Puddleglum's Apologia or What's wrong with TV, computer games and screen time?

Hello friends of this free printable lesson plans blog! Teacher Omi of the Omschool blog here and in the New Year, I'm thinking of ways to make activities less "see and hear" and more "do"! Let's explore how we as educators can help kids engage critical thinking skills by watching less--TV, computer, phones, screens--and interacting more. 

I'm a Montessori special educator, grounded in hands-on, learning center based, VAKT, higher order thinking skills education. I'm all about getting kids away from TV and computer screens, off the internet and into real-life learning activities. 

Now this might seem daunting as so much of current educational activity is computer-based. And while working with technology is an important skill, it is one kids can and will learn everywhere. What they engage far less in, and need much more of, is DOING: touching, smelling, tasting and experimenting with. While see and hear shows them things, multisensory experiences teach. 

This is obviously going to take a lot of unpacking, so let's begin by clarifying just what is so wrong about TV, screen and computer based activities. Yes, I did say wrong. It's not just that screens are less effective teachers. They're insidiously dangerous. 

Computer-based activities are less so because at least the child is doing something if only inputting data (the lowest form of  learning). But they're stultifying because they don't teach in real-life ways. They rely on magical thinking, exaggerated characters, lurid colors, artificial sounds, and strangely contrived situations, that completely contrast with a child's experience with the real world. And that doesn't even begin to address the lack of creative thinking, imagination and doing required. (But we will, rest assured!)

What worries me even more are the kids TV shows. All that was bad with the video games and computer activities is magnified 100-fold. An unrealistic computer generated cartoon character behaves in unreal ways that defy the laws of nature. Animals are cute little candy-colored creatures that talk and dress like people. They don't get hurt (at least on realistically). They aren't depicted as they really are. They're "cool" and smart and everything always works out. They fly, leap, bounce off things and never fall. In contrast, a gravity-bound child who is subject to the laws and rules of the real world, feels feeble knowing she can't do that.  

Staring at games or TV shows deadens a child's ability to think for herself or even know that she can. Everything is scripted, spoon-fed and done for her. Nothing is required. She experiences only vicariously. She learns that she doesn't impact her world and is not a participant but just an observer. This creates a sense of helplessness, hopelessness and apathy. 

She also learns that she is not only useless, but worthless. It isn't necessary for her to even watch this or that show. It will still happen. She learns she doesn't matter. She's just the straight man, the schlimazel. When I was a kid, Bugs Bunny and Superman were faulted for making us think we too were invincible. That we could eat gunshot-laden birdseed and not explode. But we didn't watch Superman all day and no one knew what an anvil was or thought to drop it on someone's head. 

And I haven't even touched on the "real-life" TV shows where "real" kids (Ryan's World) and adults (Blippi) play with toys all day and never do anything that normal kids are expected to do. They do whatever they want with no consequences. They never do the boring work or difficult jobs that are a part of life. Rules don't apply. And kids see this and think it's real life and their own lives are what's unreal.

No wonder so many adolescents disappear into video games and don't know how to interact in life. They have been taught that real life is boring and of course it is compared to the fake, Marvel-verse they see on screen. No wonder that so many adults cannot hold down a job or walk down the street without all sorts of adaptations, therapy animals and medications. They have been conditioned to think they are broken, compared to the fake-whole they see on screen. They have been confused by what is real and what is pretend.  No wonder self-harm is so alarmingly prevalent now. 

Factor into that the marketing to (exploitation of ) children through these shows and it's a pandemic that threatens to destroy childhood. Please, for the love of children, pull the plug or at least limit screen time to an hour a day. 

Kids should spend the bulk of their days, running, jumping, pretending to be a train engineer, building forts, having acorn tea parties, making messes and having to clean them up, helping with chores. They'll learn resilience and self-reliance, They feel self-respect when they learn to be bored but behave, running errands without being given a phone to stare at. They should fall and learn they can get back up, dust themselves off and ask for help if needed. 

Most important, children need to learn that they CAN. They can explore, invent, fail, fall, experiment, try again, spill, drop, fix, survive, implement, apologize, interact, get along, try and see, wait, get mad, get disappointed, problem solve and endure. These activities may not look as glamourous as they do on Paw Patrol but they are also not fake. 

I'll end with a quote from Puddleglum, the Marshwiggle to the Green Lady (Witch) in "The Chronicles of Narnia" "The Silver Chair." The Witch was gaslighting Puddleglum and the children into believing that her dark underworld was the real one and that the world they described was imagination. Puddleglum said, after being tortured (*wipes tears)

"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow."

#Respect! And that's how I see TV vs. real life. Real life isn't perfect. We aren't perfect. We stumble and don't always do it right. We aren't always brave. We can't fly and we feel pain. But for all that, it beats a fake, computer-generated world "hollow"! 

Thanks for reading. I'll post more about this later. 

