Integrate Fun: Cursive Writing and Art

In my last post, I shared how to introduce cursive writing. This post adds another technique you can use to prepare your kiddos for cursive writing. I love to integrate fun and this post adds even more fun to cursive writing. We integrated art and cursive and got some super results.

To get started writing in cursive, we wrote some cursive loopy letters (b, k, h, e, l, q, p , j, f) and the kiddos used markers to color in the loops. Some letters have loops that go up, some go down, and some have both.

This was good, easy fun.  Since we're working with loopy letters first, I asked the kiddos to use different colored markers and make a series of the cursive letter l across a sheet of plain white paper. Then I asked them to create more lines of loop styles across the page. We used the loopy letters in the works bike, hello, quiz, and fish as guides. Check out our work. Pretty fun, right?

cursive writing art

Remember that we're making art, not writing cursive letters, so the experience is fun. The results are super and worthy of displaying. I've found that the skinny Crayola markers work well for this too.

Next we tied in a concept that I wrote about in the last post. The letters in cursive words are connected. We got our yarn out again and matched it up with our loopy art to demonstrate how all these cursive writing loops were connected.

Cursive writing with children doesn't have to be a challenge. It can be a work of art! Please follow my blog by e-mail to catch the next post in this cursive writing series. Hint--it's about cursive, art, and .....fun!

Integrate Fun: Cursive Writing and a Cat's Cradle

I'm always on the lookout for ways to integrate fun into our learning. Today we made learning cursive writing fun and like a piece of woven artwork. Yes, we went loopy today. {I was afraid that I'd have to say that one day--ha.} Actually, we started the foundations for writing cursive letters in a fun way. Here's how.

Have you ever made a Cat's Cradle with yarn looped between your fingers? We did. We started watching this YouTube video {Here} for how to create many creations like the Cat's Cradle, Cat's Whiskers, and the Eiffel tower.

Then we tied together that long string of yarn and moved it around on our own. As we did, we talked about an important concept. The concept is that cursive writing is like that piece of yarn. It is connected--plus we had a little bit of movement and fun too.

This technique gets those little fingers warmed up and ready to get writing. This is a simple way to teach a very practical concept. When students write in cursive, they have to learn to keep their letters connected, just like they are a piece of string or yarn.

If you've got a multicolored piece of yarn, you can explain how each different color could be a different letter on the same string.

Save that piece of yarn. We'll use it again for another cursive writing technique coming up in a future post.

Enjoy!
Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Vincent van Gogh in the Classroom: Integrate Art and Integrate Fun

I cannot stress enough the importance of art in the classroom. Art gives students a great opportunity to be creative and it gives you a wonderful opportunity to integrate fun, writing, and history. First, I passed out this great outline of van Gogh's Starry Night that I found online through a Pinterest pin as a free printable from Practical Pages.

I passed out the handout with no background information. "Make this creative," I said. That was it. "This looks familiar," I heard. I was so excited to see the results. Look at this. {Um, maybe it had a little bit of a Clint Eastwood flair--that town is painted red.} I do love the colors in the sky--planets maybe?

Now, on to step 2. We studied Vincent van Gogh, and we looked at his worked. We looked at Starry Night. Then I had a new set of directions. "Recreate," I said. 

Now, you see a more van Gogh-like Starry Night, but I still love the 2nd  grade colors above. We just used crayons and then went over the pictures with a water color wash. Just get water and add a bit of water color paint (the cheap kind works) and brush quickly over the crayons.

Now, I'm big on integration. We've had a history lesson, an art lesson, even learned a new art technique. It's time for more integration fun. We added a bit of writing. It's a perfect fit to get students to work with descriptive writing. Get your kiddos to draw and recreate their own Starry Night on the top of the page. Then they write a description of the word below it. It's a great way to add directional words too. 

Enjoy!
Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Ocean Crab Writing Craftivity for K-3

I'm excited about my latest teacher-created product just in time for summer and for your ocean units. I've created this cute crab page topper. This packet comes with three different writing prompts in two different formats. One set lets you print the writing prompt with the crab on it. The other set is made so that you can add the crab page topper to the top of it for some great writing prompt craftivities. You can find this product {HERE}.

