The Joy of Teaching – Page 6 of 46

March 28, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Support Academic Growth by Building Kids’ Self-Regulation and Executive Functioning Skills

When most of us think about learning, our minds go to reading, writing, and math. Building these key academic areas relies heavily on two sets of underlying skills: children’s self-regulation and executive functioning abilities.

Self-regulation refers to ways children – and adults! – manage emotional responses. Children whose self-regulation skills are more developed for their age receive increased opportunities to practice academic and social skills. Picture a teacher asking a kindergartener, Finn, to help re-shelve classroom books. Instead of starting with one book and giving the task a try, Finn says, “I’m not finished playing!” and stomps away. When given a letter-sorting task, Finn says, “I can’t do it!” and waits for help. Although Finn will eventually get to experience putting books away or sorting letters, significant time is spent on dealing with these initial responses.

In contrast, imagine Riley, a kindergarten classmate who is more able to manage frustration or uncertainty. Riley will be able to organize lots of books during the time Finn spends feeling frustrated, and will get in a few more minutes of sorting letters while Finn puts off the task. Over time, these differences add up to significantly more learning opportunities for Riley, all because of more developed self-regulation skills.

How do emotions connect to learning?

The human brain processes emotions in the limbic system, which includes neural areas like the amygdala and hippocampus. Because it evolved to protect us through managing the body’s “fight or flight” response system, the limbic system develops early in children and works very rapidly, allowing us to respond to perceived threats almost immediately.

When the limbic system activates in response to a threat – or even just intense feelings like frustration or anger – it briefly reduces connections to another part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex develops between birth and a person’s early 20s, and manages cognitive functions like organization, planning and prioritizing, getting started with tasks, and sticking with challenging activities. When strong emotions briefly interrupt prefrontal cortex activities, children have a harder time engaging in behaviors like multi-step activities, following through with plans, and trying out new skills. Even though the limbic system’s emotional response only interrupts prefrontal cortex activity for a few seconds, that’s enough to interrupt kids’ long-term thinking and planning abilities and allow a less cooperative and organized response to challenging tasks.

Emotional responses like “I’m not finished playing!” are typical and even age-appropriate, and the goal isn’t for children to achieve “perfect” behavior. However, by understanding how emotions and learning opportunities connect, parents and teachers can more easily incorporate activities that develop self-regulation skills into classroom and home environments. Self-regulation skills allow children to manage their emotional responses productively, providing more opportunities for learning.

Self-regulation supports executive functioning

When children’s self-regulation skills are less developed, strong emotional reactions or feelings can interrupt prefrontal cortex activity, preventing kids from accessing executive functions. “Executive functions” get their name from the brain’s decision-making capacities, much like the executive branch of the United States government is headed by the President, who is responsible for many day-to-day decisions. Executive functioning is an umbrella term for a variety of skills that support cognition, or thinking, and especially cognitive processes like planning ahead, problem solving, and organization. The brain manages these skills using the prefrontal cortex, which develops more slowly than the limbic system. As a result, these skills develop slowly during infancy, a little more quickly in toddlers, and much faster as children move through preschool, elementary school, and into adolescence. Executive functioning skills mature fully when people are in their early to mid-twenties, and may continue to grow well into adulthood.

Executive functioning skills like time management, getting started with challenging tasks, organizing ideas and physical belongings, and persisting with long-term projects are each important for different types of learning tasks. Like self-regulation skills, executive functioning is heavily affected by factors such as getting sufficient sleep, living in a consistent environment, and having basic needs met. On average, children living in stressful environments need extra support to develop the same self-regulation and executive functioning skills that a same-age peer living in a more consistent situation might have.

Because children’s self-regulation and executive functioning skills are closely linked, we can think of them as complementary skill sets that reinforce one another positively. Picture a third-grader, Charlie, who manages emotions well and typically can follow classroom expectations effectively. This lets Charlie work more independently, building the ability to re-read directions, check in with a classmate when confused, and try again when the answer isn’t readily apparent. In contrast, imagine a classmate whose emotional upsets frequently make it hard to engage in classroom tasks. This student may often have to wait for the teacher’s help, meaning that they experience far fewer learning opportunities during any given school day, which may add up to days or even weeks of missed instruction or practice time during a school year.

Strategies for building self-regulation skills

Just like academic skills, self-regulation skills can be taught, practiced, and developed.

Mirror emotions. When a child is upset or frustrated, hearing adults acknowledge their feelings reduces limbic system response and makes it easier for the child to return to the task at hand. To mirror emotions effectively, a parent or teacher can say, “It looks like you’re feeling mad about what happened,” or “Are you feeling pretty frustrated right now?” Learning these labels lets kids develop their internal awareness of how they feel.
Teach emotions directly. At times when kids aren’t upset, families or classes can discuss emotions and what they feel like, along with strategies kids can use to cope. Building children’s knowledge of their options when they are calm makes it likelier that, over time, kids can respond more effectively to their feelings when they’re upset.
Create space. Recognizing the role emotions play in learning can make it easier to take these feelings seriously – but also let kids develop their ability to move on. Creating space can involve teaching children to take a few deep breaths when upset, giving kids a cool-down spot where they can focus on processing a strong emotion, or by acknowledging that it’s healthy to cry or express big feelings. The more kids have room to process their feelings, the easier it gets for them to return quickly and independently to learning or playing.

