Homemade Oobleck, Silly Putty, Moon Sand, playdough, Flubber noise putty, Papier Mache lint dough recipes

March celebrates the birthday of Dr. Seuss and is National Reading Month. For hands-on reading lesson plans, how about kitchen science recipes and chemistry experiments? Here are recipes for homemade Oobleck, silly putty, farting or noise putty, Flubber, play dough, melting goop, Moon Sand, lint dough, modeling clay, papier mache, and soap dough.

Homemade Silly Putty, "farting" or noise putty or Flubber recipes: Silly putty is called farting noise putty, because it sounds like passing gas when squished. Air is trapped and creates bubbles. This makes a great chemistry experiments as well as biology demonstrations. It was called flubber (flying rubber) in the movie "The Absent-Minded Professor" and "Son of Flubber." Silly Putty essentially becomes a bouncy ball. It might be what gives Pooh's friend Tigger his bounce? Preschool kids will love reading "All About Tigger" and other Winnie-the-Pooh books. 

This simple hands-on kitchen science recipe has wowed generations of students in three decades of teaching. Mix blue liquid laundry starch and white school glue. Laundry starch is found in laundry section. Sta-Flo is the most common brand. Amazon carries liquid laundry starch also. Blend equal parts in cup or zippered bag with fingers. Mix till sticky glue is blended in and putty is slippery and rubbery. 

Homemade Dr. Seuss Oobleck, Gak Splat or Magic Melting Goop. These hands-on kitchen science recipe defy the laws of matter. Is it a liquid or a solid? In Dr. Seuss "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" a pesky substance with a mind over matter (properties of) leads poor Bartholomew Cubbins (of the many hats fame) and a wild Oobleck chase! Begin by reading this hilarious classic for March National Reading Month. Nickelodeon's Gak Splat of the 90s is a similar recipe. 

To make Oobleck, mix a little water colored green, in corn starch. Notice how it hardens to a solid then "melts" when you touch it. Put melting putty in the preschool sand and water table. Or fill a child's pool with cornstarch and water for hours of messy hands-on science experiments. Oobleck would make a great child's birthday party activity! 

Moldable Moon Sand. This dough recipe teaches ratios. The ratio is 2 to 1 to .5. Mix 2 cups of commercial play sand, 1 cup corn starch to one half cup of cold water (color water with food coloring if desired). Dissolve corn starch in cold water (cold doesn't clump, but you can let kids experiment with warm to discover that for themselves). Then blend sand and corn starch together. Make a large batch for classroom sand table. 

Perfect Playdough: Blend 1 cup salt, 2 cups of flour, 1 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar or alum, food coloring, cooking oil (about 2 T.) Playdough too sticky? Add flour. Playdough too dry? Add water or oil. Children love these kitchen science recipes. 

Homemade Soap Dough: Mix 1 cup powdered laundry detergent, an eighth of a cup of water and food coloring. Mold or sculpt as you would with play-dough. Store in refrigerator. 

Homemade Papier Mache. Tear any recycled scrap paper in pieces. Soak in hot water till pulpy. Add a dribble of white school glue. Blend till smooth. When cool, spread Papier Mache over boxes and containers to form shapes.  

Dryer Lint Dough. Teach ratios 1.5:1:.3. Mix 1.5 cups pressed dryer lint with one cup cold water and one third cup of flour. Add a drop of oil to prevent mold. Dissolve flour in cold water and blend to get rid of lumps. Carefully add lint and stir constantly until mixture forms stiff peaks. Mold like Papier Mache. 

Have children create homemade books of their activities by doing an LEA (language experience approach) story and letting kids illustrate their books. Homemade books are a perfect reading month activity. 

Recipes for homemade crayons using recycled broken crayons

With Earth Day, and Earth Month, fast upon us, I'm looking at ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose .Making crafts with recycled materials from the recycle bin is an excellent way to teach Earth Day eco-friendly habits. Here's are activities to use up those leftover broken crayons. Repurpose them as new crayons with these simple science activities. 

Have students gather broken crayons and peel off outer paper. You'll be making new palm held crayons similar to the egg crayons. These are popular in special needs or preschool classrooms use to help children who aren't quite ready for the stick crayons. Palm or egg crayons help toddlers, preschool and special needs kids develop fine motor skills while still enjoying coloring activities. 

Once you have pile of peeled crayon pieces, spray old recycled muffin tins with cooking spray. Use mini muffin tins for preschool and older children and large ones for toddlers as mini shaped crayons might look edible to toddlers. Have students place assorted bits of broken crayons in each tin. Aim for a rainbow of colors in each cup. Help kids place muffin tins in oven and heat to 200. Heat till crayons on melted but still chunky. Swirl with toothpick while warm if you wish. Place crayon melts in refrigerator till hardened then turn out of pan and enjoy coloring.

Be sure to only use recycled muffin tins for crafts, and not cooking, once you've done this activity. This is a great way to repurpose old muffin tins and give them new life. Use these free printable rainbow coloring pages to make beautiful spring crafts. Print coloring pages and printables on scrap paper from recycle bin for green, Earth Day ecofriendly activities. 

Healthy School Lunch Recipes: handhelds, pizza, tacos, burritos and breadless sandwiches

Juvenile obesity is a growing problem in the US and other nations. More kids experience excessive weight gain, not tween-age weight that will drop off after puberty, but life-long and are at risk of obesity-related health problems. There are some very simple strategies parents can use to help children with or at risk of obesity, without ever  mentioning weight loss. The two most important being diet and exercise. I'm not talking about diet as in specific calorie restricting. I mean monitoring what kids eat to ensure that they get maximum nutrition without extra junk calories. Here are healthy school lunch recipes for handhelds, "burritos" and breadless sandwiches to prevent childhood obesity. 

