Back to school activities: make nature science detective kits

Hello my dear friends of the Omschool! A hearty welcome to the next year in our adventure--back to school! Here are some nifty back to school STEM activities and lesson plans geared for all ages from 3 to 103! Make nature science detective kits to explore wildlife science concepts. Use this activity to welcome kids back to school. Kids will love playing nature CSI investigators! Homeschooling parents will love these multiage inexpensive, hands-on science lesson plans too. 

You will need one of each of these items per student:

--large gallon size zipper bag or cheap carry-all bag to store supplies

--plastic magnifying glass (available in bulk at Great Party, Party America or Oriental Trading)

--cheap one-subject notebook

--pocket folder (cheap at Walmart, Staples, Target, Amazon)

--plastic disposable gloves (choose latex free; give each student one pair)

--tweezers or cotton swabs (both would be useful, but use cotton swabs to save money)

--3 or 4 specimen bags (snack size Zip-Loc)

--3-4 larger specimen bags (sandwich size Zip-loc)

--sheet of label stickers

--pen and pencil

-- roll of invisible Scotch tape

--several pieces of yarn or string

--box of crayons ($.25 at back-to-school sales)

--ruler or measuring tape (here's a free printable rulers and squares.) check for other free printable measuring tools. 

How to Use Nature Detective Kits:

Make kit assembly part of the lesson. Set out supplies in stations and give students gallon zipper bag and supplies list. This provides experience in counting, sorting and organizing.

Using stickers, kids label notebook: Investigator (name)____________ or Detective (name)____________. Label bags: Exhibit A, B, C or Evidence. As evidence is collected, data and date should be added. For example: 'beetle exoskeleton 9-3-2015.

Go on nature investigation hunts around your neighborhood, school playground or camp. Assign students different items to investigate, native to your area. Students should not keep living specimens, but they might bring a bug box to temporarily house and examine a living critter. Look for evidence of living creatures: bug carcasses, exoskeletons, fallen leaves, feathers, owl pellets, seed pods, rocks, fallen nest, bits of animal fur, bark samples, plants, flowers and rocks.

Have students draw living creatures, homes and habitats: spider's web, bird's nest, wasp's nest, rabbit hole, ant hill, scat (animal droppings). Students should record when and where they observed it. Students shouldn't touch but may observe scat(animal droppings) or dead animal remains.

In class, have children discuss and hypothesize on findings at their level of reasoning. Students might create a natural history museum displaying what they have found. Students can act as young docent guides, explaining discoveries to visitors. This makes a superb activity for parent-teacher conferences, which come early in the year before teachers have had time to collect much student work. It's ideal for summer camp, too. 

Save money at Back-to-school sales and give school supplies as Halloween candy alternatives

Hello friends of the Omschool! I'm so excited! As much as I'm sad to see summer go, Back to school is one of my favorite times of the year! It deserves a celebration all it's own. But I'm also cognizant of the fact that everything costs more and back-to-school shopping is no exception. As mom to a large family and now Omi to a much larger crew, I'm all about saving money. So back to school sales are a great way to cut costs not only on BTS items but also gift giving occasions. Repurpose school supplies for Halloween Trick-or-Treat giveaways, Christmas stocking stuffers, party prizes, birthday presents and more. As for Trick-or-Treat, it's high time to start thinking outside the candy wrapper anyway. Here are 70 Halloween candy alternatives you can pick up cheap as you do your back-to-school shopping. Non-candy treats are perfect for kids  on special diets. Teal Pumpkin Project participants, use this list of treats for diabetic candy-free alternatives for kids with food allergies and ADHD.

 All or these items can be found for $1-$2 per dozen or less. Shop for back-to-school at Walmart, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Target, Dollar General, Aldi and Meijer. Check Oriental Trading catalog. Shop bulk and clearance bins and shelves at party supply stores for inexpensive birthday prizes. Look for tax free days and free shipping on BTS purchases at Amazon and other online vendors. 

Give school supplies as Halloween candy alternatives. Give pencils, rulers, drawing compasses,  markers, scissors, mini-markers, mini stampers, crayons, glue sticks, scissors, pencil sharpeners, tape, mini  staplers, notebooks, books and folders. Give craft supplies instead of Halloween candy. Kids love  cheap craft sets, activity booklets, mini paint sets, decorated pens, scented pens, gel pens, play dough, goop, putty and colored pencils.

Give birthday party prizes for Trick or Treat. Children's favorites are: adjustable rings, navigational  compass, key chains, fake fangs (very popular), slide flutes, Chinese handcuffs, tops, mini kazoos,  party poppers, noisemakers, yo-yos, glow bracelets, slide puzzles, mini games, finger puppets, fake  fingers, finger gliders, mini puzzles, ring toss games, squishy eyeballs, glow-in-the-dark insects, plastic toy animals, toy soldiers, toy cars, ball and jacks sets, snap bracelets, prisms, bracelets, necklaces, puzzles, squirt guns, squirt rings, whistles, kaleidoscopes, sticky hands, harmonicas,  paratrooper toys (with plastic parachutes attached) and growing creatures in capsules (these look like pill capsules and when put in water, expand).

 Need super cheap Halloween giveaways for large crowds of kids? Give out balloons, stickers, Band Aids (seriously crazy popular), temporary tattoos, spider rings, friendship rings, bouncy balls, bat rings,  jumping spiders, Comparison shop and you'll find cheap prizes cost about the same as candy. 

