Do your kids love learning about insects? Insects are fascinating for young learners. I am always amazed at how much kiddos already know about insects when we begin this unit. I usually divide my insect studies into sections. We usually learn about one insect a day. Here are a few activities that we complete!

 I usually begin my daily insect activities with a slide using my projector. These insect slides are included in my insect unit!

Kids LOVE making hats! Each spring, my kindergarten class spends a couple weeks focusing on life cycles. We learn about the life cycle of a frog, chicken, butterfly, and plant. Hats are a fun way to end the unit, and they let the kids show what they know. I created this set of life cycle hats for young students. Students order the life cycle on the hat and then wear them home to show their parents what they have learned. These hats turn out simply adorable, and are a great independent activity that can be incorporated into centers. 

You can get the template for all of the life cycle hats here!

Do you have a letter of the week in Kindergarten? At the beginning of school, we focus on one alphabet letter each week of school. This helps kinders really "grasp" each alphabet letter, instead of rushing through them too quickly. I created this set of alphabet bulletin boards to become a "focus wall" in the classroom. The bulletin board can be changed quickly each week, with little prep involved. Each bulletin board has an alphabet poem, letter formation cards, bulletin board heading, and alphabet pictures that begin with the given letter. The kiddos can use this as a tool for writing, shared reading lessons, letter formation help, and more!







I also created this set in black and white!  You could have one of the kids color in the pieces if you need to save ink. I always have students that love to be the teacher's helper.

I will start with my bulletin board looking like this blank one. You can add any color of construction paper that you choose to match your classroom. The only thing that you will have to change each week is the letter cards, poem, and picture cards! 

Get my alphabet bulletin boards by clicking here!


Grab this pin to come back!

If you are looking for a quick "parts of a plant" craft to go along with your plant study, check this out! It takes very few supplies, and can be done independently by your kiddos. 

The supplies needed are green pipe cleaners or straws for the stem, green construction paper for the leaves, brown construction paper for the roots, and a cupcake tin for the flower. I found these adorable flower cupcake tins at Wal-Mart in the Easter section, and they were perfect for this project!

 The steps to creating this flower are simple. The kiddos place all of the parts on a blue piece of construction paper. The cupcake tin is the flower and it is added first. The kids then add the green pipe cleaner stem. I cut these in half and they were the perfect size. Green paper is used to cut leaves. The kids can create these on their own to  make them unique.

 

The parts are then all arranged as the picture shows. The roots are added to the bottom. You can add labels if you choose. The end product is adorable.