It is cold and snowy in the Pittsburgh area… Here are some things to keep the kids busy on MLK break!
The Mitten : 
A Ukrainian Folk tale by Jan Brett (Illustrator)
School Binding / Hardcover
Warm Mittens
I wiggle my left hand,
I wiggle my right,
Inside of my mittens,
So warm and so tight.
I wiggle my pinkie.
I wiggle my thumb,
So when I make snowballs,
my hands don’t get numb.
Print out this mitten story for your child. Have them color the pages.
http://www.marcias-lesson-links.com/The%20%20mitten%20%20in%20%20the%20%20snow.pdf
My Mitten Easy to read book.
More Mitten Ideas on Preschool Level
Students must color the mittens as they read the text. Free From http://www.teachingheart.net/
Jan Brett has masks you can prin from the mitten
http://www.janbrett.com/mitten_masks_main.htm
More Mitten Ideas From Teaching Heart:
http://www.teachingheart.net/mitten.html
Mitten Ideas from a Mommy Blogger
http://joyridewithmiral.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-reading-theme-challenge-mitten.html
Print and cutout. Have your kidds match the mittens:
http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag180.html
Ideas for : A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr (Adler, David A. Picture Book Biography.)by David A. Adler, Robert Casilla (Illustrator)
Get the book in paper back / Get the hard cover
Happy Birthday, Dr. King
to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”
Dr. King was a man
Who had a special dream.
He dreamed of a world filled with love
And peace and harmony.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King, Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King.
We honor you today.
1.) Ask the class why they think MLK’s was important to people of our country?
2.) Make friendship collages from old magazines. The children can cutout things such as smiles, hands, people together, friends, hearts, and other helpful or friendly looking pictures. To make this even more special; have each student pick a friend in the class to get their picture taken with. They can place the developed picture in the collage. Have each child glue his/her pictures to a heart of their choice. You may wish to display the hearts in your hallway as a reminder to spread love through friendship!
3.) Discuss with the class MLK’s famous quote; “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Ask you students to share their dreams for their families, friends, themselves, and the world. Brainstorm some of the dreams onto chart paper as a group. Next click here to print a dream pattern for your students. Now have each child write an I have a dream sentence on the lines provided. After they have completed their sentence allow them to illustrate it in the space provided. Finally glue the finished product to a paper plate and have each student decorate the outside of the plate.
4.) Click here to print out a sheet needed for this activity. Discuss with your students how everyone is different. You may start out by pointing out a difference between yourself and a few other students. “I have blond hair and Sally had red hair. I am a girl and Russell is a boy.” Then discuss how differences make us special and what it would be like if everyone in the world was the same. Next hand out the sheet and instruct the students to draw a picture of themself and a friend. Then have them write about one difference and one thing that is similar between them and their friend.