DIY recycled cardboard playhouse with cardboard appliances kids can make themselves

Hello my Omschooligan friends! Teacher Omi is so excited about spring and I hope you are too! Today n this beautiful May Day, let's make some recycled cardboard crafts for kids! We made a recycled cardboard castle, play store and puppet theater a few days ago. Today we're making recycled cardboard playhouses. Use these in homeschool, preschool and just for outdoor fun! These free printable lesson plans include fort or house making rubric plus a guide to making appliances for your recycled cardboard playhouse. 

Montessori connections to recycled cardboard playhouse craft project for kids

Preschool children are wonderfully imaginative. If you give them an old box and tell them to pretend it's a car, they will enjoy hours of fun in their Maserati. Kids don't need a  expensive pre-made playhouse to have fun. You can make a recycled cardboard playhouse easily. In fact, teachers and parents, you can create entire Montessori preschool practical life learning centers for home or school, with just a refrigerator box, available in dumpsters behind appliance stores. 

Safe cardboard cutting and construction guide for kids

Here is a guide on how to help children safely cut and craft with cardboard:

1. Age-Appropriate Tools

Selecting the right tool depends on the child's age and fine motor skills.

• Safety Scissors (Ages 3–6): Standard blunt-tip or plastic children's scissors work well for thin cardboard, cereal boxes, or index cards.

• Corrugated Cardboard Scissors (Ages 6+): Specialized heavy-duty craft scissors (such as Westcott Right Shears) can cut through single-wall corrugated cardboard without the danger of an open blade.

• Adult-Only Tools: Box cutters, craft knives, and heavy shears should only be used by adults to prep the cardboard or score difficult cuts.

2. Safe Cutting Techniques and Setup

Teaching proper handling ensures the process remains fun and injury-free.

• The "Away" Rule: Teach children to keep their free hand firmly on the cardboard at a safe distance from the blade, always cutting away from their body and fingers.

• Stable Surface: Place the cardboard on a flat, non-slip surface, such as a self-healing cutting mat or a sturdy craft table, rather than holding the piece in the air while cutting.

• Punching Starter Holes: For window cutouts or internal shapes, have an adult use a craft knife to make a small hole first. This allows the child to insert their safety scissors safely without forcing the blade through the material.

3. Alternative Joining and Shaping Methods

Sometimes, avoiding sharp tools entirely is the safest way to let children craft independently.

• Cardboard Scoring: To fold or bend cardboard, an adult can lightly score the line with a box cutter, allowing the child to fold it easily along the line with their hands.

• Cardboard Fasteners: Use safety-conscious alternatives to connect pieces, such as tape, low-temperature glue guns (supervised), or brass fasteners and paper brads.

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💡 Pro-Tip

Safety First: Keep a non-slip mat under the cardboard to prevent sliding, and encourage children to take frequent hand-resting breaks when cutting through thicker materials!

Recycled cardboard craft project value added

First a word on recycled cardboard appliances boxes-they are wonderful tools for Montessori preschool play. They are eco-friendly, versatile, sturdy enough for children to play in and recyclable when you're finished with it. My father made me an entire cardboard playhouse full of furniture, with recycled cardboard boxes. Here's how to make a cardboard playhouse for Montessori preschool practical life learning centers. 

How to make a cardboard playhouse

This is not meant to be a permanent structure; but the tape will prevent the cardboard box wall from collapsing. There is no need for a roof or ceiling. Children understand the concept and will be able to imagine a ceiling. 

1. Cut the refrigerator box along one of the long edges. 
2. Open the box and flaps of both ends. 
3. Place refrigerator box upright around one corner of the room, flaps toward the floor. 
4. Alternate flaps, one in, then the next facing outward (to form a base). 
5. Arrange the cardboard playhouse so that it encloses the corner. 
6. Invert refrigerator box so printing faces inward. 
7. Duct tape edges of cardboard to the walls and tape flaps to floor.
8. Cut a window or two in the sides of the box. 
9. Cut window panes and curtains and color them in. 
10. Or staple scrap fabric to make curtains. 
11. Draw a flower box on the outside or make a little rack to place real plants. 
12. Cut a door that opens and closes or cut a doorway and hang a piece of cloth like a curtain. 
13. Place old green and brown towels along the bottom of the cardboard playhouse to look like earth and grass and to mask the edges. 
14. Draw a doorbell or attach a bicycle bell.
15. Inside your Montessori preschool practical life learning centers, place a doll cradle with assorted dolls, child-sized table and chairs,
16. Keep reading for tips on how to make recycled cardboard kitchen appliances.
17. Add play food and pretend dishes
18. Repurpose a coat rack as a costume rack for the house area costumes. 
19. Set up artificial trees and flowers to lend verisimilitude. 
20. Inside the house, put a basket of books that pertains to the subject you're studying. 
21. Add comfy throw pillows. This makes your Montessori preschool practical life learning centers into a quiet reading or library learning centers.

