I'm taking on a project at the school putting together "Summer Goody Bags" for the kindergarten classes. I was thinking of filling them with things for the kids to do over the Summer, both for fun, and to help them with learning. What kinds of things would you suggest get put in the bags???

Here is my list so far:

bubbles
a small paper back book


Any other ideas??

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BALLS...don't have some? GET SOME!!

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crayons
sidewalk chalk
puzzle
sunglasses (the cheap ones--check out Oriental Trading Company)
jumpropes (see Oriental Trading Company)

Contact your local library see if they have bookmarks or anything like that they will give you to put in the bags.
If you have any museums see if they will donate any trinkets to put in the bag (maybe even "free child's pass with a paying adult" coupons)
See if McDonalds/Burger King/Wendy's, etc. will pony up any coupons for a free small fries or cone.
Contact any local dermatologists and see if they will provide you samples of sunscreen.
Contact the local hospitals and see if they are willing to donate anything--same goes for Police Dept, Fire Dept and Ambulance service. Most of these have some sort of promotional items that they are usually more than willing to donate for a good cause.

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Wow those are GREAT ideas. Great for the kids and family and also great to get anything for free!
(You could also check with the local dentists for any free items)

I would also check out the dollar stores.....I just came back from Dollar Tree and they seem to be restocked on tons of toys and summer items for kids.

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Some of these have probably already been said, but here's what comes to mind:

- pencils, crayons, markers, drawing paper, construction paper, coloring books, workbooks (Dollar Tree has these all the time), playdoh, small craft kits (fun foam, etc.), stickers, stamps, any school supplies, bookmark, flier from the library on their summer reading program, coupons to local attractions & kid friendly restaurants (roller skating, swimming, bounce places, museum, aquarium, fast food, pizza, etc.), pool toys, beach ball, ball, frisbee, sand pail & shovel, pinwheel

Addition flash cards...

How about a journal that the students can use to write about their summer activities? Most schools have the machine to make booklets with the plastic spiral edging so you can make the journals. How about flash cards with high frequency words? It would be great if the kids came to first grade knowing all their HF words.

from the Dollar Tree, temporary tattoos, ice cream coupons (do you have a mom and pop ice cream stand?)

thanks....GREAT ideas, keep 'em coming.

Do you think the homemade play dough would be good???

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There's more, honestly, than my sweet friend, you can see.
Trust is what I'm offering if you trouble me.....10KManiacs


BALLS...don't have some? GET SOME!!

TLJ Women United in Spirit!!!

You mentioned wanting to put some things for learning... so I'll suggest some ideas that I used to send home with my Kinder-Kids at the end of each school year. Of course, the teacher may already be taking care of all of this???

Flashcards for:
Kindergarten Sight Words
Color Words (we do the eight that are in the small crayon box plus white and pink; here in AZ)
Number Words: one, two (etc. to 10)
Uppercase and Lowercase Letters (put on separate cards)

I am sure that the teacher could help you by telling you what the state standards are... I am familiar with AZ standards and there many more than I have listed (ie count to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's, print first and last name, memorize address and home phone, rhyming, etc.).

Flashcards can be printed out on the computer using MS Word or Excel, xeroxed on tagboard, then cut apart, and put in ziplock baggies. I'd use different colored paper for different skills.

Balls, jacks, art and craft supplies like popsicle sticks, glue sticks, beads, foam letters/numbers, water squirters, coloring books or coloring pages that you print, old magazines/newspapers with instructions to cut out certain words and glue them to paper, scissors, foam picture frame to put a picture of themselves or their family taken during their summer break, tic tac toe or dots sheets(should be able to find these online to print), rubber bracelets.
Walmart has an area in the toy section with 88 cent toys. Some have multiple toys in a pack, like stretchy frogs or snakes. Dollar General stores usually have a good summer toy section also. And as already mentioned Dollar Tree is usually good for goody bag type toys.

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Frisbees
Checkers and checkerboard (I just kept a little boy who is in kindergarten and with all the toys I had at my house, that was his favorite!)
Toy airplanes (the kind we used to have as a kid)
As someone else suggested, look at Oriental Trading and you can buy a lot of things in bulk.
And you'll be surprised at how your local McDonalds and other restaurants will pony up $1.00 certificates.

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High Frequency words for first grade~give them a head start for next year
K-1 decodable books (you can print some for free at Reading A-Z - Samples)
coloring books
Does your community's library have a summer reading program? Perhaps put information from it. Last summer some movie theatres offered free showings maybe they are doing that again this summer?

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