Kid-friendly patriotic party foods and 4th of July recipes children can make themselves

Hello my Omschool friends! I'm teacher Omi (grama) and today I have some ideas to share about fun  red white and blue snacks and homemade patriotic party foods for 4th of July. These patriotic recipes use inexpensive foods,  are easy to make with a few simple tools and do double duty as food craft projects. Even the youngest can help (grandson Remus and granddaughter Flora, that means you. Baby Max you can lick the spoons and supervise!) Older children, you can be in charge of seeing to it everyone has what he or she needs to make these yummy food crafts! Some of these are for Memorial Day too. 

 * Remembrance Day cake. Bake any flavored cake and frost white. Let each guest write the name of

 a loved one who has passed away in red or blue frosting. Write "we remember" in the center.

 * Fruity Flag cake. Make red velvet cake. Frost with white frosting or whipped topping. Arrange sliced

 strawberries in rows to form stripes. Place blueberries in top left corner (with white frosting showing

 through) to create field of stars.

 * RWB candy flag cake. Make flag cake with red velvet and white frosting. Decorate with red and blue

 M & Ms.

 * Star-spangled jigglers. Make blue and red finger Jell-O (use less water or add unflavored gelatin to

 make Jell-O Jigglers). Cut into star shapes. Mix with white mini marshmallows.

 * Patriotic stained glass cookies. Cut refrigerated sugar cookie dough into triangles. Arrange point

side out to form star. Place clear blue or red Jolly Rancher candy in center. Bake cookies and melt

 candy to fill center.

* RWB cole slaw. Shred white daikon radishes or cabbage with purple cabbage. Cut red peppers in star shapes. Add mayo, celery seed and a little celery salt. 

 * RWB coolers. Mix Squirt and cranberry juice. Make blueberry or blackberry ice cubes or use blue

 popsicle as ice cube.

* Patriotic Party Potato salad. Boil potatoes and eggs. Cool, peel and dice. Add chopped purple cabbage, purple cauliflower, diced red pepper and onion. Toss with mayo and garnish with red smoked paprika. 

 * Flag kebobs. On large wooden skewer, alternate strawberry slices or raspberries, blueberries and

 white marshmallows.

 * Patriotic parfait. Layer in fluted parfait glasses: whipped topping and vanilla or blue mermaid pudding, blueberries,

 raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.

 * RWB cheesecake. Make or buy a plain cheesecake. Make concentric circles of raspberries,

 blueberries and strawberries. Make "stars" with white decorators frosting.

* Super star sandwiches. Cut cheese slices and lunch meat in star shapes. Or cut sandwiches in star shapes.

 * Letter and number pretzels. Have children make Memorial Day themed words: American, freedom,

 stars, flag, 13, USA.

* Patriotic pasta salad. Cook star pasta till tender. Toss with sliced grape tomatoes, black olives, mini cucumbers, pepper jack or mozzarella cheese cubes, mini pepperoni, diced purple peppers and mayo. Garnish with lightly crushed blue corn chips. 

 * Red and purple pepper slices with ranch dip. Or hollow out red peppers and arrange blue corn chips

around the edge. Fill with white sour cream dip. 

* Sweet Freedom trail mix. Mix vanilla yogurt covered raisins or pretzels, strawberry yogurt raisins, blue gummy candies or fruit snacks, strawberry and vanilla or Rice Chex. 

 * RWB dogs. Serve hot dogs on white buns. Garnish with mayonnaise dyed blue with blueberry juice or red with beet juice. For vegetarians, use  white Mozzarella cheese sticks, blue mayo and ketchup.

Homemade US history games and patriotic crafts for 4th of July with free printables

Hello Omschool friends! Teacher Omi (grama) here with educational US history art projects and patriotic crafts just in time for 4th of July (also called Independence Day). Use these patriotic crafts in homeschool, day camp, VBS or other summer enrichment programs. 

* 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 science experiments using these finger paint and regular paint recipes. Make patriotic RWB paints and crafts for 4th of July with Nate and Rachel (safe enough for toddler crafts). 

* Decorate tote bags. In times past, kids' art projects were learning activities and their learning activities did double duty as chores or making of functional items.  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, even the cat-can dip her palm (paw) and make 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 a free printable flag bingo game. 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. 

* Flag foods. The US is a melting pot of nationalities. People from all over the world call the United States home. Set out different foods from around the world and put toothpick flags in them to identify country. Or just put out assorted flags and play a game of matching food to country of origin. 

* Personal logo T-shirts. Famous Americans--Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson--are known by mottoes. 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 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.

A to Z Summer Enrichment activities for kids of all ages

Greetings and welcome to almost summer vacation at the Omschool! Teacher Omi and Opi (<---) here with some some educational summer vacation tips. Summer vacation means different things for kids and parents. Students rejoice in the holiday. Parents worry how time away from school will affect learning. The problem is compounded when children already struggle academically. Summer school is an option, but not very popular with kids. Tutoring is costly. Working parents or work-at-home parents lack time to tutor. How can you ensure that your child retains what he learned in school? Here 26 tried and true summer enrichment activities from A to Z. I've included fun homework ideas to  practice, retain, learn lessons. Use for homeschooling families, charter public and parochial school  kids. Perfect for all ages and content levels.

 A is Ask for help. Do you have a friend or relative willing to spend half an hour every few days helping your child with school work? Senior citizens are especially good at helping kids learning those pesky  times tables, encouraging the reluctant reader or explaining difficult science concepts.

 B is borrow. Schools and libraries lend textbooks, workbooks, games and teaching supplies. Check out museums for activity kits you can borrow. Also B is for build. Help children set up outdoor work stations (very Montessori!) where they can build bird houses, bat boxes even simple furniture. Or build Legos. 

 C is Create. Sing. Draw. Paint. Build. Dance. Sew. Cook. These tasks are the 'to-do' list for genuine

 educational development. Also C is for community resources. Check out municipality websites for local events calendars. 

