They are so easy even the kids can paint them! 

Here’s how to make and play!

Pencil Themed Clothespins

This time of year is always a fun time to spark your child’s love of learning and school. Playing games inspired by back to school supplies help you kick off the school year with a focus on taking good care of all those products you just spent your money on.

Here’s how you can make simple but fun pencil themed clothespins with your child.  You can even make them personalized pencils for a special school work art display to highlight their special work this year.

One way to prep your child for reading success is to start off the year by working on the Dolch Sight Word List.

Disclosure: Affiliate links used to Amazon.  

Materials Needed for Pencil Themed Clothespins and Literacy Game

• Mini Wooden Clothespins 
• Shimmering Silver Acrylic Paint
• Acrylic Paint Canary Yellow
• Acrylic Paint Pink Parfait
• Paint Brush
• Scrapbook Paper 
• Scissors 
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Black
• Handwriting Paper
• wax paper or paper plate

Instructions for Pencil Themed Clothespins

1. Use the yellow paint to create the pencil by painting on both sides of the chunky clothespin covering 3/4 of the wood.  Be sure to also paint the sides too. Get your kids involved in this craft, it’s really easy and a fun memory to do together.

2. Then using the pink paint, it’s time to add the pencil eraser to the end of the pencil.  I made the end where you pinch the eraser portion so I could also paint the inside portion too.  Be sure to paint the edges on this task too pink.

3.  The last step is to use your silver paint to create the metal portion of your pencil.  The Shimmering Silver Acrylic Paint adds a special sparkle to the whole pencil craft which I highly recommend.  You can use it later in the year to create holiday crafts too, instead of using glitter.

4. OPTIONAL: You can paint a little black potion of the end for a pencil point, we left it off to make them easier to make.  Plus, if you really want your pencil painting to last you could also add an Acrylic Paint Sealer

Pencil Themed Sight Word Game

This can be a fun hands-on way to work on those high-frequency words for Kindergarten & First Grade! To create the pencil themed literacy game for sight words take your Scrapbook Paper and cut out with Scissors  24 squares.  They can be the size of around 2 inches by 2 inches for easy handling, you go make them smaller if you’d prefer. Add a few more if you’re planning to do spelling words for those double letters in words like the word “that.”

Write one letter per square with your Permanent Marker Black.  You can do it with your child watching you write the letters and discuss letter formations for younger kids OR I would have my child do it and have an alphabet chart on the table close by so that they can work on proper letter formations with you watching their handwriting skills.

Once you write all of the letters, it’s time to play!  You can start off with letter writing practice by choosing a letter card and putting it onto the Pencil Clothespin as a stand. 

Next, you can move to practice forming word families like choosing the word family -at and then selecting a few letter cards that would go with it like s, c, m, p, f, r.  Then challenge your child to see if they can read those words.

This activity would be ideal for spelling word practice too!  Have your child gather the letter cards and place them onto the Pencil Clothespins and then write them out on their Primary Handwriting Paper for spelling word practice in a hands-on way.

You can have them practice writing down each word that they made with the pencil themed sight word game!

Literacy Game with Pencil Clothespins

• Work on Spelling Word Lists
• Word Families
• Alphabetical Order
• Matching Upper Case to Lower Case Letters

Did you know that sight words make up around 75% of the words used in beginning children’s print materials? Sight words can give your child a better start in learning to read.

If your child is able to quickly recognize sight words then as a beginning reader they will be able to spend more time concentrating on the meaning and comprehension of the words as they read them instead of having to decode every single word.

Learning Materials for Back to School Writing

• My First Pencils Large Round
• #2 Pencils Box of 96
• Primary Handwriting Paper

Learn now Why You Should be Using Beginner Pencils for Handwriting Practice with young children.

Can’t wait to hear how your child’s pencil themed clothespins turn out and how they use them at your house. They would be a cute little teacher gift idea for their teacher too. You could even attach magnets to the back to create pencil themed magnets for their classroom.