Handhelds such as sandwiches, burgers, burritos and hot dogs are the perfect school lunch food because they are less messy. And that's an important key right there. You can practice junk calorie restricting and  mess by just minimizing the condiments and using judicious condiment food swaps. Butter, mayo, jam and jelly, ketchup, mustard, dips and spreads are really not necessary in the amounts we use. Condiments alone contribute an inordinate amount to the calorie count while providing no real benefit. Some super nutritious condiment food swaps include:

cashew or almond butter (I'm a peanut butter girl, but sadly some schools have kyboshed peanut butter due to allergies. They shouldn't because it's just making allergies worse, but I digress)

hummus (look for lower fat, higher protein varieties or make your own)

salsa or pico de gallo (choose low sugar and low sodium and high veggie varieties. Eating salsa is a great potassium boost to prevent dehydration)

Some essential food swaps for sandwiches and burritos include low carb and keto breads and tortillas. So you probably know that white foods: bleached flour and sugar are the biggest problems with tortillas. Dr. Now of the anti-obesity reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" targets these on his "no white food" diet. But you can make a simple switch to low carb tortillas that provide a fiber and protein punch while still calorie restricting. Or go completely off book with breadless sandwiches wrapped in lettuce or kale leaves. 

Burritos, tacos and other handheld favorites can be reinvented in an endless number of ways for calorie restricting but also to boost nutrition. Spread almond butter on a low carb or keto tortilla and wrap around apple slices or a banana. Or spread with hummus, a little salsa and loads of fresh veggies. Or a cheese stick. Wrap tightly and slice, for pinwheels or "sushi." Speaking of sushi, why not make sushi rolls for super healthy school lunches?

Make pizza handhelds using thin crust pizza or low carb keto tortilla like Joseph's pita pockets or flax wraps or Light and Fit wraps. Spread with a little spaghetti sauce, sprinkle with low moisture mozzarella and turkey pepperoni. Make your own "make-your-own" Lunchables that kids can assemble at school. 

There are so many ways to keep kids fit and healthy without ever mentioning weight loss or diet. And add value by getting kids involved packing their own school lunches. Here are some free printable lesson plans on nutrition to help.  

Stone Soup lesson plans, activities and printables, plus Friendship Soup recipes

 Looking for interactive, hands-on activities to revive a winter weary preschool or elementary age curriculum? How about a unit on "Stone Soup?" Here are free printable Stone Soup lesson plans, activities, coloring pages, crafts and recipes for Friendship Soup from the beloved children's literature classic. 

There are several versions of Stone Soup, my favorite being the Marcia Brown Caldecott one (shown above). In this story, stingy villagers learn the value of collaboration and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts when three hungry soldiers con them into to sharing their hoarded food to make a group soup. 

Begin by reading Stone Soup aloud. Children should predict what will happen using HOTS (higher order thinking skills). Kids will love the ah-ha moment when they realize, (before the greedy villagers do) that the hoarders have just been tricked into parting with food they lied about not having. 

Next, assign kids character parts and retell Stone Soup as a  play. Let children design costumes and create props and scenery from the recycle bin. Recycled cardboard fridge boxes make awesome backdrops which children can paint. Present this as a play to other students. 

After the play, serve Stone Soup (which has now become Friendship Soup) that you have made as a class. Allow students to prep vegetables or simply bring canned vegetables to reheat. Children might also prep vegetables and home. Teacher should probably bring the cooked meat if you're going to include it. Also, provide washed stones to use in soup (large ones so no one accidentally swallows). Simmer ingredients in a crockpot while doing other activities. 

Write Stone Soup recipes for process writing lesson plans. Ingredients include: cooked meat, milk, carrots, celery, potatoes, cabbage, onions, salt, pepper and stones. Encourage kids into writing creatively to produce funny or silly recipes. Create cartoon strips or story boards. Make a Stone Soup word wall, using words from the story. Cooking with children and writing and following recipes make excellent math lesson plans. 

For science lesson plans, explore food groups or edible plant parts (carrots and potatoes--roots, onions--bulb, celery--stem and leaves, cabbage--leaves, pepper--seeds). Explore raw vegetable colors, textures, and structure. Draw plant diagrams. 

A-Z Healthy Snacks for Kids with free printable Food themed lesson plans

Looking for food themed lesson plans for children? Here is a list of A-Z healthy snacks for kids that children as young as toddlers can help make. Turn these into Book BAGS (Book based activities, games and snacks) my term for story party planners. 

Books to read include:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle) Here's a link to my post on Very Hungry Caterpillar printables.

Eating the Alphabet (Lois Ehlert) click here for free printable book and activities

Complete Children's Cookbook (Jill Bloomfield) Click this link for a free printable book PDF.  

Activities:

Prepare A-Z snacks with children.

Have students create pictograph recipes of their snacks and then alphabetize the recipe cards. 

Games:

Sort foods by color and food group.

Snacks 

A--apples with almond butter, almond milk (doesn't spoil as quickly as cow's milk), dried apricots, Mott's for Tots low sugar apple juice, avocado sandwiches (sliced on whole grain bread with light cream cheese)

B--bananas, berries, bread sticks, broccoli florets and Maple Grove Farms sugarfree raspberry vinaigrette. 

C--baby carrots and cauliflower florets, cheese and crackers

D--homemade ranch dip (Parmesan cheese, sugarfree almond milk, black pepper, garlic) and sliced vegetables

E--hard-boiled eggs

F--dried fruit, cut fruit, figs 

G--granola, GORP (good old raisins and peanuts), grapes

H--hummus and homemade pita chips (pita bread toasted and cut in triangles)

I--Individual fruit or pudding cups 

J--juice boxes

K--Kashi or other dry breakfast cereal trail mix. Blend similar flavors of finger-friendly cereal--Chex, Cheerios, Life

L--licorice (low sugar), lemonade

M--soy milk (non-refrigerated kind has longer shelf life), muffins (made your regular recipe using flaxseed and applesauce in place of oil and eggs)

N--nut and seed medley. Mix hulled almonds, peanuts, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, filberts, macadamia, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds

O--olives (drained), South Beach Diet, Kellogg's, Luna, Bare Naked oatmeal protein bars

P--pretzels, popcorn, cold pizza, pumpkin cookies (substitute applesauce and pumpkin for eggs and oil)

Q--quick oat no-bake cookies. Melt peanut butter, chocolate chips and add quick cook oats. Drop in spoonfuls. Roll in powdered milk (or Quick drink). Allow to harden. 