Adults can use similar strategies to manage our own emotions, which can give parents and teachers more ability to handle tough classroom or parenting situations. Acknowledging our own feelings aloud to kids sets a great example, and helps with co-regulation, which refers to the way our emotional states and behaviors are affected by the feelings and actions of those around us. When a parent says, “Wow, I’m feeling really cranky right now. I need to take a few minutes to rest when we get home,” children learn how to respond to disruptive feelings proactively. They also potentially get a chance to use their own skills to help out by cooperating or being extra kind while their parent takes a moment to decompress.

Strategies for building executive functioning skills

Visual cues. Home and classroom environments that feature age-appropriate checklists and organizers increase kids’ abilities to carry out tasks independently. For example, a first grader might have a five-item Getting Ready checklist to help them get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, pack their backpack, and put on shoes. Checklists can reduce parent-child conflict by allowing parents to say “What’s the next item on your checklist?” This more neutral reminder creates less of an emotional response than “You’re still not dressed?” and may help kids connect to their internal motivation more readily.
Narration. Reviewing plans orally increases kids’ ability to think ahead. Parents or teachers can frequently lead an oral review of what’s coming next, and when possible, can ask kids to supply the details. A parent might say on the way home from school, “OK, tell me what’s coming next this afternoon,” or “Let’s go over what we’re going to do now. What are you going to do first when we get home?” Narration allows the child to think ahead and prioritize their time, which often makes it easier for them to tackle challenging tasks like homework.
Timers. Estimating how long tasks will take to complete is a critical part of executive functioning, and timers facilitate this practice. Ask a child how long it will take to do a task like tying their shoes, taking a shower, or doing a sheet of math homework. As kids become more familiar with how long tasks take, they can more easily plan their time. As well, timers can make it easier to tackle challenging projects. If a child doesn’t want to get started, a parent can give the choice of working for ten minutes or fifteen minutes – options that can be adjusted for age or the type of project. Even if a child picks the lower number, knowing they’ll just be working for a set time can make it easier to start. Timed work periods offer additional benefits, like building a sense of accomplishment, as well as a better understanding of how long the entire project will take. They also give kids a sense of control, because they learn that it’s OK to work for a reasonable amount of time of their choosing and then take a short break to decompress.

Katharine Hill, MS, MAT, ET/P, is a learning specialist and educational therapist in private practice in Brooklyn, NY, who has twenty years of experience working in K–12 and higher education. upnext.nyc

March 18, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Activities and Ideas to Teach Self-Care to Kids

As adults, we know that self-care is vital to our mental, emotional, and physical well-being the same is true for kids! Children are also under a lot of stress, especially recently, and they may not have the knowledge or skills to help them manage it.

Kids have a lot of big feelings, and these self-care techniques can teach them to reduce stress, improve coping skills, and learn to manage emotions with healthy outlets.

Why is self-care important?

Self-care is intended to provide a break from our hectic lives and an opportunity to relax, reflect, and manage our feelings. This is true for any age, from childhood to adulthood. Teaching kids how to take care of themselves—mentally, emotionally, and physically—at an early age will set them up for success in managing stressors for the rest of their lives.

Self-care achieves the following:

Decreases stress and anxiety
Improves physical health
Boosts self-esteem
Protects mental health
Fosters healthy relationships

Ideas and Activities to Promote Self-care

Start by practicing other healthy habits. Good hygiene, a healthy diet, and exercise are all self-care habits that will get kids started on taking care of themselves. Explain that just like they take care of their body physically through these things, they also need to take care of their mind and emotions.
Balance TV, video games, and screen time with other activities that exercise the mind! Try yoga, puzzles, brain games, reading, or outdoor activities that get kids thinking and moving. Teach your kids the importance of balance through a variety of fun activities.
Talk about emotions. When your kids get upset about something, teach them how to talk about what they’re feeling, describe the emotion, explain why they’re upset, and propose some ideas on what would make them feel better. Teaching them to identify, engage with, and pay attention to their emotions rather than downplaying them is an important part of self-care.
Take the lead on self-care in your house. Making time for self-care every day, whether it’s a short outdoor walk or an hour dedicated to rest and relaxation, can set the right example for your kids. It will also make self-care part of their routine, so that when big feelings happen, they can fall back on their helpful habits.

As you do self-care activities, explain to your kids what you’re doing and why it’s important, so that they understand the purpose of prioritizing self-care into their weekly routines.

Below are several activities that you can do with your kids, or they can do individually, to promote self-care.

Afternoon Teatime (or hot chocolate) – Dedicate some time in your afternoon that begins your evening wind-down routine and helps to make a transition from work/school time to relaxing at home.

Afternoon tea, or whatever beverage and snacks you choose, can be a dedicated time to start winding down, asking questions, and talking about your day.

Mindful Active Exercise — Activities like yoga, meditation, walks and outdoor games can all promote movement and physical well-being, while also focusing on mindfulness and reflection. Follow a YouTube video for yoga or meditation—or make up your own! For walks, come up with some questions that you and your kids can think about—and talk about, too. Biking, skating, and skateboarding are also great options.

