This colorful list-style poster is available in two convenient sizes for your classroom: 11″x17″ and 24″x36″.

Our selection of free downloadable printables is also now available on our website. Browse our selection of cursive printables, cut-out letters and numbers, a variety of math printables and more!

Have questions or comments? Looking for specific printables for your classroom? Feel free to comment below or give us a call at 800-669-7766.

Product Description: This big, bright, colorful pocket chart is the perfect tool for teaching nutrition. The triangular shaped chart is divided into 6 different color sections for each of the food groups. A list of suggested activities is also included. Chart measures 30½” H x 31½” W at the bottom and has 8 transparent pockets for cards and grommets for hanging.

Product Manufacturer: Educator’s Resources

National School Supply Cost: From $21.19 (Retail: $24.99)

Pros: This learning tool is not only interactive, but also a great visual aid for informing children about a well-balanced diet.

Cons: Flash cards with examples of each food group are not included and need to be made in the classroom.

Best Uses: Great for classrooms of all ages! Fill up the chart with examples of each food group, or fill them up in relation to one another, showing students the percentage of each food group they should be eating daily. Another fun activity would be to have children write down their favorite foods and have them place them in the food group they think it belongs in.

1. Save the fun learning for spring – interactive activities are the best for the 4th quarter classroom.

2. Give students a choice – let students decide their final topic for papers or experiments.

3. Use the weather to your advantage – Get your class outside, studying plants, exploring nature and being generally active.

For more information, read the whole report here.

Don’t forget – National School Supply is now on Pinterest! See more at http://pinterest.com/nschoolsupply/

Look for more printables to be posted every other week! Have questions, comments or are looking for a specific printable for your classroom? Feel free to comment below!

Here are a few fun things you can do to teach your students about being environmentally-friendly:

1. Grab the classroom garbage can and sort through the waste, seeing what should have and can be recycled, and what is okay to throw away. Teach students what each number means and which are okay to recycle.

2. While going through the garbage, point out which items can be composted instead of thrown away.

3. Start a classroom recycling bin and label them for paper, plastics, cans and more.Use these materials to create crafts, on school projects and more. Otherwise, take a trip with your class to the recycling center.

4. Encourage kids to bring reusable containers instead of throwing away bags each day. Reusable water bottles are particularly good to have.

5. Take kids outside and show them the different types of plants and wildlife there are to enjoy if the environment is kept clean.

6. If there is a lot of waste and garbage around your community, plan a community clean-up. Give each student or pair of students a garbage bag, disposable plastic gloves and a found stick to help them pick up trash.

7. Find books on the environment from your school’s library and read them with your class! There are plenty of books on all types of ecological subjects that will enlighten your class about the natural wonders of our planet. Then, reiterate basic steps they can do to help.

8. Read your class a fun book that also teaches the importance of caring for the environment, such as Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax.

9. Have your students watch a movie about the environment. Then, have a worksheet with questions prepared afterwards for discussion.

10. Plan a scavenger hunt of different things found in the outdoors – certain plants, birds, rocks and more. Get children enjoying the outdoors!

Feel free to share your unique Environmental Ed Week or Earth Day activities! Want to know more about Environmental Education Week? Check out more information here.

Our detailed instructions will guide you through this craft. We also added additional decorative options, including a 3-dimensional lady bug and flowers. Enhance your spring classroom decorations with our new Springtime Windsock!

Have questions or comments? Feel free to post below or call us at 1-800-669-7766.

Look for new printables like this one each month from National School Supply. To help teachers ease their workloads, as well as provide new classroom activities, we’ve created a large selection of free printables for classrooms of all ages. Look for our entire selection coming soon on our homepage, and check back every other week for new printables!

Product Description: Kids of all ages develop motor coordination and get essential exercise with the colorful, soft nylon Kinder Chute. Encourages social participation and interactive fun in and out of the classroom! Touch construction with sewn in handholds. Machine Washable. Comes in either a 6′ or 12′ diameter.

Product Manufacturer: Peerless Plastics

National School Supply Cost: From $12.60 (Retail: $19.99)

Pros: Parachutes are not only for having fun, but they are great for learning. Kids develop fine motor skills and get exercise while playing Kinder Chute games.

Cons: You need to purchase the Kinder Chute Storage Bag separately. Even though the Kinder Chute is made of tough kid-friendly materials it’s still important to have a storage bag for the Kinder Chute so it does not get torn.

Best Uses: Great for students of all ages! Young students benefit from learning fine motor skills and coordination. Older students have fun playing games that encourage learning, participation and team-work. Kinder Chutes make an excellent playground game!

