Pi Day is March 14 (3.14). If you are still looking for some games or activities to do with your kids or students, don’t worry, check out these 5 easy last-minute Pi Day activities you can do at-home or online!
1. An Easy Art Project
Make Pi Day Grid Art! To celebrate the infinite number of Pi there are infinite ways to fill in the boxes. Have your students choose 3 colors and give them 14 to design 15 (3.1415) boxes however they like and then cut them out and hang them in your classroom.
2. A Fun Craft They Can Keep
Make Pi Day Bracelets! Assign each digit of Pi to a certain color (ex. 3=blue 1=white 4=yellow), write the color assignments down, print them out and give them to your students. Have them each cut a string that is the size of their wrist and get to work! OR If it’s easy you can assign different colors for even and odd numbers (even=black, odd=white).
3. A Pi-Day Inspired Book With a Riddle
Read Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi! In this book, kids will have fun while trying to solve the pi-day riddle. ABOUT: When Radius gives Sir Cumference something to relieve stomach pain, his poor father turns into a dragon! Radius must solve a riddle about a circle to change Sir Cumference back to a human by the next morning.
4. A Fun Race to Pie
Play a Pi Card Game! Here’s how it works- divide students into groups and get a deck of cards (for social distancing or virtual learning each student can use their own deck) and take out all Aces, Jacks, Jokers, Kings, and Queens. Give each student 5 cards to hold and keep the rest in the deck. The goal of the game is to play all of the card numbers that make up Pi, so the first card that must be played is a 3- if no one has a 3, students must take turns drawing cards until someone can lay down a three, and then you go to the next number in Pi, 1 and so on. The person with the fewest number of cards in their hands once the deck is empty (or you reach the number you would like to stop at in Pi) is the winner!
5. A Pie Day Scavenger Hunt
Ready, Set, GO find Pi! Have students find and measure as many circular things that they can around the house or the classroom with a tape measure. They will then have to record the object they find, the diameter, and then use Pi to find the circumference. If you would like, you can even give prizes away to those who find 10 different circular objects and measure them!
Don’t forget to celebrate by eating your favorite pie! If you are celebrating in the classroom you don’t have to miss out on the pie fun, just remember to make sure each is individually wrapped, like these 4 oz pies.
For more Easy Pi Day games and activities visit our “Pi Day Activities” board on Pinterest!
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Throughout the past year, teaching a class without actually being in a physical classroom has been one of the most difficult adjustments for teachers and students alike. Through hard work and perseverance, teachers have learned to adapt their teaching methods and find new ways to help their remote students in their online environment, but unfortunately, some students are still falling behind.
If you have virtual learners that are struggling, here are a few ways you can give your students a helping hand.
Promote Community in the Virtual Classroom
Our brains are wired to be social, so the sudden lack of communal interaction can be extremely difficult – especially considering the minds of developing children.It’s vital to do everything you can to make your virtual classroom a safe space where they feel a sense of togetherness. This in turn will help them stay engaged.
Adding more group-oriented work to your lesson plans will also encourage students to communicate more actively with each other as they work to achieve a common goal as a team. Likewise, discussion-based activities can motivate students to voice their opinions and hear others, like they would if they were together in the classroom.
Give Students a Choice
No two students will react the same to a given project. Rather than demanding they stick to a strict rubric, allow them the freedom to pursue a presentation of their choice around a lesson or topic. While an essay may work for Bobby, his classmate Suzy would much rather design a PowerPoint to show off her technical skills. Finding a balance between ensuring the curriculum is taught and letting students demonstrate their own understanding of their knowledge is an easy way you can help your students succeed.
Encourage Their Individuality
Unlike a physical classroom, there’s no opportunity in virtual learning for students to have a space that feels like their own. While they’re away from their desks, encourage your students (or their parents) to create a dedicated space at home that they can make their own.
It could include anything from decorating their own backdrop with relevant posters or scenery, to filling the space with personalized items, or even using the customizable background feature on programs like Zoom (responsibly and appropriately). All of these will help promote a sense of self and bring them into “learning mode”, rather than just feeling like another day spent indoors.