Puzzle Time — Puzzles are a great, hands-on mindful activity that can be individual or for the whole family. The idea behind puzzles is to dedicate some time each day toward piecing a puzzle together; by spreading the puzzle out over multiple days, it makes the project more manageable, decreases frustration, and provides an opportunity for mindfulness and self-care each day. This quiet routine is a wonderful way to let the mind decompress from the busy day.

Mindful Hands-on Craft Projects — Arts and crafts, especially painting, molding, or coloring, are great opportunities for relaxation, stress release, and expression through art. Put on relaxing music in the background and spend time creating art!

Self-Care Routines — If part of your own self-care routine is taking a bath, washing your face, doing a face mask, giving yourself a manicure, or another activity that makes you feel relaxed, make it a family activity! Having an evening or afternoon dedicated to at-home, relaxing activities can be fun for the whole family and make everyone feel more rested.

Journaling — Journaling is a very effective way to release stress and express emotions. The habit of journaling allows for mindful moments and self-reflection.

Teach kids how to journal with short, thought-provoking prompts. Use loose-leaf paper and dedicate a folder to the journal entries or let your kids pick out a journal at the store! Once they get into the habit of writing, use mindful prompts to encourage reflection. You can also put on music and journal alongside them to encourage them! Make sure they know that their journals are a private space for them to write about their feelings.

Here are some mindful journaling prompts to get you started:

What’s an activity that makes you feel happy? How often do you get to do this activity?
Write about a time when you felt sad. What made you feel better?
What are your favorite things about yourself? Why?
What’s something you like to do but don’t have a lot of time for? How can you make time for it?
Think of a person, character, show, or movie that makes you laugh.
What about it makes you smile or laugh? How does it make you feel?
What are three things, big or small, that you’re thankful for in your life?
When you have a bad day, what are some things that make it better?
Think about a time when you felt stressed. What did it feel like? What made you feel this way? Did anything make it feel better?
When you’re feeling sad, do you prefer to be alone or with family or friends? Why?
What are three things that make you happy?

These activities build lifelong self-care habits in children. Evan-Moor’s Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids is another great resource that provides fun self-care and mindful activities to help children learn how to manage emotions and social experiences.

Download free sample printables from this book here!

Fostering healthy self-care habits in children will help prepare them to manage stress and build healthy relationships as adults.

For more educational ideas and tips, subscribe to our e-newsletter!

Christine Wooler has experience working with children as a youth soccer coach and summer camp counselor. She is currently studying English Literature and journalism in college. She enjoys exploring educational topics that help students have fun while learning.

March 16, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Free Easter Art and Egg Activities

Embrace the spring season with these fun and free bunny art and egg science activities. Perfect for your April lessons, these Easter-themed activities provide creative ways to introduce seasonal art and science lessons.

Free Bunny Art Activities from Evan-Moor’s Art for All Seasons.

Download these free bunny art activities here.

Don’t miss this easy paper bag bunny hat!

Natural Egg Dying

Try the European tradition of decorating eggs with leaf and flower imprints using dyes from kitchen trimmings.

Supplies

8 onion skins
Leaves or flowers from your yard
White or cider vinegar

White hard-boiled eggs
Hairnet/pantyhose
Rubber bands

Directions

Dry the onion skins for one or two days.
Boil the onion skills in water for 20 minutes
with 1 T. white or cider vinegar, creating a brown water.
Collect small leaves or flowers from your yard.

Wrap white hard-boiled eggs with small leaves or flowers and tie a piece of nylon (hosiery) or hairnet around (or avocado net bags). You can also wrap eggs in rubber bands and put hosiery around them as well.
Gently simmer your wrapped eggs in the onion water dye for 20 minutes.
Pull out your eggs and remove the nets/bags and you’ll be amazed at the beautiful organic designs!

Looking for more Spring-themed activities? Check out these fun egg science activities.

Egging on Recycling: A classic egg science project with a challenging twist

An Egg-cellent Science Experiment

Heather Foudy is a certified elementary teacher with over 7 years’ experience as an educator and volunteer in the classroom. She enjoys creating lessons that are meaningful and creative for students. She is currently working for Evan-Moor’s marketing and communications team and enjoys building learning opportunities that are both meaningful and creative for students and teachers alike.

March 9, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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The Best Workbooks for Kids

Support your kids’ learning at home with educational workbooks that are fun to do! These top activity books for children are great solutions to keep kids practicing educational skills at home and provide an alternative to screen time. With game-like, colorful activities, these workbooks provide practice across the curriculum and will help your child build a strong foundation in math, reading, writing, science, social studies, STEM, critical thinking, and more!

Evan-Moor’s colorful workbooks support the most current standards to provide your child with practice of the must-know skills for each grade level. These activity books are ideal for keeping academic skills sharp during the school year, motivating reluctant readers, improving math skills, and enhancing summer learning!

Discover the best workbook for your child with these favorite activity books for kids!

Early Learning for PreK–1

The Smart Start workbooks for grades PreK–1 support your little learner with beginning reading, math, STEM, and coding activities. The fun practice opportunities help your child learn to read and build confidence in number fluency.

