Winter Alphabet Activities

Yes...it's true...

We had our first 'brush' of snow yesterday- we read A Snowy Day and then I filled plastic totes with snow for the kids to explore and watch melt!

And today we are housebound with 12 inches on its way:

(my current view)

So it's only fitting that our centers and morning tub activities reflect the season!

If you didn't already read my Winter Math Centers post, be sure to head there too:

But today's post is all about ABC Fun!

Our school uses FUNdations and we are required to give the unit tests.  If 80% of our class does not meet benchmark, we cannot go onto the next unit.

Next week is our 'assessment week' for FUNdations Unit 1- which we have been in since the beginning of school.  The test requires you to meet 1:1 with each student, so I needed some activities for my kiddos to do independently while I conducted the assessments (we don't have full time teaching assistants in our district).  Since I will be doing them during my 'Word Work' block, I wanted my kids to still participate in 'word work' activities.

Here is the list of what we will be doing!  

The first few are not seasonally based but are goodies I can't give up!

1. Letter Locks

These are from Lakeshore and the kids L-O-V-E them!

I put a binder ring on each lock and they have to collect all the binder rings to show that they were able to match all the upper/lowercase letters (they haven't figured out how to 'unclip' a binder ring yet so shhhhhh!  It makes it easier for me to set-up because I don't have to unlock each one!)

2. Leaping Letters

We got this game from our classroom elf this Christmas and it is SO MUCH FUN!

It's like Perfection (am I dating myself knowing that game?!) but with letters!

And the letters don't actually FLY like they are on the cover...so no worries about chaos!

The elf told me he got it from BJ's Wholesale Club but he also said he saw it on Amazon!

3. Capital/Lowercase Letter Matching from First Grade Blue Skies

These are FABULOUS because the kids LOVE using the links!

This is a freebie from Jennifer White on her blog.

These were a morning tub activity, along with the locks, since about October.  I would just add the letter(s) we learned the previous week into the bucket until we had all the letters in there.

3. ABC Ice Fishing

I found this on Pinterest!  It is from Joyfully Weary and it's FREE!

She gives you the ABC fish in both lowercase and capital.

I had the fishing poles from a Lakeshore Phonics Game (although I have made additional poles using a dowel, string and a magnet) and I snagged 2 copy paper boxes from the copy room to make the 'frozen pond!'

I copied the lowercase fish on white cardstock and put 2 staples in each one as she suggests. 

(So smart!  I have used paperclips before and they always pull off & kids have a hard time getting them back on!)

I copied the uppercase set on blue paper and put them into sleeve protectors.  The kids are going to work in pairs to fish out the lowercase and match them to the uppercase fish.

4.  Snow Globe Letter Matching

This was another Pinterest find!  It is from Mom Inspired Life and she has an uppercase letter globe, lowercase letter globe and blank globe for you to download for FREE!

She has her child cover the letters with white stickers, but I wanted a reusable activity.  My magnetic letters were too big but my letter beads were the PERFECT size!

I have both capital and lowercase letter beads but chose to only use the lowercase ones for now since that is what most of our FUNdations work has focused on.

I put all 26 letters into a bowl for matching:

I printed the globes front/back so I could differentiate instruction:

To the kids its looks like they are completing the same activity, but you know you are giving each one what they need to practice at the time.

5. Roll and Cover

I got these alphabet dice while at the I Teach K! Conference in Las Vegas last July from a booth hosted by a company called 'Box Cars and One Eyed Jacks.'  They have an online catalog that sells them for both US and Canada.

The US dice can be found HERE.

The Canadian dice can be found HERE.

The dice are $1.50 each- I have used them for a few activities already this year and the kids LOVE them.

I made a mat, grabbed some Target Dollar Spot erasers, the dice and little plastic baskets.

These dice TAKE OFF when rolled on the tables...so having them roll them in the basket helps keep it in place and on the table...and less noise!

They roll a letter, say it's name and then find it on the mat and cover it.

I printed the mats front/back for upper and lowercase, but for now we're just using the lowercase side.  After some practice, they'll be allowed to choose a side for morning tubs.

You can grab the mat for FREE at the end of this post!

6. ABC Winter Express

Each kid has a train...they find the upper, lowercase and a picture for each letter.  

