What’s inside your holiday sensory table and a freebie.
I love this time of year for using holiday items in new and interesting ways to make learning fun for kinders. My learning centers are the easiest way to really tap into those multiple intelligences (you remember those don’t you?) and let exploration really run wild. I know everyone has their own definition for what ‘learning centers’ are, but for me, they are something completely different than Daily 5 Stations or Math Stations. Learning Centers in my classroom are truly those ‘exploration-like centers from long ago but with some differentiated, academic-twists built in to the mix.
I have 9 centers going at a time (remember 26 kiddos-I don’t want more than three at a center) and they usually get to visit them about three times a week. Centers range from the traditional kinder type activities such as housekeeping (yes I still do housekeeping but always have books, writing and math components built in), construction and art to computers, writing, word work and math. The later centers are differentiated for readiness and there are lots of choices of activities within the center.
This is one activity you’ll find in my word work center this month. Students can pull a ornament card, string the miniature ornaments to spell the word and then write it on the dry erase board. It is differentiated because some students will only work on beginning letter sounds, while others will be working on cvcc/ccvc words. I actually have a mat and self-correcting cards for this activity and the mat works if you don’t have bulbs. Just click on the pictures to get the link.
In my math center, one of the activities you’ll find those same little miniature ornaments with numbers on them. I store them in a stocking and students take turns pulling an ornament from the stocking. They compare the number with the other students and the students with the bigger (or smaller – we use a spinner to determine who) gets to keep the other students’ ornaments. The student with the most (or least) number of ornaments is the winner. I can easily differentiate this center by controlling the number range that each group of students work with depending on their readiness.
And, of course, my favorite center is always the sensory or sand table. I like to find interesting things to put in it for my kinders. Last month is was corn and although I usually put different types of evergreens in it this time of year, there are a few allergies in my class so for the moment I have some shredded green and red paper in it. I’m not crazy about it so I think I’m gonna actually pull it out. The one thing that WILL be in the sensory table no matter what else I decide to put in it is this gingerbread CVC letter sorting activity.
I got these great little graphics from Lidia over at Lidia’s Doodles. They are perfect for giving my kinders the practice they need with medial sound recognition and sorting. I made little houses with medial letters on them and attached them to a little box with a string which will hang from the side of my table. Students will take turns finding a gingerbread man and sorting them into the correct box. It’s self-correcting because the answers are on the bottom. So after they finish their recording sheet, they can check their work. Of course, you can have a copy. Just click on the picture and it will take you to the product.
So I’m always curious, what’s in your sensory table this month? If you’re looking for more gingerbread activities, check out what I have in my TpT store by thumbing through the widget at the top right of my blog page. In case you missed it, I did add a last minute number recognition, counting on and addition gingerbread I-spy.
Finally, did you guys see the new Holiday E-Book Full of Freebies!!! You have to download this. I have three freebies of my own in it. It is amazing. Make sure you take a look.
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Marsha Moffit McGuire
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