Fun + Educational Spring Activities for Elementary School Students

 Spring is a wonderful time for engaging, hands-on lessons that connect with nature!

1. Plant Life Cycle Exploration

Start with seeds and have students plant them in small pots. If time permits, they could decorate the pots first. (Sponge painting is fairly quick and easy.) Students can track the growth of the plants and make observations.

2. Nature Walk with Journaling

Make the most of beautiful spring days with a nature walk. It's a great way to get outside and explore the natural world around us. Encourage students to document what they see, hear, smell, and feel. You may want to discourage touching!

3. Bird Watching

Spring is prime time for bird migration and nesting. Consider adding a bird feeder outside your classroom for observations. Grab a few books and see if students can identify any species. Do you see your state bird?

4. Weather Tracking and Data Analysis

Students can learn about weather patterns by tracking daily weather conditions including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and cloud cover. They can record data on charts and graphs and analyze trends over time.

5. Insect Study and Identification

Engage students in an insect study by observing, identifying, and learning about different insect species. Perhaps you can bring in a bug house to safely observe various insects up close! 

6. Spring Poetry

Creativity soars in the spring. Teach students a couple different types of poetry and provide plenty of examples. Provide time for students to get creative and then have a poetry party to give students a chance to share their work.

7. Gardening with Sustainable Practices

Get hands-on with gardening activities. Your local Home Depot (or similar store) may even help. One year a conversation with the manager led to a whole team from our Home Depot coming to our school to help our 4th graders start a garden. It was so much fun, and they even provided the tools!

These springtime lessons provide opportunities for students to engage with the natural world, develop observation skills, and deepen their understanding of seasonal changes.

With faith and friendship,

How to Integrate Music Into Your Math Lessons

Need to capture your students' attention? Try enhancing your lessons with music! Music stimulates various parts of the brain making it a great tool for education.

1. Play Classical Music During Arrival and Dismissal

Create a playlist of classical music as students enter the classroom. Classical music could lead to a calm dismissal too!

2. Make Math Chants

Encourage students to make up rhythmic math chants for multiplication facts. Have them work in small groups and share with the class.

3. Create Word Problems

Using popular songs or artists, have each student create a word problem for classmates to solve. Include guidelines in your directions such as numbers must be 2 or 3 digits, no zeros, etc. Students can write their problems on an index card and trade cards with a partner and solve them.

4. Math Rock Bands

Divide students into groups. Each group creates a song or rap about a math concept. Hold a Math Rock Band concert!

5. Musical Math

Prepare a review worksheet. Place a worksheet on each student's desk. Play some music. While the music plays, students move and dance about the room. Pause the music and students stop and work on the problems at any desk. Start the music back up and students move and dance again. Repeat until the worksheets are complete. Go over the answers.

Try this place value review worksheet for only $1.25:

Integrating music into math lessons can improve engagement and retention!

With faith and friendship,