With Kansas Day coming up on January 29th, I wanted to share a variety of ideas to help you celebrate with your kindergarteners! Whether you want to do one activity that day or spend a whole day celebrating Kansas, I’ve got ideas for you!
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1. Books
The book S is for Sunflower by Devin and Corey Scillian is an alphabet book all about Kansas. I like it because each page features a rhyme that’s great for reading aloud. There’s extra information on every page as well.
This is the Sunflower is a really cute book about the sunflower life cycle. It can be used with all sorts of great writing or science activities and it ties in well with the sunflower sensory bin in my Kansas Day center pack.
The Kansas rookie reader book is another good one with lots of simple words and sentences.
Not pictured is One Kansas Farmer, also written by Devin Scillian, which is a number book that’s very similar to S is for Sunflower.
2. Snack
I put together these simple sunflower cookies and they’re fun because they’re a simple snack that your students can assemble on their own. I bought these shortbread cookies (there are about 20 in a package), lemon frosting, and malted milk balls.
Each student will need one cookie, a spoonful of frosting, and one malted milk ball.
Then, they’ll spread the frosting on the cookie and put the malted milk ball in the center. Again…it’s pretty simple but it’s a quick and hands-on snack idea!
3. Centers/Exploration Stations/Morning Tubs:
Last week I shared about my Kansas Day Exploration Stations or Centers (here’s the link to the blog post). There are 12 activities in the pack and they can be used in any way you need them! There’s a mix of literacy, math, science, and fine motor activities and if you’re familiar with my morning work tubs, you’ll find that they’re a similar format. Check out the blog post for all the details or see them in my TpT store here.
4. Mini Books:
I LOVE using mini books in the classroom and I love this set of three mini books just for Kansas Day. One of them is a tracing book about Kansas symbols. The Kansas book is also about Kansas symbols but it uses simple, repetitive sentences. The I Live in Kansas book has simple sentences like, “I go to school in Kansas.” You can grab the mini books in my store here!
5. Flip-Up Book:
If you’ve never used a flip-up book with your students, have no fear! This is a fairly simple one. It’s all about Kansas symbols and it includes color and black-and-white versions. You can choose the numbered pages or non-numbered pages. You can check out this activity in my store here.
6. Sunflower Counting by Tens Craftivity:
This activity can be used outside of Kansas Day and makes a great spring bulletin board, too! It’s a simple and fun craftivity with a math component. There are versions that go to 100 and 120. You can get this craftivity in my store here.
Crown Freebie:
Since it wouldn’t be a special day in the world of kindergarten without a crown, here’s a crown template! You’ll need to attach construction paper strips or sentence strips to each sides and staple to form a complete crown for each student. There is a version with Kansas pictures to cut out and color and there’s also a blank “Happy Kansas Day” version. For both versions, there’s an option to cut out around the sunflower petals and a simpler version that’s just round at the top.
Grab the free crown template below!
How to you celebrate Kansas Day? Leave a comment below or share pictures on Facebook or Instagram! Be sure to tag me!