Click the picture to find it in my TpT Store.

7. 'Snow' Writing

I love sand/salt trays...but they are usually bulky and inevitably always get knocked over!

I filled 5 plastic crayon boxes with a mixture of salt and glitter (well not so much 'FILLED' but poured enough in to cover the bottom!)

I put letters a-z on a word ring (in FUNdations you only practice writing the lowercase letters for the first 12 weeks- after our Unit 1 test we will learn how to write uppercase letters) and in each box.

They open the box, take the word ring out, find 'a' and write it in the salt.  They GENTLY shake the box side to side to erase the letter and flip to the next letter.  They continue to write, shake, turn until they have practiced all 26 letters.

This was an inexpensive center to set up- 1 container of salt covered all 5 boxes and I only used a little bit of glitter in each!

DO be careful to keep the boxes flat...the salt is so fine it 'leaks' out the seams if put on it's side!

You can find the writing snowballs in both capital and lowercase for FREE at the end of the post!

All 7 of these stations will be set up and they can travel freely to any they want to do as long as their is room at that table/area.

I do want each of them to visit the salt tray station because they each need handwriting practice, so there will be a 'sign-in' sheet at that table.  After they complete it they will write their name next to their printed name so I can remind those that haven't done it yet to do so.

Want to grab the roll/cover mats and snowball writing cards?

Click HERE:

and if you didn't already visit the Winter Math Center freebies, head there now:

I have been pinning a lot of cute ideas to my Winter Pinterest Board too:

If it's snowing where you are...stay warm and safe!

If not...send some sun our way please!

Until next post,

Resources to Use 'On The Fly!'

I know it has been a LOOOOOOONG time since I last blogged (hanging head in shame) and I have a TON of pictures to blog about, but I am having too much fun enjoying summer with my two adventurous boys!

We also just finished a big house renovation project (we were living in only 2 rooms since April!) and are settling back into a 'normal' state.  Most of everything is unpacked and it's not a game of 'where could I have stashed that?' each time I need something!

I am here today to tell you about a promotion I am participating in on Sunday July 31st.

As much as we all love preparing centers and engaging lessons for our students, there are times we need something 'fast' or 'ready to go.'  I never really appreciated this until I became a mom and would be woken up at 2am to a fever or stomach bug calling from the next room that prevented me from going into school the next day.

So 30+ teacher authors and I have teamed up to bring you 'on the fly' resources that will be discounted for ONE DAY ONLY!

There are many different items to choose from for varying grade levels.  Maybe you need a morning work pack, a print 'n go, sub folder activity, printables pack or 'ready to go' center?  

The items in the list do not require a lot of teacher prep or materials!

You can find all the discounted deals by clicking HERE:

BUT that's not all!

We are also giving away Teachers Pay Teachers gift cards!

And not just one....FOUR $50 gift cards to TpT!!!

The entry window is only open until 6am EST 8/1, so don't delay entering!  

(Scroll to the end of this post for details on how to enter!)

They will be awarded in time to use for the TPT Site-Wide Back to School Sale that will run August 1st and 2nd!

My entire store will be 20% off and then an additional 10% will be taken off at checkout if you enter promo code: BESTYEAR

Here's a bit about my 'on the fly' resource:

I have been using these 'flip books' in my classroom for a few years now.

I use them mainly as a 'make a book' center activity, but I have also used them for morning work, early finisher activity and in my small remediation groups.

SUPER SIMPLE and NO PREP...

Just download, print, copy!

PERFECT to have ready for a sub folder too!

I have even taught my kids how to use a mini stapler and it is a completely independent center!

The best part...they are reading '4 pages' BUT it only uses one piece of paper!

Each letter has a page like this:

('X' has 2 pages- one for initial sound and one for ending sound)

You can even copy the 'dotted line page' onto the back for additional letter writing practice and/or a space for them to write their name.

Then they complete these steps:

The students are also practicing fluency by re-reading the same sentence four times (just changing the ending word each time).

I have my students keep their flip books in their book baggies in the beginning of the year when we are just learning how to read so they can feel confident reading independently!  We have also read them to our older reading buddies and they LOVE bringing them home to read to their families!