Recycled cardboard sink for playhouse

When I was young, my parents made an entire play house for me from recycled cardboard boxes. 

• To make a play sink, tape a cardboard box closed on all sides
• Cut slits in the box. 
• Insert a small plastic dishpan or pink tub like hospitals send patients home with.
• Push tub down into the hole you cut. Cardboard frame will hold the tub in place and create a 'sink'. 
• Make faucet, spout and handle for your play sink from two recycled dispenser bottles. Foaming hand soap dispensers look the most realistic. 
• Cut small holes in the back of the box sink. 
• Drop dispenser pieces into the holes so that just the top pump part shows through. 
• Tape dispenser tube inside box so it doesn't wobble. 
• Children can pretend to run water by pressing pump dispenser (be sure to say "shhhh" to imitate water sound!)
• Or make pretend handles. Make discs of cardboard, clay or cork. 
• Cover with duct tape. Punch hole in center. 
• Insert old pencils or straws. 
• Cut a hole in the back of the cardboard near faucet. 
• Insert straws/pencils and tape to back inside of box. 
• Label "hot" and "cold." 
• Rotate discs like knobs. 
• Place recycled dish soap bottle on sink. 

Note: the image doesn't show exactly how the "hot" and "cold" should look. Place them behind the pumps. 
Recycled cardboard refrigerator

• Use a tall rectangle box placed upright for refrigerator about the size of a vacuum box. 
• Duct tape pieces of cardboard to make a shelves. 
• Place an old plastic dishpan or plastic box in the bottom for a vegetable drawer. 
• Cover all cardboard surfaces with contact paper and seal edges with duct tape so cardboard appliances last longer. 
• Place small clothing rack near the play kitchen to hang aprons and chefs hats. Dress up is important in child's play.

Here's the quick printable outline:

The Refrigerator Box Playhouse

• Benefits of Refrigerator Boxes: Sturdy, versatile, green, and recyclable.

• Step-by-Step Construction Guide:

  • Cut the refrigerator box along a long edge.

  • Open the box and flaps at both ends.

  • Place upright around a room corner with flaps toward the floor (alternating the base flaps inward and outward).

  • Invert so the printing faces inward, and duct tape the edges to the walls and floor for stability.

• Customization and Detailing:

  • Cut windows and attach curtains (using colored paper or scrap fabric).

  • Draw a flower box or add a small rack for real plants.

  • Create a swinging door or a doorway with a cloth curtain.

  • Use green and brown towels at the base to represent grass and earth.

II. Montessori-Style Integration

• Learning Centers: Practical life learning centers for home or school.

• Furnishing the Playhouse:

  • Doll cradle with dolls.

  • Child-sized table and chairs.

  • Play kitchen furniture, food, dishes, and costumes.

  • Artificial trees and flowers for realism.

• Reading Nook Conversion: Add a basket of theme-related books and throw pillows to convert the playhouse into a quiet library.

III. Cardboard Appliance Tutorials

• Time Commitment: Under an hour per appliance.

• Basic Materials Needed: Cardboard boxes, box cutter/scissors, paint pens, assorted plastic lids from vitamin bottles or milk,  dishpans or tubs, duct tape, and soap dispenser pumps.

• Play Sink Construction:

  • Tape a box closed and cut a hole for the sink basin.

  • Insert a small plastic dishpan and secure it with the cardboard frame.

  • Create the faucet and handles using foaming hand soap dispensers and inserted straws/pencils.

• Play Refrigerator Construction:

  • Use a tall, upright rectangular box.

  • Add interior cardboard shelves secured with duct tape.

  • Include a plastic box/dishpan at the bottom for a vegetable drawer.

  • Cover surfaces with contact paper and seal the edges with tape.

• Additional Accessories: Place a small clothing rack nearby for aprons and chef's hats to encourage roleplay.

Here are my tutorials for 

Quick, easy no-sew bedroom play fort

Recycled cardboard play store and puppet theater

Lesson plans using recycled plastic Easter eggs and egg cartons

  I love repurposing and reusing stuff from my recycle bin in new and creative ways, especially as lesson plans. Recently, my one-year-old grandson has been discovering the fun playing with empty recycled plastic Easter eggs. This has inspired me to design hands-on activities, lesson plans and games using recycled plastic Easter eggs and egg cartons. I've includes some free printable activities to supplement. 

With Easter coming up, there will be many activities involving plastic Easter eggs: candy hunts, Easter crafts, etc. You might be tempted to throw them away, after use, but don't. There are so many educational activities to use recycled plastic Easter eggs. Save Styrofoam egg cartons as well. 

