tltree Activity Pages

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Graphics and reproducible pages are located in the frame at the bottom of the page.

To print, click on the printer icon in the frame and select the pages you want.

Summer Fun

Carol Hartery's Free Activity Tools

Carol's Reproducible Buttons

Carol's Reproducible Fire Extinguisher

 

Hi Everyone,

Cantaloupe, blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon are tasty snacks that look more and more appealing in the grocery stores these days. Summer fruits are coming into season! Now is the time to introduce these healthy food choices into your curriculum.

Anansi and the Talking Melon by Eric Kimmel is a humorous tale about the African trickster, Anansi. Anansi convinces the other animals in the jungle that his cantaloupe can speak and the resulting mayhem thrills him. After sharing this story with your students, slice up a cantaloupe and have them sample a chunk of it at snack time. Present a quick math activity by asking the graphing question, "Do you like cantaloupe, Yes or No?" Talk about the results of this activity. How many people said, "Yes? No?" Which answer had the most? Least?

You might also extend this story by predicting if a whole cantaloupe will sink or float, if a slice of cantaloupe with the skin still on it will sink or float, or if a chunk of skinless cantaloupe will sink or float. Record the predictions on a chart and then experiment to confirm the results of your predictions. Record the results of the experiments and compare those results to the predictions.

We also carry large and small watermelon note pads from SHAPES, ETC. Use either the watermelon or strawberry note pads for additional graphing activities, "Do you like strawberries? Do you like watermelon? Do you prefer watermelon or strawberries?" Or use the large watermelon cutout for math workouts. Write a numeral on each cutout and have your students place the corresponding number of watermelon seeds (raisins or black beans work well) on the cutout. The watermelon game shown below was created with clip art from Frog Street Press.

         

Look for great watermelon songs in Sing a Song of Seasons from Mailbox books. Raffi sings "Down by the Bay" on his Singable Songs for the Very Young cd. We also carry a picture book of the song. Additional summertime songs that your students will enjoy include; "Going on a Picnic" from Raffi’s Corner Grocery Store cd and "Going on a Picnic" from Carole Peterson’s HUM cd.

May Monthly Idea Book for Preschool-Kindergarten, May Reproducible Activities, Kindergarten, Organize May Now! Preschool, and Organize Summer Now! Preschool are Mailbox books which feature activities that will support a summer fruits or a picnic theme. You’ll find additional strawberry, watermelon and picnic thematic activities posted on one of my favorite web sites....www.thevirtualvine.com.

             

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey is a story that every New England child should know. Robert McCloskey is a suggested author in the Massachusetts Language Arts frameworks. After reading this story you may want to create a Venn diagram with your students. Have them relate information from the story that just applies to Sal, just applies to Little Bear and is common to both Sal and Little Bear. For example, Sal walks on 2 feet, Little Bear walks on 4 feet, and both Sal and Little Bear like to eat blueberries.

Your students can share this information verbally or pictorially. Venn diagram charts, pads, and pocket charts are available in both stores.We carry a large pail notepad from SHAPES, ETC. which you could use to create counting mats (see photo below) to extend Blueberries for Sal. Number the pails from 0 to 10 and have a student place the corresponding number of blueberries (blue pompoms) on the pail cutout.

The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood, and Lunch by Denise Fleming are stories you’ll want to share with your students. Extensions for Lunch and other stories by Denise Fleming can be found at www.denisefleming.com.

tltree.com carries a variety of note pads from SHAPES, ETC. that will be fun to include as props for these stories. There are large and small strawberry and mouse "Shapes". See below for "How to print on Shapes Notepads" instructions and learn how to run pages from note pads through the printer and add text to them. And, be sure to visit www.shapesetc.com, where you will find many other great "How to Ideas" for the classroom.

Enjoy!

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