For a limited time, I am selling these cuties for just $1.00. Afterwards, they will be $1.50 which is a deal for 15 pages of writing goodies.

Enjoy!
Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Paws to Read Reading Program: The Best Reading Program

We have the best little library in the world and we've been a part of one of the best reading programs ever. This reading program is called Paws to Read and it's great on two levels--no even more than that. 

The children meet at the library and get to read to dogs!  

This is one of the best rescue dogs stories. These dogs were abandoned dogs who were rescued dogs. It gets better. These dogs get sent to jail!!! I know... can you imagine...keep reading because it's not what you think. What would a dog do in jail? While the dogs are in jail, certain prisoners get to help train and rehabilitate the dogs. 

Once the dogs graduate from the program, they're trained and many families want them. From everyone who has a dog, I've heard that they are the best dogs they have ever had. 

The dogs in the reading program at the library were also trained to sit and listen to books. Now, this beats every summer reading program around!  I heard that a while back on Christmas eve, the prisoners even read The Night Before Christmas to the dogs as part of their training. Did I mention how good this program is for the prisoners? 

We'll if you walk in the best little library in the world, you'll see children reading to dogs and dogs listening with their ears alert. It's so great. 

Teaching is great, and I hope you enjoyed this Sweet Tea moment as much as I did. I've got another Sweet Tea moment planned for you. Check back soon to learn about a reading program freebie!

Enjoy!

Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

R is for Real Earth Day Recycled Craft

I wrestled with the idea of creating a craft for students to do on Earth Day. How can you teach about recycling, reducing, and reusing while you pull the plastic wrapper off a pack of new construction paper? How can you teach your students to reduce while you're passing out a five page handout? That's when my Earth Day Glyph was born. This is a REAL Earth Day Craft for kids.

A glyph is a visual way to represent data. The students answer questions, and based on those questions, their Earth is created by reusing items like newspapers, manila folders, magazines, and even toilet paper rolls. I was very happy with the results. I even created an Earth Day Flip Book that reduces the number of pages you have to print. This book teaches about reducing, recycling, and reusing, and it has the glyph questions on it.

Please visit my store {HERE} to check it out.

Student Example of the Earth Day Glyph with Earth Day Word Challenge Freebie

Student Earth Day Glyph

Enjoy!

Robin @ Sweet Tea Classroom

Sensory Water Table {Wagon} Fun

Who needs to buy an expensive water table for the little ones when you may already have what you need. I have to thank my oldest kiddo for his creative idea. We added our plastic Easter eggs to a wagon and filled it halfway full of water. It made for a great day outside.

It was such a hit, the neighbors joined us too. The eggs worked well because kids can open and close them. Kids can also use them to scoop up water. The best part was that the little holes in the bottom of the eggs worked well to create little streams of falling water when we lifted up the plastic eggs.

Enjoy!

Please come back again for some more sweet learning fun and follow me at Sweet Tea Classroom.

Robin 

Skunks in the Classroom {Skunk Writing Prompts and Craftivity}

With their long swishy tails with a white stripe down their back, it's hard not to recognize the skunk. It's impossible to miss their smell too! But, you have to admit that they are downright cute. They're fun to write about too. Here are some skunk writing prompts that aren't stinky.

Skunk Writing Prompts
S is for Skunk (students list words that start with S)
If I were a skunk . . .
If a skunk didn't have a stripe . . .
If a skunk walked into our classroom . . .
If a skunk met a porcupine . . .
What rhymes with skunk?
If I had a stripe down my back . . .
If you had a pet skunk . . .
If I were nocturnal like a skunk . . .

Skunk Page Topper and Craftivity
I like to throw in a craftivity with my writing prompts. See how cute this skunk writing prompt craftivty is. My teacher created skunk crafitivty is available {HERE}.

Here are a few skunk teaching resources to use. Of course, you can use the sk or unk sounds for phonics. Here's more:

Skunk Teaching Resources and Skunk Resources (that aren't stinky)
Skunk Basics
Enchanted Learning Skunks
Cleveland Museum Skunk Data

Thanks and please follow Sweet Tea Classroom for more Sweet Tea teaching tips.
Robin