Kindergarten Creations

Literacy Centers With Spoons

I am always trying to come up with new math and literacy centers for my classroom. This week I created this set of literacy stations that use spoons as a prop. I bought a box of 100 count plastic spoons at Wal-Mart. I used a sharpie marker to create my centers. Here is what I came up with.

My upper level students will use this center. They will read the cvc word that was written on the spoon, and they will match it to the cvc picture that is on the spoon printable.

My middle level students will complete this set of spoon centers. They will match a letter on the spoon to the picture on the printable that begins with that letter.

My kids will find the missing vowel on the spoon printable. They will then match the vowel on the plastic spoon to the word with the missing letter. This will help reinforce the vowel sounds.

My kids who are still learning the alphabet will use this center to practice ordering the letters of the alphabet. They will order their spoons from A to Z.

This center will also give my students a chance to practice their alphabet recognition. Students will match an uppercase letter spoon to the lowercase match on the spoon printable.

If you are interested in my spoon literacy centers, click the link below to see them in my TPT store. Thanks for looking!

Learning To Read With Spoons! Literacy Center or Small Gro

Get My Spoon Centers By Clicking Here

I also created these clip-it cards. These are so simple to make, and the kids love them. Students read three words and place a clip on the word matching the picture. Simple as that. I keep these cards in my literacy center.

You can get them by clicking this link.

CVC Words Clip It Cards! Literacy Center Activity (32 Cards)

CVC Words Clip It Cards! Literacy Center Activity (32 Cards)

Crystal McGinnis

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10 Quick & Easy Number Recognition Math Centers

By Crystal McGinnis 4:02 PM

Quick & Easy Number Recognition Math Centers

In my classroom, I use center time as a time that I can meet with my small groups for guided reading. Some of my centers are academic, while the other centers are play. Here are some of the math centers that I have going in my room this week. Most of the centers were created from items that I found in my classroom or at home.

My kids are playing a game of "fill the cup." The students roll the dice and place that many teddy bears into a cup. The person that fills the cup first is the winner. This simple idea was found on pinterest.

This is my number recognition domino center. Students count the dots on the domino and match it to the number on the apple.

I found a large amount of leftover Easter eggs in my cabinet. I realize that it is October, but decided to go for it. I wrote a number on one half of the egg, and drew dots on the other half. Students match up the sides to form a complete egg.

I used a sharpie marker and wrote numbers to 20 on the sides of these linking cubes. Students snap the cubes together in order.

I numbered popsicle sticks from 1-20. Students line up the popsicle sticks in order.

I printed off these number cards. I provided linking cubes. The students build a tower that matches the number on the card. This helps the kids see more/less and practice number recognition.

This is a game called Roll It, Cover It! Students roll the dice. Students cover the number that they rolled with a bingo chip. Another student does the same and covers the number on their side of the paper. The first person to have all of their numbers covered is the winner.

This is a number recognition game that is apple themed. The kids draw out a number and say the number. If he or she says the number correctly, he or she gets to keep the number. If he or she draws out a worm card, they have to put all of their numbers back. The person with the most number cards at the end of the time is the winner. I also have a version using the alphabet and my sight words.

This game is called Roll & Move. I wanted my kids to practice one to one correspondence, so I created this simple game. Students roll the dice and move their game piece. The first person all the way around the board is the winner.

I wrote numbers on these sorting trays. Students count out teddy bears to equal the number written. He or she then places the teddy bears in the correct section of the sorting tray.

I also found this idea on pinterest. Someone had created this center using the alphabet. I decided to use numbers instead of the alphabet so that I could place it in my math center tub. I wrote a number on a clear spoon, and I drew dots to match the number on the white spoon. The students match the spoons and place them one on top of the other. They loved this!

Here are some of the math packs that I have available in my TPT store.

Click here to get my teen numbers pack!

Click here to get my roll the dice math center games!

Click here to get my developing number sense pack!