 D is Discipline. Maintain a summer routine. Schedules help children organize, prioritize and

 experience success.

 E is Exercise. The brain functions best when the body is active. And summer is the perfect time to get outside and play! 

 F is Fix (repair, replace, remodel). Give your child several household items that need to be repaired.

 Provide tools, demos and safety instructions. What better way to discover how things work than to

 take them apart and put them back together?

 G is Garden. Tending plants is an educational curriculum in itself. Gardening is healthy, therapeutic,

 relaxing and interactive.

 H is Hire an older child. Contract that child to assist with reading, writing and math practice. This is win-win for large multi-age homeschool families. 

I is Investigate. Examine. There's a world of information in every flower and butterfly wing. Take a look.

 J is Join a group. Local communities offer hundreds of activities for children. Summer reading

 programs, museum activities, nature hikes, tours, sports clinics, day camps, art venues and more. 

 K is Keep a journal. Students who journal develop writing and critical thinking skills. Illustrate, too.

 Drawing encourages and inspires the reluctant writer.

 L is Listen. Parents habitually talk to children more than they listen. If you are an active listener, your

 child learns to be a good listener and speaker. It improves reading and writing too!

 M is Make new friends. The new kid on the block, the lonely old lady next door, even a little brother.

 The lessons learned in making and keeping friends are invaluable.

N is for No Technology Times. Dedicate time to turning off phones, computers, video games, TV, even Alexa. This includes parents too (unless work requires it of course). Encourage kids to do real, active,  hard copy activities! 

 O is Organize. Success in school requires organization of time and resources. Give your child  opportunities to practice organizational skills. Our grandson Silas loves Legos so he was given plastic sorting containers to organize his millions of Legos. 

 P is Play. Dr. Maria Montessori said that 'Play is a child's work.'

 Q is Question. Teach your child to ask questions. Ask detail questions, not 'yes-or-no' questions.  Why? How? What do you think?

 R is Relax and rejuvenate. You and your child have worked hard all year long. You both deserve and  need some down time. No one can pour from an empty cup.

 S is Serve. Volunteer. Do kind deeds for others in need. Helping others is a life lesson.

 T is Teach by modeling. Ask your child to 'teach' you. Be a good student. Listen and ask questions. This is an excellent way to assess what she is learning. 

 U is Understand. Be patient with your child and yourself. If your child struggles in school, it doesn't  mean that either of you is a failure. No two people learn in the same way; accept your child's  individual style.

 V is Visit. Take field trips. Go lots of places. See new things. Experience your world. You can't explore  too much!

 W is Write. Let students write poems, mysteries, essays, reports, ghost stories, jokes, silly stories,

 graphic novels, cartoons, create a neighborhood newspaper. Write letters to extended family! 

 X is Explore and Examine. Every community has untold resources. Explore the history of your town,  the local wildlife, area businesses, interesting people...You'll be amazed at what you learn.

 Y is Yard Sale. Going to yard sales and having your own yard sale is excellent practice in handling  money. Build math skills in an interactive hands-on activity.

Z is Zip to your local library. Check out summer reading programs, Internet resources, educational  speakers, classes and more. Your library is one-stop shopping for summer enrichment activities.

Patriotic Memorial Day games US history activities for kids

Hello my dear friends of the Omschool! Teacher Omi loves holidays! Do you? Which holiday is your favorite? Mine are Easter, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. In today's post I'll share some interactive Memorial Day activities, games and lesson plans that focus on US history. But don't forget that Memorial Day is also about honouring our beloved dead. My omis and opis called it Remembrance Day. And I have school and homeschool activities for that aspect too. 

Meanwhile, if you're looking for patriotic themed Memorial Day party activities, here are educational U.S. history party games. Use these for 4th of July parties and American history lesson plans, too. Don't make games too competitive so everyone can have fun without pressure to win. Here are some free printable American history and patriotic coloring pages to supplement lesson plans. 

Memorial Day (or Independence Day) Scavenger Hunt: List 20 American themed symbols: flag, scroll for Declaration of Independence, statue of Liberty, elephant, donkey, bald eagle, bell, stars, globe, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, star stickers. Collect items that represent American products: wheat, corn, cars, cattle, fruit. Collect logos of American companies. List 50 items to symbolize each of the fifty states. Put one of each symbol per child in a zippered bag. Hide them around the yard. Give each player a list and a plastic bag. As child finds each, he takes one and puts in his bag. Or put a piece of paper near each for him to sign his name as he finds the item. 

Red, White and Blue Rover. Give each player the name of one of the 13 original colonies: Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, North and South Carolina, New York, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey. New Hampshire and Maryland. Divide players in two groups. Each group links hands and takes turns calling for one person from the other side to try to break through the chain. For example: "Red Rover, Red Rover, let Georgia come over." 

Armed Services eraser tag. Make two sets of signs with the six branches of the United States armed services: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard. Divide kids in teams. Give each child a sign. Kids place one of their shoes in the center of the circle. When branch is called, both children with that sign rush to grab their shoes and return to their lines without the other tagging. Award points like this: two points for getting your shoe back home without getting tagged. Three points if you get your opponent's shoe. One point if you tag your opponent before she's safe behind the line. 10 points if you get both shoes. Lose 5 points if you grab the wrong shoe! 

U.S. History charades. Put names of famous Americans, events, movies, books in history. Students works in teams to act out and guess what or who is being enacted. 

Free Printable Mother's Day greeting cards, craft activitites and coloring pages

Hello my friends! Teacher Omi here wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day a few days early.  And to celebrate, here are free printable Mother's Day greeting cards and craft projects to make with children. Kids can print and color these craft activities and give them to mom, grandma, aunties and friends. Children feel proud when they can make things for others and parents feel good seeing their children feel proud, so win-win! 

