Love to Laugh and Learn

Fun and interesting learning activities to do with the children in your life

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

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Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss




Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, lives in the hearts and memories of many. As his birthday approaches, on March 2nd, we reflect back on how he has touched so many lives.

We each have our likes and our dislikes among his books. One of my favorites is “Hop on Pop”. I love it, especially for early readers, because there are so many “word families” for them to recognize.

I have a love/hate relationship with “Green Eggs and Ham”. The story is kind of fun, but when you have a child that likes to be read the same book over and over again, this one gets a bit monotonous. I do enjoy it enough that I would share it with my preschool classes. It illustrates a lesson I taught my own children; you need to taste something before you decide you don’t like it. Every year, I would make green eggs and ham, at school, for the children to try. I’m not talking about cutesy candies that look like green eggs and ham; I mean we actually ate green eggs and ham.

Green Eggs and Ham

Here is how I created our green eggs and ham. First, I purchased a piece of ham. I place the ham in a shallow dish or bowl and cover it with water that I have colored with green liquid food coloring. I let it sit overnight to absorb as much green as possible.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Green Ham
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Green Ham

I would have the children help make the green cheesy scrambled eggs. First, they would break the eggs into a bowl and mix them up. I would then ask them what color the eggs were. At this point they look yellow. Next I pulled out the blue food coloring. Yes, blue! I’m throwing in a little color lesson.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: mixed eggs
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: mixed eggs

I ask them what color they think the eggs will turn when I add the food coloring. Some will guess blue but others will come up with the correct answer. We will have covered mixing colors earlier in the year so I hope several of them will remember. I add a little milk and then I let them tear up some American cheese slices and add it to the mixture. I have an electric pan so I would first fry up the ham and then cook the cheesy scrambled eggs. The majority of the kids LOVE them and would ask for seconds and thirds. I would make sure that everyone at least tasted it because that was the whole point of the story.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs & Ham
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs & Ham

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book? Do you have a favorite craft or activity you like to do?

Click the picture below for a downloadable recipe for Green Eggs and Ham:

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham recipe card
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham recipe card

Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard

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Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard
with free downloadable activities




I’ve always enjoyed holidays (decorating, dressing in festive outfits or colors) so I have always enjoyed celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day. As I was deciding what I wanted to put into my Saint Patrick’s Day post I realized I didn’t really know why we celebrate it. Oh, you will see me dressed in green, possibly with a shamrock somewhere on my outfit, but I wasn’t sure why. I thought some of you might be in the same predicament, so my post is going to cover some of the history of Saint Patrick’s Day.

Contents

Introducing Saint Patrick’s Day
Storyboard
Story Time
Related Posts
Acknowledgements

Introducing Saint Patrick’s Day

You might think that your child is too young to be learning history but, in reality, the earlier you introduce it and the more fun you have with it, the more likely they will enjoy it. As I state in every learning activity, I like to start with a book. Books are fun. The excitement in a child’s eyes, when they get to see or experience something they read in a book, is priceless.

I’ve listed and reviewed several picture books below in the story time section. Each of them covers some aspect of the history and meanings behind Saint Patrick’s Day. You should be able to pick most of them up at your local library. Here are 3 of my favorites, I would recommend, for beginning this learning activity:

Story Time

For 4 to 8 yrs old: St. Patrick’s Day (Holiday Histories) by Jennifer Blizin Gillis

For 6 to 8 yrs old: Saint Patrick’s Day (Holidays and Celebrations) by Ann Heinrichs Includes Irish poems, songs, a recipe and a craft.

For 8 yrs old and up: St. Patrick’s Day (Best Holiday Books) by Dorothy Rhodes Freeman

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Storyboard

Getting to tell or “read” a story by yourself seems to be one of the many joys of childhood. At least my 3 year old great-nephew really likes to take books, look at the pictures and make up his own story. In light of that, I thought making up a storyboard, about Saint Patrick, might be a fun way to celebrate this special holiday.