R--Roll-ups. Spread tortilla with cream cheese. Layer Hormel Natural lunchmeat, leaf lettuce, tomato. Place cheese stick in center. Roll, slice in pinwheels. 

S--Sandwich squares. Make sandwiches (easy on condiments for less mess). Cut in quarters. Make PBJ, tuna, egg salad. 

 

T--homemade tortilla chips (toast tortilla till crispy) and salsa

U--upside-down, inside-out cookies. Crush graham crackers, add raisins, blend with peanut butter and vanilla. Form into balls. Roll in powdered milk. 

V--cut veggies and dip, vegetable chips

W--water, watermelon chunks

X--extra napkins (I'll bet you wondered what I'd find for "X"!)

Y--individual Greek yogurt, yogurt covered pretzels

Z--zucchini spears and cheese dip (shredded cheese, cream cheese, celery seed, dill, yogurt blended till smooth)

Book BAGS: Moon and stars night sky lesson plans for summer story party planner

Book BAGS is a unit lesson plans "meme" I've developed which stands for stands for Book based activities, games and snacks...in short, it's my preschool story party planner with a fancshy new name. Today's Book BAGS theme is moon and stars and night sky. And I can't think of a better book series to use than Frank Asch "Moon Bear." 

Happy Birthday, Moon

Moonbear's Skyfire

Moongame

MoonDance

Mooncake

And other moon-themed stories. Here's the Moonbear list from Thriftbooks. In these stories, Moonbear has lovely adventures with the moon who he thinks of as his best friend. The moon is just doing what moons do (cast shadows, go behind clouds, etc). But Moonbear believes that they're happening just for him. And who knows? Maybe they are. I would like to have the moon as a friend, wouldn't you? 

At any rate, these are perfect summer story party materials. So here's the Book BAGS party planner for Moonbear. These were written especially for my son Jakob who first introduced us to Moonbear (before he was Moonbear in his earlier book "Milk and Cookies." Jakob used, as a tot, to "find the moon" every night with Daddy. They are also for our adult children and grandchildren who keep the ritual alive and who have found that we all see the moon, whether in Louisiana, Michigan, Texas or Cleveland! 

First, select one of the Moonbear books. You could do a different one each night for a fortnight of moon themed lesson plans. If possible, wait till near dark and read the story aloud. Then, activity one, find the moon. Older children can enjoy learning the moon phases while preschool will love pretending on new moon nights, that he's playing hide-n-seek (see Moongame). 

Other craft activities might include drawing the moon on black construction paper with neon or glow-in-the-dark crayons or markers. Provide some fluffy cotton ball clouds for moon to hide behind. Add metallic star stickers. Don't forget to draw yourself and/or Moonbear, outside playing. Older kids might make a moon phases flip book. Use free printable moon coloring pages (Best Coloring Pages for Kids) or these free printable moon activities from Coloring Home. You can get free printable moon lesson plans from NASA, too. 

Have a campout under the stars. Or leave the curtains open so moon can shine in.  Hide the moon (large yellow ball) and find it. Sing "I see the moon and the moon sees me." (Youtube has many song options. Read Moondance and make up your own dances! 

Science activities include discussing the various concepts introduced in the books: light and shadow, moon phases, hibernation, clouds and rain, precipitation. 

For the snack part of the Book BAGS story party, cut circles of white or yellow cheese. Make them into various moon phases waxing/waning crescent or waxing/waning gibbous. Serve with moon crackers (Ritz). Make moon popcorn balls (popcorn and melted marshmallows, like Rice Krispie treats). Lemonade is moon juice. Make Mooncake (snow cones). 

Stay tuned for more Book BAGS! (Picture is me playing Hide and Seek with you!) 

A-Z healthy school lunches for hands-on nutrition lesson plans

Childhood obesity, juvenile diabetes, Covid 19, gluten and nut allergies--schools and parents face these and so many more health concerns. Health is about more than just treatment. Prevention is the key. Along with the sanitizer and mask, don't forget to pack healthy school lunches. Looking for portable lunchbox foods kids will love? Here's monthly lunch menu of easy, healthy school lunch recipes from A-Z!  Engage kids packing their own school lunches with these easy kid-friendly lunch recipes. Teach them to read product nutrition data. Some "healthy foods" are surprisingly unhealthy and some brands are healthier than others. Use snack-sized zippered bags for kid-friendly portion control and to avoid waste. Rotate this lunch menu monthly so kids won't get bored.

A+ Applewich: Spread light oat grain or keto bread with almond butter or natural peanut butter (no transfat). Add sliced apples or apple butter. These will be in hot demand on your monthly lunch menu.

Banana Boats--cut two slits in banana and peel back skin part way. Remove a little banana and fill with peanut butter and apple slices. Save removed banana for PBB sandwiches (lunch recipes below)

Jeef Berky (our silly name for homemade beef jerky) Click here for my obesity-busting beef jerky recipe! 

Cheez-apps--Cheez-its crackers with dried apples or apple slices--sprinkle apples with lemon juice and store separately in school lunchbox.

Dogs in the blanket--Wrap Smart dogs (made with tofu) or string cheese in lettuce leaves. Add no HFCS ketchup or honey mustard if desired. 

Eggs Devilishly Good--Hard boil eggs, chill and peel. Rinse and slice lengthwise. Remove yolk and mash it with mustard, light olive oil mayo or light thousand island dressing, dill weed and paprika. Fill egg cavities. 