The Yellow Bird House (<--click here) is a beautifully laid out website with free printable paper craft activities and more. Visit it free Mother's Day craft projects to make and give. 

Parents magazine has free printable Mother's Day crafts and greeting cards. Some are designed in black and white so kids can color and personalize. Cards designed in color, can be printed in black and white and made into color-your-own for Mother's Day. Set your printer properties to "black cartridge" or "Print in grayscale" from the color option tab.

Parenting.Lee Hansen has about 25 free Mother's Day printables and graphics that can be made into cards. Free Printable has even more free Mother's Day greeting cards to print out. There are vintage images, classic pictures as well as lettered Mother's Day banners that would make nice table or room decorations.

Coloring Castle has free printable color your own Mother's Day greeting cards. Cute little designs for children to color. Perfect for grandmothers, too.

Free printable Cinco de Mayo lesson plans, activities, crafts and party ideas

Ola! Mi amigos and amigas de la Omschool! Magistra Omi here with some fun activities for Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo means the fifth of May. But it isn't the Mexican Independence Day nor the equivalent of the U.S. Fourth of July. Cinco de Mayo is the day people of Mexico remember El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (Battle of Puebla). Cinco de Mayo is mostly an Americanized Latino holiday. But also a great day to explore Mexican culture. Here are free printable Cinco de Mayo lesson plans, worksheets and games.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clever Ways to Inspire Reluctant Readers (or how Anansi Mommy tricked Jakey into Loving Books!)

Hello my friends of the Omschool! So teacher Omi hasn't always been an Omi (grama). First I was a mommy (isn't that nice how that works?) And one thing that is very important to me as a kid, teen, adult, mom AND Omi is reading. I love books and have a massive (like in the thousands) collection. Omi and Opie (grampa) have been reading to our four children and their children since they were infants.

But there was one member of the family who did not like books or reading or sitting on laps to read for any length of time. And that member was Jakob. It was boring to read and he had better things to do, like getting into mischief.  It took precious time away from playing with light sockets and other such dangers that he routinely terrorized his parents with.  He wasn't just a reluctant reader, he was recalcitrant, resistant and rebellious. 

Now I know this will worry you and it sure did me. You all love books and listen attentively to stories, I'm sure. Well, I was worried that Jakob would grow up to be illiterate and how embarrassing would it be for a TEACHER who loved books to have a son that did not. Not to mention how terribly sad it would be for him not to know the joy of reading. 

But don't you fret. Because this would-be sad tale has a very happy (and funny) ending. Our little book antagonist grew up to be their biggest champion and to delight in reading. He reads to his children now and they have many favorites too. But it didn't happen by accident. How it happened requires a story in itself. And one of my other favorite things to do is tell stories. So get comfy and we'll begin it. 

Now, there is a character in African folklore who is called Anansi. Anansi the spider by name and trickster by trade. All the great oral traditions of fables have one such character. Loki, Coyote, B'rer Fox to name a few. These characters love to play pranks. And as you may know, pranks can be hurtful if meant in a mean way. And Anansi the trickster is no exception. Some of his tricks are not so nice. Some also come back to bite him. 

But some turn out to be a good thing such as when he conned the sky god Nyame into giving out his stories to us. What does this have to do with Omi and Jakob? Well, Omi had to play Anansi and trick Jakob into listening to a story and thereby finding that he liked them. Here's how she did it. 

The other children were listening to Dr. Seuss stories and Jakob was, of course, monkeying around when he should have been paying attention. The other kids went off to play having enjoyed the books. And Omi decided that enough was enough. Jakob was going to sit and listen if it took me all day. I tried begging. And bribing. I tried to interest him in book after book to no avail. Finally in desperation, I pretended to give up and just read to myself. And I said so.

I picked up a random storybook, "Milk and Cookies" (Frank Asch) as it so happens and read "silently" but making as much noise as possible. I gasped! And yelled "OH NO NOT THAT!" I acted afraid and then laughed really hard. And then shrieked in alarm.  Jakob, being very curious, came scurrying over to see what the commotion was all about. As he climbed up on my lap and demanded to know, I snapped the book closed and wouldn't let him see. 

I said (very dramatically) "Oh no, this is far too scary for you to hear!" And went back to noisily silent reading. He begged and pleaded to hear it. And finally I relented and read him the story. He listened with bated breath (never catching on that it was not scary at all). He demanded to hear "Mach and Cookies" three times in a row.  And from then on, when story time was announced, he was the first one on the lap. Our little rebellious reader who had turned up his nose at books could now always to be found with his nose in one!  

So I can take some of the credit but not all. Mr. Frank Asch and Baby Bear deserve their fair share for helping me convert a sweet little rebel to bibliophile! 

Helping grownups find joy in difficult or sad times (yes you can, children!)

Hello my friends of the Omschool! I'm talking specifically to children in this post. You have probably heard growups talk about all the bad news in the world. And that can be very scary. I remember when I was 5, in 1969, hearing about terrible things that happened to some people in a place called L.A. (Los Angeles, California). It was extra sad because it happened very close to my birthday. 

I felt scared then and sometimes even as an adult I feel scared, especially for my dear grandchildren and you who I think of as my friends too. I think lots of grownups feel scared and worried sometimes. They probably feel sad, like Teacher Omi, that we can't fix all bad things. And neither can you. But it's okay, my dear children. We don't have to. All that is asked is that we try and do our best to be kind, helpful, loving and joyful. And when we can't be those things, to say sorry and keep trying. 

Did you know it's okay to be happy even if bad things are happening? It is. I promise you. We're not happy ABOUT the bad things. We are happy just because, in spite of bad. If you believe that God loves you and I do, we can feel good to be alive. Not everything in your life is perfect. I know each of you lives with some things that are hard or sad or maybe even bad. I'm sorry for that. I wish I could fix it for you. I hope it  helps to know that you are not alone. That someone cares. I care. 

