Grade School Activities

Here are several great day activities you can plan.

Switch name day - have every child in your classroom pick a new name for the day. Have them write it down on a name tag and wear it all day. Remind the child that they are only to be called or spoken to when addressed by the new name. This encourages memory and listening skills.

Color day - have each child wear a particular color or colors for the entire day. You can coordinate special coloring activities for the day and include lunch as well.          

Hat Day - have a child wear a hat all day. They can even make their own hat from newspaper and tape. Paint to heart's delight and add decorations.

Shape Tracing Activity - Gather up everything circular in the room/school you can find. Have fun tracing the circles around the objects. For example, Trace around the edge of a bowl, trace around a book, trace a path around a pencil and see what shape it leaves on the paper, trace your hand or foot on paper, etc.

Shadow art - You will need paper, lamp or flashlight, pencils, two participants (the image maker and the drawer and, of course, imagination. Take your object and direct the light on the object. Place the paper behind the object some distance to catch the shadow. Draw a line around the edges of the shadow and when finished, turn off the light and see what you have remaining.

Number Day - Have a number day and assign each child a number. If their number comes along, they are to shout it out, all throughout the day. Find certain groups of items in different numbers for activities. Such as 10 person ring around the rosy, eating with two chopsticks, having 8 cups on the table, or having to go outside with 6 outdoors items. You might want to remind children that the game is not played during naptime or quiet time. Children can also wear their favorite numbers around all day or wear a shirt from home with a number already on the shirt fabric. For older students, use larger numbers, have them draw 500 teddy bears or 3000 zero's on one sheet of paper. Talk about insects of great numbers, plagues, count the number of words in a book, set up a jar full of coins or marbles and have the students guess the amount and then count them. If in school, count the holes in the ceiling tiles, count plants with large numbers of leaves or needles. Incorporate the numbers they choose into the conversation and learning lessons.