Hooray for Earth Day! FREE Earth Day Games!
KinderGals
by
3y ago
  Are you ready to celebrate Earth Day on April 22? It is a great day to do something different. Here are a few things that we have done in the past. At the bottom of this post there are some FREE Earth Day Games you can download and use to create fun for your celebration! Planting Flowers I selected two different "easy to grow" flower seeds.  Each child was able to select which flower they would like to plant. After planting the seeds, I created a fun math center. I printed a graph for each of the children. They were able to ask the kids in their group which flower they planted. T ..read more
Visit website
Zero the Hero...Beyond Day 100
KinderGals
by
4y ago
Who says Zero the Hero can only come the first 100 days of school? Our kids loved the math games that he was bringing them, so....if you can't beat them, join them. We found this a perfect way to introduce new games and review previously taught standards.  This blog post shares how to organize and set it up as well as some of the activities from post day 100! We kept the same bag that we had used for the first 10 visits, so no need to make a new one.  Each 10th day, Zero packs the bag with a special surprise. It contains a letter from Zero the Hero as well as a new game. The letter introdu ..read more
Visit website
Christmas Literacy Games
KinderGals
by
4y ago
December is a great time of year to introduce hands on activities that kids can play independently in literacy centers. Here are a few of our favorite games for kindergarten and first grade kids. Roll a Word To play this game: Invite the kids to place a cube or other marker at the bottom of each row of pictures. Roll a dice and move the first marker up the column that many spaces. Repeat for columns two and three. Give each child a worksheet, recording page, "Roll a Word". Next, the kids write the three letters, where the markers landed, on the paper. Lastly, write the three letters together ..read more
Visit website
December Pocket Chart Activities
KinderGals
by
4y ago
The Pocket Chart...we all have one,right? But do our kids really choose that center? IF they do choose it, do they know what to do? I developed 6 different types of activities for the pocket chart that kindergarten and first grade kids can use independently as part of your center rotation.  By keeping the same types of activities, and just changing the standard and themes, the kids quickly become independent! Here are the 6 activities for December: Pocket Chart Poem Each month, I write a poem that the children can sequence in the pocket chart. First, I invite the kids to sequence the picture ..read more
Visit website
Teaching Reading Strategies with the Super Reader League
KinderGals
by
4y ago
The Super Reader League is a great way to create excitement and engagement while teaching your kids all of the Reading Strategies. This blog post shares how we build up to our first visit from the SRL. You can also read all about the things the SRL sends the kids for each of the "powers". At the beginning of the year we carefully craft our read aloud time.  We make sure that we read books that have great illustrations that will support effective retelling.  Books with rhythm and rhyme work well too.  Begin a collection of these books.  If you have multiple copies of the book, great. Collect al ..read more
Visit website
Pumpkin Patch Bakery
KinderGals
by
4y ago
We love adding seasonal bakeries to our home living area. We already have a kitchen, so why not put it to use.  During the fall our kids love cooking up a little magic in the Pumpkin Bakery. Here's all the fun, and learning, that happens! First, we made a sign to identify the area for the bakery.  Signage is very important to develop literacy.  Some of the first words kids learn to read are environmental print.  It is amazing to watch kids begin to use these words in their writing because these words have meaning to them! Next, we set up the shelf. We have really loved having this shelf in the ..read more
Visit website
Easy Steps to Set Up a Pumpkin Patch Dramatic Play Center
KinderGals
by
4y ago
Fall and pumpkins go together like peanut butter and jelly! It just wouldn't seem right go not talk about pumpkins in October in kindergarten.  We decided to set up a pumpkin patch in our dramatic play area. We used labels and signs to develop early literacy skills through environmental print. This blog post shares the things we added to the area to create a literacy rich pumpkin patch. The pumpkin patch is open!  We made these signs, "open" and "closed", so that the kids could let the customers know when the patch is open. Creating signs, environmental print, is a great way to teach print con ..read more
Visit website
Teaching Math and Reading in Dramatic Play
KinderGals
by
4y ago
Playing is learning! Creating a play based environment in and of itself is good practices in a kindergarten classroom. The move to more academic kindergarten programs pushed some teachers to remove anything that resembled play from their classrooms.  But, some kept their heads down, flew under the radar, and kept these play based activities alive and well.  The good news, the pendulum is beginning to swing back and many teachers are moving towards more play based learning! We recently set up an apple orchard in our dramatic play area.  Here are some EASY ways to show evidence of reading and ma ..read more
Visit website
Apple Orchard Bakery Dramatic Play
KinderGals
by
4y ago
Our kids love the dramatic play center. It is a magical area where kids can take on real-life problems and situations and role play their way through their emotions.  We recently added a bakery to our fall apple orchard themed area.  Here are some of the fun things that are happening there! We set up our bakery on this simple shelf.  We have found this shelf very helpful in the dramatic play area.  It gives us a place to set up the different environments we are wanting to create. By displaying the items, it makes it easier for the kids to find and use.  It also serves as a reminder of the kind ..read more
Visit website
Apple Orchard Dramatic Play
KinderGals
by
4y ago
Dramatic play isn't just an extra center. It isn't a time when teachers "get a break". Dramatic play is as important in the classroom as magnetic letters, pocket charts, and other teacher resources.  The dramatic play center offers the opportunity for kids to apply their learning through self selected activities.  It also provides the chance for kids to interact socially, work as a group, develop friendships, and become members of a society.  We recently set up an apple orchard in our dramatic play area.  Here's how we did it. The Apple Orchard To make the apple orchard we cut out some trees f ..read more
Visit website

Follow KinderGals on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR