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Little Blue and Little Yellow: a St. Patrick’s Day Activity

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Long ago, while living in a foreign country, I wanted to make sugar cookies and have my students decorate them as a fun little St. Patrick’s Day treat. But I could not find a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter anywhere so had to get creative with my approach. I ended up making simple round cookies and using a book by the classic author, Leo Lionni, to create an easy, fun and tasty St. Patrick’s Day activity!

And I have repeated the lesson dozens of times since then! I’ve done it for stateside First Grade students, MOPS toddlers, homeschool co-op children and, of course, my own kid. Everybody loves it! And it’s super duper easy! {And, better yet, it’s YUMMY!}

Materials needed:

round cookies

white canned frosting

blue and yellow food coloring and

a copy of Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lioni.

That’s it!

The story is short and sweet.

It’s about a little blue blob and a little yellow blob who are best friends… 

…who accidentally run into some trouble.

But, thankfully, they are able to solve their issue in the end. 

The lesson from the story can be as simple as

blue + yellow = green

or as deep as

stay true to yourself and don’t lose your identity.

But no matter how serious you make the book discussion, the kids will love the next part!  

Give them each a cookie, a small blob of yellow frosting and a small blob of blue frosting. 

Have each kid mix the two blobs together to make green frosting.

Then they can decorate the cookie and enjoy a treat!  

That’s it! It’s a super easy, fun and tasty activity!

For additional ideas for St. Patrick’s Day activities, check out Three Ways Homeschoolers Can Have Some St. Patrick’s Day Fun!

Three Simple Ways to Make the Most of LEAP DAY

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LEAP DAY comes around only once every four years, which really isn’t very often in the grand scheme of things. It dawned on me recently that, though this will be my son’s fourth LEAP DAY, we’ve never done anything to recognize this anomaly on the calendar. And, frankly, I am not even sure I have EVER done anything, as an adult or as a child, to commemorate LEAP DAY.

So, I decided that 2020 would be the year we’d make the most of LEAP DAY! But, I also know we have Bible, pre-Algebra, General Science and World Geography to work on plus we need to keep up with our outside activities.  So I definitely needed to keep things simple.  So, how do you keep things simple but make the most of LEAP DAY at the same time? 

ONE: RECOGNIZE IT! This is so easy to do, and yet, I failed to do it in the past. All we need to do is just simply RECOGNIZE that there is an extra day this year and that it occurs on February 29th. When LEAP DAY rolls around, don’t let the day go by without drawing attention to the anomaly. That’s it. RECOGNIZE the special date!

TWO: LEARN ABOUT IT! Once I started down the path of wanting to celebrate LEAP DAY,  in pure homeschool Mom fashion, of course I went immediately to wanting to LEARN ABOUT IT. So, I did a wee bit of research and LEARNED as much as I could about why we have LEAP DAY. Then I whittled it down to a child’s level and created a LEAP DAY Fact Pack, which you can snag  here for FREE. It’s ten pages of informational text, comprehension questions, writing prompts and a crossword puzzle.  Or you can LEARN about LEAP DAY with this in-depth article on Wikipedia or in a much simpler form with this great little video. I plan on having my son watch the video and then work on the Fact Pack to LEARN ABOUT IT!

THREE: ENJOY IT! Now, this is where you can really go crazy with LEAP DAY plans but you can also keep things pretty simple and still ENJOY IT.  If you have little kids, you might want to stick with a frog theme and focus on all sorts of LEAPING activities. Play Leap Frog outside. Create a frog craft. Make a healthy or an unhealthy froggy snack. Color froggy pages.  There are loads of other frog-themed LEAP DAY ideas on Pinterest! If you have bigger kids, you might want to forgo the cutesie frogs and focus on the scientific fact that LEAP DAY won’t occur for another four years and make a simple time capsule for your family to “dig up” on 02-29-24! The best part of doing the time capsule is that it will just about guarantee that you’ll make the most of  LEAP DAY 2024! But no matter what you decide to do, just do something to ENJOY IT! 

 

You might also want to check out: 

THREE Ways Homeschoolers Can Have Some St. Patrick’s Day Fun

THREE Simple Ways to Make the Most of PRESIDENTS’ DAY

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

 

I’m sure most of us are looking forward to the upcoming holiday.  I mean, who doesn’t love a well-deserved three day weekend? I know I do!

But, do we even know what the holiday is?

Is it the singular President’s Day?

Or is it the plural Presidents’ Day?

Or is it the punctuation-free Presidents Day?

Or is it Washington’s Birthday? And, I swear, when I was growing up, we had Lincoln’s Birthday too!

{I just googled this and ALL of those are considered correct, by the way! It depends on your state and how they designate the day.}

But, whatever we call it, the fact is we do have a holiday coming up that has something to do with PRESIDENTS. 

But what are we celebrating? Are we recognizing PRESIDENT Washington? PRESIDENT Lincoln?  Reagan? Trump? Or somebody else that made his mark in between those infamous men? 

