difference games, coloring pages and four-piece puzzles. There are also several pages of cutting lines in different patterns to help children practice scissor skills.

The packets are free to print from the Over the Big Moon website. Or here's an alternate website with the same valentine printables. Directions are available. Valentine graphics could be reused as DIY valentines. Have children cut out pictures and glue on construction paper hearts.

For preschool classroom use, print activities in the craft center. Or put printed activities in a folder. Use as homework or vacation activities. Give as Valentine's Day gifts. Roll in recycled paper towel tube. Add a cute valentine pencil, a few crayons, scissors and glue stick. Wrap in recycled paper that children have decorated and tie the ends. Use for Valentine party favors. Senior citizens may enjoy these activities too,

Free Printable File Folder Games for Math, Reading

March is National Reading Month and just in time, here's a great lesson plan to teach reading with file folder games. Students can learn just about any subject using file folder games to reinforce content and practice skills. Here are free printable file folders games online. Besides reading, teach math, reading, spelling, grammar, phonics, science, social studies and more. Print games for all ages and ability levels: preschool, kindergarten, elementary, special needs, middle school. Use for homeschool, too.

File Folder Fun has over 100 free printable file folder games in content areas across the curriculum. Search by age, grade level, theme and subject. File folder themes include animals, foods, flowers, weather, ocean life, circus. Themes teach math, reading, science, social studies, phonics, spelling, math, ELA (English Language Arts) history, music and other preschool and elementary school subjects. Click the games you want. The click "download." And voila, a screen appears with game background, pieces, cards, all materials you need, free.

File Folder Farm has gobs of free printable file folder games for math, English, reading, writing, spelling, science, social studies and more. Games can be used with varied ages. Click the game you want. The print, cut out and and assemble. Or better still, print in black and white. Have students color, cut and paste and assemble. You get two activities--craft, lesson plan and game--all in one!

Cindy's Autistic Support has free printable math file folder games. Use to teach counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division file folder games. You can make individual games for each math fact (times table) family.

To make file folder games:

Print game board and glue to inside of file folder. Write instructions on outside. Laminate or cover with contact paper. Make a spinner by drawing a circle. Divide like a pie. Label segments with game advancement options. Place paperclip on paper fastener (brad). Poke fastener through center of circle. Spin paper clip.

Store game cards or pieces in zippered plastic bag or envelope stapled to folder. File folder games store upright in filing cabinet or drawer. Get extra craft mileage from free printable file folder games by assigning students make them.

Free Printable Eric Carle Activities from The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Eric Carle is a beloved children's author. Here are free printables from the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle's best-loved kids' book. Mrs. Spatafora's Kindergarten Blog features dozens of printable cut and paste crafts. 1+1+1+1 is a blog with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar worksheets and printables. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is used in preschool and kindergarten classrooms to teach science. 

Here are free printable Eric Carle crafts from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Making Learning Fun features free printable Very Hungry Caterpillar math games, reading games, butterfly and caterpillar crafts and other learning activities. 

Teacher Vision offers teachers, educators, homeschoolers and parents free downloads. up to three (for more, you must register). Here's an 8 page Very Hungry Caterpillar activity booklet. You can print the entire document free and it only counts as one of your freebies. 4shared has free printable Eric Carle Very Hungry Caterpillar matching puzzles and learning games. DL-TK has free printable Very Hungry Caterpillar felt board patterns that can be used as coloring pages.

Free Printable Sid the Science Kid Lesson Plans

"Sid the Science Kid" is a cute preschool show from PBS Kids. Sid the Science Kid helps children explore early childhood science concepts. Here are free printable life science, nature, earth science, chemistry and physics lesson plans for young children. Children color, draw and study everyday science concepts from the classroom, home, playground and kitchen.

The Sid the Science Kid games are great for early childhood activities. Preschool and young elementary school students will enjoy playing:

Balancing Act: block balancing games to learn about building and gravity
Weather wheel
Kitchen magic: to explore chemistry
Sandbox symphony: explores sound and sound waves
I Sense: games to explore five senses
Mix it up: nutrition and health
Science Jar: encourages observation, description and scientific process

Check out the free printable Sid the Science Kid activities. Visit this link for a free printable 18 page booklet featuring drawing activities, coloring pages, lesson extensions, matching, counting and other science lesson plans. This free printable booklet makes an excellent follow-up lesson plans for any preschool science activities. Use free printable Sid the Science Kid lesson plans and preschool science activities to follow up on preschool science experiments of seed planting, nature observation health, nutrition and other basic science concepts. Children will enjoy making a color, cut and paste Weather Cube for nature study games.

Try the Sid the Science Kid collection jar activities to teach children to learn how to look at things in their environment with a scientist's eye. Using chalk, a magnifying glass and a magnet, Sid guides students to explore objects and describe what they see. Visit Sid's homepage for more free preschool science activities on cooking, chemistry, health, nutrition, human body and much more.

Preschool teachers, homeschoolers, parents, day care providers, be sure to check out the dozens offree printable Sid the Science Kid lesson plans, games, worksheets, charts, diagrams and activities. Each lesson is linked to an episode of Sid the Science Kid. Each of the science activities and worksheets gives content connections that will fit with most educational curriculum. Students can watch the show from this site and use the free printable science extensions for lesson plans. Check out the homepage for Sid's Science Fair apps, games and other preschool science activities.

PBS in an industry leader in education, particularly preschool and early childhood. "Sid the Science Kid" is a perfect complement to any preschool science activities. For more free printable activities, visit Free Printable Lesson Plans.