April Morning Work

April Morning Work Stations have arrived, and I’m ready to give a quick rundown of all 43 activities that I included in it.  Knowing that April is usually the month of Easter and there are those of you that can and can not celebrate it in your classroom, I added some Easter-ish activities and others that are more Spring-ish with showers, bunnies, chicks, kites and ducks, and the like.  I think you’ll find a little bit of everything, but I’m anxious to hear what you think.

Oh and if you are wondering where I got my hot little hands on any of the cute manipulatives and items below, please just hop on over to my Morning Work Materials page and scroll down until you see April.  You’ll find everything right there. Or click HERE.

This post does contain some affiliate links for your shopping convenience.  I do receive a small commission when someone purchases an item after clicking on a link.  These commissions help with the cost of maintaining this blog and allow me to continue bringing you valuable content, activities, and ideas.

1. Egg-cellent Sight Word Links

This activity is EDITABLE both for the words and letters.  You can decide which letters you want to print on the eggs to go with your choice of sight words.  Grab some links and you’re ready to go.

2.Egg-cellent CVC Self-Correcting

Self-correcting activities are my favorite.  These will allow your students to practice CVC words by linking letters and then writing the words below.

When they have completed this task, they simply open the card to see if they are correct.  Instant feedback and independent goodness!

3. Spring Weather Links Numbers and Quantities

Links are great motivators for counting activities too.  Here I hang numbers on a string and by hole punching tally, ten frame, and quantity cards, students can link the matches below the numbers.  I link to hide the cards in my sensory table to make it a bit more fun and challenging.

4. Spring Sand Tray Sight Words Trays

Sand trays are a great sensory activity and my students love seeing what each month’s sand color or theme will be.  This month I have editable carrot cards with sight words on them. (You can print these off on different colored Astrobrights cardstock to easily differentiate the different word lists.) You can use green-colored sand, colored salt or sugar as the filler and add some fun confetti or sprinkles.  These sprinkles are from Walmart and worked perfectly.  Offer students a festive pencil, straw or even their finger to write and then read their words to a partner.

5. Rainy Day Playdoh Counting Math Mats

There must be playdoh for morning work.  It is really non-negotiable.  These next sets make it easy to differentiate how you use them.

This is a basic counting to ten set.  Students create the number and then make that many playdoh raindrops on the cloud.

6. Rainy Day Playdoh Ten Frame

Here students use playdoh to demonstrate numbers using ten frames.

7. Rainy Day Playdoh  How Many More To Make Ten

And finally, students using these cards will make the number in a ten frame and then determine how many more they need to make 10 and complete the equation.

8. Playdoh Umbrella, Egg, and Kite

A more open-ended use of playdoh allows students to complete these picture mats.  This one is an umbrella.  I have also included an egg and kite to offer more choices for you and your students.

9. Spring Playdoh Items

And finally, there are these springtime playdoh pictures that help students ‘create’ with a little help.  I have found since using these mats each month that my students’ creating abilities with playdoh have really grown.

10. Spring  Q-tip Painting (Umbrella, Egg, Kite, Earth Day)

They love to paint and this activity gives me a way to incorporate painting and fine motor.  There are several different q-tip images from which to choose.  Just add a little paint and a q-tip.  Your students will love it.

11. Looking For Spring Sort and Count Items

Don’t fret if you can’t find these exact beads.  I have some choices in response sheets this month that will allow you to use pastel-colored pony beads or buttons if you prefer. This particular sheet has students sorting and counting by type.

12. Spring Color Find and Sort

This sheet has them sorting and graphing only by color.

13. Spring Color Sort, Graph, and Count

And this sheet is for sorting, graphing, and counting by color.  The variety will allow everyone to get to use the therapy putty but at their own readiness level.

14. Race To Fill  Your Basket

This activity is easy to differentiate just by changing out the dice.  I am using dice in dice, but you can use numbers, traditional dice or program your own by using a Sharpie on a wooden block. Students simply roll the dice, use some fun bunny tongs to collect that many eggs, and place them in their basket.  The person with the most eggs is the winner.

15. Every Bunny Loves To Count Carrots

Don’t worry if you can’t find these adorable carrot erasers, you can use artificial carrots, orange pompoms or carrot buttons from our January Morning Work Stations . . . whatever you have will work.