Fruit Max--Mix dried apricots, cranberries, raisins, apples, guava, papaya (don't get sugared ones) with nuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and pretzels

GORP (good old raisins and peanuts) or dried cranberries, almonds, walnuts or any nuts! These travel well in a school lunchbox.

Hors d'oeuvre (pronounced, for fun, horsie doover) Poke small stick pretzels into cheese cubes

Happy Trails Mix-- Mix unsweetened breakfast cereal (Chex or Cheerioes), pretzels, dried fruit or sundried tomatoes, cheese cubes and dark chocolate chips (just a few) for a yummy healthy school lunch. 

Insanely Healthy Peanut Butter Dip (peanut butter and plain Greek yogurt mixed half and half) with rice crackers, strawberries, pineapple, baby carrots, green pepper spears.

Jumble nut butter oatmeal cookies--Swap oil for flaxseed and sugar for banana. Mix with different nut butters (peanut, cashew, almond or sunflower) and mixed nuts and seeds for remarkably filling protein alternatives for vegetarian school lunch recipes.

Kangaroo Sandwiches--Stuff pita pocket bread with lettuce and chicken or tuna salad. Mix tuna or chicken with light mayo, spicy mustard, chopped celery, apples, grapes, nuts and black pepper. Be sure to call it Kangaroo Sandwiches on the school lunch menu!

Lighten Up Roll-ups--For gluten-free roll-ups, skip bread or wraps.  Spread lettuce leaf with cream cheese or cottage cheese, uncured turkey lunchmeat, tomato and/or onion slices. Roll and slice. For keto, use a keto high protein wrap.

Mucho Guacamole Boats--remove pits from avocado and scrape out avocado. Mix with lemon juice, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, onions for guacamole. Fill skin with guacamole and sprinkle with cheese. Send chips separately. If gluten-free or keto, substitute cauliflower chips. How's that for super healthy school lunches in minutes?

Nuts and bolts--Mix low sugar breakfast cereals like Cheerios, Life, Chex, Corn Flakes, Wheaties and Special K. Add dried fruit. Pack organic protein milk, almond milk or lowfat milk boxes for healthy school lunch or breakfast cereal.

Olives overboard pasta salad--Cook whole grain pasta, drain and chill. Add cubed feta cheese, cucumber chunks, green and black olives and a little olive oil for vegetarian lunch recipes.

Po'boy Shish Kebobs: Skewer Swiss cheese chunks, pickles and all natural Al Fresco chicken sausage slices on toothpicks.

PBB sandwiches. Make peanut butter sandwiches with banana slices.

Quick school lunchbox recipes--Pita chips and hummus with baby carrots--Teens love these lunchbox foods.

Raw colored peppers and yogurt salad dressing (store separately). Yogurt dressing is Greek yogurt mixed with lemon juice, feta cheese, pepper, dill, rosemary, oregano and sage.

Smoked almonds, broccoli, berries and yogurt dip--How's that for super portable vegetarian lunchbox foods.

Sailboat Sandwiches: PBJ sandwich cut diagonally (for boat) and then one half in half again (sails). Use light whole grain bread, natural peanut butter and low sugar jam.

Tomatoes or baby carrots and hummus are another teen lunch pleaser.

Very Vegetarian Veggie burger: Mash beans and mix with chopped veggies. Cook ahead and make into sandwich.

Wagon wheels--Cut sliced cheese round using mouth of small glass. Place inside two crackers. (This was Timer's recipe in the old Saturday morning PSAs "Time for Timer." )

Under the Sea. Serve Goldfish crackers with foil tuna packets or imitation crab sticks. Add cucumber slices and watermelon chunks for quick lunch recipes.

X-tra quick school lunches--Serve healthy power bars like Annie's or Luna bars. These make great school snacks or lunches that satisfy.

YOLO--Lemon or orange flavored yogurt cups or Greek yogurt cups like Light and Fit, Stonyfield, Oikos, Dannon, Chobani. Avoid "kid" yogurt or yogurts with granola, candy, dyes or junk in them. Choose small yogurt cups for less waste. Or mix plain Greek yogurt with organic lemonade, peeled grapefruit and oranges. Serve with nuts for vegetarian, keto and gluten-free school lunches. Filled with immunity boosting antioxidants, these help prevent Covid 19. 

Zucchini "Sushi" Rollups--Spread turkey lunch meat or cheese slice with cream cheese and wrap around skinny spears of zucchini, carrots, green peppers, cucumbers and scallions.

You can beat childhood obesity without ever mentioning the word "diet." And these healthy school lunches boost immunity and so keep even Covid 19 at bay! Use the recipes on nutrition lesson plans. 

Disney "Frozen" snacks: Elsa, Anna, Olaf the Snowman themed party treats

Disney "Frozen" has taken the world by storm (snowstorm, that is!) so what better theme than Disney Frozen for a children's winter party? But it's the middle of summer, you protest! Well all the better! Cool off with these Disney Frozen treats and party snacks, inspired by Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, Kristoff and Sven and Olaf the Snowman. Use free printable Frozen coloring pages to create party decor. Here are more free printable Frozen activities for party planner use. Make these into lesson plans as craft snacks for hands-on Frozen fun. 

Chili Elsa: Here’s a beverage to warm the coldest of ice queens. It's a less-gruesome, non-alcoholic Bloody Mary to honor Queen Elsa. Serve warm or cold. Season V-8 vegetable juice with cumin, oregano, basil and celery seed. Garnish with celery or carrot sticks, green, yellow or orange pepper spears or lime wedge. Create cucumber-grape tomato bowties. Make radial cuts in cucumber slices. Place one end on toothpick, then a grape tomato. Twist cuke and stick to other side. Add Tabasco sauce to taste. Children will love making this craft snack themselves. 

