There are three obvious directions to go with the idea of rainbows: weather, colors, or the symbolism of rainbows as signs of good fortune. Rainbow colors classroom ideas Use rainbows to look at colors with a bright classroom theme: Rainbow of Possibilities Fadeless Rainbow bulletin board paper Garden Mama’s Waldorf… Continue reading
South Africa is a diverse country in the Southern Hemisphere, so Christmas falls in the summer. Schools are closed for a month, businesses often close for a month as well, and many people go camping. Just as in Australia, Christmas in South Africa is often spent on the beach. Christmas… Continue reading
Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens may be the perfect introduction to classical music for children, and the Maestro Classics edition is specifically intended for that purpose. The CD and the accompanying booklet have lots of background information about Saint-Saens, who was a musical child prodigy. Kids will enjoy… Continue reading
We’re largely made of water, so it should be no surprise that much of human life revolves around water. Explore some of the ways water matters with these lesson plans. Water to drink Human beings cannot live without water, and finding clean, potable (safely drinkable) water is a challenge… Continue reading
Sea shanties are a part of the great genre of work songs. Sailors used the rhythm of the songs to keep together when rowing, hauling up sails, and doing other cooperative work. They also enjoyed music during their downtime. Pirate musicians, according to documents preserved from pirate ships, only had… Continue reading
“The Three Billy Goats Gruff” is a Norwegian folk tale. Three goats want to visit a distant field to get some enticing green grass, but must cross over a bridge with a troll living under it. They go one at a time, from the youngest to the oldest. The troll… Continue reading
“The Bremen Town Musicians” is one of my personal favorites among the tales of the Brothers Grimm. In this story, four old farm animals, in some versions having heard that their masters were going to have them — umm… put to sleep, decide to go to Bremen to apply for posts… Continue reading
The story of Paul Bunyan is an American folktale. It may be more proper to say that the stories of Paul Bunyan are American folktales, because there are quite a few of them, sometimes gathered together into a single long story, but sometimes not. Paul Bunyan is a folk hero among… Continue reading
Hawaii has a rich musical tradition quite different from that of the mainland. The Hawaiian Hula Archives include clips of “mele” or chants, as well as songs and lyrics and lots of background information. Explore some Hawaiian instruments, and play along with the music clips to practice rhythm skills.… Continue reading
For an election year, a patriotic theme is a natural. It’s also a fun way to introduce American History lessons, and a cheerful theme at any time. Read on for ideas for ways to use patriotic songs in art and English lessons. There are plenty of ready-made decoratives (more at… Continue reading