I blogged in an earlier post about using plastic eggs and egg cartons from the recycle bin as preschool learning center math, sorting and fine motor activities. The good news for homeschoolers is that these make great toddler high chair activities too. Activities are easily adjustable to age. My grandkids Juno and Emmett who are 1, love stacking or "nesting" plastic egg halves, just like blocks. We work on placing eggs in egg cartons, to practice eye hand coordination, puzzle skills and fine motor. 

Challenge kids fine motor skills in egg assembly activities. The plain colored recycled plastic eggs are easier than the shaped ones like the ice cream ones shown in the picture which can be a little tricky. But it's important for development that some tasks be difficult, especially for special needs and students with autism. We teach to fear failure and frustration when we make things too easy, or do it for them. Children need challenges, to have to work at something and to try new approaches, to learn patience, perseverance and vital problem solving skills. 

Use assembled Easter eggs in science learning centers and preschool sand and water table to explore water displacement and floatation concepts. Give toddlers scooping tools to practice fine and gross motor skills in high chair activities. Special needs students will love "fishing" for Easter eggs too! 

Have kids "hide" little items or non-messy foods in recycled plastic Easter eggs. Or hide them yourself and have students predict what's inside. This teaches math skills of size estimation. 

Sort eggs in egg cartons, by color or design. Last year, when my husband and I visited our grandkids, we brought each child a set of individualized themed Easter eggs (dinosaurs, fish, desserts, sports balls and insects). Then we played an Easter egg hunt game in which each child had to find eggs in his pattern. The 3-year-olds, Lucian and Milo, were able to identify eggs that belonged in their pattern. And Ezra, who was almost two, was able to find his fishy Easter eggs by their color. Extend pattern lesson plans with free printable animal dominoes. 

Do an Easter egg hunt, using recycled egg cartons to place found eggs. Each child brings a dozen and finds a dozen. Once her 12 spaces are filled she "wins." A homeschool mom friend of my oldest daughter came up with genius plan. It prevents kids taking too many eggs and best of all teaches math skills. Have older kids group their eggs by two, three, four and six, to learn skip counting, multiplying and dividing. Reinforce with these free printable math flash cards. 

For more hands-on lesson plans and recycle bin activities stay tuned to this blog. 

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 

Preschool Math unit on shapes with homemade snack crafts, games, printables and book connections

Hello my Omschooligans! Teacher Omi, of the Omschool, here with a back-to-school preschool math unit on shapes you're going to love. These math activities features hands-on lesson plans, including geometry themed homemade snack craft projects, games, printables and book connections.  Here's a basic printable math shapes chart. 

Preschool shape math games and printables 

• Shape Up Match Game: Print the chart above to hang in your classroom. Omi has one in the Omschool Tree Fort! Next, use this free printable game, one per student and have them cut out the shape word cards. This make the game do double duty as a math craft to practice fine motor and scissors skills. Or make one, laminate it and use for math learning center tasks. 

• Shape-O: Play this like Bingo by calling out different shapes and have students place tokens on the appropriate objects with that shape. 

• Shape sorting game: Print blank bingo cards and assign students the task of drawing different basic shape objects in each of the squares. They might also cut pictures from magazine or use the shape sorting cards and glue them under the appropriate shape word. 

• Shape Scavenger hunt: Give students a list of shapes have them search the classroom (tree fort!) playground or backyard for items of the shape: 
  
• Shape Up Yoga: provide yoga mats and have children bend their bodies to represent different shapes. 
  
  
  

Shapes snack craft projects

• Watermelon wedges and half slices (triangle and semi-circle)
• Cantaloupe and honey dew melon balls 
• Sailboat sandwiches (favorite sandwiches cut in four triangles)
• Cheese and pepperoni crackers (cheese cut into different shapes) 
• Cheese cubes, grape tomatoes and triangle cut cucumbers on toothpicks

Books about shapes from the Omschool Tree Fort Story Corner 

• Ehlert, Lois. Color Zoo. HarperCollins, 1989.

  • Uses layered die-cut pages featuring basic geometric shapes (circles, squares, triangles) to form dynamic animal faces.

• Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Shapes. Harcourt, Inc., 2007.

  • Features three clever mice who build houses, trees, and a cat out of colorful cut-paper shapes to escape a predator.

• Dodds, Dayle Ann. The Shape of Things. Illustrated by Julie Lacome. Candlewick Press, 1994.

  • Shows how individual shapes come together to construct everyday scenes like houses, boats, and train cars through rhyming verse.

• MacDonald, Suse. Shape by Shape. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007.

  • Uses die-cut cutouts of various shapes on each page turn to gradually reveal a dinosaur.

• Hall, Michael. Perfect Square. Greenwillow Books, 2011.

  • Demonstrates creativity and resilience by showing how a single square can be torn, cut, or shredded to transform into entirely new, beautiful structures.

Real-World & Environmental Shape Recognition

• Hoban, Tana. Shapes, Shapes, Shapes. Greenwillow Books, 1986.