So today, just for today, let's look for things that make us smile. You could go for a walk. Teacher Omi and Opi (grampa) went for a walk on the beach yesterday. It was cold and rainy and so pretty. I took  my shoes off and ran through the wet sand. I admired a dog's big paw prints. I watched a grownup swing on a swing.  I dipped my toes in the very brr-chilly Lake Michigan water. It made me smile and then laugh! 

It made Opi laugh too! And that's another fun thing about finding joy. You can spread it to other people. You don't HAVE to make them smile, it's not your job. But you CAN share what makes you happy. And maybe it will make them happy too. When I was little, I liked to go for walks to the same beach with  my Opi Kinney. We would collect rocks, shells and driftwood. This made us both happy. 

It makes me happy now, and it makes me cry a little to remember times with my Opi and Omi now that they have gone to be with Jesus. It's okay to cry too. Sometimes, would you believe, an adult's tears come from joy? We're funny like that, aren't we?  So today, wherever you are, I hope you find some time to dig up some  joy treasure in your world. Whether you live in a hot desert in Israel or a cold tundra in Russia or an apartment in a big city. Whether your home is in a nice neighborhood in Cleveland, a little beach town in Muskegon or on a bayou in Louisiana. Or a farm. Or in a subdivision. There are wonderful things for you to discover, just for the looking.  

I would love to hear about the things you see and hear and find on your walk. You could leave a comment and picture if you like. It would make me smile to see you smile. Love is a circle, like that. What goes around, comes around and back to you! Here is a song about that explains this beautiful process, which you might like to sing on your walk. It was written by Carol Johnson a very nice lady I was lucky to meet. It's called "Love Grows One by One"

Blessings and peace to you, dear children! The picture is Omi and Opi exploring a pier and lighthouse! 

Catholic Christian Holy Week devotions with free printable Easter and Lenten activities

Hello friends! In the Omschool, we are Catholic Christians. We observe the Lenten season, which begins after Ash Wednesday and goes up to Easter. It's a journey with Jesus. A Catholic follows the Lord through the desert. The Catholic Church prays the Stations of the Cross Lenten devotions and goes with Jesus on his way of sorrows to the cross. During Lent, a Catholic tries to imitate Christ in humility, prayer and sacrifice. Lent culminates at Palm Sunday and Catholic Holy Week which ends in the Passion, death and resurrection of Christ at Easter. To teach kids about the significance of a Catholic Holy Week and the importance of Lenten devotions, here are Bible object lessons using Easter eggs. In these Easter egg crafts, children explore the Easter story in hands-on Bible object lessons.

Holy Trinity Bible object lessons. Decorating Easter eggs is a great time to teach Bible object lessons. Use Easter egg crafts to teach children about the Holy Trinity. Show children that the eggshell is white, smooth and pure. It holds everything together and so represents God the Father. Hidden inside is the yolk, the source of life. The yolk represents God's most important gift, His son Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete, the intercessor, the go-between. So the egg white represents the Holy Spirit as it is in the middle.

Here are free printable Lenten and Holy Week crafts, lesson plans and activities for kids from DL-TK.

New life Bible object lessons. Easter eggs symbolize fertility and rebirth. In Lenten devotions, teach children that Easter eggs represent eternal life. Just as birds care for their young in eggs and rejoice when newborns emerge, a Christian experiences new life or rebirth from old sins in Jesus. Hiding Easter eggs simulates how a Christian should seek God. Easter baskets simulate nests which shelter baby birds. God shelters his children in safety of his love. Children might decorate their Easter egg crafts with images of birds, nest, chicks, spring, the cross or Jesus.

Ministry to Kids has free printable religious Easter coloring pages. 

Catholic Mom has free printable Holy Week activities for kids and Sunday Mass gospel reading printables too. 

Lenten devotions: Catholic Holy Week countdown using Easter eggs. For these Easter egg crafts. you'll need 8 plastic eggs, a basket and Easter grass or green construction paper. For Bible object lessons, place one item in each egg that relates to the Easter story and a slip of paper with the Bible verse that mentions the item. You'll find the Easter story in the Gospel of Luke chapter 22, 23 and 24 (verse 1-12), or Mark chapter 11 (verse 1-11)chapter 14, 15 and 16 (verses 1-8). It's contained in the other two gospels as well, but Luke and Mark are the best retellings.

Label each egg as follows and place these items inside:

Palm Sunday--a piece of palm, dry grass or a plastic donkey (to remember Palm Sunday, when Jesus made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem)

Monday of Catholic Holy Week--a piece of cracker or crouton (to remember Christ's institution of Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper)

Tuesday of Catholic Holy Week--a dime (the 30 pieces of silver Judas was paid to betray his friend Jesus)

Wednesday of Holy Week--a tiny piece of branch with thorns (Crown of thorns)

Holy Thursday--a nail (to symbolize that His hands and feet were nailed to a cross)

Good Friday--a cocktail sword or toothpick (to remember that Jesus was pierced with a sword in his side, from which poured water and blood)

Holy Saturday--a stone (the stone that was placed in front of the tomb of Christ and later miraculously removed)

Easter Sunday--Nothing! This reminds us of the empty tomb on Easter morning.

Open one egg each day from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. Light a candle for this special time. Ask a young child to explain to the family or group what this item could mean. The family can share their ideas, experiences or scripture references to the item. You might all sing a hymn or chant to remember this part of the story. Sing Crown Him with Many Crowns, All Hail the Power of Jesus's Name or Te Deum. Extend Easter egg crafts, by having children to illustrate Bible object lessons they've learned. Combine illustrations in a family memory book and use for Lenten devotions in years to come.

