February has arrived and that means that it’s time to turn my thoughts from polar animals and snowmen and turn them towards that pink month. The one that my kiddos never want to end. In fact, they love it so much and the month is so short that we’re usually utilizing Valentine’s activities for the entire month. I have to say, I’m ok with that.
So time to say good-bye to my sweet snowmen at night in the hall outside my class.
Didn’t they do a great job on the snowflakes too. It’s like magic when kinders figure out how easy they are to make. I have to say, I won’t be sad to see all the little sniggles of paper disappear from my classroom.
This was totally a Pinterest inspired project. I wish I could credit this original picture here. But, it’s a dead pin so I can’t even tell you from where it came. (If any of you know, please let me know so I can credit them.)
Good-bye snow pals and hello Valentine’s Word Work Stations.
(I didn’t let those three snow days I had this week go to waste. Nope! I saved up all my printing, laminating and cutting and did it in one shot. (This is only about half of it!)
Most of the following activities are from Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore (There are something like 10 different activities in the unit.) Here’s some picture’s of my boys testing them out, because I needed to keep them occupied those three days! If you would like to find out more, please click on the caption beneath each picture for the link.
Station 1: The Sound of My Heart: Self-correcting Segmenting Activity. This is one of 10 activities in Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore.
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| Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore |
You know how I love self-correcting activities. They save my life literally. When you have so many kinders it’s difficult to be everywhere all the time. These help so much. Students name the picture and listen to see how many sounds they hear in each word. For each sound, they push a heart into one of the sound boxes. When they are done, they open the clothes pin and check their answer. Don’t worry if you don’t have these cute Dollar Tree hearts (I use them for everything by the way.) because I have some that you can print off in this packet. Differentiate by using 2,3, 4 or 5 sounds depending on the readiness of your students.
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| The Sound of My Heart (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
Station 2: Everyone Loves to Spin and Color: Nonsense and CVC Words (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore)-First students pick two colors. One color will be for nonsense words and the other for real. They color the two hearts on their color page that says real and nonsense with those colors. Then students use the spinner. If they spin a real word, they select and say a real word on their color pages to color. If they select a nonsense word, they say and color a nonsense word. For ‘You Pick’ they can say any word and color it. First one to color their picture-wins
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| Nonsense /Real Word Spin and Color (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
Station 3: Differentiated Valentine’s Write the Room Fun: This activity is differentiated with recording sheets that address beginning, medial or ending sounds, CVC words, CCVC/CCVC words and CVCe words. Something for all you students. My kinders grab a clipboard, search the room and record their answers.
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| Differentiated Valentine’s Write the Room Fun |
Station 4: Love Bug Races (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) Students race the clock to better their nonsense word fluency. There are recording sheets to help them keep track of how they are growing and improving.
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| Love Bug Races (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
Station 5: Fill Your Heart With Word Work Fun (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore.) This self-correcting activity lets student work with either beginning sounds, CVC, CVCC/CCVC or CVCe words. Students write the sounds they hear, open the card and check their answer. Easy peasy . . . I also have a record sheet that will let your kiddos add letter tiles to this activity. You choose the recording sheet that works best for you.
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| Fill Your Heart With Word Work Self-Corrected Word Work (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
Station 6: Love Birds Rhyming Game: (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) I still have kiddos struggling with rhyming so I had to add this station because I know I can’t be the only one. One student hides the two love birds behind two rhyming words and the other students have to guess (two rhyming words) that they are hiding behind.
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| Love Birds Rhyming Game (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
Station 7: Toadally In Love with Sight Word I-Spy. Easy to differentiate! I offer the exact level of Dolch words (Lists 1-11) for each student. I have been doing these all year that at this point, students can identify their own level and grab and go. I LOVE it when they are independent.
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| Toadally In Love With Sight Word I-Spy |
Station 8: Love Monsters Bump (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Galore) Kind of like your traditional bump, except students spin the spinner. Whichever color the spinner lands on, that’s the color of word they need to read. There are CVC, CCVC. CVCC and CVCe mats to choose from for easy differentiating.
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| Love Monster CVC, CCVC, CVCC and CVCe Bump (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
Station 9: Aliens Love Nonsense Words (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) Students read real and nonsense words to attempt to ‘win’ cards, but they have to be careful, there are some good alien and some not so good alien cards mixed into the batch to keep play interesting.
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| Aliens Love Nonsense Words Game (Part of Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore) |
I will be rotating the stations above into my Daily 5 schedule of activities over the next couple of weeks but I always like to have a couple of extra activities available for learning centers or just so that I have a extra choices for students if needed. So here’s a couple Where I can use the same cards for all three games.
These cards are all 220 Dolch words, color coded by list, and are easily organized and differentiated. (They are part of the Loving Differentiated Word Work Stations Galore )
Heart Attack is played when students try to quickly SLAP words that are called out by an adult. I use flyswatters for this activity.
You can also use these same cards for a game called Broken Hearted, and for Cupid’s Arrow below where students search for cupids bow behind Dolch words.
Oh and other big news . . . MAN is it a sale weekend or what?
Sunday TpT is have a sale (I’ll be extending my own 20% off products ’til Monday) and if you purchase any of my items, you can get a total of 28% off by using their code SUPER.
You can visit my store by clicking HERE or on the widget in the top right hand of this page.
And Teacher’s Notebook is having their sale as well. Again, I’m putting everything in that store on sale for 20% off. Find my shop HERE. I’m shopping early and getting my goodies onto my wishlist.
I’m off to fill my wishlists and carts.
OH MY you have been busy! Everything is so cute! Can’t wait to use this stuff!
What terrific ideas!! I didn’t realize you’re from Michigan! I’m up in the thumb near Lapeer. I’m currently on your TpT site and can’t wait to buy some goodies! Question: On your Love Monster picture, you have little heart shaped markers. Where did you get them?!
Ashley, I snagged mine at the Dollar Tree, but I had a reader say you can get them at Target too.
Good luck.
Marsha
I am getting ready to buy this unit now so I can print and laminate and be ready to cut out tomorrow:) Just curious, do you have any tips for Daily 5 in Kindergarten? We are going to start trying to piece it together so we’ll be ready to fully implement it next year.
HI! I am your newest follower! LOVE your blog!! So cute!
-Holly
Specialsmartspecialhearts.blogspot.com
Just wanted to pop over and say thank-you for all of your hard work – your products are my FAVES on TPT!! My kids are completely addicted to your I Spy and Write the Room sets. I’m trying to feed that addiction as much as I can because they are LEARNING so much while having a blast!! I gave a little shout-out on my brand spanking new blog today…not that I have any readers…but hey! I tried! 🙂
Amy
Happy Teacher Heaven