Smart Start: Read and Write activity books support your child as they learn to read. The activities review important alphabet letters and sounds and provide important practice of beginning-reading skills. The audio read-aloud stories and activities introduce short sentences and provide fun practice activities to help early learners practice their letters and fine-motor skills. As children move from PreK to first grade in these books, the reading activities become more advanced.

Smart Start: Phonics and Spelling give early learners a reading boost with colorful activities, audio stories, and stickers. Recipient of a 2023 National Parenting Product Award, these engaging activity books help children build positive early learning experiences with beginning reading. Children will practice beginning letter sounds, learn important spelling patterns, and read short stories with beginning word families.

Smart Start: Math Stories and Activities workbooks provide beginning math practice. The activities will help your child learn and practice counting and writing numbers, and learn patterns, measurement, shapes, addition and subtraction, and more. The audio read-aloud stories included in every unit help kids recognize math in the world around them with real-life examples. As children move from PreK to first grade in these books, the math activities become more advanced.

Smart Start: Beginning Coding Stories and Activities provide a screen-free option for early learners to practice beginning coding skills. Based on the K–12 Computer Science Framework, this dynamic early learning series helps children understand coding concepts to develop a strong foundation in computer science, including computational thinking, problem solving, and critical thinking. Recipient of Creative Child Magazine’s 2022 Book of the Year Award, Smart Start: Beginning Coding provides engaging, screen-free coding activities that build foundational skills.

The Smart Start series also includes:
Smart Start: STEM

Skill-Specific Practice for Grades PreK–6

Whether you’re looking to support your child in a specific skill area or to accelerate learning, the Skill Sharpeners workbook series for grades PreK–6 provides the perfect combination of skill practice and fun to spark kids’ interest! Select a topic in your children’s favorite subject area or an area they could use some extra practice, and watch their skills grow. Each Skill Sharpeners workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional lessons and teaching tips to enrich your child’s learning home.

Skill Sharpeners: Math workbooks encourage children to practice and review math concepts they have already learned. The creative activities practice important grade-level math concepts and improve children’s math fluency, number sense, and reasoning skills. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional hands-on activities and teaching tips for learning at home.

Skill Sharpeners: Spell and Write workbooks help children build confidence in writing. The colorful activities support written language skills. Activities include practice of grammar and punctuation, vocabulary, creative writing, and spelling. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Skill Sharpeners: STEAM activity books integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math to create meaningful learning opportunities for kids! The real-world topics in these STEAM workbooks connect learning to the environment, earth, people, and cultures, and inspire children to solve real problems related to sun safety, water conservation, wildlife, and more! If your child prefers hands-on learning, these books are a great fit. The open-ended questions and problem solving capture children’s interest and keep them thinking and learning long after the activities are over. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Download free sample units for Skill Sharpeners: STEAM here.

The Skill Sharpeners series also includes:
Skill Sharpeners: Reading
Skill Sharpeners: Science

Smart: Start Sight Words and High Frequency Words
Skill Sharpeners: Geography
Skill Sharpeners: Grammar and Punctuation
Skill Sharpeners: Critical Thinking

Best-Value Jumbo Workbook, Grades PreK–6

Top Student jumbo workbooks provide more than 350 activities to keep kids challenged and excited as they strengthen their skills in every subject area. Topics include math, science, reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, writing, social studies, computer science, SEL, STEM, and mindfulness. Give your child in-depth review and practice in every subject area with these packed workbooks! Each book includes a full-size informational poster and stickers (for grades PreK–5.)

Top Student activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Summer Learning Essentials Grades PreK–8

Daily Summer Activities workbooks provide a simple summer learning solution to help your child transition to the next grade level. The short, daily activities can be completed in just 15 minutes a day and make it easy for children to review important math, reading, spelling, critical thinking, and geography skills. The weekly reading logs create enjoyable summer-learning opportunities that help prepare children for the next grade level.

Fun stickers help grades PreK–5 children track their reading progress.

Daily Summer Activities activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Download a free sample unit for Daily Summer Activities here.

Real-World Writing Activities Grades 1–6

Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids workbooks demonstrate how diverse and innovative writing in today’s world can be. The colorful and hands-on creative activities include infographics, blogs, restaurant reviews, and more! Real-life writing activities will give your child practical writing experience and inspire even reluctant writers to put pen to paper.

Life Skills

Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids includes 100 fun activities that support your child’s well-being. The activities create positive learning experiences for children and help them learn to manage emotions, reduce anxiety, and navigate social situations. Activities include art, puzzles, games, coloring, and more!

Social Skills Activities for Today’s Kids helps children have positive interactions and gain confidence. These colorful workbooks that provide practice and preparation for making friends, being at school, and going places. The meaningful, fun activities give children a safe space to think about how to handle social situations and provide guidance and suggestions for them to consider. Fun activities and hands-on projects that practice basic skills, such as tracing, writing, coloring, drawing, cutting and gluing, sequencing, reading, and more, are all part of the worksheets and art projects in this book.

Subscribe to our e-newsletter for free learning activities and resources every month!