  • A classic wordless photo-essay that challenges children to discover hidden shapes within everyday urban and rural environments.

• Murray, Diana. City Shapes. Illustrated by Bryan Collier. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016.

  • Explores geometry through a young girl's bustling city walk, highlighting skyscrapers, kites, and sidewalk tiles.

• Thong, Roseanne Greenfield. Round Is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes. Illustrated by John Parra. Chronicle Books, 2013.

  • Teaches shape recognition through cultural items and foods like tortillas, sombreros, and paletas.

• Sidman, Joyce. Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature. Illustrated by Beth Krommes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

  • Focuses on the unique prevalence and beauty of spiral shapes found throughout the natural world.

Interactive & Humor-Driven Books

• Burns, Marilyn. The Greedy Triangle. Illustrated by Gordon Silveria. Scholastic, 1994.

  • Introduces geometry concepts as a dissatisfied triangle keeps visiting a shape-shifter to add more sides and angles.

• Hopgood, Tim. Walter's Wonderful Web. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.

  • Follows a determined spider attempting to build webs out of sturdy triangles, squares, and rectangles to withstand the wind.

• Bingham, Kelly. Circle, Square, Moose. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. Greenwillow Books, 2014.

  • A humorous meta-narrative where an disruptive moose continually interrupts a standard presentation on shapes.

3D Shapes & Advanced Concepts

• Murphy, Stuart J. Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes. Illustrated by Damon Mitchell. HarperCollins, 2001.

  • Focuses on three-dimensional geometry (cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres) as a superhero navigates outer space.

• Hoban, Tana. Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, & Spheres. Greenwillow Books, 2000.

  • A full-color photograph collection showcasing three-dimensional objects in real-world settings.

Reinforce lesson plans by having students sit arranged in various shapes for story time! 

Free Printable Blank Checks and Banking Slips for Money Math

Money math, banking and finance are some of the most practical math applications. Students learn real-world math lessons by writing checks, balancing checkbooks and managing debit and credit cards, savings and checking accounts. To help, here are free printable blank checks, play money, check register forms, banking slips, deposit slips and withdrawal slips. Use to teach hands-on money math lessons Use for consumer math classes, special education lesson plans and homeschool math activities.

DL-TK has several pages of pretend free printable blank checks and banking slips for play. There are two free printable check varieties, using the American "check" and Canadian "cheque" spelling. Both are available to print in color or in black and white. Visit Free Stuff 4 Kids for free printable blank checks for play and for math lessons. Use these in combination with free printable play money. These links provide free printable play money in denominations of one, five and ten dollar bills. Use these free printable checks to set up a classroom bank, preschool math learning center or token economy. Use banking slips and play money to teach economics, math skills, banking, counting changes and money math lessons.

Money Instructor has many free printable money math lesson plans, blank checks, play money, banking slips and money math lessons and worksheets. Not all printables are free but there is a nice selection of free printable samples. Print free banking slips, deposit slips, withdrawal slips, check registers and checking account slips. Money Instructor has interactive money math lessons, check writing, check endorsing, checkbook balancing tutorials also. It is recommended that teachers of economics, consumer math, life skills, special needs, accounting and personal finance subscribe to these sites. This link will take you directly to a page of free printable practice blank checks.

Free Printables Insects and Spiders Lesson Plans and Activities

Spring is in the air--time for insects to make their appearance. Do you like insects and spiders or do they just 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 and for educational activities, Free Printable Lesson Plans. 

Chinese New Year Party planner with crafts, books, activities and learning centers

 The Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese New Year lunar calendar begins on January 22, 2023. Ring in the Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, with a party planner for your classroom, home-school group, scout troop or 4-H club. This Spring Festival party planner is perfect for any children's venue that celebrates cultural diversity. In the long dark days of January, a cultural celebration can spark much-needed light and joy. 

The Lunar New Year party planner includes the elements of a good lesson plan as well as a good party. Use learning centers for party planner activities. Divide students into groups and rotate among learning centers, giving equal time for each group at each center. Do the math for how many students per group and how long to give each group based upon the logistics of your situation. If you do the Spring Festival party planner as a whole group, do these activities in order. It is important with any children's group activity to vary the routine. Intersperse quiet and active, listening and doing activities. 

Chinese New Year touch table. Set out hands-on materials children can explore independently. This is a good activity for young, easily-bored or special needs students or to use as a filler between activities. Leave touch table up throughout the event. Lunar New Year touch table items include artifacts from China, Chinese Zodiac placemats, jade figures, pieces of ivory, porcelain, bamboo, tea sets, chopsticks, photos, garments, silk, fans, toy animals from China, stuffed animals from the zodiac (monkey, rat, pig, goat, tiger, dragon, dog, horse, rooster, snake, ox and rabbit). 

