Help students roll into the school year with a "back-to-school" craft perfect for September. Have students paint an egg carton yellow to begin their school bus craft. Once the paint has dried, help them cut out black circles for the wheels and use a black marker to draw on windows and other accessories, such as lights. Students also can draw people in the "windows" or cut faces from magazines to place in them.
Sept. 9 is Teddy Bear Day. Cut teddy bear shapes--along eyes, noses and mouths--out of construction paper for each of your students. Students can glue the face onto the bear and then dip small pieces of yarn--brown if you want to be traditional or many colors if you want something more interesting--into glue and place them on the paper. When the glue dries, they will have a fuzzy teddy bear.
In many parts of the country, autumn leaves will be falling by the end of September. Even if they're not, you can use green leaves for this activity. Collect leaves when you go on a nature walk. Back in the classroom, give each student a paper plate and have them draw a face on it using markers or crayons. They should draw everything except for the hair. Glue the leaves onto the plates to form hair for the faces.
The first Sunday after Labor Day is Grandparents' Day. A picture frame can make a nice gift for your students' grandparents. Purchase small wooden or plastic frames, or a cut pieces of cardboard to create frames. Have students decorate the frames with paint, glitter, feathers and other items. Take Polariod pictures of each student--or digital pictures you then have printed-- and insert them into the frames for a ready-made gift.
The International Day of Peace falls on September 21. Print out an image that's associated with peace, such as a dove, a peace sign or two friends holding hands. Students can then dip the end of a straw into paint and use it as a stamp to add designs to the images. Show them how to "stamp" so that the circles are touching each other.