Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.

Welcome back to my new series of posts highlighting some of my very favorite, favorite books and the supplementary games, songs, and activities you could use with them. This could be useful for library programs, the classroom, home schooling, or (of course) to just have fun with your kids! Previously, I've created fun activity lists for books like If You Plant a Seed and Mother Bruce. Now I'll share ideas for... Oh, the irreverent humor of Jon Klassen in I Want My Hat Back. This is practically a classic by now, it's just so great. It's short, it's to the point, and man, does it have the best ending. So what sort of activities can go along with this book? Well, here are some ideas that will appeal to its target audience of kids aged 4 - 8 years. 1. Make your own pointy hat—Playing by the Book knows just what to do after enjoying this book: make and decorate your own beloved headwear! Her instructions (and my source for the photo) can be found here. 2. Go on a scavenger hunt—Outside or in the library, you can easily make a list of things kids can find. Just like the bear goes on a hunt for his hat, kids can hunt for pine cones, cool rocks, or some bugs outside. Inside? Maybe a blue cover book, a 597.5-Dewey-cataloged book, or certain magazine. 3. Nature walk—see if you can spot any of the plants or animals from the book. 4. Eat a rabbit—Ahem. Well, we don't know that that's exactly what bear did to the poor rabbit, but hey: this bunny-pancake-recipe is pretty cute and tasty! You could even add a strawberry on top to make the red, pointy hat that started all this drama. 5. List some alternate outcomes—Yes, it looks as though Bear ate Rabbit in the end. But what could've bear done instead to get his hat back? 6. Write a prequel or sequel—Do some creative writing and write why you think the rabbit stole the hat in the first place, or what bear did after he had his hat back. 7. Research headwear through the ages—What kind of hats were popular when your parents were kids? Or grandparents? Or great-great-great-grandparents? 8. Sing "We're Going on a Bear Hunt"—see the YouTube video for lyrics here. Get into it by doing all the actions. Try it out in your backyard or at the park for extra fun. 9. Play hide-and-go-seek—You can play the classic version with a small group, or my favorite with a big group: "hot and cold." You know what I mean? It's the game where you have one kid hide a small hat while another kid waits outside the room. When he comes back, the group helps him find the hat by calling out when he is warm & hot (the closer he gets to the hat). 10. Design a missing poster—Is there something you love that's missing? Design a missing poster with a drawing of what's gone, a description, and a reward! Here's a free printable from Create Educate Inspire to get you started. 11. Activity kit—Well, let's not forget the convenient activity kit provided by the publisher with fun games like a crossword! 12. Help a turtle in need—Bear does take the time, even in the middle of searching for his hat, to help a turtle in need. Is there small service you could perform for somebody today? 13. Puppet show—This is such a simple, repetitive book that kids are sure to learn the storyline quickly. Have them act it out themselves, then! Making some brown-sack puppets would make it especially fun. (Photo from Little Family Fun) 14. Imitate all the animals—as you read about each animal the bear comes across, have the kids do their best impersonation! Can they hop like a bunny or slither like a snake? 15. Read the other books in the series—Klassen has JUST released his third and final book in this series. So try out This is Not My Hat and We Found a Hat. Do you like either of those better than the first book? ........ Whether you do one or all, I hope you have a lot of fun with these ideas to supplement I Want My Hat Back.

Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.

This is an extension activity for HUMAN ORGANS. It comes with 8 organs that need a match to complete the entire look.  Total Cards  8 sets  Total Pages  2 WHY DO TODDLERS NEED TO WORK ON SYMMETRY PUZZLES? ✅ Completing a picture is a great way for a toddler to start practicing his or her attention to detail. ✅ Mastering this activity is part of working on a jigsaw puzzle where more pieces are included in the activity. ✅ This picture-matching activity is also a method for the child to practice hand-eye coordination which requires a lot of repetition to fine-tune his movement.

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Two by Kathryn Otoshi - Picture Book Activities. Explore feelings with this easy craft that is a great companion activity for the book TWO.

Use a paper towel roll to make a simple pop goes the weasel pop-up craft for kids!