For the love of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, thank you for making each day special

 Hello my dear children and adult friends of the Omschool. Today I'm thinking of one of my most beloved television performers and that is Fred Rogers" of Mister Rogers Neighborhood and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. I was a little older by the time Mister Rogers came on TV and we didn't  have television anyway. But quite early on I must have watched an episode because instantly I was enamored with this gentle man and his friends in the real people neighborhood and the one of his imagination. 

When I became an adult and a teacher (and had an old B&W TV finally) I'd turn on the show and watch it to relax after a long work day. It was a sort of spiritual experience, like doing daily devotions going with Mister Rogers to meet his neighbors and the lovable characters who inhabited Make-Believe. When children came along they were introduced to and loved "Missa Rowie" in their turn too. 

There's nothing very fancy about the show. Just a pretend house, a trolley, puppets, props and some people to visit. Sets for TV shows were different back then. Some were even set all in one room, like the Honeymooners. Mister Rogers had a table and a few chairs where he'd talk with people or do simple craft projects. He was so affirming and positive. Always smiling. I'll bet he smiled in his sleep.

When I was younger, I didn't live in any  house or  neighborhood long enough to consider it mine. I spent a lot of time alone. I just read that Mister Rogers did too.  Though his family had a nice home. I guess that just shows that people can feel lonely in a variety of circumstances. 

I can relate to his experiences of being teased for weight problems. By people who were lonely and miserable themselves and who needed to hear the message Fred would grow up to tell the world. I identify with being unable to participate in sports because of health issues and being misunderstood for that. His make-believe world has extra special significance. I love how he turned misfortune and misunderstanding around to create puppet friends for himself and for us. This resonates. 

I created worlds in my head. I recall playing alone down by the fishing docks in Alaska and making a homemade fishing pole. It didn't work but I persevered despite teasing from the fishermen. It still didn't work.  But that didn't stop me pretending it did. I didn't have any toys so I mentally repurposed a stump into a rolltop desk with acorns and bits of moss as office supplies. 

I read about fantastically beautiful places called Tashkent and Samarkand when I was five. I thought they were only pretend and that magic carpet was the only way to get there. Well, 53 years later, I discovered, wonder of wonders, they're real! And I can visit! I don't need a magic carpet (but it's still fun to fly that way). 

I would sit behind a chair at the babysitter's and envision a ballet studio. I had an entire routine worked out in my mind. I didn't have any dolls just mental images. I might have seen a book on Juilliard. And didn't know any of the words. Those would come later when my own daughter danced. And for so little knowledge, my imaginary ballet was pretty accurate. 

Maybe that's why I liked Mister Rogers' community. And I liked him for peopling it with kind people. When life hands you bullies, make neighbors. And maybe why it made me a little sad too. A yearning for something I would have liked to be part of. But you know, that's where imagination and a pay-it-forward spirit comes in handy. I have a never met a person I couldn't befriend. I cherish them all and you can never have too many. 

I think Mister Rogers felt the same way. He wanted us to feel welcome. When I'd watch TV at Grama's house I thought the people were talking to me. They weren't of course. Except for Mister Rogers. He talked to us. He made us feel seen and heard. He made up songs to help us with challenges we might be facing alone. Even if you were an adult. He risked ridicule and censure to get the message across that kids, that we, were important and that he cared. I don't know about anyone else but I believed him. 

Mister Rogers was the patron saint of my classroom and then later homeschool. And I appreciate his kindness and warmth. I want to spread some of that in my own way, through this website. I don't know who reads it but I want you to know that I don't need to, to care about you. This world is a better place with you. 

So celebrate the wonderful world of your imagination! Build your oak tree rolltop desks and barnacle fishing poles. Or whatever YOU want to build!  Go to Uzbekistan or wherever YOU want to go. Dance your arabesque or whatever YOU want to do! Do it for it for us all!  

And because this blog is about free stuff too, here are some free printable Mister Rogers Neighborhood coloring pages! And here are some coloring pages of his best-loved character Daniel Tiger. Blessings and peace to you from the Omschool. You really do make each day a special just by being you. 

Free kids trash craft projects with recyclables and printables

 Hello my friends of the Omschool! Teacher Omi (grandma) here with some easy, free trash craft projects to make with your recycle bin and some free printables. So I call these trash crafts because we reuse items that would probably get tossed in the trash. These are just right for Earth Month with an environmental focus on reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose.

Today's trash craft projects feature ways to reuse plastic milk jugs. Here are ideas to make recycled milk jugs into sand toys for the beach and garden tools. Make a set of eight recycled sand toys and garden tools, just in time for spring break and summer fun. Homemade kids trash crafts from recycled materials are great for beach play. If they get broken, you're not out any money!

Repurpose and reuse recycled milk jugs for preschool, school, scout troop, 4H group, camp and day care kids crafts. These recycled kids crafts work well for small hands. And because you know I'm all about Montessori and homeschoolers, these activities are geared for the multiage classroom. 

 You'll need

-two clean plastic milk jugs per child 

-permanent marker 

-scissors (children's Fiskars scissors work great) 

These crafts projects allow kids' to make a gardening bucket or plant starter with garden tools and a sand pail, strainer and sifter sand toys 

To begin, draw a line around the base of your recycled milk jugs, about three inches from the bottom. Poke a hole anywhere in the line with sharp scissors. Cut along the line to remove the top half (set aside for later). Now you have a sand pail or gardening bucket or plant starter. 

For sifter or strainer sand toys or garden tools, poke holes in the bottom of recycled milk jugs.  Repurpose and reuse the remainder of recycled milk jugs for other sand toys and garden tools. Draw a circle around the top of the milk jugs, about two inches down from the mouth. Poke a hole and cut around the circle. Now you have a funnel or sand castle mold for beach sand toys. 

With the leftover piece, you can make a trowel or shovel. To make a trowel, draw along the indentation on the jug where the handle is. Snip the lower end of the handle to separate it form the jug. Poke a hole on the line and cut along the line. Trim the top part above the upper end of the handle to a v-shaped point. You will have a flat surface with a handle to smooth out surfaces and a corner surface for edging. These garden tools make great hoes or trowels for a small garden or potted plant. 