Princess Anna Kindergluwein: This Scandinavian/German beverage has been enjoyed by children in frozen climes for generations. And Princess Anna celebrates the eternal joy of childhood! Simmer apple cider or apple juice and add fruit juice (any flavor, cranberry, orange, lemonade, grape). Add raisins or currants, cloves, lemon and lime slices and cinnamon sticks. Make orange strawberry bowties as you did the cucumber one for the Chili Elsa. 

Silly Sangria for Olaf the Snowman: Olaf the Snowman is too young for real sangria and too easily meltable for hot drinks, so make his kindergluwein slushed or "frozen" (pun intended). Mix grape juice, lemonade or orange juice, clear soda and sliced oranges, lemons and limes. Serve with star-shaped ice cubes. 

Princess Anna Snowballs: Even Queen Elsa will love these snow treats! So let kids help make snowballs for a great craft snack. Melt marshmallows and add popped popcorn. Have kids rub light margarine on hands and form popcorn (snow) balls. Roll in sprinkles if desired. 

Olaf the Snowman party recipes. Do you want to build a snowman? Maybe Queen Elsa can't help, but kids can build one with Princess Anna. Make popcorn snowballs using recipes above. Form them in different sizes: small for his head, medium for middle, large for Olaf the Snowman base. Use raisins for buttons and chocolate chips for eyes. Use matchstick or baby carrots for nose. Cut Twizzlers, Fruit Leather or Fruit Roll-Up for scarf and smile. Use Chiklets gum for teeth and pretzel sticks for arms. 

For a traditional snowman like Frosty, add candy corn cob pipe. Place round chocolate candy like Brach’s Star on head for a hat.. For “stovepipe hat" affix gumdrop, Hershey’s Kiss, or Reese’s Peanut Butter cup with dab of frosting. 

Princess Anna snowshoe cookies: Frost Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies with vanilla frosting. Sprinkle with clear, white, silver or blue sugar crystals. Rest cookies on sprinkles to look like snowshoes in snow. 

Princess Anna ski pole cookies: Poke pretzel sticks in mini marshmallows (or pretzel rods in large marshmallows) Warm vanilla frosting in microwave. Dip marshmallows in frosting, then dip in colored sprinkles. 

Kristoff’s Kool Kocoa party recipes: Heat milk on stove and add chocolate syrup. Add colored marshmallows (snowballs). Use ski pole pretzel cookies for swizzle sticks. For healthier swizzle sticks, dip pretzels in peanut butter and roll in powdered milk. Stir Kristoff's Kool Kocoa with candy cane if you have any left from Christmas. 

Sweet Princess Anna stirring spoons. Melt chocolate, butterscotch, mint and peanut butter chips in separate dishes. Dip plastic spoon in melted chips then roll in colored sprinkles, crushed cookies or candies. Allow to harden. Kristoff's Kool Kocoa will warm Queen Elsa and the Princess Anna stirring spoons will sweeten her frosty disposition. 

Princess Anna Arctic Adventure Cake. Frost vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. Add blue or white sprinkles. Place snowshoe cookies on top to look like a snowshoe trail. Add a few ski pole cookies. Have kids make standup Disney Frozen character dolls from Disney Frozen free printables. Scroll down for Disney Frozen games, puzzles and crafts for party games. Click here for free Frozenprintables for party decorations and crafts. Here are more free printable Disney Frozen coloring pages as party activities, decorations, games, crafts or placemats.  

Free Printable 4th of July Crafts History Lesson Plans for Kids

With Memorial Day right around the corner, here are educational US history art projects and patriotic crafts. Use patriotic crafts for 4th of July holiday art projects too.

* Homemade dough, putty, paint. Kids in US history typically had few toys, so they made fun with found materials. Turn the back yard into an old-school chemistry lab. Here are recipes for silly putty, moon sand, play dough and other media for patriotic crafts and art projects. If you have a natural clay deposit, mine your own. Make clay pots or marbles (a favorite old-times game). Concoct homemade fabric paint mixing tempera and Elmer's School Glue or powdered milk. Teach chemistry and experimenting with paint recipes for Memorial Day and 4th of July art projects from Nate and Rachel (safe enough for toddler crafts).

* Decorate tote bags. In times past, kids art projects were learning activities. Use US history patriotic holiday crafts to teach simple sewing, math and life skills lessons. Repurpose fabric tablecloths, sheets, blankets, pillow cases, towels. Have kids measure and cut two matching squares. Sew three sides of squares together by machine or with needle and thread. Turn inside out. Fold and sew a hem around the top edge. Braid scrap yarn, rope, twine, into handles. Attach and decorate with homemade paint.

* Family tablecloth. Family was important, elders were respected and everyone worked together in olden times. Hand print a clean plain-colored flat sheet or polar fleece blanket with fabric paint (see recipe above). Get everyone involved--grandma, grandpa, grouchy Aunt Mildred, the baby, the cat--dips a palm (paw) in paint and hand prints. Then, they sign names in permanent marker near their print. Make patriotic holiday crafts do double duty as gifts and give as a keepsake to an elderly relative.

* Flag pencils. Cut white sheets or plain fabric scraps into 4x6 squares. Show world flags and play afree printable flag bingo game from Suitcases and Sippy Cups. Then let kids create a personal flag that represents their interests. Color with markers or crayons. Hot glue to new pencils. Wave your flag patriotic holiday crafts in Memorial Day and 4th of July parades.

* Personal logo T-shirts. Famous Americans--Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson--are known by mottoes like "Don't Tread on Me." The Gadsden flag was an American revolution symbol, Universities typically have Latin mottoes. Have kids create their own slogan and logo to reflect their ideals. Then transfer images to T-shirts with fabric paints or permanent markers. Recycle old shirts. Buy packaged T-shirts. Check dollar stores for good prices on supplies for patriotic holiday crafts and Memorial Day or 4th of July art projects.

Have a Memorial Day and 4th of July parade. Sing US history songs, display your patriotic holiday crafts and art projects. Wear US history shirts. US History leaps off boring textbook pages and comes to life with these educational US history art projects.