You may also enjoy these activities with your child…

More Sight Word Games for Kids

• Sight Words with Glass Gems 
• Sea Shell Sight Word Game 
• Pumpkin Sight Word Game with Sensory Bottle 
• Fish Themed Sight Word Game

Want the best pencil to learn to write? Here’s our favorite!

** LIKE IT? PIN IT!  **

Plus it gives them a chance to simply learn the art of observing and problem-solving on their own, which is a win in my book.

Here’s how to make your own Science Sensory Bottles.  

This post contains affiliate links to amazon. 

Science Sensory Bottle Experiment

I’ll admit it, I could look at this picture above with the floating crayons for quite some time, it totally captures my science brain in wondering.  Some thoughts going through my head are:

Are the crayon buttons moving?

Are the bubbles moving?

How fast are they moving?

How did they get there?

Will that little drop at the top fall down?

What is this made of?

Are these questions going through your thoughts right now too?  That’s exactly why you need to create this science sensory bottle experiment with your child too. It’s a really fun back to school STEM activity!

Create opportunities that encourage your child to question and hypothesize 

My kids literally spent hours with my creating the bottles and exploring how they work. Using clear Corn Syrup was a first for us at our house, which led to some great nutrition conversations too.

Here’s what you need to make your own.

Materials Needed

• Crayon Buttons 
• Corn Syrup 
• 3 Empty Voss Water Bottles 
• Water
• Observation Journal

Directions for Science Sensory Bottles

Gather your materials with the kids, which are just a few things and get started.  I recommend filling the science sensory bottle  in the following order to make the most out of this science experiment.

1.  Have your child fill one empty bottle with water.  Leave some airspace for the water to move around.

2. Then add a few of the Crayon Buttons into the water bottle.  Screw the lid back on tightly to avoid spills and leaks.  

3. Explore with the water bottle and crayon buttons and see what you can do with the buttons.  Ask questions as your child explores their science sensory bottle …

Do they float?

Do they sink?

Can you control where they go?

Do you hear anything?

What is the density of the liquid like?

4. Now fill the 2nd empty bottle with corn syrup with your child.  This alone is a super fun experience as it drips in a small smooth stream into the empty bottle.  My kiddos loved the air bubbles that were created in the process too.  Be sure to leave some airspace for the corn syrup to move around with.

5. Add a few Crayon Buttons into the corn syrup container.  Seal the container tightly to avoid spills or leaks.  Ask the same questions again from Step 3. Is the density different from the water? 

6. Shake the science sensory bottle filled with corn syrup up to add air bubbles to it.  Are the answers to the questions the same?

7. Now it’s time to see what happens when you add half water and half corn syrup.  Visually the corn syrup pouring into the water is quite a site.  Go super slow so it lasts longer.  Pause and allow time for your child to observe the contrast in density.

8. Add the Crayon Buttons  into the corn syrup and water mixture and see what happens.

9. SHAKE the combined science sensory bottle to see what happens with the corn syrup and water mixture.  Be sure your child really sees what happens.  Ask the same questions again from Step 2.

TIP: Great opportunity to talk about sugary drinks here and how what you see is not always what’s really in our drinks and what to look for to avoid on ingredient levels

For a little extra crayon science, try crayon recycling with this project.

Want to get a little creative with your crayons? Make these crayon ornaments! This simple craft is the perfect way to use up broken and old crayons.

SCIENCE RESULTS:

I’ll admit it, I was quite surprised with a few of the reactions we were able to create when we varied the density of the liquids and my kids were totally intrigued.  This science sensory bottle experiment gives your child so many opportunities to observe and explore the density of liquids.

Do the crayons float, sink or remain the same? The answer might surprise you! 

BONUS IDEAS: You could add additional liquids into new bottles to see how they react as well.  The first one I would try would be vegetable oil. Or try a different material like metal or stone or glass to see if the reactions are the same.

If you’re looking for more ideas like this science activity for kids.  GRAB A COPY of our book 100 Fun and Easy Learning Games for Kids!