February 24, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Best Activity Books for Kindergarten

These top activity books for kindergartners provide hours of fun activities that teach children important reading, math, and writing skills. These kindergarten workbooks are perfect for long car rides, travelling, summer learning, and school breaks.

Help your kindergartner develop a strong foundation of academic skills with colorful workbooks that also spark a love of learning. These activity books are ideal for both transitional kindergarten and kindergarten.

Beginning Reading Books

Smart Start Read and Write activity books provide beginning reading and writing activities to help your kindergartner learn to read. The activities review important alphabet letters and sounds. The audio read-aloud stories and activities introduce short sentences and provide fun practice activities to help your child learn their letters and numbers. Each book includes fun stickers to motivate children to complete practice activities.

Math Basics for Kindergarten

Smart Start Math Stories and Activities workbooks help your kindergartner learn and practice counting and writing numbers. Colorful activities help your child progress through practicing patterns, measurement, shapes, addition and subtraction, and more. The audio read-aloud stories included in every unit demonstrate how math is used with real-life examples. Each book includes fun stickers to motivate children to complete the activities.

Writing and Language

Skill Sharpeners Spell and Write workbooks build your child’s confidence in writing. The colorful activities provide plenty of practice in spelling word families and high-frequency words and support beginning reading by improving reading fluency and sight-word recognition. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Skill Sharpeners Grammar and Punctuation activity books help kindergartners practice and learn essential grammar and punctuation rules. Complete with reading selections, word games, and game-like practice activities, kindergartners will enjoy building their writing and language skills. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Download free sample units for Skill Sharpeners Grammar and Punctuation here.

Jumbo Activity Book

Top Student jumbo workbooks provide more than 350 pages of activities to keep your kindergartner challenged and excited and strengthen his or her skills in every subject area. Activities include alphabet letters and sounds, beginning reading foundations, numbers and counting, shapes and colors, matching, sorting, science, STEM, SEL, and more! Each book includes fun stickers that motivate children to complete the activities.

Top Student activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Fun Science, STEM and STEAM

Smart Start STEM Stories and Activities workbooks include hands-on STEM projects that develop your child’s problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The STEM challenges inspire little learners to get comfortable exploring different ideas to solve problems.

Skill Sharpeners STEAM activity books integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math to create meaningful learning opportunities for kinders! The real-world topics in these STEAM workbooks relate learning to the environment, earth, people, and cultures, and help your child learn to solve real problems such as screen time, germs, plastic bags, and more! Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Skill Sharpeners STEAM activity books won the 2021 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Download free sample activities for Skill Sharpeners STEAM here.

Skill Sharpeners Science workbooks help early learners discover and explore the important concepts of physical, life, and earth sciences. Songs, rhymes, and hands-on projects motivate children to learn science concepts that are based on the most current science standards. Colorful activities include experiments, and each book includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Screen-Free Coding

Smart Start Beginning Coding Stories and Activities workbooks will provide your kindergartner with a strong foundation in computer science. This fun workbook includes real-world audio stories that help children relate coding concepts to real life. Each book includes fun stickers to motivate your child to complete the activities. These kindergarten activity books are a great place to start in beginning your child’s computer-coding journey.

Beginning Geography

Skill Sharpeners Geography activity books engage little learners in exploring the world while learning important map skills and geography concepts. The cross-curricular activities include stories, reading comprehension activities, writing practice, and more. Each workbook includes a free downloadable teaching guide with additional activities and tips.

Download free sample activities for Skill Sharpeners Geography here.

Life Skills

Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids includes 100 fun activities that support your child’s well-being. The activities create positive learning experiences for preschoolers and help them learn to manage emotions, reduce anxiety, and navigate social situations. Activities include art, puzzles, games, coloring, and more!

Summer Learning

Daily Summer Activities is a great summer learning solution to help your child transition from kindergarten to first grade. The short, daily activities make it easy for children to review important numbers and alphabet letters and sounds. The fun stickers and weekly reading logs support your child’s learning so they can keep their academic skills fresh for first grade.

Daily Summer Activities activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Download a free sample printables for Daily Summer Activities here.

For more learning ideas check out:

10 Best Activity Books for Preschool Kids

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist: What Does My Child Need to Know for Kindergarten?

Life Skills Kids Should Know Before Kindergarten

February 22, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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The 15 Best Summer Learning Workbooks for Kids

This list of top summer learning workbooks for kids provides something for every type of learner. Tailor summer learning to fit your child’s personality and interests with activities and a format that works for your family.

Evan-Moor’s wide selection of colorful activity books provides learning activities that support the most current standards, while sparking children’s curiosity with interesting themes and topics. You can find skill-specific books to provide review or to challenge your child, or cross-curricular practice that is already paced for summer learning fun! Evan-Moor workbooks have clear directions and follow a consistent format, which makes it easy for children to complete independently.

Check out the best summer learning workbooks below to keep your children learning and growing all summer long.

#1 Recommendation for Summer Learning—Only 15 Minutes a Day

Daily Summer Activities is a great summer learning solution if you are looking for consistent daily practice in just 10–15 minutes a day. These colorful workbooks help your child transition to the next grade level with daily activities that review essential skills across subject areas, including reading, math, writing, spelling, and geography.