And when choosing Halloween candy alternatives or any toy prize giveaways, think more educational and less cheap landfill fodder. School supplies are perfect to this end. So are prisms, musical instruments like kazoos and harmonicas, kaleidoscopes, gyroscopes, plastic animals and insects. The little paratrooper toys, Chinese handcuffs and expanding pill capsule creatures help demonstrate physics principles to simple object lessons too. 

Love to you all and best wishes as we head back to school for another adventure filled year! 

Blueberries for Sal and Mystery in the Night Woods lesson plans with free printables

Hello friends of the Omschool. I've got great news that I'm very excited to share! We're going live! (or virtual live). Starting this week, my grandkids and I are going to begin doing lessons collaboratively on Zoom. We're doing multi-age, cross-curricular, STEM and social studies heavy units based around classic literature. We begin by reading Blueberries for Sal (youngers) and Mystery in the Night Woods (upper elem). You are welcome to join us! I'll be recording some of  our sessions for Youtube. Hear is our itinerary of lesson plans. 

further recommended reading:  

Time of Wonder

One Morning in Maine

Green Eggs and Ham

Teddy Bear Picnic

The Biggest Bear

Mousekin’s Golden House

all Mousekin books

Smokey the Bear books

Lesson plans:

·         Spelling words: can (canning), jam, blueberries (and other berries), Mother, Bear (bare), hill, little, pail (pale), winter, summer, crow, stump, Sal (pal, call, ball) child (wild), tremendous

p  practice one way each day

·         Write poem with rhyming words

·         Book discussion 

·         (BFS) Comparison/contrast of kids’ lives then and now chart. What they have that we don’t and what we have that they don’t  (toys, cars, homemade things) 

·         (Both) Hibernation, animal habitats, animal-human interactions 

·         (BFS) Grammar: onomatopoeia Plink, kerplunk, kuplink, boom, crash, smash, munch, caw (Read The Bells, EA Poe, my poem)

·         (both) Nature hike (look for animal signs, fur, slime trail, prints, eggshells, nests, scat, owl pellets, fossils, rocks) GA and O Here’s a rock guide and see below for animal tracks. https://miningmatters.ca/resource/rock-identification-guide and here’s a scat guide Scat-Identification.pdf (gross, I made myself sick)

·         (BFS) Make a recipe from blueberries (jam, pie, canned blueberries, muffins, salad, flag cake, soup, BBQ sauce) (O for ideas, GA)

Ø  (BFS) Write recipe and add to family recipe book. An easy one would be fruit flag salad with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and white cheese cubes. Or fruit kebabs with blueberries, strawberries and white cake or cheese cubes.

Ø  (BFS) Plant parts chart: list across top (root, stem, leaves, flower, fruit, seeds) then cut out or draw pictures of different fruits and place in categories. 

Ø  (Both) Stuffed animal graph (collect animals and place them in rows to show what animal group they are: insect, mammal, fish, bird, reptile, amphibian (O then GA)

Ø  Hide and Find. Make a treasure map showing where to find the bear and blueberries she has hidden, or a map for FS to get off the island and back to his tree.

Ø  Make toys for babies and toddlers with found objects (like Sal’s canning rings) 

Ø  Write to Maine tourism board for free travel info or search Google to find a secret link to a free travel brochure you can download. (IT)

Ø (both) Make clay animal tracks or play animal tracks matching game animaltracksposter.pdf this can be colored, cut and assembled or just printed for reference. Here are flashcards https://explorationamerica.com/free-printable-animal-tracks-explorer-id-cards/ Kids should discuss in their group meeting differences between each animals footprint, whose are webbed, whose show nails, etc. Teach term scat.

Ø  (both) Make animal puppets from scraps.

MITNW

Ø  Words: mystery, night, woods, weasel, squirrel, owl, bat, badger, toad

Ø  Nocturnal/diurnal animal chart

Ø  Act out story

Ø  Read aloud, round robin

Ø  Character web (how each relates to each other)

Ø  If/then or cause and effect choices flow chart:

Ø  Character traits of each

Ø  Make a hearing aid like the ear horn

Ø  Tree chart of who lives where, food chain

Ø  Research animals: badger, flying squirrel, bat, snowy owl, weasel (mink, ermine) stoat, bullfrog

If/If/ then or cause and effect chart. If FS had seen Miss Owl as a friend, not a possession. If he had respected her. If  he had not kidnapped her. If he’d allowed her free choice to be with him. If she had been angry and not forgiven him. If Weasel had worked with FS not betrayed him. If FS had not made good his bad choices. Where did FS start going wrong and where did he correct it? And how? What was FS’s major character flaw and how did he, if ever, correct it? Which events were caused by FS’s pride? Seven deadly sins. 

 

Extensions

Ø  Art (pen and ink drawing)

Ø  Caldecott medal

Ø  Maine travel exploration

Ø  Animal scat sorting game with free printable animal scat 

 

Supplies list

·         Blueberries

·         Book copies

·         Clay or playdough

·         Ingredients for whatever recipe they choose with berries

·         Folder

·         Calendar or planner (tons to print online)

·         Two notebooks or five subject (will be reused)

·         Tweezers, zip bags, gloves, magnifying glass

·         Cellphone would be nice

·         Recycle bin scraps to make animal graph, plant graph, toys for littles

and maps (let them spill coffee on maps and crinkle to look old, lol)

·         Paper for plant parts chart

·         Markers

·         Magazines to cut scraps

·        Cardboard

·        Tape or brads

Scissors

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.