Want more Crayon Themed Sensory Bottle FUN?

Try this Crayon Math Game with the same bottles and crayon buttons.

Looking for more Back to School STEM ideas? Try these…

We’ll focus on colors, number recognition, graphing, ordinal numbers and even some fine motor skills.

Affiliate links used in the post. 

Sensory Bottle Math Game with Crayons

This math game was such a hit in our house after school with my Kindergartner and 5th graders.  I can’t wait to share with you how to make and play for your kids.  It combines the fun of a sensory bottle with a few educational elements to make it a big win for all.

Here’s how to make it.

Materials

• Crayola Crayons 
• Empty Voss Plastic Water Bottle 
• Crayon Buttons  or these Crayon Buttons 
• Plain White Paper 
• Ruler 
• Pencil or Pen
• Water

Directions for Sensory Bottle Math Game

1. Place water into the empty water bottle , leave a portion empty to allow for air in the bottle.

2. Have your child add the colorful crayon buttons into the water one by one.  Great for fine motor practice and counting. Discuss the colors as you add them to work on color recognition too.

3. You can challenge older kids to see if they can make their crayon button stand up in the water bottle, it’s harder that it looks and great for focus and patience.

4. Allow your child to explore with the crayon themed sensory bottle before you begin the math game. Discover how the crayons move throughout the water.

TIP: Back to School Sensory Bottle– This sensory bottle would be a helpful to make as your little one is starting school for the first time.  It gives them a positive experience with school supplies and also offers a distraction is they are beginning to get a bit worried about the first day of school.

 5. Next take your white paper, pen and ruler to create a graph with your child.  Take the time to show them how it is set up.  Start by listing the color of the crayons they will you are in the bottle.  Then create a column for each of the colors.  Next add the numbers up the side counting with your child.  Finally add the rows for each of the numbers.  It’s really important to show them how to set up a graph.

6. Once the graph is complete label with the the color words by coloring with the appropriate color.  Helps your child begin to read color words too.  Show them how they are written on the crayons too.

7. Now it’s time to play the Sensory Bottle Math Game with Crayons!

TO PLAY: Turn the bottle upside down and watch to see which crayon is first to touch the bottom.  Record onto the graph paper under the appropriate color.  Model a few times with your child.  Then turn the bottle in the crayon race again and again until you’ve found the winner.  The winner is the one who has the highest number on the graph.

Encourage your child to play this game again and again.  You’ll find they will start to create their very own color graph and begin to truly comprehend the importance of making graphs.

This is a fun game to play with a friend or sibling too.  One child can record while the other turns the bottle and calls the winner.  Be sure to allow them to switch turns to have the best time together.  Good luck with your Sensory Bottle Bottle Math Game.

My kids and I have created a few more games and science activities with our Crayon Themed Sensory Bottles and Crayons that we’ll be sharing this week, so keep watching!

Books About Crayons for Kids

Here are a few of my favorite crayon themed picture books to go along with the Crayon Math Game.  Happy reading!

The Day the Crayons Quit 

The Day the Crayons Came Home 

The Crayons’ Book of Colors 

The Crayons’ Book of Numbers 

How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow

Love from the Crayons

The Crayon Box the Talked

Harold and the Purple Crayon 

The Crayons Go Back to School by Drew Daywalt

How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney

Do you have a crayon themed book that I missed?  Please share we’re always adding to our home library.  Which one is your favorite?

Additional Crayon Themed Crafts for Kids

• Crayon Playdough Recipe from Sugar Aunts
• 3D Crayon Art by Buddy and Buddy
• Craft Stick Crayon Craft by The Pinterested Parent
• Crayon Themed Family Dinner Book Club by Growing Book by Book
• Sink or Float Density Activity with Crayons

Explore this Science Sensory Bottle Activity about Density

I’ll admit I’m a bit in love with crayons and can’t wait to share even more ideas with you about Crayons. Can’t wait to hear how your Crayon Themed Sensory Bottle Math Game goes at your house.