This activity will work best after reading at least one of the suggested books. I have created 2 versions of the storyboard. One version is for the younger child. It has all the pictures on it. The other version has several pictures missing from the storyboard. This is to encourage the child to work on sequence of events as well as retelling the story. I recommend laminating the storyboard and cards so they last longer.

After reading a book or two about Saint Patrick, take out the storyboard and cards. Have the child look over the storyboard. See if they can match or put the pictures in order (depending on the age of the child) and explain what happened in the story.

Click on the pictures below to download your free storyboards and cards.
F.Y.I. – The first page is the set of cards that will need to be cut apart.
The second page is the storyboard. The third page gives short storylines for each piece of the story; so you can help direct the storytelling.

Storyboard for Younger Child

Enjoy learning about Saint Patrick and this special holiday with this fun Saint Patrick's Day Storyboard for the Younger Child
Enjoy learning about Saint Patrick and this special holiday with this fun Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard for the Younger Child

Storyboard for Older Child (yes there is a difference, open them and see)

Enjoy learning about Saint Patrick and this special holiday with this fun Saint Patrick's Day Storyboard for the Older Child
Enjoy learning about Saint Patrick and this special holiday with this fun Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard for the Older Child

Alternative ways to Play:

  1. After the child has gone through the storyboard a few times try this different way of playing. Give the child the storyboard and then turn all the cards facedown. Have the child pick out one card and see if he/she can find where it should go on the storyboard.
  2. For multiple children: Print off a storyboard and set of cards for each child playing. Give each child a storyboard. Take the cards, shuffle them and place them upside down in a pile in the middle of the table. Take turns picking a card off the top of the pile. Place it on your board and tell the part of the story it represents. If you all ready have that card, place it face up in a discard pile. The turn goes to the next child. The first child to fill his/her board and tells the story wins. If you get to the end of the stack and no one has filled their storyboard then shuffle the discard deck and put it upside down in the center of the table again. Keep going until someone fills their board.

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Story Time

St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
Reading Level: Ages 4 to 8yrs old
I like this book for introducing the younger child to Saint Patrick and the meanings behind the holiday. It gives quite a bit of history but, with only a few sentences per page and lots of pictures, it should hold a younger child’s interest. The story covers the fact that Saint Patrick was kidnapped and forced to be a slave, in Ireland, but then escaped. It tells of his devotion to God and how he felt he should return to Ireland and tell the people about God. You child will learn the meanings behind some of the symbols we use when celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day. Sit down with your little one and enjoy learning about Saint Patrick.

St. Patrick’s Day (Best Holiday Books) by Dorothy Rhodes Freeman
Reading Level: Ages 8 and up
This picture book is for a little older child. I am very impressed with the details it gives, about Saint Patrick, while keeping it enjoyable. Your child will learn, in a little more detail, of the struggles of Saint Patrick and how he felt God’s hand on him. There is information on several of the legends surrounding Saint Patrick. Your child is encouraged to decide which ones might be true. There is information on the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day and some of the symbols associated with it. If your child is interested in learning a few more details about Saint Patrick, this is a good book to pick up.

St. Patrick’s Day (Holiday Histories) by Jennifer Blizin Gillis
Reading Level: Ages 4 to 8 yrs old
This is my favorite St. Patrick’s Day book for younger children. It has a wonderful mixture of photos and illustrations, to keep little eyes interested, as you are reading. This simple little book does a great job of covering the major points on the history of Saint Patrick. The information is clear and concise so your little one will get an idea of what St. Patrick’s Day is all about. One of the facts this story brought out (and I hadn’t thought about) is that there are now more people of Irish descent in the United States than there are in Ireland. I highly recommend sharing this book with the little ones in your life. You will be surprised how much they learn about Saint Patrick.