Spring Festival smell and taste table. Set out taste test samples of Chinese New Year foods. bok choy, tea, almond cookies, coconut macaroons, fried dumplings (potstickers), monkey bread (for Year of the Monkey), bunny food (carrots, lettuce and salad), egg foo yung, sushi, cellophane noodles, ramen noodles, cherries, fish, egg rolls, rice crackers, fortune cookies and candy gold coins (good fortune is the theme!) Check the international section of your local grocery store. Provide herbs in their raw state for kids to smell: ginger root, lemongrass, wasabi, saffron, turmeric, garlic. 

Chinese New Year sound table. Play recordings of oriental music in the background. Show Youtube videos of different dance, theater, art and music performances. Make simple Chinese style musical . Make drums from oatmeal containers and shakers from pill bottles and dried popcorn. Show children how to make a guitar from a Kleenex box with rubber bands stretched over the opening. Provide materials to decorate. 

Lunar New Year stories. This is the time for a quiet activity--children of all ages, even teenagers, enjoy story-telling. Dress in costume, add a few props and use different voices for different characters, you will have a spell-bound audience. If you are not comfortable reading aloud, use a story CD. Share the Chinese Zodiac story, to explain why the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and boar are so important. Provide animal masks, puppets or costumes so kid can act out story as a skit. Distribute musical instruments for children to play when each animal is mentioned. Or use a series of masks or puppets as you read the story. 

See this blog post for kids books, printables, crafts and activities on Chinese New Year. 

Chinese New year arts and crafts. The Spring Festival includes a Lantern Festival. Make a simple lantern by folding an 8 x 11 sheet of brightly colored construction paper in half lengthwise. Cut nine slits through the fold beginning one inch from each edge. The slits should be about 2-3 inches long. Open the paper. Bring the edges together widthwise and staple. The fold will open outward and the slits will form openings in the lantern. Decorate by stapling colored curled ribbon to the bottom. Here are free printable Chinese New Year crafts for children. 

Lunar New Year games: Form a dragon by making a line of children. Place hands on shoulders and follow the leader. Do whatever she does. Take turns being the leader. For older children, blindfold them. It will be anew experience to follow just felling what the person ahead is doing. Play hop monkey like leap frog. Or play Good Monkey, Naughty Monkey (like red light, green light). Sing Little Bunny Foo Foo and do the bunny hop. 

End the spring festival party with Chinese fireworks!

Free Printable Pizza Math Fractions Lesson Plans with recipes, crafts and activities for Pi Day

Hello my Omschooligans! Today in the Omschool Tree Fort, Teacher Omi here has baked up some pizza math fractions lesson plans, originally written for Pi Day (March 14). But why wait till March? Here are pie fractions activities to teach fun, tasty hands-on math. You'll find math fractions worksheets, games, craft projects, recipes and literature connections for a supreme pizza math unit! 

Pi Day and Pizza Math Overview 

1. Introduction to Pi Day

• Date & Significance: March 14 (3/14) celebrates Pi Day, named after the mathematical constant Pi from the Greek, representing 3.14 (or the fraction 22/7) used in geometry.

• We use Pi to demonstrate the circumference of a circle, so using pies and pizza to show these concepts makes yummy mathematical sense.

 

Pizza math lesson plans with fun baked in! 

Goal: Use hands-on, interactive, and multisensory pizza-themed lessons to help students overcome math anxiety and explore math in lateral thinking ways. 

• Circumference & Pi Craft: The "Pie" Formula Project: Use this activity to explore the significance of Pi. 

  1. Materials Needed

  • A Mini Graham Cracker Crust (or a small round paper plate cut to look like a pie crust)

  • Yarn or String (long enough to wrap around the crust)

  • A Ruler or Measuring Tape (marked in inches or centimeters)

  • Scissors

  • A Marker or Pen

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  2. Step-by-Step Instructions

  • Step 1: Measure the Diameter ($d$)

    • Lay a piece of string straight across the exact center of your pie crust from one edge to the other, passing through the middle.

    • Cut the string to match this exact length. This length represents the diameter ($d$) of your circle.

    • Use your ruler to measure this diameter string and write down the measurement (for example, let's say a standard mini crust diameter is about 4 inches or roughly 10 centimeters).

  • Step 2: Measure the Circumference ($C$)

    • Take a new, longer piece of string and carefully wrap it once all the way around the outer circular edge (the rim) of the pie crust.

    • Cut the string where it meets the starting point. This length is the circumference ($C$)—the total distance around the outside of the circle.

  • Step 3: Discover Pi ($\pi \approx 3.14$)

    • Take your diameter string and lay it end-to-end along your circumference string to see how many times it fits.

    • You will discover that the diameter string fits around the outer edge $3$ full times, with a little bit left over (specifically, about 0.14 of another length).

    • This physical experiment proves the geometric constant: $\pi$ ($3.14$) is the exact multiplier telling us that any circle's circumference is a little more than three times the length of its diameter!