Crystal McGinnis

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Fire Safety

By Crystal McGinnis 8:23 AM

Here is a little sneak peak at my Fire Safety Pack. Fire Safety week is in October. We usually have our local Fire Department come and teach our kids about fire safety. I will use this set the day before they come so my kids will be one step ahead!

GET MY FIRE SAFETY PACK BY CLICKING HERE

I made this fire safety craft to use as a hallway display. Each fireman will display a different fire safety rule.

I love to display photos of my kids so I may actually use this craft instead. I will glue a picture of my kids to the fireman body. Under the display, my kids will choose a fire safety rule that they would like to display. We are not writers yet, so I thought that it would be much easier if I have the safety rules ready and all they will have to do is choose one and color.

I created this emergent reader to help my kids learn their sight words for the week of Fire Safety. We will be learning the words see & a.

I created a set of posters to display on my objective board during Fire Safety Week. Each poster shows a different fire safety tip.

Crystal McGinnis

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Kindergarten Math

By Crystal McGinnis 6:44 AM

Kindergarten Math

I absolutely love teaching math! Here are a few of the math activities that my kinders have been doing the last few weeks.

We built shapes using common objects. We built a square using popsicle sticks. I emphasized that all sides must be the same size when creating a square, so we measured our popsicle sticks before gluing them on.

We built circles using these dot stickers that I found at Wal-Mart. I had the students create a pattern as they were building their circle.

We built numbers using these linking cubes. I called out a number and the students hooked that many cubes together. They then wrote that number on their white board and marker. I got these cute little paddle boards from Lakeshore, but they have had them at Dollar Tree.

I set up sorting stations around the room. This group is sorting inchworms according to size and color. I am letting my kids use plastic tweezers to sort their objects.

We have also been working on shapes. I cut large shapes out of butcher paper. I gave my kids old magazines and let them cut out shapes and glue them to my butcher paper shapes. I was amazed at how engaged the kids were.

We played a game called roll it, cover it. My kids roll the dice and count the dots. They cover the number that they rolled with a counter. The first person to have all of their numbers covered is the winner.

This is a page from our September math journal. My kids counted stickers to match the numbers. I created these monthly math journals to use as a supplement our math series. They have come in very handy when I needed a little extra activity to go with my lesson. These journals are available in my TPT store.

This is a game called domino match. I placed a domino match sheet in the middle of my tables with a pile of dominoes. My kids raced to fill their sheet with dominoes by matching the domino to the number on the apple. The first table to have their paper filled was the winner.

Crystal McGinnis

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Alphabet Fun

By Crystal McGinnis 4:33 PM

One of the major skills that I teach in Kindergarten is the alphabet. I start the school year off with a different letter each day (for my quick learners), and then I slow down and study a letter each week. Here are some of the activities that we have been doing.

Letter F-We used our magnifying glasses and dot markers to be letter detectives. When we found the letter F, we dotted it.

Letter G-We created these "green and gold" glitter g's. The students brushed glue on their letter g's with these little glue brush bottles that I got from Lakeshore. They then sprinkled their letter g's with green and gold glitter.

Letter H-These are our letter h "hair" hats. We were working on our colors this week, so we created these hair hats using strips of paper. We glued a letter H to the front of the hat.

Letter H-I created these alphabet handwriting strips and placed them on word rings. I placed these in my done early box for students who complete their work quickly to use as a handwriting resource.

Letter I-Race to the top game. This is a game that my kids play for every letter of the alphabet. The kids roll the dice. If they roll a number 6, they write the letter that we are practicing in the boxes. The first person to reach the end is the winner.

Letter M-Mini Marshmallow M's: My kids dipped mini marshmallows in glue and traced the letter M. These always turn out really cute.

Alphabet Switch Game-I placed a large sheet of butcher paper on each of my four tables. I wrote a different letter of the alphabet on each paper. I blew a whistle and the students at each table had to write the letter that was on their butcher paper as many times as they could until I blew the whistle again. Once they heard the whistle again, the students switched tables and did the same for the next alphabet letter. This continued until the students had been to all of the tables.

Here are just two of my alphabet activity packets. Click below to see them.