Leave me a comment below or share a photo on social media with the hashtag #EDUSPIN.

Looking for more Back to School STEM Activities? Try these…

There are some easy ways as a parent you can help support your child’s school. Several involve not even having to go the traditional fundraising route by purchasing items from a catalog. The opportunities are in your community and involve you not having to pay additional dollars. How?

Let me share with you a few ideas to give back to your child’s school.

Disclosure: The post is sponsored by our friends are VolunteerSpot and Red Robin, all opinions expressed are my own.

Choosing a Restaurant that Gives Back to Schools

There are a few restaurants that give back to your child’s school if you set up spirit nights with them. This involves inviting the whole school to dine in at a restaurant on a specific night. It’s a great community-building event for your school too.

My local school’s PTA has approached a few companies that were willing to work with us. The one thing to remember though is that you all have to participate on that specific day. With busy schedules with school families sometimes the turnout isn’t as good as you hoped for. The ideal location is to find ones that work anytime you go and still give back to your school.

Some restaurants offer a give-back when you sign up for their loyalty programs. One program that I just found out about is Red Robin.

Did you know Red Robin will donate 1% of your check back to your child’s school every time you dine at one of their restaurants? It’s easy with the Red Robin Royalty Program®! Learn more In addition to exclusive discounts and promotions; the Red Robin Royalty Program helps your family earn cash for your favorite school while you eat. Sign up today!

Supporting Schools with Cash Back Programs

There are so many ways to get involved in your child’s school. Finding companies that donate money back to your school from your existing bill is a BIG WIN in my books. Create a family plan of how to incorporate a visit into your calendar and give back to your child’s school today!

More about Red Robin Royalty: Give back 1% of your check to your child’s school every time you dine at Red Robin! It’s easy to sign up and start earning today, click here. Plus, you’ll get bonus rewards and savings too, just for being a member! Get started.

You may also find this articles helpful as a parent…

School Libraries Work

Our school librarian is amazing.

When my daughter walks into the library, her eyes light up with smile. “Our new books came in and I wanted you to be the first to pick one,” she whispered, taking my daughter by the hand and leading her to a table of brand-new books.

My daughter wiggled with delight as she chose a new book from the library to check out and was so busy reading, she didn’t see the librarian do the SAME THING with another 4 children.

She makes reading special.

She makes reading exciting.

She makes a difference.

When Scholastic released the 2016 Edition of School Libraries Work!, a new research report providing evidence of the positive impact of school librarians and libraries on student learning, I asked if I could share these findings with you, our friends, and readers. I know in my heart that certified teacher-librarians are quintessential to empowering and exciting children in reading.

This report has the data to back up my feelings.

If you are an

• educator
• school representative
• district leader
• policy maker
• parent
• community member

the report includes “research-based frameworks, recommendations, and support for school library programs.”

National- and state-level findings from more than 30 separate research studies are included in this compendium, demonstrating the integral role school libraries play in teaching and supporting student learning while confirming that when school librarian staffing is reduced, achievement in English Language Arts suffers.

Key research from the report includes:

• A School Library Journal analysis found states that gained school librarian positions between 2005 and 2009 experienced larger increases and no decreases in National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) reading scores for 4^th grade, while states that lost school librarians experienced smaller increases or decreases in reading scores. 

• A South Carolina study commissioned by the South Carolina Association of School Librarians revealed that students were more likely to show strengths and less likely to show weaknesses on writing standards if their school libraries were staffed with a full-time librarian plus a full or part-time assistant.

Would you like to receive a PDF of the full School Libraries Work report? You can download online here

Information is shared with Scholastic’s written permission.

You may also enjoy these activities with your child…

There’s one element that need ours attention no matter when it comes up on our schedules and that’s supporting fundraisers.

Getting Involved with School Fundraisers

Do you have an active Parent Group at your child’s School? How are they planning to raise money to help support their efforts for the school this year? Are you involved in planning a fundraiser at your child’s school?

