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5 Fun Spring Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade

March 7, 2025 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

It’s almost here! Spring is officially days away and it’s the perfect time to refresh your classroom with some engaging and educational spring activities! The changing season brings opportunities to incorporate creativity, writing, and critical thinking into your lessons. Here are five fun and simple spring activities that your students will love!

1. Spring Bulletin Board – Growth Mindset

Encourage positivity and motivation in your classroom with a spring-themed growth mindset bulletin board! This activity allows students to reflect on their learning, set goals, and celebrate progress. They can write encouraging messages or personal growth statements on colorful flowers and add them to the board, creating an inspiring classroom display. Check out this ready-to-use resource here.

2. Spring Poetry Writing

Poetry is a fantastic way to get young learners excited about writing! Have students explore different types of poems, such as shape poems, acrostic poems, and bio poems, using a fun spring theme. They can write about flowers, animals, or the joys of the season while developing their literacy skills. This activity is a great way to encourage self-expression and creativity. Find engaging poetry activities here.

3. Would You Rather? Spring-Themed Writing

Make writing fun with a spring-themed “Would You Rather?” activity! Present students with silly and thought-provoking spring-related questions, such as “Would you rather play in the rain or play in the sunshine?” This activity helps develop critical thinking and writing skills while keeping students engaged. It’s perfect for morning work, writing centers, or a fun class discussion. Check out this digital and print-friendly resource here.

spring activities would you rather activities

4. Easy Spring Craft – Paper Plate Flowers

Let students get creative with a simple and fun spring craft! Provide them with paper plates, paint, markers, and construction paper to create their own colorful flowers. They can cut petals from the paper plate, decorate them with patterns, and attach a paper stem. This hands-on activity helps develop fine motor skills while brightening up your classroom with beautiful spring art!

5. Spring-Themed Math Scavenger Hunt

Create a spring-themed math scavenger hunt where students solve problems to find hidden clues around the classroom. Use simple addition or subtraction problems, counting challenges, or shape hunts to reinforce key math concepts in an exciting and interactive way.

I hope you and your students enjoy these fun spring activities! If you’re looking for more spring ideas, check out my post here!

5 Exciting STEM Challenges Students Will Love

February 28, 2025 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

STEM challenges are a fantastic way to engage students in hands-on learning, encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. Whether you’re looking for a quick, easy activity or a more in-depth project, these five STEM challenges will have your students thinking like engineers while having a blast!

1. Paper Chain Challenge (Easy & Fun)

This simple yet effective challenge is perfect for young learners. Give students one piece of paper, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick or tape. Their goal? Create the longest paper chain possible using only these materials. This activity encourages students to think strategically about how to cut and connect their strips efficiently. It’s a great introduction to engineering and measurement skills!

2. Tallest Tower Challenge (Easy & Effective)

Using only marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti, students must build the tallest free-standing tower they can. This activity promotes teamwork, problem-solving, and structural engineering concepts. Challenge them to test different base structures to see which provides the most stability. It’s a simple yet engaging way to get students excited about STEM!

3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – Build a Mouse House

Inspired by the beloved book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, this STEM challenge tasks students with designing and constructing a mouse house using everyday classroom materials. They must consider size, stability, and functionality as they work to create a cozy home for their “mouse.” This activity is perfect for tying literature and engineering together in a fun and interactive way. Check out this resource here.

4. March Madness Basketball STEM Catapult Challenge

March Madness is the perfect time to bring some basketball-themed STEM fun into the classroom! Students will design and build a popsicle stick catapult to launch a small object into a target (like a paper cup or a drawn basketball hoop). They’ll experiment with angles, force, and accuracy to improve their designs. This challenge is engaging and teaches essential physics concepts. Grab the full activity here.

5. Apollo Lunar Module STEM Challenge

Blast off into learning with this space-themed challenge! Students will design and build a model of the Apollo Lunar Module using various materials like foil, cups, and straws. The goal is to create a sturdy structure that can safely land on a simulated “moon” surface (a pillow or cotton balls). This activity connects STEM learning with real-world science and history. Explore the full challenge here.

These STEM challenges not only make learning fun but also help students develop critical thinking and collaboration skills. Whether you need a quick classroom activity or a more detailed project, these ideas are sure to keep your students engaged and excited about STEM!Looking for more STEM activities? Check out my post here!

