Free Printable Play Money, Coin Patterns for Math Lessons

Pi Day, March 14, celebrates math. Money math is a favorite with kids. They love play money. Kids learn math skills pretending grocery store or consumer math. Interacting with play money, children learn to count, add, subtract, multiply, divide and skip count by fives, tens and twenty-five. Making change teaches counting backwards.

Consumer math is great way to demonstrate positive and negative numbers. Positive numbers are money you have. Negative numbers can be thought of as money you owe. Money math teaches fractions, decimals and percent, using credit, interest, fees, sales an discounts as examples.

Here are links to free printable play money. Print play money and use in preschool learning centers: house, store, bank and practical life. Use free printable play money in math, marketing, life skills and economic classes. Using play money helps prepare special needs students for real-life experience and transitions.

Printable Play Money had gobs of printable American money in all currencies, including bills and denomination. Play money is realistic enough to use for math lessons.

Free Stuff 4 Kids has free printable play money. Print out one, five and ten dollar bills. Money Instructor has free printable money math worksheets that you can personalize with the kind and number of bills and coins you need. Print play money coins: pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars. Print bills in one, five, ten, twenty and fifty dollar denominations.

Free Stuff 4 Kids has free printable play checks for students. Practice banking, check writing, checkbook balancing and accounting. 
This blog lets you print exact duplicates of American money. Print currency: one, five, ten and twenty dollar bills.

Need free printable play Euros? Activity Village has several pages of free printable Euros in many denominations. You can print American money and play money to. Sparkle Box has money math games and play money printables, too.

For more free printable activities, crafts, cut and paste projects, games, puzzles, dioramas, paper dolls, word games, sheet music and other goodies, visit my blog Free Printable Lesson Plans.

Free Printable Lent, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week Activities

Mardi Gras--also called Fat Tuesday, Pancake Day and Shrove Tuesday--anticipates Ash Wednesday and Lent in the Catholic, Orthodox and some protestant Christian churches. These observances countdown to holy week and the Easter Triduum. Shrove Tuesday falls at a different day each year with the movable Easter feast. In 2015, it's Tuesday, Feb. 17. Although the term Mardi Gras is used synonymously with the Carnival ("farewell to the flesh") celebration, it's actually one day. Here are activities children can do to learn more about Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent.

Pray, fast and give alms. Mardi Gras is the last day of ordinary time before Lent, the 40-day spiritual pilgrimage that follows Christ on his journey through the desert where he was tempted by Satan. As Jesus fasted, Catholics are called to imitate. Fasting means giving up self-centered practices and practicing selfless acts. The principal virtues of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving (donating to those in need). At Ash Wednesday mass, the first religious event of Lent, the faithful are marked with ashes and told to "turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel."

Confess sins. For Catholics, Mardi Gras is more than just a day to party before the fasting begins. The traditional name "Shrove Tuesday" more accurately reflects the purpose of Mardi Gras. To be shriven means to be purged of sin and purified by acts of confession and reconciliation in the Sacrament of penance. On Shrove Tuesday, Catholics go to confession, pray, repent and attend prayer services.

Explore with printable Lent lesson plans. Operation Rice Bowl has free Lenten printables. Catholic Mom offers free printable Lent worksheets, puzzles, coloring pages, crafts, games and activities. Children can color Bible pictures, read from the Gospels, follow mass readings, pray the rosary and other Catholic prayers. Printables help reinforce lessons.

Enjoy Pancake Day. Traditionally, during Lent, people abstain from eating meat, sugar, sweets, oil, butter and fats (hence the term "Fat Tuesday"). To use up these ingredients so they would not be in the home during Lent (and hence a temptation), Catholics made pancakes. That's why it's called Pancake Day.

Abstain from bad, practice good. Giving up things (fasting) is a spiritual exercise. Catholics fast from meat on Fridays (in remembrance of the death of Jesus). Many give up chocolate or other sweets. Fasting is particularly healthy for everyone, not just Catholics. It purges the body and soul. Fasting helps the mind focus on spiritual things. Lenten fasting resembles the dietary laws of other religions, notably Kashrut (kosher) Jewish laws, Buddhist and Muslim Ramadan fasting practices. But it's not just about giving up bad habits. It's about learning new healthier ones. So encourage children to give up something they like (candy) and work on improving a behavior--manners, tidiness, getting along.

Free Printable Food Journals, Online Calorie Counters for Health, Science

To address growing children's health concerns--diabetes, nutrition, obesity, fitness and general wellness--several groups have developed health programs written at kid level. They offer free printable food journals, online fitness trackers and nutrition planning tools. Geared for elementary to high school age kids, these programs teach self-sufficiency and basic life skills related to health.

  Choose My Plate , a service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offers kids meal planners, free online food journals, free printable nutrition trackers and other helpful resources. The site is designed for adults but has materials adapted to children, too.


  Chartwells (a school nutrition program) has an initiative called "Eat Learn Live" which provides free printable food journals and diet trackers and other health tools for kids, parents and teachers. Many schools across the U.S. partner with Chartwells and use the program in their food service program. This link explains how Eat Learn Live works in schools and how it can be adapted for home use.


