Something To Think About This Easter

 

Have you ever wondered where the Easter bunny came from?

Back in the 1700s, Germans emigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania. They started telling their neighbors the story of a special bunny that came each spring to lay beautiful colored eggs.

Children began building nests to collect the eggs. They also set out carrots in case the Easter Bunny got tired hopping from nest to nest.

Eventually, the eggs turned to chocolate, the nests became baskets, and people started giving gifts to each other.

How did Bunnies and Eggs Get Associated with Easter?

Spring is when flowers burst forth with color and chase away the brown, barren landscape of winter.

Animals like deer, raccoons, skunks, otter, birds, and yes – bunnies – have babies in the spring.

Eggs are a symbol of new life.  Colored eggs point to the festive colors of spring.

Spring is a new start, a new beginning. Why not celebrate that? 

A Question to Ponder

What if everything you did wrong was forgiven and forgotten?

How would you feel?

What would you do?

How would you live?

Forgiveness is a relief when someone grants it. It’s like having your slate wiped clean and your bad behavior removed from your permanent record.

Ask your students these questions. Maybe they have someone they can forgive. Or maybe they can apologize to someone they’ve offended.

It might be a new beginning for one (or more) of their relationships! What better way to remember Easter?

Give Someone a Basket

Who doesn’t love a gift?

Help your students show someone they care with an Easter basket filled with gifts. It can be as simple as filling a few eggs with candy. Maybe they can make a card to put inside. Whatever they do, it will be beautiful – and appreciated.

Bonus points if you give baskets to people who might not get one otherwise.

Thank you for reading. At Pure Fun, we’re committed to helping you help your preschool students thrive all year long. Happy Easter to you and yours!

21 Amazing Facts About Thanksgiving to Share with Your Family and Friends

Thanksgiving is the second most popular holiday in the United States, according to a Harris poll (2015). People drive 50 miles or more to see family, eat too much, and watch lots of football. Millions also watch the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

What do you and your family do?

If you need something to talk about, these Thanksgiving facts will spark conversation.

Thanksgiving Turkey Trivia

• The Butterball Turkey hotline takes over 100,000 questions about cooking the holiday feast each year.
• Americans eat over 44 million turkeys (averaging 16 pounds apiece) on Thanksgiving. If you put all that meat on a scale, it would weigh 704 million pounds.
• TV dinners got their start after Swanson overbought 260 tons of turkey. A sales rep named Gerry Thomas suggested they package the turkey with peas, dressing, gravy, and sweet potatoes in tin trays like the airlines used. 10 million trays sold the first year and TV dinners won a permanent spot at the grocery store.
• Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be America’s national mascot.  In a letter to his daughter, he wrote “the Turkey is in Comparison (to the bald eagle) a much more respectable Bird.”
• Studies show it’s not the tryptophan in turkey that makes you sleepy.  It’s the 4500 calories of food you ate on Thanksgiving.
• 8 in 10 people say they prefer Thanksgiving leftovers.

These Turkey Accents will brighten up your classroom for Thanksgiving.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Trivia

• The first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade was in 1924.  It was so popular they got a TV contract with NBC a few years after.
• The first balloon character was Felix the Cat.  They hadn’t planned to deflate it, so it drifted up and popped shortly after the parade ended.
• The first parade featured animals from the Central Park Zoo, puppets on floats, and no        balloons.
• 3.5 million people go to New York City to watch, some arriving as early as 6:30 AM to grab a good spot. Over 50 million watch the parade on TV. 
• Macy’s parade is the largest float parade in the world. 
• Sonic the Hedgehog is the first video game character to get a balloon in the parade.
• Peanuts character Snoopy has the most balloons, with 8 featured in the parade since 1968.

Decorate your bulletin board with this Fall Winter Snoopy Pose Bb Set. 

Holiday Football Facts

• The first football game played on Thanksgiving was in 1876.  Yale took on Princeton.
• The Detroit Lions have played every Thanksgiving since 1934.  The only exception was when the players were called to fight in World War 2.
• The Dallas Cowboys have played all but 2 Thanksgivings since 1966.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars have never played on Thanksgiving Day.

Need a football to toss with family and friends on Thanksgiving?  We’ve got some:

Coated Foam Ball Football (softer for the kids)  Football Official Size

How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

• George Washington declared a National Day of Thanks on November 26, 1789. He wanted Americans to thank God for protecting them and helping them achieve independence.
• Thomas Jefferson didn’t want Thanksgiving to be a national holiday. He felt it would violate the First Amendment separation of church and state. 
• Sarah Josepha Hale lobbied to make Thanksgiving a holiday for decades. Finally, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln granted her wish. She was also known for writing the childhood favorite Mary Had a Little Lamb.
• The first U.S. President to officially pardon a turkey was John F. Kennedy.