3 Fun Science Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade

February 22, 2025 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Looking for free science activities for kindergarten or first grade students? I have you covered! Science is all about exploration and curiosity, making it the perfect subject for hands-on learning in kindergarten and first grade! If you need engaging, simple science activities to try in your classroom, you’re in the right place. These three activities require little prep and will have your students thinking like real scientists!

1. Sink or Float Experiment

Kids love water play, so why not turn it into a science lesson? Fill a tub with water and gather various small objects (a spoon, a rock, a sponge, a toy, etc.). Before testing, have students make predictions about whether each object will sink or float. Then, let them test their theories and discuss why some objects behave differently in water. This activity builds critical thinking skills while introducing concepts like density and buoyancy.

2. Plant a Bean in a Bag

Watching a seed sprout is a magical experience for little learners! All you need is a clear plastic bag, a damp paper towel, and a few dried beans. Place the beans inside the bag with the damp paper towel, then tape the bag to a sunny window. Over the next few days, students will observe the beans as they sprout and grow. This is a great way to introduce the parts of a plant and the life cycle of plants in a hands-on way.

3. Push and Pull Playground Investigation

Help your students understand force and motion by taking science outside! Head to the playground and have students identify different ways they can push and pull objects—swinging, sliding, kicking a ball, or pulling themselves up a ladder. Ask questions like, “What happens when you push harder?” or “How does pulling the swing back change how high it goes?” This real-world connection makes learning about forces fun and relatable.

Take Science Further with These Ready-to-Go Resources!

If you’re looking for more structured science lessons, these engaging resources make teaching science in kindergarten and first grade easy and fun:

Push and Pull Worksheets & Activities – Perfect for reinforcing force and motion concepts with hands-on activities.
All About Plants Unit – A complete resource for teaching plant parts, life cycles, and plant needs.
What is a Scientist? – Teach your students about the role of scientists and help them develop inquiry skills!

With these science activities and resources, your young learners will be excited to explore the world of science.

Looking for more science activities? Check out my post here all about teaching the scientific method!

5 Fun Activities for Poetry Day in Kindergarten and First Grade

February 15, 2025 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

Poetry Day on March 21st is the perfect time to introduce young learners to the magic of words! I love poetry because it helps kids build language skills, express creativity, and have fun with rhythm and rhyme. If you’re looking for engaging ways to celebrate this fun day in your classroom or poetry activities for kids, here are five easy and enjoyable activities to try!

1. Poetry Scavenger Hunt

Get kids excited about poetry by turning it into a game! Write simple poems on chart paper and hide them around the room. Give students clues to find each poem, and once they do, read them together as a class. This is a great way to get kids moving while introducing them to different types of poems.

2. Shape Poems Fun

Help students turn their words into visual art with shape poems! Have them choose a shape (a flower, sun, or even a butterfly) and write a poem inside the outline. This activity encourages creativity and helps students think about how words can fit into a design. Need ready-to-use resources and other fun poem activities? Check out this Spring Poetry Writing Activities resource!

3. Classroom Poetry Wall

Create a poetry wall where students can showcase their work! Give them prompts like “Spring is…” or “I feel happy when…” and let them craft short poems. Display their creations with fun borders and colorful decorations. If you want an easy way to set up a beautiful display, grab this Poetry Bulletin Board Ideas kit to bring your wall to life!

4. Silly Rhyme Time

Kids love rhyming words, so why not make it into a challenge? Say a word (like “cat”), and have students come up with as many rhyming words as possible. Then, work together to turn them into a short poem. This helps build phonemic awareness while making poetry fun and interactive.

5. Write and Share Digital Poems

Let students explore poems in a modern way with digital writing! Use Google Slides or a simple word processor to have students write and illustrate their own poems. They can even record themselves reading their work to share with the class. The Poetry Writing Google Slides & Print Option is a fantastic tool to guide your students through the process.

Poetry Day is a great opportunity to foster a love for language and creativity in your students. Whether you’re crafting shape poems, building a poems wall, or playing with rhymes, these activities will make the day engaging and memorable.

Looking for more spring activities? Check out my post here!