No matter who we decide to celebrate on this holiday, I do believe our PRESIDENTS {both past and present} deserve recognition and respect. 

So, I would like to suggest we make this holiday more  about the actual PRESIDENTS and less about the fact that we score a three day weekend and can buy deeply discounted mattresses. 

Here are three quick and simple ways to make the most of PRESIDENTS’ DAY!

ONE: RECOGNIZE IT! Before Monday hits, do a wee bit of research about WHY we have PRESIDENTS’ DAY. Google the simple question, “Why do we have PRESIDENT’S DAY?” Or ask Alexa, “What is the history of PRESIDENTS’ DAY?“  Start with that and go from there. And share that information with your family. Don’t let the day go by without making sure each of your kids understands why they don’t have school.  It’s not just another day. Do something to RECOGNIZE IT!

TWO: ENJOY IT! Do something to make the day memorable and meaningful so your family understands the value of the day. Make snacks, play a game, create a craft; do something to ENJOY the holiday. Pinterest has a gazillion ideas! A gazillion! But my favorite snack is this easy Patriotic Graham Cracker Snack because it is super easy to make and can be made with candy or fruit.   My favorite activity for little kids is this Money Sort.  And if you have older kids,  our favorite PRESIDENTS game is Professor Noggin’s PRESIDENTS of the US. {We love it so much I even did a GAME REVIEW on it.} Like I said, there are a gazillion ideas. Some are complicated. Many are simple. But it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the choices. So, just choose something, anything,  and ENJOY IT!

THREE: LEARN ABOUT IT! Take things a step further and LEARN about the special men behind the day, our PRESIDENTS.  I’m sure the vast majority of our kids know at least something about Washington and Lincoln. That’s great. They are very significant parts of our history. VERY. But, we just elected our 46th PRESIDENT. And each one of those FORTY-FIVE men {yes, the numbers don’t match…and here is the reason for that} has made an impact on the history of our country.  So you may want to spend part of the day LEARNING historical facts about our PRESIDENTS. If you decide to do this, I have a Presidents Past and Present Fact Pack that covers fourteen of our presidents. It includes informational text, writing prompts and more. It’s guaranteed to teach your kids {and probably you too; I learned SO MUCH while working on this resource.} Or, I am sure Pinterest has a gazillion of resources too. No matter, what you decide to use, I think it’s a great idea to LEARN ABOUT IT!

So, how do you plan on spending PRESIDENT’S DAY?

The Value of Celebrating Your State’s Birthday

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I’m a California girl who was born and raised in the same house all through my childhood and then attended college just a few hours up the coast from my hometown.  But after marrying my husband, we moved to Missouri where we lived for three years, followed by three years in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 2010, we moved to Kansas and we’re still here in the year 2020! While it’s very different than my coastal home state, it offers its own unique beauty and interesting characteristics.

Shortly after moving here, we started homeschooling our only son and I quickly connected with a co-op.  Since we knew very few people in town, the co-op was a Godsend to us in a variety of ways, not the least of which was showing me that I was sorely lacking in Kansas history. Apparently, it’s typical for Kansas kids to celebrate Kansas Day every year.  “What is Kansas Day,”  you might be wondering? I wondered the same thing until my new co-op crew filled me in.  It’s the day set aside to celebrate Kansas’ statehood. Kansas became the 34th state on January 29, 1861, therefore, every year on January 29th, kids all across the Sunflower State celebrate its “birthday.”

Kansas Day celebrations take place in classrooms and homeschools alike with sunflowery crafts, yummy treats and loads of lessons on the state mammal, bird, reptile, motto and more. And this happens every year for Kansas kids; it’s not just a Fourth Grade standard like it is in California. It’s something they look forward to annually. Our local libraries offer special programs, bakeries make themed cakes and teachers shift their lessons for the day to include all things bison, sunflower and tiger salamander. 

If you’re wondering, like I did at first, WHY so much effort goes into Kansas Day, let me give you the two-cent opinion of a Californian transplanted to Kansas after short stints in Missouri and Michigan. 

It teaches STATE HISTORY to our kids. 

It imparts a STATE IDENTITY in our kids. 

It instills STATE PRIDE in our kids.

And, it’s fun! 

Knowing that the American Bison is the Kansas State Mammal or that the Barred Tiger Salamander is the Kansas State Amphibian seems like nothing more than silly trivia at first. But, when the kids learn how each animal was chosen, they learn state history because there are actual legit, logical reasons behind those decisions. When they can begin to recognize that “Sunflower Bank” and “Bison Electric” are not just randomly chosen business names, they’ll begin to identify with their state as a whole. And when they learn what the state motto means, they’ll surely come away with some pride for the state’s founding fathers and their journey to statehood. 

As mentioned earlier, I was born and raised in California. From PreK through a Masters Degree, I was educated in the state and I LOVED growing up there.  And, yet, I could not tell you when California’s statehood actually took place. If given a few minutes, I could garner an educated guess on the year based on a few history facts that I’d need to pull up from the recesses of my brain, but I could never tell you the month and day. I could tell you the state nickname for sure, probably the state mammal and possibly the flower. But if you were to ask me about the state bird, state amphibian or state motto, all I could provide would be purely wild guesses.