Cross-curricular activities for toddlers to upper elementary students that center around the study of alligators.

Sensorial extensions are very helpful as they encourage children to continue using Montessori resources in a creative and engaging way. Using extensions children can put into practice their ability to grade and discriminate materials by width,

Review of the Montessori Print Shop Sensorial Extensions Bundle along with examples of sensorial extensions for older toddlers through early elementary!

It can be fun to introduce learning into a summer day or after-dinner evening with the family during Family Time. Pull out board games that you’ve played a thousand times and add a learning component to them for a new twist on the game. A math, literacy, history, or any educational spin can be made ... Read more

Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.

Toddlers don’t need fancy or expensive toys to have fun. Try these 10 common household items for playing with your toddler.

A Memorable Story about Hope for Elementary Students: A Flicker of Hope by Julia Cook. Come grab some technology extension activities to support this wonderful story. Great for class meetings and character building!

Anya, the founder of Montessori From The Heart, is an educational coach, a blogger, an author, a digital creator, and an influencer.

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Books Come Alive for Children With Picture Book Activities. Crafts, questions, journal pages, printables activities for your favorite books!

Children can explore books through their senses and with a hands-on approach while learning and making memories. These preschool books and the activities that we’ve come up with…are popular children’s books that are fun to read, and fun to play along with! These are book extension activities that we’ve read and come up with book-based ... Read more

Read these picture books about birds with your kids and paint a matching birdhouse to help inspire backyard activities this summer.

We love mystery chapter books so we had a hard time choosing which book to read for the Virtual Chapter Book Club for Kids this month! After some discussion we chose Nancy Clancy by Robin

These task cards are aligned to the ABLLS-R task C47, C48, and C49. All cards are labeled with the corresponding task number and score for easy organization and use. Perfect for direct instruction, independent work, guided practice, or small group instruction/centers!  Task cards are ideal for targeting those specific skills or using as extension activities, even if you do not use the ABLLS-R! Use these task cards to target identifying groups of objects when given a common characteristic or set of characteristics. The three sets of cards build in difficulty - one set targets identifying an item out of a field of three given two characteristics, another set targets identifying a group of items given one characteristic, and, the final set targets identifying a group of items given two characteristics. Included in this resource: 40 task cards (C47) 20 task cards (C48) 20 task cards (C49) Storage Labels Instructions for use Data Sheet Editable data sheet Use resource in combination with the Assessment of Basic Language & Learning Skills.

We’ve had these DIY cardboard shapes in the house for a couple of years now. These easy Tangrams are made from recycled cardboard and large enough that small hands can manipulate and build while learning shapes and colors. We used our cardboard building shapes to create two and three dimensional shapes while encouraging shape identification ... Read more

One of the most beautiful areas in the Montessori class has to be sensorial. Dr. Montessori designed each material as a means for the child to explore and refine his senses. Each material encourage the child to compare, categorize and make order. These ideas then carryover and the child can use these sensorial experiences toContinue reading "sensorial extension cards – what I made this week"

Review of the Montessori Print Shop Sensorial Extensions Bundle along with examples of sensorial extensions for older toddlers through early elementary!

Cleaning my office and found these OLD photo negatives. Hope they are new and fresh for others. I keep these photos in a small booklet for the kids to look at and copy. I have had to refresh the booklet many times from being worn out from use. Even parents love viewing the choices. If you don't have this in your class just recreate the designs and take your own photos.

Explore MattBronsil's 41 photos on Flickr!

Game Extension Kit for Pattern Matching can be used with any rainbow colored toddler or preschool kit and turn it into a game or provide new learning opportunities.

Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.

Ebi-kun has been working with the knobless cylinders this week, mainly using the extension cards, it is a bit more of a challenge doing it w...

3 Extensions for the Geometric Solids from Montessori en Casa on Montessori Bloggers Network

Montessori-inspired activities with matchstick puzzles. Ideas for matchstick math for multiple ages using Spielgaben wooden sticks instead of matchsticks.

Pinay Homeschooler is a blog that shares homeschool and afterschool activity of kids from babies to elementary level.