Communicate With Parents
While you may already keep in touch with your student’s parents often, during virtual learning it’s as important as ever to keep mom and dad in the loop- especially if their child is struggling. With more parents helping with homework and projects these days, it’s important to always keep an open line of communication (during a set number of hours) for parents to contact you with questions and concerns. If you see a child that is starting to fall behind, reach out to their parents to see how they are doing with their work at home. For students that continue to struggle, set up a virtual meeting where you can all get together and go over solutions.
Most importantly, reassure your students that even though they may feel alone, we are all on this virtual journey together.
For more virtual learning tips click here. Have your own ideas on how to help students struggling with virtual learning? Comment below!
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
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This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. California Casualty does not own any of the photos in this post, all are sources by to their original owners. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Help your youngsters better understand what a bully is, bullying tactics, and how to prevent them by reading books that focus on empathy, inclusion, kindness, conflict resolution, and confidence.
Here are our favorite anti-bullying books that are perfect for kids in Pre-K through early elementary school.
1. Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon
Be yourself like Molly Lou Melon no matter what a bully may do. Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy, has buck teeth, and has a voice that sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. She doesn’t mind. Her grandmother has always told her to walk proud, smile big, and sing loud, and she takes that advice to heart. But then Molly Lou has to start in a new school. A horrible bully picks on her on the very first day, but Molly Lou Melon knows just what to do about that.
2. We’re All Wonders
Countless fans have asked R. J. Palacio to write a book for younger readers. Palacio shows readers what it’s like to live in Auggie’s world—a world in which he feels like any other kid but is not always seen that way. We’re All Wonders may be Auggie’s story, but it taps into every child’s longing to belong, and to be seen for who they truly are. It’s the perfect way for families and educators to talk about empathy and kindness with young children.
3. The Juice Box Bully
Have you ever seen a bully in action and done nothing about it? The kids at Pete’s new school get involved, instead of being bystanders. When Pete begins to behave badly, his classmates teach him about “The Promise”. Will Pete decide to shed his bullying habits and make “The Promise”?
4. Kindness Starts With You
Follow Maddy through her day at school, where your child will learn how easy it can be to spread kindness. From taking turns on the swing to including everyone in the game – this storybook shows that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted! A lightbulb lesson of kindness is found on each page!
5. Stick and Stone
When Stick rescues Stone from a prickly situation with a Pinecone, the pair becomes fast friends. But when Stick gets stuck, can Stone return the favor? Author Beth Ferry makes a memorable debut with a warm, rhyming text that includes a subtle anti-bullying message even the youngest reader will understand. In this funny story about kindness and friendship, Stick and Stone join George and Martha, Frog and Toad, and Elephant and Piggie, as some of the best friend duos in children’s literature.
6. Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum is a funny and honest school story about teasing, self-esteem, and acceptance to share all year round. Chrysanthemum thinks her name is absolutely perfect—until her first day of school. “You’re named after a flower!” teases Victoria. “Let’s smell her,” says Jo. Chrysanthemum wilts. What will it take to make her blossom again? Chrysanthemum is a classic that gets children thinking about and bonding with their own names and the names of everyone else in the class, and it’s the perfect vehicle for starting a discussion about treating classmates with tolerance, kindness, and compassion.
7. Purplicious
In this follow-up to the New York Times bestselling Pinkalicious, a young girl remains true to herself and discovers that pink isn’t only a pretty color, but also a powerful one. While everyone knows Pinkalicious’s favorite color is pink, the bullies at her new school don’t agree. All the girls are wearing black, painting in black, and making fun of Pinkalicious for loving pink. “Pink is for babies and stinks!” they tell her. Pinkalicious feels left out until she learns that pink can be a powerful color, and that the most important thing is to be yourself.
8. Monty the Manatee
Meet Monty. He’s a big creature with an even bigger heart. Monty’s nervous because it’s his first day at Sea School. He tries to make new friends but the other sea creatures think he’s a bit slow and strange….so they’re mean to him and call him names! When a dangerous predator invades the classroom and threatens to eat them all for his supper, Monty comes up with a plan. Is he brave or clever enough to save them all? The other creatures don’t think he is.
9. Empathy is Your Super Power
Learning to understand and care about the feelings of others is one of the most important steps in a child’s development―and it’s never too early to help little ones build those skills. This beautifully illustrated storybook teaches young kids how to recognize and practice empathy through simple real-life scenarios that are easy for them to understand. It’s written with clear language for adults to read aloud and features discussion questions and activities that encourage kids to talk about what they learned and use it in their lives.
