Add a silly pair of glasses (Groucho Marx with a mustache or seasonal glasses available at dollar stores) to your science center. When children do experiments they get to put on the glasses.

Make a blank book for each of your children to keep in their desks. (These can be 5 sheets of paper folded in half and stapled.) Explain that it is a “think pad” and when they finish their work early they can get them out and think, write, and draw. They could also use these to “take notes” when the teacher reads a book.

The speech bubbles used in cartoons are interesting for children to write in. Ask children to draw their picture and make bubbles saying their favorite word or phrase. You can also cut giant bubbles out of poster board and laminate them. Children can write on these with an erasable marker.

Linda Sue Hankins in Omaha, NE, helps prepare her children for saying the Pledge of Allegiance with this song to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell.”
Oh, we love our flag.
Oh, we love our flag.
Hi-ho-America.
Oh, we love our flag.