  Chartwells offers nutrition data personalized to specific school breakfast and lunch menus. Kids can track food intake using menus they actually eat from. Using this tailored data, kids can plan their eating and measure their nutrient intake. You can also access this information from your school's food service link on the school website. Chartwells Eat Learn Live resources page has information on carbohydrates, calories, vitamins and minerals, fat, sodium, protein and other food data.


  Of particular interest is the Kidnetic webpage. This site gives kids free printable activities, online health games, online food journals and fitness trackers and healthy recipes. Kids often eat less healthy foods because it's easier and quicker. They come home hungry and want to eat immediately. The food tips and recipes on Chartwells give kids healthier eating options. Snacks can be made quick and easy with little parent supervision. This is especially good for kids who are home alone after school.


  Another useful student health website is BAM! Body and Mind (a service of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This site cover all areas of child health: nutrition, fitness, dental care, illness, immunity, drugs and medications, substance abuse, weight problems, depression, emotional health, bullying, peer pressure, relationships, family health and social skills. Written in cartoon graphic novel style, kids can play games and interact online. BAM! offers kids free printable exercise calendars and food journals.


 

Free Printable Sid the Science Kid Lesson Plans

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Free Printable Black History Month Lesson Plans

Black History Month is observed in February, in the US. Schools will usually offer special programming, content or lessons on issues and events that are significant to African Americans. Students explore biographies and contributions of famous black Americans. They read books written specifically about or by African Americans. 

I received emails recently for free Black History Month teaching materials. Shmoop is an education site I'm subscribed to. It offers an array of free printable lesson plans, study guides, activities and worksheets geared toward upper elementary to high school. There are 25-plus pieces of content available free on Black History Month. Teachers and homeschoolers you can access these, by registering and use in your classrooms. Students and parents, there are study aids for you too. 

I couldn't find one page with all the offerings. So I linked to the American History 1850-2014 page. From there you can navigate to the 1450-1849 pages, plus a photo archive and AP history helps. Here's the link to the free literature lessons page. Look there for reader guides on books of note in black history. Here are some lesson subjects you'll find: 

Slavery
Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance
Jim Crow
Civil Rights 

Desegregation

“Black Power” 

Famous court cases impacting slavery, integration and civil rights

Race issues in US wars: Revolutionary, Civil, WWII
KKK
Civil War
Abolition

Antebellum America

Reconstruction

FDR’s New Deal

Race in music history: jazz, blues, rock & roll
Desegregation in schools, sports
Boycotts

There are teaching guides for poetry and books of Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Phillis Wheatley, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry, Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain and Harper Lee. 

Scholastic offers an extensive collection of Black History Month lessons on a spectrum of subjects. There are online activities, free printable worksheets, simulation games, book lists, study guides. Scholastic provides materials for students Pre-K to grade 8. I linked to the complete list and you can refine your search by grade and activity type. 

Use these to help students of all backgrounds explore these integral parts of US history. We took these images at Henry Ford Museum in Detroit. We sat on the actual bus Rosa Parks rode. We looked at the "whites only" drinking fountain and the eerie Ku Klux Klan robe. Even though we're all history buffs, it gave us a new perspective, from the inside out, on black history. Whenever possible, as educators, we need to provide kids with living history experiences like this so they can learn in a multisensory way. 

Free Printable Early American History Lesson Plans -

I'm a teacher, homeschool veteran and American history reenactor. I teach a 1700s-era dame school(here's a model one at Thursley in Surrey, England) at our local history museum "Feast of the Strawberry Moon" encampment. Here are free printable hands-on early American history lessons and historical crafts and free printable colonial America lesson plans.

Teach about school history. Explain that education wasn't compulsory in the U.S. colonies till 1852 and then only in Massachusetts. Kids might be taught in "dame schools." Then only basics. Women weren't deemed capable of teaching boys. They taught handicrafts, reading, writing and ciphering. Higher education was taught by men to families who could afford it. Here are free printable history lessons and historical crafts from Kidipede linked to the main page for the whole collection.

Reading in Colonial America. In 1647, reading, writing and Bible was mandated, under the Old Deluder Satan Act. The New England Primer was used starting in 1760. MacGuffey Readers came out in 1836. But that was the colonies. The Michigan territory was settled by Catholic French. Education came from missionaries, like Quebecois Ursuline nuns under Marie del Incarnation. Catholic or Protestant, instruction was religious and moral. Here are free printable selections from the New England Primer. Teach kids the famous alphabet poem beginning: "In Adam's fall." Here are morecolonial early American history lessons.

Colonial America ladder school. Teachers grouped students by age and ability. In math, the first row, the youngest, worked on counting. The next row, basic addition. The next, subtraction and so on. Spelling, reading, and handwriting would be taught this way, too. D emonstrate this with students. If students are agemates, assign some to play older kids and some younger. Arrange seats or benches in rows (ladders). Here are sample free printable early American history lessons like those teachers would have used.

