Books and Giggles
Seasonal and holiday ideas for kids
Inside: This fall letter craft takes leaf rubbings to the next level! Find out how we did it, and get a trick to make it easier for little hands. Autumn is finally here, and it’s time for a new fall letter craft! (Or even an old favorite leaf craft!) You can do this letter activity…
Inside: this list of hibernation books for preschoolers includes both picture books and nonfiction choices perfect for teaching and celebrating animals in winter. Kids are fascinated by the changing of the seasons. They naturally wonder what happens to the animals in the cold of winter. Where do they go? How do they stay warm? Where…
Inside: these free printable shark alphabet worksheets come with a fun spinner activity. Students can work on letter recognition and distinguishing easily confused letters. Cue your favorite the shark music – and get ready for a fun little activity. You can pull these out during shark week, add them to your ocean theme activities (like…
Inside: These rain and rainbow-themed spring letter sounds clip cards help children practice matching letters of the alphabet with their initial sounds. Today I’m sharing a simple alphabet clip card activity with you. You can use these as part of a weather unit, or after teaching your kids about “April showers”. Or, you can just…
These cute bunny crafts are for children of all ages, from toddler to preschool and kindergarten, through elementary. They use a variety of materials, so you can select a rabbit made of everything from paper plates to popsicle sticks. Hippity hop! Spring is around the corner, and with it come bunnies, farm animals, and flowers…
Here’s a set of quick and simple paper snowflake activities for preschool and kindergarten. Use these to work on both fine motor and visual discrimination skills this winter. I always love cutting out paper snowflakes. It’s a fun little creative moment, trying to turn out something beautiful and interesting. We rarely get real snow this…
Inside: A hibernation craft and writing activity to go with the book The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett. Use the free printable template to make it super easy! This hedgehog hibernation craft and writing activity goes with Jan Brett’s lovely book The Snowy Nap (ad). The story follows Hedgie the hedgehog as he tries to…
Inside: Teach beginning, middle, & end with these free Bear Snores On printable bracelets. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson (ad) is a terrific book to include in your winter animals or hibernation unit. It also turns out to be an excellent narrative for story sequencing (as are these other books that are great for…
These free printable penguin hats include 5 interesting facts about penguins. Children can color and wear their penguin crowns, and learn a little bit about these birds too. Penguins are a fun classroom theme for winter. You can read some favorite penguin books (see below), do some cute penguin crafts, and incorporate science too. You…
These Christmas letter R activities have a cute reindeer theme perfect for the holiday season. Today I’m sharing a fun, low-prep Christmas printable that’s sure to make learning fun during this most festive month! Catch your kids’ attention with the cute little reindeer, and then keep them engaged by using the pages in a variety…
These books about Santa Claus are sure to delight your kids this Christmas season. You’ll find picture books for children of all ages and tastes. I’ve had way too much fun researching and putting together this list for you! (Disclosure: Books and Giggles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate…
These letter S worksheets are ready for Christmas! Just print them off and grab some everyday supplies for an engaging alphabet activity. I know that when December rolls around, teachers are tired and stressed out – trying to wrangle littles and take care of their holiday to-do list too. However, it’s also that magical time…
Your littles will love these winter alphabet clip cards and related worksheets. You’ll appreciate the easy prep of this free printable letter sound activity. With the festive season just around the corner, I thought I’d share these fun winter alphabet clip cards for your preschool or kindergarten children to enjoy! This is an easy, mess-free,…
Here are some adorable gingerbread man activities for preschool and kindergarten. Add these to your December lineup! Over the past few years, we’ve created a variety of gingerbread man activities for preschool and kindergarten. I’m excited to share them with you all in one place here today. Plus, I’ve added a few more from some…
Find some new favorite November Read Alouds from this curated list of seasonal favorites, with an emphasis on fall and the lead-up to Thanksgiving. Soon after the excitement of Halloween fades and the sweet treats and candy wrappers are gone, it’s time to prepare for the excitement and anticipation of November and all that it…
Just like in the children’s book Stellaluna, this little hanging bat craft holds on best by its feet, all wrapped up in its wings. It’s almost October, and I’ve been thinking again about bats! You’ll already find a chalk art bat craft and a leaf bat craft here on the blog. I’ve also been working…
Get ready for Halloween with this easy prep pumpkin seed alphabet activity! These free printable cards are a fun way to practice lowercase letter tracing and alphabet letter matching skills. Read on to find out all the ways you can use them… October is one of my favorite months. I love dreaming up costumes, eating…
Inside: Free printable first day of school crowns and tips on helping children learn to recognize their names. I’m a little late posting this – I know some of you have already had your first day of school. But if you’re still getting ready for the beginning of the new school year I have a…
This printable letter sound matching activity has a lemonade theme that’s perfect for summer! Whether you have preschoolers who are eager to work ahead, or rising kindergartners who need to catch up this summer, this hands-on summer letter sounds activity is a lot of fun. My kids love having a lemonade stand every year, and…
Here’s a quick post just to share my 4th of July worksheets with you. These are more dot marker printables, a little simpler than the letter D worksheets I posted here last week – but I think you’ll like these too! I actually made these a few years ago and sent them out to my…
Inside: You’ll find sun crafts for every kid in this huge organized list. Get your summer crafts started with your favorites. Sun Crafts Summer is heating up, and it’s time to get the kids making some fun sun crafts! I’ve rounded up 25 of my favorites for you here, so that you can pick the…
Last week I posted a cool sensory play sun suncatcher craft, but I still had preschool sun crafts on the brain here! While the suncatchers were more about playing with them once they’re finished, this one is all about the process of creating. No, this isn’t quite process art – that has its own important…
Inside: This sun suncatcher craft for kids has an element of sensory play to it. Plus, it looks bright and pretty in your window! These cute sun crafts are sure to add a little sunshine to your windows. Even better, children can continue to play with them even after they’re on display. To make your…
Inside: this preschool rain craft sneaks in some fine motor work and hand strengthening with a hole punch, plus it looks super cute when you add photos of your kids holding an umbrella. If you’re looking for a fun spring craft that has an element of process art, or just a rainy day craft, look…