With just one or two activities per day over a 10-week period, Daily Summer Activities helps to keep skills sharp without getting in the way of vacation time. And, a weekly reading log will motivate your child to read during the summer. Fun reward stickers are included for grades PreK–5.

Take the guesswork out of summer learning with the paced practice in Daily Summer Activities! Grades PreK–8

Daily Summer Activities books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Download free sample units for Daily Summer Activities here.

The Jumbo Workbook for Summer Review

Top Student jumbo workbooks for grades PreK–6 provide more than 350 pages of activities to keep kids challenged and excited as they strengthen their skills in every subject area. These books work great as summer review and include these topics: math, science, reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, writing, social studies, computer science, SEL, and STEM. Select the grade level that your child just completed, for practice and review of skills all summer long!

Top Student provides an in-depth review of skills that complements Daily Summer Activities. Click here to see a suggested “Week-at-a-Glance” for incorporating Top Student activities in a summer learning schedule.

Top Student activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Brain Games For Kids

Brain Games and Activities provides screen-free fun to boost critical and creative thinking skills! Keep kids engaged with activities that include logic and reasoning, language and word play, and more. Each book includes: sticker activities, audio support for problem solving, and over 80 brain games. Games include: puzzles, mazes, graphs, hidden pictures, tongue twisters, and more!

Skill-Specific Practice for Grades PreK–6

Download free sample units for Skill Sharpeners: STEAM here.

Skill Sharpeners: Geography is the winner of the Mom’s Choice Gold Seal Award for the best family-friendly products! These colorful activity books excite children to learn about the world around them and practice cross-curricular skills that integrate current geography standards. Each geography topic includes nonfiction reading selections, comprehension questions, vocabulary practice, writing prompts, and authentic activities that bring the concepts to life.

Skill Sharpeners: Grammar and Punctuation helps children improve their writing while learning important grammar and punctuation rules. These colorful activity books make language skill practice fun with interesting themes, a variety of activities, and word games!

Real-World Writing for Today’s Kids includes nine creative writing units that help children practice real-world writing. Plus, each unit includes engaging art and hands-on activities that demonstrate how writing is used to solve problems, express ideas, inspire, and help people. The colorful illustrations provide fun and simple writing exercises to show children how diverse and innovative writing in today’s world can be.

Learning Line: Cursive Writing provides 32 pages of colorful cursive practice. The quick activities keep young learners focused as they practice important concepts such as writing and reading cursive letters, words, and sentences, and practicing alphabetical order.

Learning Line: Learning About Money includes 32 colorful pages of fun activities that keep young learners focused as they practice important concepts such as identifying coins, counting sums of money, solving money-related problems, and more!

Little Learner’s Delight: For PreK–1 Students to Develop Fundamental Skills

Listen and Learn Alphabet includes fun alphabet stories and activities that help children learn to read! This colorful workbook supports early reading skills with audio read-alouds and phonics games that practice alphabet letters and sounds. Creative activities, art projects, and stickers get children excited to practice and learn alphabet letters.

Smart Start: Read and Write is a wonderful activity book to help young children learn to read. The activities review important alphabet letters and sounds. The audio read-aloud stories and activities introduce short sentences and provide fun practice activities to help early learners learn their letters and numbers. Recipient of the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids, the Smart Start: Read and Write series provides engaging reading experiences that encourage children to become life-long readers. Grades PreK–1

Smart Start: Math Stories and Activities is a great workbook to help your child learn and practice counting and writing numbers. Colorful activities help children practice patterns, measurement, shapes, addition and subtraction, and more. The audio read-aloud stories included in every unit help children recognize math in the world around them with real-life examples. Grades PreK–1

Smart Start: Phonics and Spelling gives early learners a reading boost with colorful activities, audio stories, and stickers. Recipient of a 2023 National Parenting Product Award, these engaging activity books help children build positive early learning experiences with beginning reading. Children will practice beginning letter sounds, learn important spelling patterns, and read short stories with beginning word families.

For more summer learning ideas check out Summer Learning Ideas for Kids: Kitchen Math, Garden Science, and Other Educational Activities

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February 17, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Ten Best Activity Books for Preschool Kids

The workbooks in this list are the best for providing preschoolers with hours of fun activities that teach early learners valuable foundational skills. Preschoolers benefit from quality educational workbooks by practicing fine-motor skills, learning beginning alphabet letters and sounds, practicing beginning numbers, and developing problem solving!

Give your child some screen-free learning fun and help your preschooler get ready for kindergarten and/or transitional kindergarten with the best workbooks for preschool.

Best-Value Jumbo Workbooks

Top Student jumbo activity books provide 350 pages of activities to keep early learners challenged and excited as they strengthen their skills with alphabet letters and sounds, beginning reading foundations, numbers and counting, shapes and colors, matching, sorting, science, STEM, SEL and more!

Top Student activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Beginning Reading and Math Starters

Smart Start Read and Write activity books introduce beginning reading and writing. The audio read-aloud stories and activities introduce alphabet letters and sounds and provide fun practice activities to help your preschooler learn his or her letters and numbers.

Smart Start Math Stories and Activities workbooks help preschoolers learn beginning counting, patterns, addition, and subtraction. The audio read-aloud stories and activities will help your child learn to recognize math in the world around them. The stories provide real-life examples of how math is used in everyday life.