Monday: Explore Your City
Spend the day pretending you are an out-of-towner. Every city has lots of hidden treasures and now’s the prefect time to explore them with your kids. Spend a few hours searching the internet or contact your local visitor’s center for a list of hidden landmarks and gems in your city. Make it a game and see how many you can see in just one day.

Tuesday: Volunteer
Volunteering can be a fun activity for kids while also educational. Teaching your kids how they can help others in the community will teach them the importance of community involvement and helping others. Make it more fun by letting choose the organization they want to volunteer at. You can visit a local church, city hall or the internet for a list of volunteer opportunities in your community.

Wednesday: Have a Jig-Saw Puzzle Competition
Make doing puzzles more fun by turning it into a competition. Allow each of your kids (or their friends) pick out a jig-saw puzzle and compete to see who can compete it the fastest. When they’re done they make it a memorable experience by using puzzle glue and holding it all together.

Thursday: Plant a Garden
Spring is the best time to start thinking about the upcoming gardening season and spring break is a great opportunity to get your kids involved. Letting them choose some of the plants will get them excited about helping out. Gardening and planting projects are a great science lesson for kids. If it’s still too cold to do any planting outside you can plant the seeds in a styrofoam cup and transfer them to the garden when the weather warms up.

Friday: Movie Day
Finish out the week with a calm afternoon at home watching movies. Mix it up by bringing out some of your all-time favorites and introducing them to your kids.

There are lots of different things you can do with the kids during spring break and these are just a few of them. Share with us in the comments section some of the things you’ll be doing this year!

We often times think of sensory tables as “sand and water tables”, but there are plenty of other things that can be used to optimize sensory play for your kids. We’ve compiled a list of common items that you can use in your next sensory table. However, keep in mind that kids of all ages use sensory tables and you want to make sure that the products you are using are age appropriate.

Consider using typical household products and dry foods that won’t break the budget. Some common things you can find around the house that are great for sensory play include water, bubbles (water & dish soap), cheerios, flour, dry pasta, coffee grinds (unused, of course) or rice.

Make a seasonal sensory table. You can simply go outside and find things around the yard to teach your kids about the different seasons. For example, in the spring you can pick some flowers or grass. In the fall you can collect pinecones, mini pumpkins and leaves to teach the young ones about the fall season.

Re-use packing materials. During the holiday season you may find yourself receiving and sending lots of packages. Re-use some of your packing materials for your sensory table. Packing peanuts and bubble wrap will get any kid excited to play.

The simplest things can get any young one excited to use their senses. It’s important for you to find to time and space for sensory play. Don’t be afraid to be creative – your kids will appreciate it for years to come.

Leprechaun, Leprechaun, Where’s your shamrock? 
In this fun game one student becomes the “Leprechaun.” Then, the “leprechaun’ sits with his or her eyes closed and a paper shamrock behind them. Another student quietly takes the paper shamrock and return to their seat. Then all the students hide their hands and say “Leprechaun, Leprechaun, where’s your shamrock?” Then the “leprechaun” gets 3 guesses as to who has his shamrock. The person with the shamrock is the next leprechaun.

End of the Rainbow
The End of the Rainbow game is just like the classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey game. Make a large rainbow out of construction paper, place it on the wall of your classroom. Cut out several shamrocks. (Turn the game into a craft activity, too by allowing your students to create/decorate their own.) Line up your students. Blindfolded, each student places their shamrocks on the rainbow to see who can get closest to the end of the rainbow.

What other activities do you have planned to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with your students? Share them with us (and other teachers) in the comments section!

Even better yet, all of our Angeles trikes and riding toys are kid-safe with no sharp edges, non-slip pedals, compact spokeless wheels and weatherproof rubber seats the tricycles are built to ensure the safety of the children riding them.

Which of our top selling trikes and riding toys are right for your kids and students?

Viking Trike - Cycling improves the movement and motor functions of children. These durable brightly colored tricycles make cycling fun. Choose from four different sizes or the Easy Rider style. The Easy Rider is a rugged tricycles with low seat position and a Harley-like handle bar.

Rugged Rider Trike - Your kids will love this Rugged Rider™ trike by Angeles because of the solid fat rubber tires that make it easy to ride over any surface and make it fun and easy to ride anywhere they want. This trike features a durable, black power-coated steel frame creating a stylish appearance. The recessed no-pinch hub design and heavy duty rubber grips help to prevent falls and accidents. Comfort back support and a curved seat provides your kids with the ideal situation to play and ride for even longer. Simply assembly required. Choose from either a 12″ trike, 14″ trike or supercycle. Perfect for any daycare or preschool with kids ages 4 to 8.