If you cut it with a zigzag edge it can be used as a garden rake. These simple kids crafts provide excellent scissors skills practice. Make a shovel by drawing a circle around the part where the lower end of the handle attaches to the jug, about an inch or so from the handle. Snip the top end off from the jug. Cut along the circle you've drawn. Now you have handled shovels to use for sand toys or garden. 

I'll add pictures later when Omi and Opi finish the milk in the milk jug. 😀For more super easy, cheap or free kids trash crafts visit FreeKidsCrafts.  You get free printable craft project patterns for all the crafts shownd. 

Mousekin children's book series lesson plans for life science

Hello friends of the Omschool! Teacher Omi here with some beloved children's literature classics from my childhood! Just in time for Children's Book Week and Earth Month in April, here are kids books that for preschool and emergent readers on nature. And these books star a little creature named Mousekin in his many woodland adventures. 

Using the Mousekin book series, by Edna Miller, you can teach complete units in life science. With Mousekin, childrean explore camouflage, hibernation, ecosystems, habitats, symbiosis and more. Edna Miller, a naturalist and children's book author introduced us to Mousekin, a white-footed mouse, with her first book Mousekin's Golden House, in 1964. 

Here are lesson plans using the Mousekin books in preschool and elementary life science activities. Each Mousekin book contains a glossary of science terms and animal species, as well as suggested reading and further reference.

Mousekin's Golden House (1964) Perfect for Halloween, fall and autumn harvest lesson plans. Looking for a place to hibernate in winter, Mousekin discovers how other forest animals prepare for winter. When Mousekin finds a discarded carved jack-o-lantern pumpkin, he makes it into a cozy winter den. Children will learn about how eastern woodland habitat creatures ready themselves for winter.

Mousekin's Christmas Eve (1965) Our furry friend finds another cozy nest when he finds himself unexpectedly indoors for the holidays. 

Mousekin Finds a Friend (1967) Seeking safety yet again, the little white-footed mouse discovers an ally in s surprising way. He learns more about predator, prey and also community relationships in the animal kingdom. 

Mousekin's Family (1972) Through the eyes of a young mouse, we see how different animal species raise their families in the wild. 

Mousekin's Birthday Lovely story of gestation, birth and care of a family of white-footed mice. Beautifully drawn images. 

Mousekin's Woodland Sleepers  (1970) Companion book for Mousekin's Golden House, Mousekin's Woodland Sleepers explores in more detail how different species hibernate, including where they hibernate and how winter sleep cycles work. Mousekin meets a hibernating woodchuck, bear and chipmunk. Mousekin also learns about predator/ prey relationships in winter, including the predatory screech owl, skunk and fox who do not hibernate. Excellent book on habitats.

Mousekin's ABC (1972) Excellent forest field guide and reference book.

Mousekin Takes a Trip (1976) Mousekin ends up in a new environment with new creatures when the house he's wintering in migrates south! 

Mousekin's Close Call (1978) While eluding a hungry weasel, Mousekin explores how different creatures protect and camouflage themselves and their young. Mousekin's Close Call shows different predator/ prey relationships, habitats and how the food chain works in an eastern woodland forest.

Mousekin's Mystery (1983) A forest fire leaves Mousekin homeless and fills the forest with an eerie glow. Mousekin discovers bioluminescence from the fox fire fungus. This book explores habitats and symbiosis also.

Mousekin's Thanksgiving  (1985) In his quest for winter food stores, Mousekin discovers that some creature is eating his winter stores, but in the process, making more winter food stores available. Mousekin's Thanksgiving explores how creatures rely on each other in a symbiotic relationship within habitats.

Mousekin's Easter Basket (1986) Perfect for spring lessons, Mousekin explores different nests and eggs in his search for shelter. Perfect book to help children identify how birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles design their nests and protect their young.

Mousekin's Lost Woodland (1996) Mousekin's beloved home is destroyed when the shared pond is drained to build a new house. Teaches children about deforestation, wetlands protection and ecology. 

There are a few I may have missed as Edna Miller was a prolific writer, penning Mousekin stories for over 30 years. 

Kids Book Party Planner with Children's Literature Book Crafts, Games, Snacks, Printables

Teacher Omi coming to you live from Grand Haven, Michigan, where it is raining and wet! So at least its not snow, BUT it's also too cold and wet to play outside. And you know what bored kids turn to, when they're rainy-day-bored: mischief! Did we learn nothing from the Cat in the Hat? The kids are the well-behaved ones and it was the cat who is the troublemaker! Why not stir up a little fun instead of trouble, with a cheap (mostly free) afternoon of fun, compliments of your storybook shelf. 

 

Here's a snowbound or rainy-day book party planner for kids, with children's literature crafts, snacks and storybook games. I've included free printable kids' book coloring pages to help keep youngers ones busy too. These book based activities are perfect for all ages. They're just right for Children's Book Day April 2 and Earth Month in April! 

What I do in the Omschool is to first, announce a book party. Stay-at-home parents, if at all possible, take the afternoon off and read to kids. Homeschoolers this is perfect for you! Turn off the phone, computer, music and television. Set younger kids to work creating book party decorations with these free printable book crafts links.

Next, pile the couch and floor with squishy pillows and cuddly blankets. Invite stuffed animal friends. And make a pillow pile. Make it the youngest toddler's job to collect supplies and create the atmosphere. Grandsons Emmett and Remus, I spy you for this task! Everyone gets to select his or her snuggle spot. You can even tell the kids to put  PJs on or do the book based costumes activity listed below. 