My hope is that you say YES…. even though your schedules are busy. Schools need our support more than ever with volunteers and fundraising to keep them successful. The good news is that there are so many tools available to make it easier this year of school.

I’ve been fortunate to have seen all sides of schools from teaching and as a parent for the past 20+ years. I’ve taught at schools where a large majority of the parents are struggling to make ends meet. I’ve been at schools where money comes easily to a larger population at the school.

Here’s the bottom line….I’m going to be honest it can be hard no matter which type of school environment you are in to raise money with fundraisers and get parents involved unless you make the right decision for the year.

I think finding the right match is key within each school setting.

Find a Fundraising Program that all Family can Participate in

One tip I do recommend is finding programs that are available for fundraising for ALL of the parents at your child’s school. Finding ones that parents can do easily is important.

As we’ve moved into the digital age I’m truly amazing at the variety of programs out there today that you can apply for and earn points and actual cash but not ever even asking for money directly from a parent. Communication plays a big part in these programs. How do you tell parents?

Plus now they’ve made it so much easier to make payments online to family that’s far away. Now the big fundraising questions are….

• Where do you find them? 
• Have you implemented any of those at your school?
• How did you let parents know? 

Fundraiser Turnout and Profits for your School-Parent Group

Regina is a lady I met via the famous World Wide Web and I was so impressed at her dedication to being present and active in her child’s academic life, that I asked if she would be willing to share with us her top tips for getting and staying involved with her child’s education.

Parenting is tough. Going it alone with a special needs child = HUGS. I can only imagine how difficult it could be to stay connected and participate in school events. Although being the P.T.A. president may not be the best match for this Momma, she has found some pretty creative ways to bridge the gap between home and school. I for one, think that is pretty awesome! ~ Amanda

Bridging the Gap Between Home & School

by Regina Sayles at the Solo Mama Blog

Let’s face it, although some of us would love to be super moms when it comes to supporting our child’s education, the reality is it can be quite challenging to be present for every school event, meeting or function that involves our children. Does this unfortunate reality make us bad parents? Absolutely not.

However, the way we choose to manage our hectic lifestyles as parents can be directly proportional to our child’s success in the classroom. Starting out as a single mom, I would often take a stroll down “guilt-trip alley” because I simply did not have the time to be as present as I would have liked.

Seeing other parents volunteer weekly or regularly engage in PTA activities made me feel as if simply working hard to support our household wasn’t enough. I admit, I was a bit frustrated because I truly wanted to be of help in any way I could and even more importantly I wanted my son’s teachers to know that I cared.

Over time, with a little creativity, I began to figure out how to be an active parent and participate in ways that best fit with my busy schedule.

The key is to bridge the gap of communication between home and school even when you are not able to be physically present.

So how was I able to stay connected with the school as a busy single mom and what advice would I give to other moms experiencing some of the challenges I faced?

How to Stay Connected:

First, if you can’t attend important meetings try to arrange a conference call. My son is a special-needs student, which means there are ARD (Admission, Review and Dismissal) and IEP (Individualized Education Program) meetings throughout the year in addition to parent/teacher sessions.

In the beginning, from grades Pre-K through 3rd, I attended every meeting to ensure that he had the right supports needed and to be an advocate when he could not speak for himself.

However, as my workload increased and lifestyle changes ensued it became harder for me to be present at every meeting, so I politely asked if I could meet with the panel via conference call. At the time I didn’t know if it were doable, but to my surprise, everyone was on board and was supportive of my efforts to participate even it meant doing so sitting in my car.

If possible, sign up for alerts via text from your child’s teacher(s). At times, I found it difficult to keep up with what was happening in different classrooms as my son got older and reported to three or more teachers. In order to stay better informed, I signed up for daily messaging via text from each teacher. That way if I didn’t have time to read through tons of emails, or if announcements somehow came up missing between my son’s commute from school, I’d still have a snapshot of what happened that day or what to expect in the coming weeks.