Classic Rider Trike - The Classic Rider® Toddler Trikes have all the durability and quality that you’re looking for in your toddler’s next tricycle. Toddler trikes are perfect for any daycare, school or preschool setting. The heavy-duty rubber handgrips, solid rubber tires with spokeless steel wheels and durable welded steel frame provide extra safety and protection against accidents. Ship fully assemled and have a 5 year manufacturers warranty. Lightweight design makes them great for any toddler to carry or move around the playground or daycare. Perfect for kids and students ages 18 to 36 months.

1. Captain Planet Foundation Grants: Captain Planet Foundation is to promote and support high quality, educational programs that enable children and youth to understand and appreciate our world through learning experiences that engage them in active hands-on projects to improve the environment in their schools and communities. Grants are intended to inspire youth and communities to participate in community service through environmental stewardship activities. Deadline: May 31, 2012

2. NEA Nickelodeon Big Help Grants: The Big Help Grants program is dedicated to the development and implementation of ideas, techniques, and approaches for addressing four key concerns – environmental awareness, health and wellness, students’ right to a quality public education, and active community involvement. The grants target these four concerns as areas of great promise in helping develop a sense of global awareness in 21st century students that will encourage and enable them to make a difference in their world. Deadline: June 1, 2012

3. Kids In Need Foundation Grants: Kids In Need Teacher Grants provide K-12 educators with funding to provide innovative learning opportunities for their students. The Kids In Need Foundation helps to engage students in the learning process by supporting our most creative and important educational resource — our nation’s teachers. Deadline: Various

 We hope these great opportunities will help fund some of your classroom activities. What other grant opportunities are there out there for teachers? Share them with us (and other teachers!) in the comments section.

1. Teacher Planet® – Teacher Planet® is designed to save teachers time and money. When you enter their homepage there is a handy Resource Calendar with all of the monthly holidays, such as the 100th School Day, President’s Day, Girl Scout Day, World Poetry Day, Dr. Seuss’ Birthday and tons more every month! Then you’ll come across hundreds more resources to help you in the classroom. You can find lesson plans, worksheets, rubrics, theme units, certificates, teacher tools like flashcards and calendars, grant opportunities and ESL resources!
2. The Teacher’s Corner – The Teacher’s Corner website is geared primarily toward elementary and intermediate school teachers. The site provides an array of resources for teachers in all subjects. You can find great bulletin board ideas, theme units, great seasonal classroom activities and ideas, collaboration projects, experiments of the week and message boards to chat with other teachers and educators.
3. Planet Pals – Planet Pals is your number one resource if you’re a teacher looking to go green in the classroom! Planet Pals has everything you need to learn about going green in your classroom. They have resources for teachers that include games, Earth Day pages, tons of unique craft activities, games, activities and learning resources.
4. PBS Teachers – PBS Teachers is a popular website for all teachers from preK through high school. PBS provides teachers with strategies and resources to create a rich and engaging learning experience in the classroom. Visiting their site you’ll find teacher news, a Media Infusion blog, a webinar archive with great strategies and tips, teacher discussions and a huge selection of resources separated by grade level and subject matter.
5. PreKinders – PreKinders is a fabulous resources if you’re a teacher of daycare or PreK students. When you visit PreKinders you’ll find activity ideas and printables that you can use in the classroom with the little ones. Activites are seperated by theme, subject, literacy, assessment, technology, motor skills and more. You can also visit their archive of activities for even more ideas and resources.

We’d love to hear about all of the other great websites you like to use as a resources for your classroom. We welcome you to share them with us in the ‘Comments’ section below!

Product Description: The Alphabet Marks the Spot interactive floor game is a high energy introduction to letters, sounds, alphabetical order and word building. This affordable ABCs game features 8 different games that students will love to play. Included with this alphabet game are a 4-1/2′ square vinyl alphabet mat, 5 inflatable illustrated cubes and game markers.

Manufacturer: Learning Resources

National School Supply Price: $31.25
(Retail: 36.99)

Pros: Ideal for students and kids in grades K+, the Alphabets Marks the Spot Game helps students and kids learn letters, letter sounds, beginning sounds and more! Your students will love to toss the cubes, identify the picture and figure out what letter it begins with and then search for it on the oversize mat.

Cons: If your students already know their letters and their alphabet, this game will be on the easier side. To emphasize sounds and more advanced learning you’ll want to look into alphabet and letter games for older students.

Best Uses: In a classroom or home environment where kids and students are beginning to lean their letters and sounds. It can be used in either a group setting with multiple players or just a single player.