Fun with Science, STEM, STEAM, and Coding

Smart Start STEM workbooks include hands-on STEM projects that develop your child’s problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. The STEM challenges will inspire your little learner to get comfortable exploring different ideas to solve problems.

Download free sample activities from Smart Start STEM here.

Skill Sharpeners STEAM integrates science, technology, engineering, art, and math to create meaningful learning opportunities for preschoolers! The real-world topics in these STEAM workbooks relate learning to the environment, earth, people, and cultures, and inspire children to solve real problems such as sun safety, germs, trash, and more!

Skill Sharpeners STEAM activity books won the 2021 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Download free sample activities from Skill Sharpeners STEAM here.

Smart Start Beginning Coding Stories and Activities workbooks help early learners develop a strong foundation in computer science and create fun learning opportunities with real-world audio stories and stickers that help children relate coding concepts to real life. These books are a great place to start in beginning your child’s coding journey.

Globe-trotter Delight

Skill Sharpeners Geography engages little learners in exploring the world while learning important map skills and geography concepts. The cross-curricular activities include stories, reading comprehension activities, writing practice, and more.

Download free sample activities from Skill Sharpeners Geography here.

The Never-Bored Kids Book is the perfect travel companion. These creative activity books provide hours of entertainment with activities such as crafts, mazes, dot-to-dots, hidden pictures, and more.

Summer Learning to Transition from PreK to K

Daily Summer Activities workbooks provide a summer learning solution to help your child prepare for kindergarten. The short, daily activities make it easy to review important alphabet letters, sounds, and numbers. The fun stickers and learning activities create enjoyable summer learning opportunities that will help prepare your preschooler for kindergarten.

Daily Summer Activities activity books won the 2020 Parents’ Picks Award for Best Educational Products for Preschool and Elementary Kids.

Download free sample activities from Daily Summer Activities here.

Life Skills

Heart and Mind Activities for Today’s Kids includes 100 fun activities that support your child’s well-being. The activities create positive learning experiences for kindergartners and help them learn to manage emotions, reduce anxiety, and navigate social situations. Activities include art, puzzles, games, coloring, and more!

For more learning ideas for PreK–1 check out:

Best Activity Books for Kindergarten

Kindergarten Readiness Checklist: What Does My Child Need to Know for Kindergarten?

Life Skills Kids Should Know Before Kindergarten

February 1, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Beijing Winter Olympics – FREE Activities for Students

February 4th marks the launch of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games. Learn about the Winter Olympics in your classroom and cheer on your favorite top athletes from around the world with these free Olympic-themed activities!

History of the Winter Olympics

The first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France with 250 athletes competing in 16 events. The event was named Winter Sports Week and was so popular that the International Olympic Committee named it the first Winter Olympics Games in 1926. Since 1924, there have been 24 Winter Olympics held every four years around the world!

Bring the excitement of the Winter Olympics to your classroom with these free Olympic Winter Games activities.

The Grades 1–3 packet includes creative coloring pages and informational pages to help students understand the Winter Olympics and the types of events that are included in competition. Included in this packet is a writing page that asks students to write about their favorite winter sport.

The Grades 4–6 packet introduces students to the types of winter sports included in the 2022 games. Students write about their favorite winter sport and include important information about each activity. Also included are creative coloring activities.

Check out the latest videos and awards from the 2022 Olympic Winter games here: https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/video

For more free activities and lessons, sign up for Evan-Moor’s education e-newsletter here.

January 18, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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Free Groundhog Day Learning Activities

If you’re wondering how many weeks of winter are left, ask a groundhog! Groundhog Day, celebrated on February 2nd in the United States, is a great opportunity to connect curriculum with a fun theme!

What is Groundhog Day?

Groundhog Day was first celebrated in the mid 1800’s, by the Pennsylvania Dutch. The day focuses on predicting if spring will come early, or if winter will continue for a few more weeks. This “prediction” isn’t science-based, but rather is made by a groundhog named Phil Punxsutawney.

Phil was given his name in 1961, his last name referencing the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where the Groundhog Day celebrations take place. On February 2nd every year, Phil emerges from his burrow; if he sees his shadow, he will return to his den and there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, it means an early spring!

This fun predictor in western Pennsylvania is a cultural tradition in the United States and Canada. Celebrate it with fun learning activities and projects!

Groundhog Day Pop-up Puppet for Grades 1–3

This hands-on art project instructs students on how to create a pop-up groundhog puppet so they can make their own predictions about the weather! Using art supplies like popsicle sticks, construction paper, and an included template for the groundhog, students will make their puppet with or without a shadow to represent their predictions.

For more Holiday-themed art projects like this one, check out Holiday Art Projects on the Evan-Moor website.

Get your free download of this activity here!

The Contest/El concurso Language Unit for Grade 3

Practice language skills with this unit, which features a one-page short story written in both English and Spanish. After reading the story about a Groundhog Day competition, students will complete comprehension activities that will reinforce their language skills, critical thinking, and vocabulary development.

Reading and comprehension is one of the best ways to practice language skills; find more language units like this one in Spanish/English Read and Understand from Evan-Moor.