10. One
Blue is a quiet color. Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budding young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colors, they also learn about accepting each other’s differences and how it sometimes just takes one voice to make everyone count.
11. It’s OK to be Different
Every Child is Unique! Whether they are big or small, short or tall, like to swim, dance, sing, or bike. Perhaps they have a special need or are from a different ethnic background. Maybe they wear glasses or talk differently. The truth is that all children are different and their individuality should be celebrated, not bullied or shunned. And this inspiring and brightly illustrated rhyming picture book does just that. By highlighting the ways kids are different from one another, it helps children to accept themselves and others as the beautifully unique individuals that they are.
12. Enemy Pie
It was the perfect summer. That is, until Jeremy Ross moved into the house down the street and became neighborhood enemy number one. Luckily Dad had a surefire way to get rid of enemies: Enemy Pie. But part of the secret recipe is spending an entire day playing with the enemy! In this funny yet endearing story, one little boy learns an effective recipe for turning a best enemy into a best friend.
13. The Recess Queen
Mean Jean was Recess Queen and nobody said any different. Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung. Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked. Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced. If kids ever crossed her, she’d push ’em and smoosh ’emlollapaloosh ’em, hammer ’em, slammer ’emkitz and kajammer ’em. Until a new kid came to school! With her irrepressible spirit, the new girl dethrones the reigning recess bully by becoming her friend in this infectious playground romp.
14. Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun
Lucy has big hair, eats fun foods and is teased by a boy named Ralph at school because she is different. She tries to be brave but she wishes the teasing would stop. What should I do? she asks herself over and over. Lucy’s Papa Gino reminds her to do the right thing and treat people with kindness. So when Ralph gets stuck on the playground and needs help, will Lucy use this chance to teach Ralph a lesson? Or will she have the courage to be true to herself and make the right choice with an act of kindness?
15. Llama Llama and the Bully Goat
Llama Llama is learning lots of new things at school and making many friends. But when Gilroy Goat starts teasing him and some of their classmates, Llama Llama isn’t sure what to do. And then he remembers what his teacher told him—walk away and tell someone. It works! But then Llama Llama feels badly. Can he and Gilroy try to be friends again?
What are your favorite anti-bullying books for young readers? Tell us in the comments below!
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Who knew we needed this holiday so much!? Celebrating friendship, love, appreciation, and inclusivity – Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to bring your class some fun and good-feels after a tough year.
In normal times, we’d be organizing handmade paper valentines, classroom activities, candy hearts, and other treats for an in-person celebration. But this year requires a little creativity in moving the holiday online and rocking it – luckily, we’ve gathered up a list of 13 great ideas to help you do just that!
1. Throw a party – Yep, even if you’re teaching remotely you can still throw a great virtual party. The key is creating a fun mood and tone. Decorate your space in pink and red (even just a little goes a long way) with things like garlands, paper heart cut-outs, paper flowers, and other crafts. Check out tips on resources, tech, and tailoring for different grade levels here.
2. Make Valentine’s Day cards – These are the beloved Valentine’s standby – and the good news is they’re not going anywhere. With some planning ahead, you and your class can still make traditional paper cards (see #s 2, 3, 16, and 18 here) or you can go totally virtual using any of the many online cardmaking apps out there. We also have free downloadable teacher-to-student Valentine’s cards on our blog.
3. Do holiday word games – From word scrambles to crosswords and rhyming exercises check out these holiday-themed downloadable worksheets.
4. Get crafty – Send a craft packet out to your students ahead of time and add craft-making to your party plan. The ideas are endless: beaded hearts with pipe cleaners, heart pockets, friendship bracelets, collages, and more – find dozens of ideas here and here.
5. Embrace magnetic poetry – Students can create poetry for the occasion by using this easy-to-use free online tool.
6. Facilitate peer shout-outs – Part of the beauty of Valentine’s Day is lifting up the things we find great about another person. Use this cool heart-shaped word cloud to help students create clouds containing things they love about their fellow students or family members. This exercise is great to assign to student pairs.
7. Do a candy heart experiment – Slip in some science with this fun activity. Best for preschoolers or kindergarteners (requires parental supervision).