St. Patrick’s Day (Celebrations in My World) by Molly Aloian
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up
I like books that actually teach history an interesting way. Your children will enjoy a lot of great photographs while learning about Saint Patrick. This book covers Saint Patrick’s kidnapping as a young teenager and his calling to return to Ireland. Your children will learn of some of the ways we still celebrate the holiday today. I enjoyed this book because not only does it cover the history but also some of the music and food of Ireland.

Saint Patrick’s Day (Holidays and Celebrations) by Ann Heinrichs
Reading Level: Ages 6 to 8 yrs old
If you are interested in teaching your child about Saint Patrick’s Day, this is a great little book. It is broken up into one or two page chapters with just a few sentences on each page. There are lots of illustrations to enjoy. Your child will learn about who Saint Patrick was and the love he had for the Irish people. You will learn a couple of the legends surrounding Saint Patrick. Enjoy Irish poems and a recipe for Irish Soda Bread.

St. Patrick’s Day (Library of Holidays) by Amy Margaret
Reading Level: Ages 5 to 8 yrs old
If you are wanting your children to learn about some of the history behind Saint Patrick’s Day, this is a great book to share with them. The book covers the story of Saint Patrick being kidnapped and taken to Ireland. Your children will learn of his concern for the Irish people. They will also learn about some of the symbols surrounding Saint Patrick’s Day. This is a great book for your 5 to 8 year old to learn more about the reasons for the holiday.

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Related Posts

Learning Activities for the Color Green

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Acknowledgements

Dancing Crayon Designs

Some of the images for the Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard were created by Dancing Crayon Designs

Artistic-Educational-Clip-Art-Purple-dragon2x2 copy

Some of the images for the Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard were created by Artistic Educational Clip Art

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Tissue Covered Shamrock Craft

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Tissue Covered Shamrock Craft
with free printable




This shamrock is adapted from my Shimmery Shamrock craft on my post, Learning Activities for the Color Green. Since the legend is that Saint Patrick used the 3-leaved shamrock to demonstrate how God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit exist and work as One, I thought this craft should be changed to a 3-leaved shamrock.

Materials Needed

Materials needed for tissue covered shamrock craft.
Materials needed for tissue covered shamrock.

White cardstock
3-leaved shamrock printable
White liquid glue
Foam applicator or paintbrush
Green tissue paper or napkins of different shades
Scissors

Directions

1. Print a copy of the 3-leaved shamrock onto the white cardstock.

3-leaved shamrock craft printable
3-leaved shamrock craft printable

2. Cut the tissue paper/napkins into, approximately, one inch squares. (I purchased tissue paper at the Dollar Tree. I received several colors for $1)

3. Pour some glue onto a disposable plate.

4. Use the foam applicator or paintbrush to spread the glue on the pieces of the
shamrock. Attach the pieces of green tissue paper or napkins. Be sure to overlap them so you cover up all the white.

Tissue covered shamrock craft.
Tissue covered shamrock craft.

5. After it has dried cut the pieces apart.

6. Now you can glue your shamrock together for a beautiful creation.

Enjoy Saint Patrick’s Day with this fun tissue covered shamrock.

To learn more about Saint Patrick, please check out my post, Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard. There are several book suggestions as well as a free printable activity.

Related Posts

Saint Patrick’s Day Storyboard
Learning Activities for the Color Green

Love to Learn the Meaning of Candy Canes for Christmas

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Love to Learn the Meaning of Candy Canes for Christmas




Candy Canes: Although there may not have been any spiritual meaning to the candy cane when it was first introduced, Christians can find many symbols pointing us to Jesus from this simple Christmas treat. Some things to observe (taken, in part, from The History of the Candy Cane):

  1. Shaped like a Shepherd’s staff, which attended Jesus’ birth and Jesus is referred to as the Great Shepherd
  2. Turned upside-down it looks like the letter J for Jesus
  3. The candy is hard like the Solid Rock (Jesus) who is the foundation of the church
  4. The white of the candy represents the purity of Jesus
  5. The red represents His blood that was shed (for more on the candy cane be sure to go to The History of the Candy Cane)