To get this language unit for free, click here.

I Predict… Writing Activity for Grades 2–5

This creative writing activity challenges students to write a story about Groundhog Day from the groundhog’s perspective. After reading a short prompt, they’ll get to use their creativity and imagination to determine where the story goes. Share with the class on groundhog day! Practice writing skills with more fun prompts using Giant Write Every Day: Daily Writing Prompts.

Download this prompt and reproducible creative writing page here.

Additional Ground Hog Day Activities

Statistics and Predictions
As a class, take a vote on who thinks the groundhog will see his shadow and who thinks he won’t! Write it down on the board and keep a tally, then as a class react to the groundhog’s prediction. What percentage of the class voted correctly? This is a great opportunity to incorporate some math curriculum!

Shadows and Science
Groundhog Day is also a great time to discuss the science of light and shadows. During different times of the day, go outside and have students outline each other’s shadows with chalk. Then, at the end of the day, compare and contrast the shadows and discuss why they move, grow, and shrink. Have students write down their observations. If it’s a cloudy day, use flashlights or lamp light indoors to manipulate shadows!

Download this Shadow science activity for grades 1–2 from Read and Understand Science grades 1–2.

What if the Groundhog Wasn’t a Groundhog? Creative Writing Activity
Have students create their own Groundhog Day holiday! What animal would it be? Would they look for their shadow or something else? What are they predicting? What is the history behind this made-up holiday? This creative writing activity involves imagination, critical thinking, and organizational writing skills. Have students present their holiday to the class!

Read about Groundhog Day as a class with these colorful and fun book recommendations:

Groundhog’s Day Off by Robb Pearlman for Grade K–1: When Groundhog gets fed up with everyone waiting on him, he takes off for a vacation. But who will replace him to predict if winter is over?

Substitute Groundhog by Pat Miller for Grade K–2: Dr. Owl diagnoses Groundhog with an ill-timed flu right before Groundhog, leaving everyone in a scramble to find a substitute!

With fun reading, writing, art, and hands-on activities, students can learn about Groundhog Day while still developing curriculum-related skills. Download your free activities from Evan-Moor and check out each activity’s workbook for more fun activities.

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Leave your prediction for Groundhog Day in the comments!

January 4, 2022
by Evan-Moor
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He Changed America by Talking: Classroom Activities to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we celebrate a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., how do you help your students or children appreciate his life’s work and legacy? These Evan-Moor lesson ideas provide some insight into Dr. King’s poignant teachings, which are still relevant to our world today.

Check out the free downloadable MLK activities, and other projects.

Grades PreK–K: Martin Luther King, Jr., Activities. Download them here.
(From Seasonal Activities)

Grades K–2: Dr. King Writing Form. Download them here.
(From Writing Forms: Tops & Bottoms)

Grades 1–2: He Changed America by Talking. Download them here.
(From Read and Understand: Celebrating Diversity)

Grades 3–4: Biographical Article and Activities. Download them here.
(From Read and Understand: Celebrating Diversity)

Grades 4–8: Spanish/English Biography and Activities. Download them here.
(From Spanish/English Read and Understand)

Grades 1–6: The Handshake Book. Download them here.
(From How to Make Books with Children)

Grades 1–6: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Download them here.

MLK Day Activities

Dream Cloud (grades 1–3)
After reading about MLK and learning about his “I Have a Dream” speech, challenge students to brainstorm their own dreams that can in some way improve the world.

Once students have come up with their ideas, transfer them onto cloud-shaped paper and decorate! Then hang them in your classroom for decoration! You can also bind the clouds together to create a class book.

Dream Speech Project (grades 4–6)
For older grades, have students watch or read MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech and then write their own. Start with brainstorming topics for what dreams students have for themselves, classmates, and future. Brainstorm as a class, individually, or in small groups to come up with as many ideas as possible!

Then, students can write their speeches and present them to the class with their ideas of how to improve the world.

A Letter to MLK (grades 3–6)
After learning about MLK and civil rights, have students write a letter to MLK, telling him about the effect he’s had on the world today. For younger grades, you can write one letter as a class, brainstorming and writing as a group. Point out specific examples of how MLK has made the world a better place.

MLK Reading Recommendations

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. for ages 5–8: Follow MLK’s story through pictures to learn about his life, legacy, and impact on the world.

The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.: A Biography Book for New Readers for ages 6–8: This short book follows MLK from his childhood to adulthood, with easy-to-read sections and colorful illustrations.

I am Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ordinary People Change the World) for ages 5–9: Using comic-book style illustration, this book tells the true story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and details all of his accomplishments.

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for ages 6–8: Read small excerpts and quotes from MLK’s impactful speeches to learn about his life and legacy.

My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for ages 4–8: Learn about MLK through the perspective of his son, Martin Luther King III, in this illustrated memoir for kids.

Hand-in-Hand for a Better Land bulletin board template and writing prompts (from Evan-Moor’s Seasonal Bulletin Boards):

What does it mean to stand “hand-in-hand”? Have your students tell about a time when they stood together for a common belief or cause. How did standing hand-in-hand make a difference?
Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream that all people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Have students write about what makes up a person’s character.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (August 28, 1963)