The Best Of The Mailbox®

Bulletin Boards Preschool/Kindergarten Our favorite bulletin boards from the issues of the Preschool/Kindergarten edition of The Mailbox® magazine

Editor In Chief Margaret Michel

Editors Jayne Gammons, Ada Goren, Gina Sutphin, Kathy Wolf

Artists Cathy Spangler Bruce Pam Crane Sheila Krill Rebecca Saunders Barry Slate

Cover Design Jim Counts

About This Book The Best Of The Mailbox® Bulletin Boards Preschool/Kindergarten is a collection of the best bulletin boards published in the Preschool/Kindergarten editions of The Mailbox® from 1988 to 1994. It was designed to provide an extensive collection of motivating, teacher-created, easy-to-make bulletin boards for today’s busy teacher. Many of the boards involve student participation to make attractive classroom displays. The book is divided into five sections: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Anytime. There are 92 illustrations of bulletin boards plus easy-to-follow instructions and reproducible patterns.

©1996 by THE EDUCATION CENTER, INC. All rights reserved except as here noted. Except as provided for herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or storing in any information storage and retrieval system or electronic on-line bulletin board, without prior written permission from The Education Center, Inc. Permission is given to the original purchaser to reproduce patterns and reproducibles for individual classroom use only and not for resale or distribution. Reproduction for an entire school or school system is prohibited. Please direct written inquiries to The Education Center, Inc., P.O. Box 9753, Greensboro, NC 27429-0753. The Education Center®, The Mailbox®, and the mailbox/post/grass logo are trademarks of The Education Center, Inc., and may be the subject of one or more federal trademark registrations. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Printed in the United States of America.

Table Of Contents Fall ..................................................................... 5–19 Back To School ................................................ 6 Halloween ..................................................... 14 Thanksgiving.................................................. 17 Winter ............................................................... 21–32 Hanukkah ...................................................... 22 Christmas ...................................................... 23 New Year’s .................................................... 28 Valentine’s Day .............................................. 29 Spring ............................................................... 33–39 St. Patrick’s Day............................................. 34 Easter ............................................................ 35 Earth Day ...................................................... 39 Summer ............................................................ 41–45 End Of The Year ............................................ 42 Independence Day .......................................... 45 Anytime ............................................................ 47–59 Patterns .......................................................... 60–112

The lights on the bus go blink, blink, blink!

s u S B ong e h T The babies on the bus say, "Waa, waa, waa!"

The driver on the bus goes, "Move on back!"

The kids on the bus go bump, bump, bump!

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish!

STOP The motor on the bus goes vroom, vroom, vroom!

The parents on the bus say, "Sh, sh, sh!"

The money on the bus goes clink, clink, clink!

T o w n e h A l l r T o A un d

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

Extend that catchy "Bus Song" into a language arts activity! Mount the large bus cutout from page 60 on a board. Have children color and cut out illustrations of people or things to be mounted in or on the bus. Write each youngster's dictation on a construction-paper speech balloon; then display it near his illustration. You're sure to hear compliments on this board "all around the school." Vicki Altland—Gr. K, Florence Mattison Elementary, Conway, AR

September Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Here's a pattern to follow as the months go by. Mount a calendar, using the apple pattern on page 61 for each of the dates. Cut the worms (see pattern on page 61) out of enough different colors of paper to accommodate the type of pattern that you wish to show. Adhere a small piece of Velcro® to each of the cutouts. Each day, have a youngster start or continue a pattern with the worms by attaching a color of worm to the appropriate apple. Sandra Sweet—Gr. K, Corinth Central Corinth, NY

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David Andrews

Your classroom will be easy for youngsters to spot with this colorful display. Mount a handand-arm cutout and a caption near the bottom of your classroom door. Personalize a balloon cutout for each youngster. Tie a length of curling ribbon to each cutout; then mount it on the door. Tie the loose ends of the ribbon lengths together and attach them to the hand cutout. On the first day of school, have each youngster draw his self-portrait; then attach his artwork to his balloon cutout. What a great bunch!

Caroline Reese

Katie Hodnett

Taylor Stevens

Bubs Kennedy—Gr. K Wyoming Elementary Dellwood, MN

Tiffany Hobson

Burt Lester

Juan Gonzales

Lea Chin

Benjamin Harvey Maria Sanchez Samuel Duncan

Stacie Oakley

Mrs. Kennedy's Bunch Jan. Feb. Mar Mar.. Apr Apr.. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Amy

Adam

3

Jamie

16

20

Rosa

12

Beth

Aaron

Matt

17

5

Ben

9

Tanya

30

22

Lara

8

Cindy

Kevin

Korita

Jason

Steven

24

Tyler

11

Sally

23

Will

31

10

23

15

Sam

4

Kelly

22

Brian

13

26

Create a 12-month graph on a bulletin board. Have each child decorate a small paper plate to represent herself. Attach a personalized construction-paper bow/bow tie to each child's self-portrait. Mount each child's face on the graph in the column labeled with her birth month. This board can be used when you're studying months, birthdays, and many math concepts. Adetrice Garrett Patterson—Gr. K, Inverness Elementary School, Birmingham, AL

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Anna

Ben

Karen

Susie

Stevie

Joey

Brian

Tanya Beth

Denton

This “kinder-garden” will flourish when adorned with the likenesses of your budding scholars. Duplicate the tulip patterns on page 62 for students. Cut out each inner tulip design using an X-acto® knife. Then have each youngster cut out one of the larger tulip designs before taping a photocopy of his school picture to the back, so that his likeness can be seen through the cutout. Staple these flowers (both large and small) atop leafy, construction paper stems. Twist and staple the leaves for a neat three-dimensional effect. Embellish the display with colored enlargements of the bee, butterfly, and snail patterns on page 63. Tanya Wheeler—Gr. K, Pelahatchie Elementary, Pelahatchie, MS

6

June 1997

This first-day activity/display idea doubles as a kindergarten keepsake. Attach the title and crayonfilled baskets to the board. As each child arrives on the first day, have him draw a self-portrait and label it with his name. Later request that each student attach a photograph of himself near his drawing. Use the drawings and photos as discussion starters, for feature comparison, and for graphing exercises. After a few weeks, cut out each child's self-portrait. Store the drawings until the end of the year; then attach each child's first self-portrait to a recent one, and present it to his parents. 8 Sandra Simko—Gr. K, Bucher School, Lancaster, PA

September

1996