Now, choose a snowbound or rainy day book party theme--adventure, mystery, spring, fantasy, animals-- and let each child, including the baby, choose several of their favorite books on that subject. Our youngest Maximus loves his tail book from Omi and Opi so this would be a must-read. Or just keep it open-ended. Rotate reading one of each kid's chosen children's literature books. Parents, you get a pick too. 

Warning--be careful reading scary kids stories. Even books you didn't think would frighten may scare kids silly if read by a talented storyteller. I chose Sherlock Holmes "The Devil's Foot" one of my favorite scary stories) for one snowbound book party. I thought the children might be bored by Arthur Conan Doyle's Victorian English. After reading a bit, I looked up to ask if they enjoying and saw eight bulging eyes and four mouths gaped. In unison, they commanded, "READ!!" At bedtime, four tired children insisted they couldn't sleep it was that scary. They're in their 30s now and still fondly remember being scared to pieces and loving it! 

Decorate the house for the snowbound or rainy day book party and wear costumes. Put energetic kids to work making storybook based decorations and costumes of their favorite characters from kids stories. Themes might be nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fantasy (even older kids will love this). Kids who are -10, like my older babygrands Silas, Moses, Lola, Lucian, Henry, Milo and Juno will love this part. Anyone who can't participate fully due to limitations, such as my grandson Ezra who is laid up with a broken leg, is the automatic Party Commander-in-Chief. All decisions must go by him! (But do involve them as much as they possibly can.) Here are free printable spring coloring pages from Crayola to help. 

This should be completely DIY. Don't buy anything: set out the recycling bin, dress-up clothes, bedding, towels, boxes, camping furniture and craft supplies. Make bored children put their vivid imaginations to work. Our granddaughter Flora loves her trampoline, so that would make a marvelous setting for the party. 

Good children's literature kids stories to use are: "The Chronicles of Narnia", "Aesop's Fables", "Grimm's Fairy Tales", "The Hobbit", Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss or children's literature about the Bible, cars or animals. This will keep kids busy for hours, which is good if you have to do the book party on another day. Edupics has a gazillion free printable coloring pages on pretty much any subject you come up with. 

My oldest son did this with his college roommates for a going-away party. They decorated rooms in different biomes: mountains, desert, rainforest. They made treasure maps, games, and choose-your-own-adventure activities. Again, let creativity and ingenuity, not Internet or wallet dictate activities! We're going for cheap. Think leftover cardboard, recycle bin, foil scraps and things like that. Here's a Pinterest board with all kinds of free printable kids book based games and another with free printable library books scavenger hunt games. 

Make snacks. Inventive children will enjoy creating festive treats from children's literature. Again, don't buy anything special: use leftovers and let them experiment. Serve tea, coffee, cocoa and cookies like grownups do at their book clubs. Kids love pretending to be adults. One of our family favorite books parties consisted of reading Paddle-to-the-Sea and eating a gallon of pickles! Last Sunday, our son reprised this book party with our grandkiddos! 

Use your storybook selections as springboards for ideas; Make foods listed in kids stories. Some, like American Girls, have accompanying cookbooks or recipes listed in the back. We once had a vintage Winnie-the-Pooh party and made Pooh recipes of haycorn pie, succotash and honey cake. Engage kids.

Children who like writing might write a journal entry about the storybook. Preschoolers and special needs children might illustrate kids stories they hear. Let kids draw and color while they listen. This keeps fidgety ones busy. Don't make is too schoolish. Keep the focus on fun.

Free poetry month lesson plans, poem templates, activities for young poets with printables

Hello and welcome to Teacher Omi's (grama's) favorite month or one of them! April celebrates many things including National Poetry Month. And April's other hat of Earth Month  nicely matches her poetry dress! So from the Omschool, where everything's coming up crocus and daffodil, here are free poetry month lesson plans, poem templates and activities for young poets. And you know that everything Omschool comes with free pintables! And, since the Omschool originated as a homeschool (33 years ago!) these poem activities will be geared to all ages, right down to the newest of my dynamic dozen babygrands, Max and Flora (Omi loves you all so much💕)

Acrostic name poems and All about Me poems The best place to begin is with what the child knows. So make an acrostic with his or her name. Juno- Jumping joyfully UnderNeath and Over. All about Me features kids filling in blanks with words to describe themselves. Bonus added use opposites, like " I am____ but I'm also _________. I  like ______ and I don't like ______. 

Nature Wander and Write. You get the best April has to offer with a BOGO nature walk and poetry slam! The concept is simple and the materials are few. (Mothers of many and teachers of crowds, rejoice!) You basically just find a pretty spot to wander, a meadow, field, by a brook, at the beach, in the woods. Equip each student over 7, Silas, Moses, Lola, that's you, with a pencil and notepad. Or for youngers, Lucian, Henry, Milo, Ezra, Juno this means you, each gets a box with crayons and paper. The mobile newbs, Emmett, Remus and Flora, get a box to collect samples. Max, your task is to supervise and provide commentary. The idea is to note down or draw interesting things you see. Once indoors you can complete your poem or poem drawing (art is poetry just with pictures, just like poetry is art with words). 

Gestalt Poetry Ponder Gestalt is a German phrase meaning that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Nowhere do we see this so clearly as in nature. So for this type of poetry, simply bring in one natural element. Might I suggest the humble yet regal pussywillow (called kitty toes, by son Jake) Or Omi's personal favorite, a sprig of dogwood? Arrange it in a simple vase. Or give each his own to explore VAKT (visually, auditorily, kinesthetically and tactilely). Students should note down or draw observations. They should experiment with different descriptor words. This makes a nice language arts-science connection. 

Adverbs and Adjectives Adventure After collecting your nature observations, begin your poem by creating a chart. List what you see, hear, taste, smell and touch (nouns) and words to describe those nouns (adjectives). Then list what happened or what the nouns did (verbs) with words to describe how it happened or how they did it (adverbs). Use my poem (free printable, btw) Achy-Lake-y Michigan Scent at the Grama-Grampa House  for examples. This is basically just my list of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs about a walk to the lake. 

