What Happens If You Don't Brush Your Teeth?

Several months ago I wrote a blog post about a children's book called Dragon's Breath by Michael Gordon. In Dragon's Breath, there is a dragon named Joe who refuses to brush his teeth because he thinks dragons aren't supposed to brush them. By the end of the story, Joe finally brushes his teeth... but what would have happened if he didn't? What would have happened to his teeth? This fun science - STEM experiment shows what happens when dragons... and children... choose not to brush them. Keep reading... the results are gross!

What Happens If You Don't Brush Your Teeth? STEM Experiment Science Experiment

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

Why Do People Celebrate Pesach - Passover?

Passover... also known as Pesach... is a major Jewish holiday that is celebrated on the 15th day of the Hebrew month Nisan. It is celebrated to commemorate the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. What is an Exodus? How does the food eaten during Passover (Pesach) symbolize its significance to the Jewish people? Keep reading to learn more!

Learn about Passover (Pesach), the Exodus, and their symbols on the Seder plate. Jewish Passover. Songs about Passover. Dayenu.

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

10 Children's Books About Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration in the United States that honors the African heritage of Black and African American families. It begins on December 26 and lasts until January 1st. During Kwanzaa, many families gather together to share a meal, exchange gifts, and light the candles in a kinara. The following children's books introduce Kwanzaa and its history, rituals, traditions, and symbols. Fiction and nonfiction books are included in this list. Keep reading to learn more about this joyous holiday!
 
List of10 children's books about Kwanzaa. Learn about the traditions, the history, and the symbols of Kwanzaa. Fiction and nonfiction included.
Disclosure: Affiliate links are included in this post.

How to Make a Spring Flowers Busy Bag

One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was about making pizza bags for your children. That was a fun post to write and lots of children had fun creating different types of pizza with the pieces in their busy bags. This blog post is about making another type of busy bag your students and children may enjoy... spring flowers! Keep reading for directions.

Directions, material list and photos to make a spring flowers busy bag for young children. Felt, craft foam, pom poms, ribbons, and pipecleaners.

How to Use Skittles to Explore Primary Colors and Secondary Colors

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the different ways you can use Skittles to teach some basic math skills such as counting, sorting, and graphing. Did you know you can use Skittles to teach some basic art concepts too? Skittles can be used to teach children about primary colors and how to combine them to make secondary colors. Keep reading to learn how!

Students will use different colored Skittles to explore mixing primary colors to make secondary colors. Free STEM activity printable in the blog post.

How to Make a Macaroni Christmas Wreath Craft

Sometimes the best gifts we receive from our children and our students are the ones they make from the heart. These gifts don’t have to be store-bought. They don’t have to look 'perfect.' And they don’t need to cost a lot of money. The gifts that mean the most are often the ones that are homemade by someone we love. Today's blog post is about a quick-and-easy Christmas craft you can make with your students and children... macaroni wreaths! Keep reading to learn more.

Directions for making Christmas wreaths out of macaroni. Kids craft. All ages. You will need cardboard, macaroni pasta noodles, paint, and glue.

Animals of the Chinese Zodiac + Children's Books

Have you ever looked at a menu from a Chinese restaurant and read about the Chinese zodiac? The Chinese zodiac is also known as Sheng Xiao and is based on a 12-year cycle. Each year in this cycle is named for an animal: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Each animal in the zodiac is associated with specific personality traits. For example, if you were born in 1999 under the sign of the rabbit, you may be shy, peaceful, and affectionate... whereas those born under the tiger may be sensitive yet aggressive. Pretty interesting, yes?

12 animal signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig

Keep reading to learn more about the animals of the Chinese zodiac. In between each animal description, you will find children's books about the Chinese New Year. Clicking the images will take you to Amazon where you can learn more about each book.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Snowflake Bentley is a children's biography about Wilson Bentley... the man who discovered that no two snowflakes are alike. Author Jacqueline Briggs Martin wrote Snowflake Bentley in 1998 and the book has been in constant publication since then. In 1999, illustrator Mary Azarian won the Caldecott Award for her illustrations in the book. Who is Wilson 'Snowflake' Bentley? Why is the book about him so popular? Keep reading to learn more about Snowflake Bentley and how to integrate it into your language arts and STEM activities!

Integrated STEM and language arts activities for the book Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Free biography printable. 2nd to 4th grade.

10 Games for Indoor Recess Days

I live in a part of the United States that can see snow up to six months out of the year. It can get so cold and blustery that on rare occasions we've had snow as early as October and as late as May and June! When it is too cold and snowy for outside recess, I open my closet of board games and puzzles and let the children play quietly with each other for their 45 minutes of recess. Here is a list of their absolute favorite board games to play!

Six board games to play during inside recess and four games to avoid. Checkers, chess, Battleship, Connect 4, Candy Land, card games. K to 3rd grade.