8. Spread the love – Check your local Children’s Hospital or hospital’s pediatric unit to see if they have a Valentine’s Day card campaign your classroom can join. These can be done online and be delivered electronically. Pro tip: hospitals usually ask that the message sticks to a Valentine’s theme rather than a “get well” message.
9. Share stories – Ask students to create their own “Things I Heart”: on a heart-shaped paper cut-out, they can write down things they love in their life – this could be people, pets, food, activities, sports – anything that makes them happy and feeling good. Besides being good for the holiday, this also helps them start strengthening their gratitude muscle. Download our printable template here.
10. Do a kindness challenge – Devote the day, a week, or even the whole month to a kindness challenge. The idea is to have kids think of little kindnesses they can do for others – such as leaving a thank-you note for their mailman, doing an extra household chore for their parents, or hanging a birdfeeder for hungry birds. Find more ideas here and here (make Covid adjustments as necessary).
11. Have a poetry reading – There are a zillion poems about friendship and love – and plenty appropriate for every grade level. Have students find a poem they like and then share it with the class (older ones can memorize and recite; little ones can read from the page or screen).
12. Do some creative writing – There are so many writing prompts for the day! Have students write their own poetry, write a friendship letter, make a gratitude list, draft a love letter to the earth or write thank-you notes.
13. Holiday gif – Kids can easily make Valentine’s-themed pixel art for free at home. A great intro to animation!
Just because Valentine’s Day may not happen in the classroom this year doesn’t mean it can’t still be great. Enjoy this day of kindness and love with your students – kindness really does make the world go round!
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Get your students up and moving at your Valentine’s Day classroom party with our list of fun Valentine’s Day-themed brain breaks!
These YouTube videos are all free and great for socially distant in-person learning, and for hybrid or online teachers looking for activities to help their remote students get their wiggles out. Check them out below.
Find the Gnome is a brain break activity that has students guess where the infamous gnome is hiding by performing exercises, yoga poses, and dance moves. Whoever has the most right guesses at the end is the winner. Click here to play!
Students can help St. Patrick’s leprechaun deliver Valentine’s Day cards on Rainbow Road. Seems easy, however, Rainbow Road is full of obstacles like wind tunnels, unicorns, and wind that the students must get around by performing different actions. Click here to play!
The Learning Station is back with this great sing-a-long Valentine’s Day song for young kids! Get your littles excited by having them stand up and sing and dance along to this fun and catchy toon. Click here to play!
The older kids can also enjoy a fun dance along by learning how to line dance with GoNoodle! These steps can be pretty tricky so here are some instructions to go over before the music starts: right grapevine – kick – left grapevine – kick – front grapevine – stomp – back grapevine – stomp – right heel, heel – left heel, heel – toe – toe & heel 3x’s – JUMP! (and say Yee Haw!) & start from the beginning. Click here to play!
In this video, students choose which shadow is the correct true love of the Disney character. Whichever shadow they choose, they are to do that workout. At the end of the workout, the shadows are unmasked and they will see if they answered correctly. Whoever does gets a heart; most hearts at the end wins. Click here to play!
Students will be asked a series of Valentine’s Day questions, where they will get to pick their favorite answer. Whichever answer they choose, they will have to do the exercise that appears after it for 30 seconds. Click here to play!
Cupid has lost feathers from his wings and cannot fly without them. It’s up to your students to help him collect his wings, but they will run into some obstacles along the way. Run, jump, throw, duck, and more to help cupid collect all of his feathers so he can fly on Valentine’s Day. Click here to play!
Students can get up from their seats and dance along to Jack Hartmann’s song, but when the music stops they have to FREEZE! (Feel free to make up rules about students who are left dancing, like having them do jumping jacks until the next FREEZE.) Click here to play!
With this fun workout, your students will feel like they are in boxing class! They’ll air punch, dodge, duck, and jump through all of the obstacles as the (anti-Valentine’s Day) video plays. Just make sure students are spaced out for this one so there are no accidents. Click here to play!
You can’t go wrong with a calming session of Cosmis Kids Storytime and Yoga! This is a two-in-one video that features a Frozen story and a Harry Potter story, so kids can choose which one they would rather do. Click here to play!
If you are looking for something else to do for your classroom party, here are some other great Valentine’s Day activities for kids on YouTube to check out. They may not get kids up and out of their seats, but they are every bit just as fun!
This article is furnished by California Casualty. We specialize in providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