Haiku for You The humble haiku is a perfect poem starter activity for kids. Instead of rhyming, it relies on pattern of syllables. The 5-7-5 pattern is pretty easy to master. But don't let kids get bogged down by strict adherence, either. As with rhyme poems, haiku can be flexible too. It's more important to get a rhythm that flows. And sound byte is king. If kids have a juicy word they just have to weave in, let 'em do it! 

Making noise with Edgar Allen Poe-etry Mr. Edgar Allen Poe might have had his dark side but I think he was a kid at heart because he was all about the sound poems called (delicious word!) onomatopoeia! Simply, it's words named from the sounds they make: bang, crash, boom, and such. The Bells and The Raven being two famous poems. So, how to begin? By listening. Even the silence makes sounds of a sort. Describe, in words or by drawing what you hear. What is the wind saying? Or the waves? Or your cat? Use my poem Campfire Songs and Lightning Bugs or Fireflies to explore how sound is used in poems. Look for all the onomatopoeia examples you can find. 

Assonance and alliteration in verse Not all poetry rhymes or has a certain number of syllables. Some, like onomatopoeia, relies on sound to create a rhythm or cadence. One way to achieve that is by using repetitive vowel sounds (assonance) and consonants (alliteration). In Campfire Songs and Achy-Lake-y, I used moan-groan, thunder-crumble crunch assonance and "endlessly tameless" alliteration to generate a sound pattern. Can you find other examples? Now write some letter matches of your own.  

Farad-ing Poetry Michael Faraday was an inventor who discovered the Farad (electrical unit) which was later named for him. That's what happens when a word is lacking. We make one up. I don't know if Poe invented some of those onomatopoeia,  but I do know that I have and you can if you can't find just the write word for your poem. In my Campfire Songs poem I made up (or at least I think I did) the words sklush and sklish. Others like crickle-trickle and worry-hurry I combined from others words. And Dr. Seuss, if the man gave us anything, it was permission to make up fun words! Gardinker and hakken-krakks being two of my favorites. 

Rhyme-time So of course, rhyming uses sound to creates poetry. I like writing this kind and you might too. But I prefer the other kinds best. Having to create rhymes can cramp your word choices. You end up discarding words you'd like to use to fit the rhyme. And it takes practice to write in rhyme too. Begin by generating a list of rhyming words and patterns. Use my poem For the Love of Alyssum to go by. You'll see what I mean about how I had to sacrifice certain words for ones that fit. It's good to practice on rhyme poems but the other sound kinds will likely be more satisfying. And then there's

Free verse Fun My grandkids know that I love the poem "This is Just to Say" What they don't know is why. It's just a note on a refrigerator. What's poetic about that? And I think therein lies the crux of poetry. It's a state of mind? Just like how do Jackson Pollack's pain splotches constitute art? Is it okay to just write a list of stuff and call it poetry or throw paint at a wall and call it art? I don't know. But I think with children and new poets especially, it helps establish the habit if there aren't a bunch of rules to bog you down. So for this exercise, just have kids start writing, anywhere. Put a word in the middle of the page and write words around it. That becomes a shape poem. Make a grocery list and look for sound patterns. 

"twelve yellow lemons" 

"squash to nosh"

"ruby red grapefruit"

"green beans" 

It's all about the celebration of words. Oh and for the littles, sorry, forgot to list activities for them. The best exposure is to give them brightly colored and musical toys to explore with all their senses. Not the electronic ones, please. Avoid those. Toys with real bells, shakers and noisemakers that's the kind I mean. Oh and give them cloth books to touch and feel. Mr. Max loves his fuzzy tails book from Omi and Opi. 

Ken Nesbitt Poetry4Kids has free printable poetry templates, poem patterns and poem lesson plans. Red Dragonfly on My Shoulder is a great Haiku read-aloud. We are teachers has more free printable poetry frames and templates. 

Free Biomes and habitats lesson plans with activities, worksheets and printables

Hello my Omschoolers! Teacher Omi here with another batch of free geography and science lesson plans, this time featuring biomes and habitats. These are biological ecosystems (habitats) of plant and animal life that grow up around the temporal zones created by geological and geographical land and water formations and the weather and climate conditions they create. It's all down to the water cycle, my dears! 

So to begin with, what in the world are biomes? A better question might be where in the world are they? And the answer is, everywhere! Each region of the world has a biome (flora and fauna) that has developed in response to the geographical and geological features of the land and its water sources. These have created weather patterns and climate conditions which have in turn surfaced that land and caused certain vegetation to grow or not grow. And that in turn has caused animal life to develop certain features. Even the people that originally inhabited a place had to adapt to their environment. 

Here are the OG biomes that came into being: forests (tropical, temperate, and boreal or taiga), grasslands (savannas and temperate grasslands), deserts, tundra, and freshwater and marine ecosystems.  Each requires certain amounts and kinds of precipitation to maintain it. And the creatures that live within these do so in remarkable symbiosis.  

Unfortunately, human development of (aka building on) land has changed it. Plant and animal life has been deprived, driven out and eradicated by plowing under, draining, drying up, tearing apart, deforesting, polluting, filling up, drilling into, concreting over homes and biomes and stripping of resources. We see in The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss a parable about the outcomes of environmental destruction. So where creatures live now and what vegetation grows there has radically changed in many areas. But that's content for another day. 

Here are free biomes lesson plans from Lesson Plans that Rock. I checked all the links included and they work great! And here's a printable biomes lapbook pattern and tutorial to create it. Here are free biomes coloring pages to print from Ask a Biologist. And you can still count on EdHelper for great preschool animal science lesson plans. I'm also delighted to see that Mr. Donn is still around with free geography lesson plans, activities and printables galore. Plus every other subject in the curriculum! Has it really been 15 years since I discovered this site??