You will see many self-correcting activities in these packets and here is another.  I can’t help it.  I love independent stations that give immediate feedback.  This is a basic counting activity.  Demonstrate the number on the card by moving carrots to the garden.

Open the card to determine if you did it correctly.

16. One More Carrot

How about an addition with a little plus one?  Students demonstrate the number shown on the card by moving carrots . . . and then they move one more and complete the equation.

Open up the card and they have their answer.

17. One Less Carrot

Or take a carrot away. . . Students demonstrate the number and then take one carrot away.   They complete the equation . . .

and ta-dah . . . there is the answer.

18. Lucky Duck Spin To Win

Spring just isn’t spring without some ducks to splash about.  In this activity, students use tongs to select a duck from the ‘pond.’  Ducks are programmed with numbers on their underside.  Students read the number and then spin the spinner.  They then determine who has the greater (or lesser) number and, as a result, who wins both ducks to place in their own basket.  It’s great fun and really reinforces greater and less than skills. Plus . . . I mean how cute are these little duckies?

19. Counting On Quacks

Counting forward and back is another skill I like to keep fresh with my students.  With this activity, there is a choice of mats with or without a number line on the bottom to help your students who might need it.

Students read the number on the card, create the number using the miniature ducks and then record the numbers that come after.  Open the card to get instant feedback.

20. Counting Back Quacks

Same idea but this time students are counting back. Represent the number by moving ducks to the pond, and then write that number in the box below while writing the numbers that come before on the lines.

Open the card to determine if you are correct.

21. Rainy Spring Number Bonds Self Correcting

We have been using all kinds of strategies to find missing addends in my classroom.  Number bonds are just one strategy I like to offer students.

Students use glass flat marbles as raindrops to determine what the missing addend is in the equation.  They open the card to confirm their answer.

22. Spring Sticker Count

Students use stickers to outline the spring item.  You can use any stickers you choose. I like to choose thematic ones that my students will enjoy.  It’s great fine motor having them outline the picture, and then when they are done, they count them up.  There are a couple of different options for you to differentiate this activity.  Whichever one you choose, this will be one of your students’ favorites.

23. Some Bunny Loves Addition

Feel free to offer your students the use of stickers, stamps or paper punches to represent and solve the equation shown.

24. Springtime Gel Bead Sort

Love, love, love water gel beads! In this activity, students sort the gel beads by color and place them in thematic-colored cookie cutters.

25. Springtime Gel Bead Roll and Win

When you want to amp it up a bit, have students roll the dice and move that many beads one at a time to their own cookie cutter.  The first student to fill the bottom of their cookie cutter is the winner.

26. Springtime  Lego Challenge:  Umbrella, Egg, Kite

This month’s Lego challenges include a kite, an umbrella and an egg.  I don’t know about you guys, but my own kiddos can’t get enough of Lego challenges.

27. Spring Cut and Thread Straws

I found these adorable spring straws at Walmart.  My kinders love to cut them up and make necklaces, and I LOVE the fine motor practice their getting.

Just cut . . . and string them on a ribbon.

28. Springtime Constructing Letters and Words

I found this adorable table scatter at Hobby Lobby and knew it would be perfect for constructing letters and words.  They came with butterflies and flowers too but I’m saving those for May.  Now if you can’t find these, don’t worry.  You can use any kind of flat marble, buttons, beads or even mini erasers.  I like these acrylic table scatter type items because they also work great on a light table to make things even more engaging.

You can use them for letters or words.  And yes . . . the word cards are editable so you can write the words that work best for you.

29. Spring Container Count

You really have a couple of options when it comes to which containers you use for these Spring Container Count activities.  I could have easily used those cute chick and bunny eggs that you can get at the Dollar Tree for this activity, but I decided to use my usual little white containers from the Dollar Tree and paint some little chicks on the top.  This is a much more compact option that doesn’t take up as much space.  Students simply select a container. (Each one has a number on the bottom.)  Then they remove the items inside, count and record.

30. Spring Container Add

For the addition version of this activity, I drew little bunnies on the top.  I actually offered a couple of different response sheet options (pink and blue bunnies, bunnies and carrots, bunnies and eggs) so that you would have a variety based on whatever type of manipulatives you decide to put in your containers.  Students select a container, remove the items and then complete the equation.

