Stations & Skill Spots (Plus an Update on our Heifer International Giving)

My Kinders were busy not only with holiday activities, they were hard at work last week practicing important skills with our Literacy Stations and Skill Spots.

Our Independent CD Books Skill Spot is a favorite for listening to reading.

All of our Skill Spots, Skill Tubs, and Centers have books.  The kids love to practice reading books - which they read to me during our "Book Club" time so that they can contribute a dollar to our Heifer International Read to Feed program.  **Update**  In response to our Day of Giving Challenge (click on this link to watch our AWESOME video), our wonderful middle/high school students, spectators at the 2/2/13 basketball game, two local businesses, and an anonymous donor we greatly surpassed our goal of raising $1000 dollars...  In one day our little community raised $6426.72!!

Looking for letters.  I have several of these write on - wipe off pockets with poems in them available for the Kinders.  This little boy is looking for the letter r.

Popcorn Word Wall.  This bulletin board features all of the sight words from our reading series written on popcorn shaped note paper. 

 Spelling sight words.

Pocket Chart Skill Spot.  I have several pocket charts hanging on clothing racks (much cheaper than the real ones) in this Skill Spot.  These boys are working on making numbers with the smiley face counters.

"This" Writing Station.  In this station, the kids practiced writing the word this and wrote sentences using the word.  I think by now everyone can spell this!

Word Work Station.  In this station, from The Mailbox, the students sorted -an and -ap word family picture and word cards.  They also did a worksheet featuring the word families (not pictured).

Kinders love to write with dry erase markers!  I laminated the cards from the above station to make them wipe-off for reuse.

A file folder center from Lakeshore Learning gives additional CVC word practice.

Rhyme time!  Students match rhyming picture and word cards from Apple & ABC's Valentine pack.

Learning Stations, Solid Shapes & Initial Letter Cookies

Whew!  What a week we had...  On Tuesday we had a 2 hour delay because of the bitter cold, and then on Thursday we had another two hour delay because of snow!  On Tuesday I went in at the regular time and got lots of work done.  It was so nice and quiet.  I organized my Skill Tubs and straightened up the counter behind my teaching table.  I had hoped to take care of my "Bin of Shame" (you know the one - the little tub that sits on the floor behind my desk into which I toss things that "I'll take care of soon").  Well, I didn't even touch it.  Yesterday I went in at the two hour delay time because our country road wasn't cleaned early enough to go in any sooner.

Despite the shortened days, we did get a lot done this past week.  Here are some pictures of our Literacy and Math Centers, a writing prompt, plus a fun Cookie letter sound activity.

Word Work Station.  The kids sorted CVC words by initial letter, and then wrote some (those beginning with our most recently studied consonants) onto a record sheet.

Math Station.  For our math center activity this week, we are using my Snowman Ten Frame activity.

My Snowman Ten Frame pack includes ten frames and counters for practice making numbers to 20.

After completing the ten frame activities above, students did this page from Deanna Jump's Sneezy pack.  They loved using colored pencils!

Mrs. S.'s Station. This week the kids are working on rhyming words with this Learning Mat from The Mailbox.

I love how learning center activities from The Mailbox include a worksheet for extra practice.  These pages also let parents know what their kiddo does at school!

Flat or Solid Shapes?  This is something I whipped up on the fly.  The Kinders sorted solid shapes and flat shapes (left over Saxon calendar pieces) into two groups. They enjoyed identifying solid shapes in common objects such as a block and a pencil.  This tub is now in one of our Skill Spots for independent practice.

Literacy Small Group activity.  This week some of my small literacy groups practiced sight words using this spinner activity from The Mailbox.  I changed the provided words to some that we are currently studying.

Two Kinders writing words with colored pencils.

Baker, Baker!  My kids flipped for this activity - using a spatula, they lifted a "cookie" from the cookie sheet, read the letter, named the sound, and then placed the cookie on a pocket chart.  I purchased this cookie bulletin board kit (it has a big cookie jar cut out) a few years ago at Target, and never used it until this week.  It is laminated, so the letters I wrote in Sharpie will wipe right off with rubbing alchohol.

 The baker places the cookie on the pocket chart behind the matching initial sound picture cards.  (This pocket chart is part of a Skill Spot - the kids can rearrange the the mixed up sentence strips shown above.  Below you can see some poems in write on/wipe off protectors hanging on the side of the pocket chart stand.  The kids love to look for sight words an letters, circling them with dry erase markers - which are also hanging on the stand.)

This baker means business!  :-) Kinders love to pose for my camera!

This book is a favorite of mine, and my Kinders.  I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Laminack several times - he visited our school, and I attended two of his workshops at our local university.  I have an autographed copy of this book!

After reading Snow Day! by Lester Laminack, we wrote about what we would do if we had a snow day.  The kids used lots of strategies to do their writing - sounding out words, and writing the letters they heard, looking around the room for words, using our Idea Snowman, and asking a friend for help.  Here are a few examples.  I think they did a good job!  Get the writing page here.

Skill Spots and a Math Game

Happy Monday!  We just finished day number 169!  Tomorrow we will "bundle,"  leaving only ten days to go!  I still cannot believe how fast this year has flown by.  One of my teaching partners and I were talking after school about the amazing growth our Kinders have made.  Really, it's sobering when you think that some of them had only been potty trained for a couple of years when we first met them, and now they are on their way to becoming independent readers, can tell you which number is in the hundreds column, and spell words!  Amazing!

Because we are finished with our reading series (thanks to NO snow days!), we have time for other pursuits.  Today the kids got to go to their "Skill Spots."  These are areas around the room that house various activities not regularly included in our daily work.  The kiddos really enjoy visiting these spots with their Learning Partners.

This is our Skills Partners Chart.  The combos change daily, with the left side moving down, and the right side moving up.  This way, the kids have a different partner each day.  (I can also control who works with whom - the kids who cannot successfully work together are in the same column, so they don't ever get each other.  I do sometimes swap out some students from left to right if they work well with others .)

Teddy Bear Numbers game in the "Cart Spot."

Spelling sight words with letter beads and pipe cleaners in the "Red Tub Spot."

Listening to a story in the "CD Spot."

Retelling a story (or two...) in the "Learning Boards Spot."

Catching fish and spelling words in the "Magnet Spot."

Computer Spot

Retelling a story with picture cards in the "Popcorn Table Spot."

Reading sentences in the "Pocket Chart Spot."

Here's a freebie for a game that we will be playing tomorrow.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-Zg8ty5Slq9bWZYNHJjRi1mWlU