“Teach the children that the cane represents The Shepherd’s staff. The crook on the staff helps bring back sheep that have strayed away from the fold. The candy cane represents the sweetness of giving not only at Christmas time, but also throughout the entire year. The spiral design is a symbol that we are, our brother’s keepers.” (A quote from the story, “Teach the Children the True Meaning of Christmas”)


Crafts
Poem
Snacks
Story Time
Related Posts

Crafts

Candy Canes with Beads and Pipe Cleaners

There are actually a couple of easy crafts to do with pipe cleaners. Have fun making them and decorating your Christmas tree or hanging them around the house. They also make great presents for kids to create and give to grandparents, aunts, uncles or other family and friends.

Materials Needed:  

Materials for Pipe Cleaner Candy Cane Craft


White pipe cleaners
Red pipe cleaners
Red pony beads
White pony beads

Instructions:

1) Choose a pipe cleaner. It doesn’t matter if its red or white.
2) Pick a red bead and put it on the pipe cleaner. Loop the end of the pipe cleaner around this first bead to secure it so it won’t fall off.
3) Now take a white bead and slide it down on top of the red bead. Keep changing colors; next a red then a white, continuing the pattern.

Candy Cane Craft

4) Once you have the pipe cleaner filled, be sure sure to wrap the end of the pipe cleaner around the last bead so it doesn’t fall off.
5) Then bend the top of the pipe cleaner over to make the hook part of the candy cane.
There you go…a beautiful candy cane to decorate with or give as a present.

Finished Candy Cane Craft
Finished Candy Cane Craft

Another simple candy cane craft:

1) Take one white and one red pipe cleaner.

Candy Cane Craft with Pipe Cleaners
Candy Cane Craft with Pipe Cleaners

2) Simply twist them together.

3) Then bend the top of the pipe cleaners over to make the hook part of the candy cane.

Candy Cane Craft with Pipe Cleaners
Candy Cane Pipe Cleaner Craft

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Poem

I suggest giving each child a candy cane or use the pipe cleaner/bead candy cane as you recite the poem below.

Christmas Candy Cane Poem about Jesus

Look at the Candy Cane
What do you see?
Stripes that are red
Like the blood shed for me
White is for my Savior
Who’s sinless and pure!
“J” is for Jesus My Lord, that’s for sure!
Turn it around
And a staff you will see
Jesus my shepherd
Was born for Me!

(Poem found on ministry-to-children.com)

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Foods for snack or meal time

I usually have a list of foods that would be great for snacks or meals but this topic makes for a rather limited variety of foods BUT I did find a great post, by Barbara Shelby. She has several ideas of things you can do with candy canes other than just eat them. For example, use them as stir sticks or smash them into pieces and use them in your favorite recipes. She even suggests crushing them into a fine powder and using them as a flavored sugar. For more detailed ideas go to her post, “Candy Canes and Peppermint Candy Ideas”.

Another fun way to incorporate candy canes into your meal time would be to make your child a Bento lunch. Bento meals are something new to me (thanks Pinterest). They are common in Japanese cuisine. One style of Bento meal is decorated to look like people, animals, buildings and monuments, or items like plants (or candy canes). Here are a few links to blogs that have candy cane bento meals. Maybe they will inspire you:

Candy Cane Bento by Glory’s Mischief
Candy Cane by Bento-logy
Bento Lunch: Candy Cane Cheese by Bento School Lunches

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Story Time

  The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Reading Level: 6 and up
This is a sweet story about a stranger that comes to a small town to open a store. The mayor hoped it was a doctor. The ladies hoped it was a tailor that would make beautiful dresses. The farmers hoped the man was a trader that would exchange their grain for goods. Can you guess what the children were hoping the store was? Yes, they were wishing for a candy store and their wish came true. The man had a strange candy that they hadn’t seen before. It had red and white stripes and it hooked on the end. Do you know what kind of candy it was? Read the story to find out more about this wonderful candy and its special meaning for Christmas.
**I put the reading level at 6 years old and above because one of the things the story talks about is Jesus dying on the cross and the red blood that He shed. I believe it is appropriate but I wanted to make sure you were aware of this part of the story. I read the story to my 4 and 5 year old preschool class but I was teaching at a Christian preschool.