  • Step 4: Math Verification

    • Test the formula mathematically: Multiply your measured diameter by 3.14 ($C=\pi \times d$).

    • Compare your calculated number to the actual measured length of your circumference string to see how close your math craft comes to the true mathematical constant!

2. Preschool Pizza Math 

Teach geometry, shapes, numbers and colors with pizza by making a pizza toppings code. Cut these shapes in these colors to represent different things you add to pizza. 

• Topping Shapes & Colors:

  • Mushrooms: brown semi-circles

  • Onions: White cubes.

  • Sausage: Brown spheres.

  • Pepperoni: Red circles.

  • Colored Peppers: Orange triangles.

  • Pineapple: Yellow rectangles.

  • Cheese: yellow trapezoids and rhombuses.

• Provide each student with an assortment of pizza toppings and a small crust (or tortilla shell). 

• Paper Plate Pizza. Have students cut colored paper shapes. Provide white paper plates. Call out different toppings to add to pizza. 

• Core Concepts: Teach shapes, numbers, and colors by having students discuss topping descriptions, colors, and specific quantities (e.g., placing five circles, two red items, and three green rectangles on a pizza). 

  
  
  

3. Pizza Mathematical Concepts & Lessons

• Sorting and Classifying:

  • Sort pizza toppings into distinct categories by color or shape.

  • Group items by color (e.g., place all orange items in a pile).

  • Sort by food groups (dairy, vegetables, and meat) to create a graph or pie chart.

• Adding and Subtracting:

  • Start by having kids add a specific number of a certain topping, then add more to count the total.

  • Practice subtraction by beginning with larger amounts, taking toppings away, and counting the remainder.

  • Practice skip counting by adding in increments of $2s$, $3s$, $5s$, and so on.

• Fractions:

  • Demonstrate how to divide a pizza into halves, thirds, quarters, eighths, etc.

  • Show equivalencies (e.g., two sixths equals one third; four eighths equals one half).

  • Demonstrate reducing fractions, finding common denominators, and adding/subtracting unlike fractions.

  • Use clean string or yarn to section off reusable pizzas, or utilize a classroom set of pre-divided pizzas.

• Multiplication and Division:

  • Divide pizzas into temporary sections/fractions and distribute toppings one by one per section until all are used (e.g., dividing a pizza into eight sections and distributing 64 pepperoni pieces).

  • Reverse the process for multiplication by placing an equal number of toppings on each section and counting the total.

  • Teach remainders by giving out an uneven number of toppings for kids to divide.

• Decimals:

  • Explain that decimals are fractions with base-ten denominators, where the number of place values after the decimal point determines the denominator (one place = tenths, two places = hundredths, three places = thousandths).

  • Divide a pizza into tenths to teach basic fraction and decimal equivalencies.

• Percentages:

  • Use the pizza as a pie graph where a whole pizza represents 100% and any portion represents a percentage of 100 (e.g., half equals 50% (or .5 or 50/100, one quarter equals 25\%, .25 or 25/100.

  • Teach the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percents (percents are fractions with denominators of 100; decimals are percent without the decimal point, such as 37\% being 0.37 or 37/100).

• Ratios and Proportions:

  • Teach that proportions are fractions (e.g., a proportion of 3 to 10 means three parts out of ten total parts).

  • Teach ratios as comparisons (e.g., a classroom boy-girl ratio of 5:6 means five boys for every six girls).

  • Apply this to pizza by creating pizzas with specific ratios, such as a 3:10 pepperoni ratio or a 2:3 ratio of green peppers to mushrooms.

4. Conclusion & Benefits of Hands-On Learning

• Party Celebration: Once lessons are completed, let students customize their pizzas to taste (removing ingredients they dislike) and enjoy a Pi Day pizza party.

• Special Education & Accessibility: Hands-on, multisensory (smell, touch, taste) lessons make content approachable for special education teachers working with:

  • LD (learning disabled) students.

  • ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) students.

  • CI (cognitively impaired) students.

• General Effectiveness: Interactive learning with food works better for all students because it is real-life, practical, and fun.

• Behavior & Receptivity: Kids often act up when hungry and behave better after eating a healthy snack, making food-based lessons easier to visualize and improving learning receptivity. 

 Recipes and snack crafts for pie math fun

English Muffin "Fraction" Pizzas: Give each child a split English muffin (or a small round tortilla) to serve as a whole circle. Have them use a butter knife or pizza cutter to slice it into halves, quarters, or eighths, and then practice putting the pieces back together to understand parts of a whole before adding their sauce and cheese.

Apple Wedge Fractions: Slice apples into halves or quarters, and have kids use cream cheese or peanut butter as "glue" to reassemble the apple on a paper plate, counting how many wedges make up the whole apple.