{For my UNGoogled guesses on California Facts, go to the very end.}

I’ll admit that when I was first introduced to the concept of Kansas Day, I was a bit skeptical. I assumed it was a fluff holiday and an excuse to take the day off from regular schooling. But, as our KS years have rolled on and our KS Day celebrations have ramped up, I now see the value in celebrating your state’s birthday. 

It teaches STATE HISTORY to our kids. 

It imparts a STATE IDENTITY in our kids. 

It instills STATE PRIDE in our kids.

And, as a bonus, it is loads of fun! 

So, do you know when your state’s birthday is?

Do your kids?

Check the list below and start planning a party! 

If you happen to be a current Kansan, like me, check out my Kansas State Fact Pack. It’s chock-full of Kansas State facts and fun activities! 

And, for ALL state birthdays, an excellent place to start is with your state’s edition of the Discover America, State by State series.  Below is just a small selection, but there is one for every single state {and even DC.}

, , , ,

My UNGoogled guesses on California Facts:

{Year of Statehood: 1851} WRONG! It was actually 1850, so I was close!

{State Nickname: Golden State} CORRECT! Yay me!

{State Mammal: bear} MOSTLY CORRECT. It’s the Grizzly Bear. 

{State Flower: poppy} CORRECT! Not sure why I knew that. 

{State Bird: golden eagle} Eeks! So WRONG! It’s the California Quail.

{State Amphibian: Sonoran Desert Toad} Totally WRONG! It’s the red-legged frog,  but my guess sounded so legit, didn’t it?

{State Motto: Go home! We have no more gold.} Obviously WRONG, but ya gotta admit, it was a funny guess. It’s actually “Eureka!” 

That’s a score of only 43%! EEKS! That’s not good! I bet if I had celebrated California’s birthday every September 9th, I would’ve done a whole lot better! 

THREE Ways Homeschoolers Can Have Some St. PATRICK’S DAY Fun

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those small holidays that doesn’t demand much respect. It often comes and goes in the middle of the week and all that occurs are a few green treats at school, lots of green drinks at Happy Hour and some misplaced pinching at both locations. Personally, I have never been a big St. Patty’s Day celebrant but even I believe it does deserve at least some mention to our kids. Though it’s a holiday based on both the history and myths from another land far, far away, it has somehow earned a place in our culture here in the United States. So, it makes sense to allow our kids a little Leprechaun fun alongside their homeschool studies. 

Below are THREE WAYS that homeschoolers can have some St. Patrick’s Day fun!

ONE: MAKE yummy cookies or other baked goods!

We love any excuse for MAKING yummy treats and if you are like us, MAKING shaped sugar cookies is a given for practically every holiday. But if you’re burnt out on those, you could try MAKING  Lucky Charms treats, green cake balls or mint brownies for St. Patrick’s Day.  All of those look and sound delicious but, my all time favorite treat for this holiday is to MAKE some cookies to accompany Leo Lionni’s book, Little Blue and Little Yellow.   All it takes is some simple round sugar cookies {you can even use store-bought, ready to eat cookies}, a small bowl of yellow frosting and a small bowl of blue frosting. Read the book, frost the cookies to blend the two colors and MAKE some fun memories while MAKING some yummy treats! {For more details, check out Little Blue and Little Yellow: an easy, fun and tasty St. Patrick’s Day Activity.}

 

TWO: CREATE a fun craft!

When I taught in the classroom {and also when my son was younger,} I considered the above-mentioned Little Blue, Little Yellow activity to be a sufficient example of CREATING a craft {that was eaten, of course}. But if you are a crafty mama who likes to give her kids more opportunity to CREATE, there are more than a few ideas out there for St. Patrick’s Day. Marshmallow Shamrock Stamping for the littles looks like fun {and educational too!} Shamrock Suncatchers seem like a good choice for all ages and can serve the double purpose of holiday decor. But if you have older kids with more ambition, check out these Leprechaun Traps. It looks like you can CREATE them to be as complicated and fancy as you want or keep them much more simple {which is surely what I would do!} Whichever craft your kids choose, they’ll surely have fun CREATING something memorable!

 

THREE: LEARN about the holiday!

As mentioned in my Valentine’s Day post, I can’t seem to let any holiday go by without expecting my son to LEARN  about it. Doing this doesn’t even need to take away from the rigor of your child’s schooling, as you can easily substitute St. Patrick’s Day-themed reading and writing for your normally-scheduled school programming. I always like to use informational reading text passages and writing prompts {which can be found in my St. Patrick’s Day Holiday Fact Pack….so convenient, right?!?!? But, really, it’s an easy and inexpensive way to capitalize on the holiday without giving up learning!}

So, whether your kids MAKE yummy cookies, CREATE something fun or LEARN about the holiday, there are loads of ways for your homeschoolers to have some St. Patrick’s Day fun!

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