Make homemade books. Vellum was a costly paper-like material made from animal membrane. This could be scraped down and reused. Few could afford it. But they would have saved and reused everything. Teach kids colonial America frugality. Make books from paper grocery bags (similar to parchment or butcher paper). Sew pages by punching holes and weaving with pieces of twine, rope, yarn or leather cording. Have students write the New England Prime Bible poem and illustrate. Here are other free printable colonial early American history lessons and historical crafts.

Hands-on math games: Give children pebbles for counting. Kids transfer one pebble from hand to hand as they count. Demonstrate simple operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. I've used beans, but tell kids these were food stuffs and wouldn't have been wasted. Shells, feathers, sticks would likely have been used.

Writing in early American history. Make slate pencils. Children in early American history used slates and a stylus made of rocks. Gather rocks. Scratch on pieces of rock tile. Ask local rock or tile dealers for samples. See which kinds write best. Make quill and ink. Cut the end off the feather at an angle. Heat in flame to make a nib. Ink would have been too expensive. Only scholars, professors, scribes (professional letter writers) and maybe officials used it. Make ink from berry juice or by soaking walnuts, but remind students food would not have been wasted on ink.

Make stick pencils. Kids and teachers used what was on-hand, probably writing in sand or dirt or with sticks. Make pencils burning the ends of sticks. These colonial America activities give children cultural immersion in time periods, that goes was beyond the textbooks.

Free Printable Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lesson Plans and Activities

With the discussion of placing an image of Harriet Tubman on the U.S. $20 bill, attention focuses on black history. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January and February is Black History Month. In early summer, the United States focuses on American history with its observance of Memorial Day, Flag Day and 4th of July. But really, every day should honor such important contributions of American people and every month Americans should celebrate U.S. history.

Here are free printable American history lesson plans on the great civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Jr was born on January 15, 1929. MLK and was shot by an assassin's bullet on April 4, 1968. Use these free printable lesson plans to explore this legendary hero in the classroom, homeschool, scout troops 4H and social groups.

Nobel Prize has free printable MLK Jr and black history lesson plans, As the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martin Luther King Jr. is featured on this website with a comprehensive bibliography of resources. About has an entire unit of free printable Martin Luther King Jr activities, including a 5-page activity booklet Happy Birthday MLK by Jean Marzollo. It covers the life and work of Dr. King. The lessons guide students through readings, discussions, response activities and higher order thinking skills questions.

Mr.Donn has free printable American history lesson plans, created by a teacher for teachers. There are close to 30 links for free printable lessons, posters, coloring pages, worksheets, fill-in-the-blanks, puzzles, coloring pages, literature study guides and activities based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Some black history favorites include a Unity Hand Wreath cut and paste craft, a Box of Crayonscoloring craft and Breaking Color Barriers (a science object lesson for children)

ABC Teach has 16 free printable lesson plans focused on world peace and unity. There are crafts, writing prompts, posters, games, coloring pages, word search, worksheets, reading activities, acrostic forms, poetry frames and much more. After all, peace, unity and brotherhood was what Dr. King was all about.

ABC Teach MLK has free printable writing prompts, worksheets, lessons, games and activities about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his speeches, including "I have a Dream". There are Black History Month activities. In conclusion is a quote from that famous speech made by Dr. King, made on August 28, 1963 at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Free Printable Winter Solstice Activities, Lessons

Among the high profile holidays­­ Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa­­there is the lesser known, sometimes forgotten winter solstice. Thewinter holiday is an ancient pagan rite, celebrated around December 20­23, in connection with the shortest day of the year.

Here are free printable winter solstice activities, snowflake crafts, holiday games, winter science and solstice social studies lesson plans. Pagan Druids and Wiccans commemorated winter solstice. This winter holiday also marks the first day of winter so it's a great time to teach calendar skills, marking time, changing seasons, the solar system, astronomy and constellations.

Apples for the Teacher has a whole unit on winter and pagan winter Solstice. You get free printable winter solstice activities, snowflake crafts, puzzles, mazes, word searches, poetry, crossword puzzles, short stories, jigsaw puzzles and worksheets to study the winter season. Cutting paper snowflake crafts teaches math, geometry and measurement activities. Snowflake crafts are perfect for hands­on winter holiday math lessons These free printable winter solstice activities and snowflake crafts are geared to preschool, general education and special needs classrooms.

ABC Teach has gobs of free printable winter holiday worksheets, writing, counting, reading, numbers, letters, math and science activities. You'll find free printable coloring pages with winter scenes, snowmen, snow sports and more. Scroll down the page for free printable preschool and elementary winter puzzles, cryptograms, mazes, shape books, rebus puzzles, matching games, cut and paste crafts, Venn diagrams, writing prompts, winter word wall, word search, snowy story starter and winter worksheets.

The Teacher's Corner has free printable pagan winter solstice activities to fill your homeschool or classroom with winter fun and learning. Print many free printable worksheets, reading, writing, crafts, games and science activities. Artists Helping Children has many free printable winter solstice craft activities for kids. Children will love learning about holidays from around the world. Winter Solstice is one of the oldest pagan winter holiday celebrations in the