Cheese and Cracker Geometry & Graphs: Provide square crackers, round crackers, and triangular cheese slices. Kids can practice geometry by identifying shapes and matching sides, or arrange them into rows to create edible bar graphs and practice simple fractions based on topping ratios.

Celery "Log" Fractions & Counting: Spread cream cheese down the center of celery sticks and let kids arrange raisins or dried cranberries in a straight line. They can then slice the celery log into equal segments to practice division and fraction counting (e.g., cutting a log into 4 equal pieces where each piece represents 1/4 of the whole).

Teacher Omi's Homemade Pizza Recipe

Yield: 1 Family-Size Pizza | Prep time: 30 Mins + Rising

1. Pizza Dough Ingredients

• Warm Water: 1 1/3 cups (warm to the touch)
• Active Dry Yeast: 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• Sugar or Honey: 1 teaspoon
• Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: 3 1/2 cups
• Olive Oil: 2 tablespoons (plus extra for the bowl)
• Salt: 1 teaspoon

2. Sauce & Variety of Toppings

• Sauce: 1 cup seasoned tomato puree
• Cheese: 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• Pepperoni: Red round slices
• Mushrooms: Brown semi-circles
• Onions: White diced cubes
• Peppers: Orange & green triangles

3. Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Activate Yeast: Mix warm water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
2. Make the Dough: Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture and olive oil until a dough forms.
3. Knead & Rise: Knead on a floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
4. Assemble & Bake: Roll out the dough onto a pan, spread tomato sauce, add cheese, and customize with your favorite toppings. Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 12-15 minutes until golden brown!

Sir Cumference Book Series Bibliography

Author: Cindy Neuschwander | Illustrator: Wayne Geehan

Featured Math Adventure Books

• Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (1997) – Introduces geometry, shapes, and the concept of a circular table.
• Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (1999) – Explores the measurement of circles and the constant Pi ($3.14$).
• Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland (2001) – Focuses on angles, degrees, and protractors.
• Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter (2006) – Explores the concepts of area and perimeter.
• Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens (2009) – Teaches place value and counting by tens.
• Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map (2012) – Explores coordinate planes, mapping, and directions.
• Sir Cumference Gets Cálculo! (2019) – Introduces early calculus concepts through fun medieval problem-solving.

Teacher Omi's Homemade Pizza Recipe

Yield: 1 Family-Size Pizza | Prep time: 30 Mins + Rising

1. Pizza Dough Ingredients

• Warm Water: 1 1/3 cups (warm to the touch)
• Active Dry Yeast: 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• Sugar or Honey: 1 teaspoon
• Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: 3 1/2 cups
• Olive Oil: 2 tablespoons (plus extra for the bowl)
• Salt: 1 teaspoon

2. Sauce & Variety of Toppings

• Sauce: 1 cup seasoned tomato puree
• Cheese: 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• Pepperoni: Red round slices
• Mushrooms: Brown semi-circles
• Onions: White diced cubes
• Peppers: Orange & green triangles

3. Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Activate Yeast: Mix warm water, yeast, and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
2. Make the Dough: Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast mixture and olive oil until a dough forms.
3. Knead & Rise: Knead on a floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.
4. Assemble & Bake: Roll out the dough onto a pan, spread tomato sauce, add cheese, and customize with your favorite toppings. Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 12-15 minutes until golden brown!

Teacher Omi's Story Corner

Book selections for literature based math lessons. 

Sir Cumference Math Adventure Series

• Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (1997) – Cindy Neuschwander (Introduces geometry, shapes, and the concept of a circular table).

• Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (1999) – Cindy Neuschwander (Explores the measurement of circles and the constant Pi).

• Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland (2001) – Cindy Neuschwander (Focuses on angles, degrees, and protractors).

• Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter (2006) – Cindy Neuschwander (Explores the concepts of area and perimeter).

• Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens (2009) – Cindy Neuschwander (Teaches place value and counting by tens).

• Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map (2012) – Cindy Neuschwander (Explores coordinate planes, mapping, and directions).

• Sir Cumference Gets Cálculo! (2019) – Cindy Neuschwander (Introduces early calculus concepts through medieval problem-solving).

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Children's Books About Fractions & Pizza Math

• Full House: An Invitation to Fractions (1998) – Stuart J. Murphy (Uses a strawberry inn and a growing number of guests sharing snacks to teach basic fractions).

• The Doorbell Rang (1986) – Pat Hutchins (A classic story about sharing cookies evenly among friends as more guests arrive, perfect for division and fractions).

• Apple Fractions (2002) – Jerry Pallotta (Uses apples sliced into halves, quarters, and eighths to make learning fractions visual and hands-on).

• Fraction Fun (1996) – David A. Adler (Uses everyday objects like pizzas and candy bars to explain parts of a whole).

• Pizza Party! (2017) – Grace Maccarone (A fun, early-reader book featuring sharing and dividing pizza slices).