Author: TCR Staff

Classroom Activities, Holidays, Parents, Teacher Resources

Easy Easter Paper Crafts

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Here are two easy Easter crafts you can do with your kiddos using materials that you most likely already have. We’ve included directions for handprint bunnies and mosaic eggs.

You’ll need just a few materials for each craft:

  • construction paper or craft paper
  • scissors
  • glue stick
  • pencil, pen, and marker
  • hole punch and string (optional)

We got the idea for this cute handprint bunny activity from the One Little Project blog. To make the bunnies, start by tracing your hand on the paper. (Note, if you’re using craft paper, you may need to fold the paper in half and glue it together if the design is only on one side.)

Tip: Trace your fingers wider than they are; otherwise the ears and paws of the bunnies will be too skinny.

Cut out the handprint. Make a deeper cut between the pinky and ring finger so the space lines up with the space in between the thumb and index finger:

You may need to cut the other spaces between fingers a bit so they line up with other. Then fold the thumb and pinky fingers down to create the rabbit’s “arms.” Then cut off the middle finger so you’re left with two bunny “ears”:

Using a marker, draw the nose and insides of ears:

Next, use a dark pen to draw in the eyes, whiskers, and mouth:

Finally, use the pen to draw “feet”:

For the mosaic eggs, draw an egg shape on paper and cut it out. Also cut small squares of construction paper or craft paper.

Glue squares to the egg shape. Don’t worry if some of the squares go past the outline of the egg; just trim them off at the end.

Once the egg is covered in squares, trim any excess square edges off. You may wish to punch a hole at the top of the egg and hang it from a window or wall.

Classroom Activities, Holidays, Parents, Teacher Resources

Family Fun Science Activity for the Holidays

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Looking for a fun, easy craft to do with your kiddos this season? Here is a super simple activity that parents can do with materials that are most likely already around the house. Salt crystal ornaments are pretty to decorate with, and you can also discuss the science behind the growth of the crystals.

The only materials you need are

  • salt
  • chenille stems
  • scissors
  • jars or other containers
  • clothespins
  • a pot for heating water (you can also just use hot tap water)

Start by creating designs with the chenille stems by bending and cutting them into different shapes.

You can get creative and use multiple stems to create 3D shapes:

Add an extra piece of a chenille stem on the end of your ornament so that the clothespin has something to hold onto while still being able to submerge your ornament completely in the water. You could also just attach an ornament hanger at this point.

Prepare the salt water solution. (Heating water on the stove makes the process go more quickly, but you can also use hot tap water.) Use as much water as you need to be able to completely fill the jars. As the water heats up, pour salt in a bit at a time and stir to dissolve.

As more and more salt is added, the water will eventually not be able to dissolve any more salt. You will see the salt stay at the bottom of the pan. It’s now ready.

Pour the salt water solution carefully into the jars. (Please note, if you heated the water on the stove, the jars will be VERY hot once the water is poured in. Please use caution when touching them.) Carefully add the ornaments, one per jar. Make sure the clothespin rests at the top of the jar to keep the ornament suspended in the solution.

Salt crystals start forming pretty quickly on the ornaments. You should be able to see a nice layer of crystals after about an hour.

Why is this happening?
When salt is dissolved in water, the water molecules separate the salt molecules. The added energy (heat) is what helps break the bond apart. As the water starts to evaporate in the jars, the salt molecules start to bond together again. This is called ionic bonding. As the salt crystals form and fall to the bottom of the jar (because they are heavier than the water), some cling to the chenille stems.

Leave the ornaments in the jars for about 24 hours. You can also try different lengths of time to see if that changes the amount of crystals that form. Then gently remove the ornaments and let dry completely.

Once dry, hang the ornaments on your tree using the long stem that was used for the clothespin, or attach ornament hangers. You can also hang them in windows or other areas to add some fun holiday décor around the house.

Classroom Activities, Holidays, Parents

Spooky Spider Craft for Halloween

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Halloween is almost here! Yes, it will most likely look a lot different than years past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have fun. If you’re looking for a quick and easy craft to do with kids, we have one for you that uses materials you probably already have lying around the house.