Welcome guests with this Thanksgiving Allinone Door Décor Kit.  

Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers

Turkey Dinner Collage

All you need is some glue, scissors, food clip art you can print out, and paper plates. Have the children cut out their favorite foods and glue them on the plates. (Thanks to PreKinders for this idea.)

Thankful Cards

One piece of construction paper should do. Have them write what they’re thankful for. Encourage them to add a picture they draw or paste on. Studies show that grateful people are happier, get better grades, and don’t get sick as often as ungrateful people.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Make a paper chain with enough links to count down the days until Thanksgiving. Each day a student tears off one link and everyone counts what’s left. (Thanks to Preschool Plan-it for this one.)

We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. If you’d like to share your Thanksgiving traditions with us, we’d love to hear about them!

Memorial Day Craft Ideas!

 Memorial Day Craft Ideas!

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and your kids can join in the celebration with these patriotic crafts designed just for them! These fun activities are a hands-on way to begin a discussion on the importance of Memorial Day and why we celebrate the men and women who have served in our armed forces.

Hanging Star Streamers

Great to use as door hangers and window decorations, your kids can proudly display these at home or at school.

What You Need:
Popsicle Sticks (Red and Blue or paint your own)
Ribbon (Red, White, and/or Blue in the pattern of your choosing)
Scissors
Tissue Paper (Red and Blue, cut into small strips)
Glue (glue pen preferred for young children)
Embellishments (buttons, sequins, stickers, glitter, pom-poms, etc.)

1.Glue your popsicle sticks together in the shape of a star. You will need five sticks per star. Start by making an upside down "V" with two of the sticks. At each end point of this upside down "V," glue the end point of an additional stick so that these next two overlapping sticks form an "X" shape over the top of the upside down "V." Finally, glue a horizontal stick across the top two end points on the "X." Make sure all of your popsicle sticks are attached to each other by their end points. To add stability, put a bit of glue in the extra places where the popsicle sticks overlap.

2.Cut your tissue paper into strips of your desired length and glue them to the back of your star so that they hang down from different points.

3.To make your hanger, cut a small loop of ribbon, and glue both ends of the ribbon to the top point of the star.

4.Once the glue has dried on your streamers and ribbon, glue your embellishments on the front of your star. Let the star dry, and display wherever you wish!

Star Bubble Wands

What You Need:
Small Star Cookie Cutter
Pipe Cleaners (Red, White, and Blue colors)
Craft Beads (Red, White, Clear, and/or Blue colors)
Bubble Solution
Small Dish

1.Wrap a pipe cleaner around the star cookie cutter, making sure to fit it tightly into all the grooves. Leave a little excess cleaner at the end to close off the star. The remaining length of pipe cleaner is your wand handle.

2.String the handle with beads. Then bend the end of the handle and roll it into a ball to hold the beads in place.

3.If your star has lost a bit of its shape at this point, simply place it around the cookie cutter again and re-tighten its shape.

4.Now pour your bubble solution into a dish, and use your star wand as you would any other bubble wand! 

Make these wands in any color or shape for all kinds of occasions!

Dot-Painted American Flag

A spin on traditional flag painting, this quick and easy craft utilizes pom-poms instead of paintbrushes.

What You Need:
Clothespins
Plain White Index Cards (use 5" x 8" for larger flags)
Small Pom-Poms
Acrylic Paint (Red, White, and Blue colors)

1.You will need three clothespins. Each clothespin will clamp onto a pom-pom. Make sure enough of the pom-pom is exposed to properly dip it into the paint. Use each pom-pom to dip into a different paint color.

2.Dot the top left corner of your index card with blue paint to make a solid square.

3.Using your red paint, dot evenly spaced horizontal lines stretching from one end of the card to the other. Do this from the top to the bottom of the card.

4.Once your blue paint has dried, make several rows (however many you can fit) of evenly spaced white dots on top of your blue square.

5.Now you have an American flag! Glue it onto a popsicle stick, and display it proudly!

Craft & Activity Ideas for Read Across America

Take a little reading break or use this game as a reminder earlier in the week that Read Across America is coming.  Everyone gets an attempt or two to “pin the egg on the ham”! The student who gets the closest gets a special prize for Read Across America Day. 

Have the students create customized eggs with construction paper and markers to add a craft to your day too! 

Want to continue to boost the excitement? Make it a pajama party Read-A-Thon! Here is a good example of a send home note for parents with some great ideas on what students should bring with them to school. 

Did you know that there is a Read Across America Song? How about a Read Across America Oath? Follow the links below to find both on the National Education Association web page. These additions will really help you set the theme for the day! 

Read Across America Song

Read Across America Reader's Oath

You can also check out all of our favorite Classic Children's Books for ideas on what to read!