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 Gingerbread House Patterns, Recipes, Templates

Making holiday gingerbread houses is a favorite family traditions. Not being very artistic, I'd cheat and get the gingerbread house kit. But I've found a better way: free printable gingerbread house patterns, recipes and templates. Now, people approach gingerbread house making in one of two ways. The first is by painstakingly designing a work of art--not to be eaten, let alone touched. Then there's our youngest son's method: slap together a ramshackle gingerbread shed, lather in two inches of frosting, cover every inch in candy and devour immediately. Whichever school you subscribe to, you'll want these free printable gingerbread recipes, templates and patterns.
Ultimate Gingerbread is dedicated to the tradition of gingerbread house making. The site has dozens of free printable gingerbread patterns, recipes tips, ideas, suggestions, pictures. They even host an annual gingerbread house making competition. You'll need to register and create a free account. The website has a support forum as well, which would have really come in handy a few years ago when our gingerbread house's retaining wall gave way.
Tipnut list 12 free printable gingerbread house templates. There are several different styles from Hansel and Gretel cottage, manor house with dormers, frosted roof, etc. There are instructions and tips, too. King Arthur Flour offers a free printable gingerbread house recipe and instruction booklet with cake and icing recipes, tips and patterns. 
Mein Lila Park is a blog that links to free printable craft projects. This page lists printable paper houses to use for gingerbread templates. There are gnome, manor, town and farm houses. Many are already designed to be gingerbread houses. Botanical Paperworks has a free printable gingerbread house stencil with recipes. Sweetopia has another free gingerbread template to print. Patternsge has a detailed house pattern printout. Stefan Jansson at Flickr offers another printable gingerbread house. 
Sugar Craft has a free printable old-fashioned gingerbread house pattern. I've linked to the recipe page. Click the word PATTERNS on the right under the image of the house. Gingerbread Heaven offers two free gingerbread template printouts. Be sure to follow the instructions listed with the gingerbread house patterns for best results. 
I encourage family gingerbread house making for a bonding experience, but recommend that each person make his own gingerbread house. This spares debates/arguments over design that can end with the whole house on the floor! Not that my angels would ever do that! May your holiday season be as sweet as a gingerbread house. 

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. 

Free Printable Chinese New Year, Dragon Lessons

Chinese New Year begins late January to late February in the western calendar. It's also called Spring Festival. CNY ends with a lantern festival. Each year, a different animal of the 12-year Chinese zodiac is featured. In 2015, it's Year of the Sheep (also referred to as Year of the Goat). CNY 2015 began Feb. 19. Lantern Festival is March 5. Here are free printable lantern festival craft activities to celebrate.

Visit First-Palette for an easy lantern craft download. The site gives instructions on how to make it. Next, hop on the Craft Train blog for free printable lantern templates. These are super easy to make with preschoolers. Even toddlers can get some early scissors cutting practice in.

Dream Home Decorating has elegant lantern craft printables. DL-TK has loads of free printable lantern patterns and crafts. But don't stop at that page. Visit DL-TK's China page for printable lesson plans, worksheetsts, maps, games, recipes, crafts, coloring pages and party activities on China and Chinese New Year. There are Chinese zodiacs, animals of the zodiac crafts and themed CNY printables.

Print CNY jigsaw puzzles with whimsical animals of the zodiac. There's a whole page on dragons as that magical beast is one of the Chinese zodiac creatures. There are fireworks and lantern activities (light is a theme of Chinese New Year). For more Lantern Festival printables and crafts, hustle on over to this website devoted to Chinese New Year. Here are printable Chinese New Year greeting cards.

You could teach an entire unit on China in elementary school or preschool using these printables. The Lantern Festival is called Yuan-Xiao Festival in China and is celebrated the 15th day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. To wish someone Happy New Year, say Kung Hei Fat Choy! or Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Free Printable Chinese New Year Coloring Pages, Crafts and Activities

February 8 celebrates Chinese New Year of the Monkey 2016. Each year in the 12-year Chinese zodiac, a different spirit animal is honored as are people born under that animal sign (in 2016, 2004, 1992, 1980, 1968, 1956 and on back through the multiples of 12). Greet each other on February 8 with the traditional Chinese New Year blessing "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" Chinese New Year is part of the Spring Festival and ends with the Lantern Festival. Looking for free printable Chinese New Year of the Monkey activities? Here are CNY crafts, coloring pages, greeting cards, Spring Festival lesson plans, Lantern Festival crafts and more. Print Chinese zodiac crafts, animal crafts, party decorations, CNY games and puzzles and lots more.

The best place to start is Enchanted Learning for free printable Chinese New Year of the Monkey activities, crafts and more. Enchanted Learning is super-educational with free printable maps, social studies lesson plans, worksheets, mini-booklets to color cut and paste, coloring pages, history activities, animals of the Chinese zodiac crafts, to name a few.

How about a free printable coloring book of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac along with their Chinese symbol. Animals that represent Chinese New Year are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Ox, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (in that order). 2017 will by Year of the Rooster, 2018 will be Year of the Dog (and so on). To find out which animal you were born under, count backwards or forwards from the current year or add or subtract multiples of 12. For example, if you were born in 1964, the closest Year of the Monkey is 1968, so count backwards four years to 1964, Year of the Dragon.

DL-TK has free printable Chinese New Year of the Monkey activities, monkey crafts, games and CNY lesson plans. Then scamper like a monkey over to Activity Village for a banana tree full of printable Chinese New Year crafts, games, puzzles, Chinese lunar calendars, CNY greeting cards, jigsaw, stories and more. Click to find animal specific activity pages. Here's the Year of the Monkey page with monkey-themed prinatables. And here's the page with free printable Spring Festival and Lantern Festival crafts. Plus, help kids get organized with free printable 2016 animal calendars. Many of the animals of the Chinese zodiac are featured--mouse (rat), dog, sheep, chick (rooster), rabbit and a mischievious monkey, perfect for Year of the Monkey.