Paper bag spiders!

Materials needed:

  • paper lunch bags
  • paint/paintbrush or markers
  • chenille stems
  • googly eyes
  • glue
  • pencil or toothpick for poking holes
  • newspapers or plastic bags


Fill the paper bag with newspaper or plastic bags until almost full. Leave a bit of room for stapling. If you are making multiple spiders, you may wish to cut the paper bags to different sizes.


Fold over the top of the bag and staple it closed. When you create your spider, make sure the stapled side is on the bottom so it doesn’t show.


Paint or color each side of the paper bag.


Take a pencil or toothpick and poke 4 holes on two opposite sides of the bag. Cut chenille stems in half and push one into each hole. Bend the stems so they touch the same level as the ground/bottom of the spider.


Glue googly eyes on the front of the bag. Spiders usually have eight eyes, but you can glue as few or as many as you’d like.



Display your spiders for a fun Halloween vignette. You can also use full-sized grocery paper bags and put them on your porch with your pumpkins!

This can be done as a stand-alone craft activity, or in conjunction with doing research and learning more about spiders and other creepy crawly critters.

For more fun Halloween crafts and other holiday activities, check out our holiday books.

Miscellaneous, Parents, Teaching Tips

Five Tips for Standards-Based Learning at Home

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The beginning of this school year probably looks a lot different than what you imagined, whether your children are starting remotely, going back in the classroom, or a hybrid of the two. Yet, regardless of how the actual school day looks, both teachers and students are still being held to the normal grade-level standards of your district. That’s why it’s important to make sure your students are performing at grade level and using products that are standards based to keep them on track and prepare them for the next year.

What exactly is standards-based learning? The term refers to instruction, grading, and assessment based on students demonstrating an understanding of the skills and knowledge they are expected to learn in each grade. Schools and districts determine goals of each grade level and subject at that grade level, (often based on state standards), and teachers determine how to teach students so they achieve those goals and expectations.

For parents, we understand that you may be concerned about keeping your child up to grade level given the unusual circumstances of the school year. That’s why we put together Learning Together sets. They include products that focus on essential standards-based, grade-level skills and provide daily practice to supplement classroom instruction. Plus, they are easy to use and require very little supervision, allowing children to learn and review independently. Below are five tips to help you incorporate these kits into your child’s learning day without making more work for you.

  1. You may wish to start with a grade level below the one your student is starting this fall. Summer learning loss is real, and given that the end of the last school year was so chaotic, it’s a great idea to review skills to bolster your child’s confidence as well as reinforce the building blocks needed for their new grade level. Plus, since this will most likely be review, children can probably do most of the activities on their own.
  2. Check your child’s coursework, (either online or what they bring home from school) and see what topics they are being introduced to in each subject. (Often the teacher will address which standards are being taught and list them somewhere in the classroom or online.) You can then peruse the activities in the various books of the Learning Together set and find some to match/reinforce what is being taught in class.
  3. You can also check the school’s or district’s website to see the standards for your child’s grade level and find activities in the Learning Together set that reinforce the standards. If you’re unsure of whether the standard has been addressed yet, check with your child’s teacher.
  4. Encourage your child to peruse the activities during their independent-work time, especially if they are learning remotely for now. They might finish their classwork early, and the activities in the books from the Learning Together set will keep them on task as well as reinforce what the teacher is demonstrating.
  5. Get to know your children as learners. These materials can help you see areas in which your child shines and conversely, where they need more help. You can also monitor how they approach the activities; do they need more time for reflection? Do they like one format better than another? Do they need to take an academic break before finishing and come back later in order to better process the activity? This is valuable information for when they are required to do classwork on their own. You can discuss their learning methods with them and help them self-regulate according to their own academic styles and needs.

    Bonus tip: Go easy on yourself and remind yourself that you are doing your best. You and your children are navigating this unfamiliar territory as well as you can. Not only will you get through this, but you’ll also have a better understanding of standards-based education as well as your individual children’s learning styles. By giving you and your children grace for a gigantic learning curve, you are also helping them stay calmer and more focused, and they’ll know you’ll be proud of them for piloting this learning journey to the best of their ability.