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Related Posts

The Santa Claus Debate
The True Meaning of Christmas
The Christmas Star
Christmas Angels to Laugh and Learn With
Love to Learn About the Nativity
Review – Christmas on Monument Circle, Indianapolis

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Christmas Angels to Laugh and Learn With

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Christmas Angels to Laugh and Learn With




Christmas Angels – Appeared to shepherds to announce the birth of Christ

Luke 2: 8-10 “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’”

The Christmas Angels appeared in the sky, over the fields near Bethlehem. They announced the birth of Christ. You will usually find either an angel or a star on the top of a Christmas tree because of the importance of their appearances in the sky.

Following are some activities to do in relation to the angels. I hope you and the children in your life enjoy them.

Coloring Pages

If your child likes to color, here are a couple of free coloring pages from about.com
Angel coloring page
Cheerful Angel

Crafts:

Paper Plate Angels
I just had to share these adorable little angels I found online. They are made from paper plates. Click on Paper Plate Angels to go to the link. The one thing that I didn’t see mentioned, in the instructions, was the size of the paper plate. I used a small 6-inch sized plate. It made an adorable little angel. I was very happy with the size. If you want to put it on top of a large Christmas tree, I would use a bigger paper plate.

Christmas Angels from a paper plate.

Hand Print Angel
I have used this craft in my preschool classrooms. The parents always adore them. I love hand print crafts because they become a piece of family history. Be sure to always date the back of any special craft your child does and put their name on it. It will make a great conversation piece as you decorate for Christmas, in later years.

1) Trace the child’s hand three times. Have them keep their fingers together. Don’t spread them out like a fan.
2) Cut out the hand prints.
3) Use one hand print as the body of the angel and the other two as the wings. The wings will look the best if you be sure to place the hand prints so that the thumbs are facing down. (Refer to picture)

Christmas Angels made from hand prints

4) You can either cut out a circle to use for the head or you can use a picture of your child’s head. They both make nice looking angels.
5) As a final touch, (which I forgot to add to one of my samples) you can make a halo out of a silver or gold pipe cleaner or make one out of a piece of aluminum foil. To make the halo out of aluminum foil, cut off an 8 inch by 1 inch piece of aluminum foil. Gently squish and twist it. Then form it into a circle and tape it to the back of the angel’s head.

Christmas Angels from Handprint

Story Time

  “The Christmas Angel” by Hans Wilhelm
Reading Level: Ages 3 – 8
Your child will fall in love with this adorable little angel. All he wants to do is to travel from heaven down to earth; so he can sing his special song to the Son of God. But his wings are too small and he is not allowed to make the trip. Find out what happens to the scared little angel after his accidental fall off of a cloud.

“An Angel Came to Nazareth” by Anthony Knott
Reading Level: Ages 5 and up
This is a very interesting poem of an angel who came to a stable in Nazareth. The angel asks a camel, a donkey, a horse and an ox to pick which one of the four travelers they would carry. One of them would end up carrying “the greatest of them all.” Can you guess, before ever reading the poem, which animal carried “the greatest of them all”?

Please take the time to stop by my Facebook page, Love to Laugh and Learn, and tell me about any of the crafts or books that you shared with your children. I would love to see pictures too.

Related Posts:

The Santa Claus Debate
The True Meaning of Christmas
The Christmas Star
Love to Learn the Meaning of Candy Canes for Christmas
Review – Christmas on Monument Circle, Indianapolis

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