And no Chinese New Year is complete with free printable animals masks to monkey around with! The ones from Animal Jr. are totally adorbs!
Here are some nifty masks from ancient China to print for CNY. Printables 4 Kids has more cuteChinese New Year coloring pages, zodiac activities, animal masks, monkey crafts and masks and other goodies. For educational Chinese New Year printables, visit Apples 4 the Teacher. There are free printable Chinese New Year coloring pages, including animals of the Chinese zodiac, maps of China and a Chinese flag to color.
Learn all about the culture and history of China, the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival and other Chinese traditions with free printable games, puzzles, worksheets and word searches.

Teachers, parents, homeschoolers, religious educators, Sunday school teachers bookmark First-School and visit frequently. For Chinese New Year, First-School has free printable Lantern Festival crafts, Spring Festival activities, Chinese zodiac coloring pages, math games from China, Chinese history and literature lessons and so much more. Activities are geared from preschool to third grade.

Free Printable St Nicholas Day Activities, Christmas Crafts

Dec, 6 marks the Catholic feast day of St. Nicholas, said the Manila Bulletin Dec. 5. He was a fourth century bishop and patron saint of Orthodox Christians, Russia, Holland and children around the world. Dec. 6 is Saint Nicholas Day in many countries. He is the Christmas gift-giving figure and basis for the Santa Claus legend, St.Nick's acts of charity weren't myth, however. If you want to celebrate a more Christ-centered Advent and Christmas, here are free printable St. Nicholas activities.

First-School has an adorable St. Nicholas Advent calendar to print free. There are free printable advent wreath crafts, Bible Christmas lesson plans, nativity of Jesus coloring pages and more.

St. Nicholas Center is dedicated to the promulgation of the faith through devotion to St. Nicholas. Visit the activities page with free printable St. Nicholas games, crafts, lesson plans, hidden pictures, puzzles, word search and 3D cut and paste play set. You can print a free St, Nicholas coloring bookfeaturing holy cards, Byzantine icons and stained glass images of the saint. Even older children will enjoy coloring these beautiful sacred images. Use as an art lesson to explore Byzantium and the Eastern Orthodox church. Older children might color the images and write a narrative of St. Nicholas's. Then assemble into a book, laminate and read annually on the Feast of St. Nicholas.

Catholic Mom has free printable Catholic Christmas activities in the Sunday gospel section. There are free printable advent activities too. EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) has a Catholic Kidssite with holiday and holy day lesson plans, games, crafts, recipes and activities. Check the main site for viewings of the cartoon Nicholas: the Boy Who Became Santa Claus. Youtube has a video on Nicholas, the Real Santa Claus.

Don't forget the best-loved St. Nicholas Day tradition. It comes from the Netherlands. On St. Nicholas eve, December 5, children leave their shoes out near the door. Legend says St. Nicholas, dressed in his bishop's robe and mitre, rides by on a white stallion and leaves presents in shoes. Children leave a hot drink for St. Nicholas and hay or a carrot for his noble steed.

Nicholas's feast day is Dec. 19 in the Julian Orthodox calendar.

Free Printable Stone Soup Lesson Plans, Activities

Lapbook Lessons has free printable Stone Soup activities. The free 15-page free Stone Soup lapbook activity pack is written with a Christian slant. It teaches Biblical lessons of truth vs. lie. There's a free printable cut and paste wheel graphic organizer called "The Lies They Told." This activity helps students sequence "Stone Soup" story events. It teaches comprehension lessons of if-then and cause/effect connections.

There's a free printable cut and paste Stone Soup mini book. It connect Stone Soup to the Bible miracle of Jesus in which He multiplies the loaves and fishes to feed the multitudes. There are free printable Stone Soup story cards. Children and cut out story cards and use them to retell the Stone Soup story. There's a Stone Soup lift-the-flap printable and other games and lesson plans on Stone Soup.

DL-TK has free printable Stone Soup felt board activities, coloring pages, recipes, crafts, nutrition science lessons and more. Songs for Teaching has eight free printable "Stone Soup" worksheets,cut and paste manipulatives, lesson plans, puzzles and games. Crayola has free printable "Stone Soup" coloring pages and crafts. Scholastic has a free printable Stone Soup lesson plan. And Lil Country Kindergarten is a blog with several Kindergarten lesson plans on Stone Soup.

Marcia Brown's "Stone Soup" is the oldest book version (1947). It was a Caldecott honor book. Brown also wrote other Caldecott children's literature winners "Shadow" and "Once a Mouse." Ann McGovern is the "If you lived..." book lady. In the 1960s she wrote non-fiction Scholastic series on what it would be like to live with Sioux Indians, Colonial Times, etc. Ann McGovern is a great history and anthropology resource. Jon J. Muth wrote a Japanese version of "Stone Soup." Muth also wrote "Zen Shorts" "The Three Questions" and "Zen Ties."

Free Printable Hanukkah Lesson Plans, Games, Crafts, Decorations, Activities

Hanukkah, the Hebrew Festival of Light, spelled Chanukah, is not Jewish Christmas. It is also not the most important of the Jewish holidays. But it does have a special place in the history of the Hebrew people. Here are free lesson plans, coloring pages, puzzles, games and activities to help celebrate and understand this winter holiday. These links have free printable Hebrew activities for all Jewish holy days.

Bitsela has free printable Jewish greeting cards, clipart, even a free card-making function you can use free on your computer. You can print the Hebrew alphabet, numbers and other uniquely Jewish items. Tzivos Hashem offers great learning games and free Jewish activities for Hebrew school students and those want to explore Judaism. Check out the free printable Jewish holidays coloring pages.