If you think this is something that would benefit your students, be sure to grab it today, 7/31, for only $5 (which is 50% off and even cheaper than waiting until the TpT Sale on 8/1 & 8/2)!

I have other flip book sets for colors, rhyming & word families, lifecycles, seasons, winter holidays, digraphs, around our world and a FREE SAMPLE for spring!

Are you ready to enter to win a $50 TpT Gift Card?

You have several chances to win if you enter all 4 of these rafflecopters!

Be sure to follow what the entry question asks you to do...if selected as a winner and you did not answer the question you will be disqualified!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

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Best of luck and wishing you a wonderful start to your new school year!

Be sure to check your email on August 1st to see if you are one of the four lucky winners!

Until next post,

Let's Make Learning 'EGG'-citing!

Spring is (nearly) here so grab those plastic eggs and...

Today I am here with 10 ways to use plastic eggs for ELA, Math and Science!

I always do an Oviparous Animals unit in my kindergarten classroom each spring.

Because I am a 'theme nerd' and have a need (sickness maybe?!) to make everything connect, I have my ELA and Math centers include eggs, as well!

Here are 10 simple, relatively no-(major) prep ways to incorporate plastic eggs into your centers!

They range in grade level from PreK-2 depending on how you offer support and/or enrichment!

You can also have a recording sheet that has 'Real' and 'Nonsense' listed on top.  As students twist and read a new word, they can record if it is a 'real' or 'nonsense' word!

Focus on just one vowel, a combination of a few students are having trouble with or a mix of all 5!

Don't have enough magnetic letters?

Click here to download this FREE editable pack!

You can type in sight words, CVC words, vowel pairs, vocabulary words, spelling words, digraphs, blends, letters, etc!  Print, cut, stuff!  

Your center is all set!

Use it both ways for differentiation!

Target words your students are working with, or need more practice reading and writing!

Type, cut, stuff and you are ready to get crackin'!

So easy to set up!

Want to make it more appropriate for upper elementary?

Put 2 'blue' and 2 'green'

Students make the blue number from both dice (either add the two numbers, use it as 'tens and ones' or multiply) and do the same for the green.

(Ex. roll a 6 and 2 for blue.  It could be 8, 26 or 62, or 12)

They compare the numbers they created to find the greater/less than number!

I made 0-5 dice so that the greatest sum would be 10 for my kinders.

To support students, place counters or manipulatives for them to use to assist their computations.

To make it more appropriate for upper elementary students place 10, 20 or 30 sided dice in the egg for students to add/subtract!

Decomposing is a difficult skill for many kinders to understand, but I found using the double sided counters really helped them!

You can read more about how I had my kinders use eggs and counters on THIS POST.

(You can even find free recording sheets to download!)

Recruit parents and fellow teachers to save egg cartons for you (and maybe even donate some plastic eggs since this activity requires quite a few)!

The idea of making an egg carton into a 'ten frame' came from a post back in January 2014 by Laura at Differentiation Station Creations!  

And it works PERFECT for this activity of using eggs to make groups of 10!

You can read all about how I used it in my kindergarten class, and download the free spinner and recording sheets on THIS POST!

You can make the eggs match on the same color (top/bottom) or mix the egg colors for a bit of a challenge!

This is just a few ways of using the eggs with numbers!

There are so many other ways to practice numbers with eggs!

So now we are back to the oviparous animals unit!

I use the eggs to introduce the unit to my kinders!

Each child cracks open an egg (I do have some duplicate animals in eggs because I simply ran out!) to learn about what animals are oviparous!

I use different size eggs (the tiny ones to the extra large) to show how eggs can be different sizes.

I highly recommend reading Chickens Aren't The Only Ones by Ruth Heller if you plan on conducting an oviparous animals unit with your students!

You can find some easy non-fiction readers for your oviparous animals unit here:

and a supplement pack of activities here:

I also have several lifecycle crowns that are a great way for students to display what they learned about oviparous animals!

and there is also a butterfly lifecycle freebie available for download:

I hope you and your students have an 'egg'-citing time learning math, words, letters and more using plastic eggs!

Do you teach your students about oviparous animals?

Are you a 'theme snob' too- and feel the need for everything to coordinate?

I'd love to hear from you!

Until next post,