School Memorial Day Pageant and Party, Educational, Patriotic, Nostaglic

Memorial Day, the last Monday in May goes by several names: Remembrance Day and Decoration Day. It falls on May 26, 2014, this year. We honor fallen military and our loved ones who have passed. Teachers and homeschool families, here's an educational Memorial Day pageant planner with U.S. history tie-ins, American patriotic themes and a vintage flavor. Educational, Vintage Memorial Day Student Pageant and Party

Recycled Earth Day Crafts, Spring Birthday Party Activities

Hosting an Earth Day event? Or maybe a spring birthday party? Need cool recycled crafts? Why not repurpose that ubiquitous plastic milk jug from landfill fodder to sand toys or gardening tools? Make a set of eight tools. Perfect for Earth Day, preschool, school, scout troop, 4H group, camp and day care. Perfect small hands and young gardeners. Reuse or recycle. You will need: -two clean plastic milk jugs per child

-permanent marker

-scissors (children's Fiskars scissors work great) Read on Beach Sand and Gardening Toys from Recycled Plastic Milk Jugs

Host a Harvest Apple Party! Crafts, Activities, Recipes, Printables

Looking for a non-scary Halloween party theme? How about apples? Apples are the perfect party theme for fall harvest frolics. Here's an interactive apple activity planner with crafts, recipes, art, creative writing, math and more. I've added free printable apple-themed crafts and worksheets for activity extenders.  Preschool Apple Unit, Cross-Curricular Hands-on Crafts, Activities, Recipes 

Back to School Party, Labor Day Social Studies Lesson Plans

Labor Day makes us think of picnics, parades and the last vacation before school starts. It's important to remember why we have a Labor Day and what it's all about. Labor Day is a day set aside to honor the work that people perform to care for loved ones and keep our country functioning. We honor too those who have lost their lives on the job, in accidents, strikes, lockouts or in the labor organizing process. Here's a classroom party planner for Labor Day Social Studies Lesson Planner. There are career day ideas, a preschool occupations unit and activities to explore the holiday.

Memorial Day and 4th of July Backyard Water Park

Red, White, Blue and Green! 4th of July Backyard Water Park Memorial Day and 4th of July means family picnics, backyard BBQs and lots of summer fun! Here's a complete DIY patriotic water fun park with 10 activities that you can set up in your backyard. All the guests, young and old can enjoy the fun! Be sure to make a separate area for the land lubbers who wish to stay dry. Your lawn gets a good drink of water and everyone can cool off. Educational and fun! Read more...

Free Printable Patriotic Crafts and Party Planner

Free Printable All American Patriotic Summer Crafts Family Fun is a well-named magazine. Cover to cover each issue of family fun is loaded with recipes, games, crafts, activities and free printable fun. Here is a list of free printable patriotic and all-American themed craft activities from Family Fun. Read More

Winter Olympics Outdoor Games Party Planner

Winter Olympics Activities and Lesson Plans for School or Homeschool
The Olympics make a great subject for study in the classroom or homeschool. Winter Olympics 2010 is a celebrates talent, athletics, health and wellness and multi-cultural interaction. Here some ways to bring the Olympics into your lesson plans. Read More

Memorial Day Party Planner -History Activities

Cheap Kids Memorial Day Party Planner with U.S. History Ideas
Games, crafts, menu, recipes for Memorial Day fun. Includes US history activities. Great for school, homeschoolers, scouts and Memorial Day fun at home. Written for 4th of July and great for any patriotic holiday!
Read on

Chinese New Year Party

Want to plan an awesome Chinese New Year party? Here's a complete DIY party planner. Includes decorations, treats, food, games, activities, crafts, stories and more! For Free Printable Activities for the Chinese New Year, Click here. For more seasonal and holiday printables, visit my blogspot blogs at Free Printable Holiday, for lots more free printable lesson plans, visit me at Free Printable Lesson Plans. For a lollapalooza of crafts, check out Green Crafts. And for coloring pages galore visit Free Coloring Pages 4U.

Epiphany Twelfth Night Holiday Party Planner

Few students look forward to returning to school in January after Christmas vacation. So why not start the New Year with a holiday party? But you just did the holiday season, right? Well, not if you live Europe, South America or some other countries. There, the holiday season has just begun! And it's called Epiphany (or Three Kings Day, Dia de Reyes, Twelfth Night). Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches celebrate Jan. 6 as Three Kings Day when the Magi brought gifts to Baby Jesus. People mistakenly assume the Magi arrived with the shepherds, angels, etc. But the Bible says they came roughly 12 days after Jesus's birth, so Three Kings Day is the Twelfth Night after Christmas.Here's an Epiphany party planner to use for social studies lessons.

Tell the Christmas story using a nativity manger scene. Explain that the manger scene is a sacred devotional in many lands. It's called a creche in France and Germany, a presepio in Italy and a nacimiento in Latin countries. St Francis of Assisi first used the manger scene as an object lesson in his homilies in the mid 13th century. In Catholic homes, the Magi aren't placed in the manger scene until Epiphany. Nativity figures "travel" around the room as the wisemen, Have students write a play, using the gospel of St. Luke from the Bible, to show what the Magi and Holy Family might have encountered in their travels. Act out the play.

Explore the Magi. Read "The Fourth Wise Man" by Henry VanDyke. Or watch "The Fourth Wise Man" movie version at Youtube. It's the story of Arteban, who was supposed to join the other three Magi--Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar--but couldn't because he was so busy living the gospel. Read the opening chapters of "Ben Hur" by Gen. Lew Wallace and watch part one of Jesus of Nazareth for portrayals of the Magi.

Make Three Kings Day crafts using these free printable Epiphany activities. Make a nativity set by dressing up paper towel and toilet paper tubes in fabric scraps. Use yarn for hair and draw on faces. Make crowns from recycled boxes. Cut a piece to around the head and tape in place. Cut the top edge in decorative designs. Paint the crown with metallic paint or cover with aluminum foil. Glue on faux gems, stickers, fur trim, etc.

Perform Three Kings Day ceremonies. Since Twelfth Night also commemorates the Baptism of Jesus, light your children's' baptismal candles. If they did not receive one, you can light any candle and pray a special blessing for them. Do an Epiphany house blessing. In this ancient tradition, ask the three kings to watch over your home. Write the their initials over the door that you enter and exit through.. Use chalk to write C+B+M fpr Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior. Use different colored chalk each year.

Make crowns from recycled boxes. Cut it to fit and paint the crown with metallic paint or cover with aluminum foil. Glue on faux gems or stickers, fur trim, etc. Dress up in royal (looking) robes and put on an Epiphany passion play.

Prepare a Twelfth Night King cake. A traditional New Orleans King cake is a frosted cinnamon ring filled with fruit and nuts and decorated to look like a crown. Colored sugar in Mardi Gras colors of gold, purple and green, decorates the King cake. A tiny plastic baby Jesus is placed inside. The finder is king for the day and must make another King cake to be eaten the next night. The procedure is repeated till Mardi Gras. That's a lot of cake to eat, so you could do a weekly King cake. You can make any flavor King cake you like. Bake in a bundt pan so it resembles a crown and insert prize from bottom when it's cooled. If you can't find a baby Jesus, use a Hershey's Kiss, wrapped candy, plastic coin or dried bean. Spray sugar with colored water for Twelfth Night decorations.

Free Thanksgiving Party Puzzles and Games

Free Printable Thanksgiving Party Puzzles and Word Games Celebrate Thanksgiving parties with free printable holiday games, word games, puzzles, jigsaw puzzles. Liven up classroom lessons with puzzles and games. Share with family and friends for holiday get-togethers and parties! View more »