Is your child misbehaving in class?… There’s an app for that!

I was so impressed when my son’s math instructor introduced me to Class Dojo which is a Behavior Management App that allows you to monitor your child’s daily behavior report with the click of a button. This tool also helps teachers as well by freeing up the time it takes to call each parent or write slips for poor behavior. I enjoy the tool (more than my son of course) and use it often to encourage learning in the classroom.

Check your child’s folder daily to ensure you are completing paperwork on time. Sometimes the simple act of reading what your child brings home and signing off on paperwork can be a great way to communicate with the teachers and staff. Timely communication shows that you are engaged and abreast of current happenings at the school.

Doing so will also give teachers more time to focus on teaching and also show them that you support their efforts towards educating your child.

Author Bio:
Regina is the founder of TheSoloMama.com, a site that offers parenting tips and other useful resources for single moms. She resides in Dallas,TX with her son Justice, who happens to be autistic. Through her experience as a single parent to a special needs child, Regina strives to offer encouragement and a supportive community through her blog. When she is not juggling parenting duties, she enjoys branding the site through social media, reading, travel, technology and exploring culinary delights.

TOP Illustration: Derivative of photo by Pete CC BY 2.0. Original photo modified with overlay by Solo Mama Blog.

For more parenting articles at The Educators’ Spin On It, we also recommend:

• Screen Time and Motivating Boys
• Helping Children Cope with Changes
• Daily Preschool Schedule Samples
• How to Work at Home with Kids
• Elementary School Daily Planner
• 5 Ways to Make Learning Fun at Home
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• 30+ Virtual Field Trips for Kids

Exploring Schools Around the World

Welcome to the Blogging Carnival for September!

We picked one of our favorite subjects SCHOOL! Across the globe students have returned back to school and we wanted to share with you the variety of schools and learning environments. I know that not until I stepped into a few schools in other countries did I realize how incredibly lucky my childhood has been as well as my children’s available schools.

The main goal is the same in each school…Student Success. I think it’s important to talk with kids about students around the world and how they are learning.

I visited my husband’s School in New Dehli, India on my first trip there. Here are a few images from his private school. Even though it may not look similar to my America School experiences, I’m going to be it seems that he learned and remembered far more than I have in school…shhh… don’t tell him that.

Here’s a fun idea to consider. Connecting with a school in another Country. Classrooms can use Google Hangouts to talk or Skype. Somehow a lesson about a specific country just got a little bit more interesting when they can chat for 20 minutes with a class in that country. Students could even bring in everyday items to share as almost a Show and Tell Globally. Think about the language exposure too!

The internet has truly created a space for everyone around the world to connect and education is a universal language. Kid Citizen World has a full list of Resources for connecting with schools.

As you think about the schools around the world, what questions come to your mind?

• Do the buildings look similar?
• Are schedules the same?
• What is the biggest emphasis on learning?
• What types of books do you use?
• Is religion a part of school?
• What languages are instructions given in?
• What is the school dress code?
• What do you do at recess?

I’d love to take you on a journey to a few schools around the world that have been shared as part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Group.

• Schools Around the World: France by MaryAnne from Mama Smiles 
• Schools of the World Soviet Union from Natalie from After Schooling with Smarty Pants
• Schools Around the World: Puerto Rico by Discovering the World Through My Sons Eyes
• Schools Around the World comparing India, Siberia, Bangladesh , Burkina Faso by Kid World Citizen 
• International School by The Expats
• Choosing Schools in Various Locations from Olga Mecking
• How to Create a Preschool Co-op by Leanna from All Done Monkey
• School Supplies in France by Annabelle from The Piri Piri Lexicon
• What Makes Berkeley School so Great  from Stephanie from InCultureParent
• A Community School in Rural Zambia from Jody from Mud Hut Mama
• Best Children’s Books about Going to School Around the World by Stephanie at InCulture Parent

What is your school like in your part of the world?  Come share with us below!