31. Rainy Day Lowercase/Capital Matching Puzzles

Break out a smallish sensory tub and fill it with some springtime goodness.  I like to use polypropylene beads and some spring table scatter.   Hide the raindrop puzzle pieces in the bin and students can work to match the pieces.  Print the pieces on different colored cardstock for easy organization when differentiating.  This set is for matching lowercase and capital letters.

32. Rainy Day  Letter Sounds Matching Puzzles

This set matches initial sounds and letters.

33. Rainy Day CVC Words Matching Puzzles

This set matches simple CVC words and pictures.

34. Rainy Day Blending Word Match Puzzles

And this set is for blends and pictures.

35. Bunny Tail Patterns Self-correcting

I wanted to offer a couple of different self-correcting pattern activities this month, and this one allows you to use simple pompoms that you probably have readily lying around in your art supply closet already.  Students read the card and identify the pattern.  They then recreate the pattern by using chopsticks or tongs to select pompoms and place them on the bunnies like a bunny tail to continue the pattern.

Once the pompoms are in place, students open the card to determine if they did it correctly or not.

36. April Showers  Letter Match Up

I have a ton of flat glass marbles lying around from other months and thought the blue ones would make perfect ‘raindrops.’  This editable activity has students selecting a raindrop from a basket and matching it up to the letters on their playing mat.

37. April  Sight Word Match Up

This option allows you to enter your own sight words for the same kind of activity.  I simply program the raindrops by writing the words on a round sticker and placing them on the bottom of the flat marbles.

38. Unlock Spring

Grab a small shoe box-sized tote and some fun springtime sensory fillers and just add locks and keys.  I always remind people to purchase locks separately so they aren’t all keyed the same way.  Then if you purchase some small plastic key fobs, you can write equations on the fob and answers on the locks and students will have a self-correcting activity they will LOVE.  I change out the equations or skills each month to make it new and engaging.

39. Feed Your Bunny Math

I found these little bunny chalkboard clips last year at Walmart and knew they would make a great morning workstation.  (They have the same clips this year, but they are a different color if you’re looking.) So I filled a small tote with green dried peas and made up some carrot equations to ‘plant’ in the sensory tub.  Students pull a carrot and match it to the bunny with the answer to the equation.

Can’t find bunny clips? That’s ok!  I also added these cute little big-mouth bunnies that your students can feed instead.  I just attached my bunnies to empty frosting containers.  Students then use tongs to pick a carrot and feed the bunny.

40. Egg-cellent Word Practice

I saw this idea for placing magnets and modeling clay in the bottom of eggs to make them stand up and knew that with the addition of bunny tongs and a little black Sharpie, they would make a great sight word activity.  Students select and read an editable sight word card from Activity 1.   They then select the letter eggs to recreate the word by using tongs to move the magnetic egg to their cookie sheet.

41. Egg-cellent Word Families

Yes, these are three-part eggs, but I don’t want you to worry if you can’t find them.  I have also included a simple response sheet to use if all you can find are regular two-piece eggs.   I write letters on the eggs and have my students match up pieces to make real words.  With the three-part eggs, students can actually just twist the middle or either ends to make more words.

42.  Greater Than/Less Than Eggs

More egg activities because you have to take advantage of these cheap, versatile manipulatives in your classroom if you can.  For this activity, I have equations written on plastic eggs and I place the eggs in a tote.  Students use the bunny tongs to select an egg and solve the equation.  Then they spin the spinner to see if the person with the great or less than number is the winner.  That person gets to keep both eggs and place them on their egg plate.  The first one to fill their egg plate is the winner.

43.  Spring Items Self-correcting Pattern Fun

And finally, because I am a sucker for those darn Target mini-erasers, I have one more patterning activity.  Of course, it’s self-correcting.  Students merely select a card, recognize and repeat the pattern by moving erasers to the mat using chopsticks or tongs . . .

and then open the card to make sure they completed it correctly.

There are just SO many activities to choose from this month.  I hope you find something to make all your students happy and engaged.

If you’d like to see more about this month’s set, just click on the picture below or click HERE!