For this craft you will need three paper towel tubes, a paper plate, paint, glue, construction paper, a brass fastener and a magic marker. First paint the paper towel tubes and the paper plate and let dry. Next, have your students draw out the numbers of the clock face. Suggest they start with twelve, three, six and nine, then fit the other numbers in between. Cut out the clock hands from the construction paper and attach them to the center of the plate with the fastener. Lastly, tape the tubes together as a reinforced stand and glue or tape the paper plate to the front of the tripod.
Teaching your students to estimate numbers helps to develop counting and reasoning skills. Fill a jar with items like jelly beans, candies or nuts. Have your students write down their estimate and then count the number of items in the jar. As a motivational tool, you can use a reward system for the closest guesses, such as a piece of candy from the jar. Next, replace the items in the jar with a smaller amount so that your students know it is a lesser number. Have them count the number of items on the outside and guess according to that.
The Frog Fraction craft is a great way to introduce students to fractions by showing them whole and half circles. Your students will need scissors, construction paper, and glue for this project. Have them cut a total of one large green circle for the head, two smaller green circles for the eyes, two smaller white circles for the whites of the eyes and two smaller black circles for the pupils. They will also need to cut one red circle for the mouth and then cut it in half to make it a smiley face. Speak to them about circle and half circles at this time. Have them first assemble the eyes by glueing the black circles to the white circles to the green circles, and then glue the eyes to the head. Finally, have them glue on the mouth to finish their Frog Fraction craft.
Reinforcing your students' alphabet skills will ease them into reading and writing. These alphabet tiles are a simple and effective craft that they can make and put together to form words. If you are concerned about their attention spans, you can split the class up and have them work in groups. You will need several squares of cardboard and magic markers. Write a letter on the board and assign it to one or more students. Ask them what words start with that letter and have them draw a picture of their favorite on the back. When you are done with the tiles you can play games by having your students line up in alphabetical order or write words on the board and have them line up to spell the word or even create a game of their own.