Chabad Jewish Kids has an awesome assortment of Hebrew printables, coloring pages, crafts and activities. Torah Tots has a free printable Jewish holiday coloring pages for Chanukah and other lesson plans. There are Star of David crafts, dreidel crafts as well as games for all aspects of Hanukkah. There are educational puzzles and jigsaw puzzles and lot of great online gaming fun as well. Apples 4 the Teacher has free printable cut and paste Chanukah crafts, coloring pages, puzzles, games and other crafts. Check out the cut and paste Menorah.

Teach-nology features complete units of free printable Hebrew holiday lesson plans.. There are plenty on Chanukah, including free Jewish acrostic poems, crossword puzzles, worksheets, crafts, dreidel patterns, menorah cut-outs to help kids understand the Festival of Light.
Lee Hansen free printable Hebrew coloring pages, Torah paper dolls and Chanukah clipart. First School years gives a nice assortment of free printable lessons and follow-up activities introducing students to Hannukah.

The Toymaker has free printable Jewish paper dreidel, gelt (money) box, greeting cards, 3D paper menorah, Star of David, another Chanukah box and booklet to guide the menorah prayers. Here are free printable Jewish crafts from Free Kids Crafts. ABC Teach has free printable Hanukkah worksheets, coloring pages, featuring the menorah, dreidel, latkes, apples and honey and Jewish symbols. Make a countdown to Chanukah booklet with printable word searches, puzzles, word scrambles, color and write prompts, bookmarks and more.

DL-TK-kids has free printable Chanukah crafts, bingo games, decorations, greeting cards, Star of David crafts, Menorah crafts, coloring pages, domino games, memory games and more. Everything you need to celebrate the Festival of Light is right here. For more holiday crafts visit this author's blog at Free Printable Holiday.

Free Printable Christmas Around the World Activities: Germany

Looking for Christmas around the world activities? How about a global hop to Christmas in Germany? Here are German holiday activities. First a little history: Ancient Germans were druids that worshiped nature. They celebrated Winter Solstice or Saturnalia from which come many Christmas traditions.Then warring Saxon, Hunnic and Teutonic tribes brought their gods of Valhalla. From them come week day names--Thursday (Thor), Friday from his vengeful wife Freya and Wednesday from brother Woden (also known as Loki the trickster). They worshiped the sacred oak, which became a deity because it was so large.

Then in the 800s, St. Boniface (also called St. Winfred) brought Christianity from Ireland. Ireland was a world educational center in the 8th century, since the Roman bishop Patricus (St. Patrick) Christianized it in the 4th century. Boniface, a Benedictine monk went as a missionary to pagan Germany. At the Hessian village of Fritzlar, St. Boniface confronted pagan worshipers at a sacred oak dedicated to Thor. They planned to sacrifice a child and its mother pleaded with St. Boniface to save her child. Boniface took an axe to the oak and dared Thor to strike him dead if he could. As St. Boniface chopped, a mighty wind knocked the  tree over. From its roots sprang an evergreen tree, the symbol of Christ and everlasting life. Awed by the miracle, many converted to Christianity. 

Celebrate Christmas around the world with German holiday activities. Make Christmas tree ornaments from green felt. Stitch two pieces together and stuff. Decorate with sequins, ribbon, glitter, silk flowers, buttons and beads. Make Christmas tree shaped sugar cookies. Or mix marshmallows, butter, Corn Flakes and green food coloring. Shape like evergreen trees. Or buy Christmas tree Little Debbie cakes.

Gift-givers differ in traditions of Christmas around the world. In German holiday activities, St. Boniface isn't the Christmas gift giver. That task belongs to the more whimsical Kris Kringle with his assistant Black Pieter (also called Krampus or Ruprecht). He's a chimney sweep and an imp--good children get gifts, bad kids get coal or a switch for chastisement. Kris Kringle is good Christmas cop, Krampus is the bad cop. Kris Kringle appears fierce at first, but ends with a jolly laugh. Celebrate Krampus and make "coal cookies" Blend chocolate syrup, cream cheese, crushed chocolate-filled Oreos and chocolate chips. Form into lumpy balls. Leave them out for Krampus to sweeten his mood. Or wrap and give as gifts from Krampus!

Elsewhere in Germany, the Christkindl (Christmas angel) brings gifts. Children write to Christkindl for gifts and decorate their cards with sugar to make them sparkle. Have children make Christmas cards by folding blue construction paper and decorating with glue and glitter. Add sparkly colored sugar to Christmas cookies and leave out for the Christkindl.

Another Christmas around the world tradition says Martin Luther, a German monk. saw that snow and moonlight made evergreen tree glow. Luther was reminded of the light of God's love. He cut down a small tree and decorated it with candles. Martin Luther also wrote the Christmas carol, Away in the Manger. Have children thank God for his love as they decorate the Christmas tree. Gather and sing carols around it. Make chart of activities to practice loving kindness. Make cut paper snowflakes. Fold white paper in fourths then thirds, like an ice cream cone. Trim off excess to make a square. Cut designs using printable patterns. Cut part way through along the fold. Decorate with glitter.

Learn "Silent Night' in German "Stille Nacht." Legend says Father Joseph Mohr, of Oberndorff, Germany who was dismayed to find that mice had eaten through the organ bellows one Christmas Eve. There would be no music for midnight mass. Father Mohr went to baptize a newborn baby, and was moved by the sight of mother and child. He hurried home and penned this best-loved Christmas hymn. Kappelmaster Franz Gruber wrote the melody for guitar and it was sung Christmas mass. Make connections between English and German words--Stille (still) Nacht (night), Schlaf (sleep) Gottes (God) Sohn (son) Bruder (brother).

Make a gingerbread house. Read the Grimm Brothers' "Hansel and Gretel" print gingerbread house patterns and decorate your homes like the witch's cottage. Make you own gingerbread or glue graham crackers to a box. Decorate with candy. Make gingerbread men also. Make the stable in Bethlehem and decorate with animal crackers. For holiday greetings of Christmas around the world, learn to say "Froehliche Weihnachten' (froy-leek vine nahkten) meaning of course, Happy Christmas to all!