Easy Spring Bird Craft

Sometimes I just need an easy, low prep, quick directions craft, especially in April.  I copied the bird bodies on pink, blue, and yellow and students chose their color with feathers to match.  I showed my kindergartners the steps all at once, and they were able to complete this on their own.  Pro Tip: give them a specific number of feathers they can use, or else some will go wild! I told them three for this craft due to the amount of feathers I had on hand.

These looked really cute hanging in the hallway. 🐦

Click here for free template.

Extending Stories

One of my favorite post reading activities I tried this year was having students write a "sequel" to our book.  I was surprised with two things: First, they were super excited not only to write and illustrate their sequels, but also to read them to the class. Second, it started a huge trend of students going home and writing their own books and bringing them to school, excited to share.  Definitely adding this to my rotation of extension activities. 

Below are some of their books they created at home, just for fun.  It wasn't an assignment: they were inspired. 😍

April Journals

 

In April we switched from sentences and stories to lists. The kids did so well!  It was a fun way to learn more about them.  Through the lists, we discussed a lot about capitalization, such as in titles and proper names.  Every Friday, all year, is "Free Write Friday."  I was pleased to see my students choosing to write various lists on their free write days such as "Most Dangerous Animals," "My Friends," and "Things Ms. Hahs Loves." 🙂

Some of our topics included:

• Favorite Pets
• Favorite Ways to Relax
• Favorite Wild Animals
• Favorite Places I Have Been
• Favorite Desserts
• Favorite Breakfast Foods
• Favorite Characters
• My Wish List

Finish the Picture Writing Prompts

One of my kids' favorite independent writing prompts is from Mr. L's classroom on TpT. It's called "Finish the Picture" and is just like it sounds.  Each page has a couple shapes or lines that the students turn into something, then write about it.  My kindergartners get so excited about it and usually end up putting their completed work in their Leadership Notebooks. 

Click Here for the $4 packet