I was recently at Target and they had these SUPER adorable gingerbread house puzzles.
I stared at them for a long time trying to decide HOW I could use them...
I bought 4 knowing that if I didn't get them an idea would come to me as soon as I got home!
As I drove home I started thinking of how to use them!
Here is what I came up with...
I used super adorable gingerbread house clip art I had mixed with spinner clip art I bought to make a gingerbread house spinner. It has 5 sections because there are 5 pieces to the puzzle:
I thought of ways I could use it...
*sight word ID
*number ID
*counting
*capital/lowercase matching
and how it could be modified for enrichment:
*CVC words
*addition/subtraction
BUT...if I wrote on the pieces they could only be used for 1 specific skill....
So I grabbed my removable tape that I use during interactive writing and gave it a test run!
It stuck real well and then when it was time, it peeled right off!
I laminated my spinners and used a dry erase marker.
The marker stuck well enough to the laminate for 'use' and then came off with a little elbow grease so that the spinners could be re-purposed for a different skill!
I know I am a 'visual learner' so I made a video showing how to use the puzzles and/or different ways to use them for different skills:
I plan on using these for our morning tubs/stations and/or as early finisher basket activities the next few weeks!
Add a whiteboard and the kids can record what they worked with-
*Write the capital/lowercase letter matches
*write a number and show that many dots
*write a sight word and/or use it in a sentence
*write a CVC word and draw a picture to match
*write the number sentence and answer
ETC.!
You could even provide them with a paper of a gingerbread shape/outline to do their recordings if you wanted to check for accountability!
SO what happens when the holidays are OVER?!
NO WORRIES...
I found these 'generic' puzzles in the dollar spot too:
These have 8 pieces so require a different spinner- but can be used in the same way as described above!
You can grab the spinners for the gingerbread houses AND some blank '8 space' spinners for the generic puzzles for FREE here:
This year I have started incorporating morning explore tubs into my classroom.
It gives my students the extra practice they need- hands on practice- that we unfortunately don't have enough time to do during the day.
I have been trying to keep some of them 'seasonally' based because the kids really enjoy the added holiday/seasonal fun!
Here are two we started using this week!
This first one was inspired by a pin I saw where someone used a paint chip to make a slice of pumpkin pie. I thought it was so cute- but wanted a way to make it more 'educational!'
So I headed to the hardware store and grabbed some paint chips
The pin I saw had you add burlap as the 'crust' but I opted for some of the brown chips!
Making the pie was- well- as easy as pie!
I cut/taped the brown chips to the orange ones.
I found the middle of the chip and drew a line from each side to the middle point and then cut:
I used a sharpie to add words we have been working on.
I also numbered each slice so that I could have different pies out the on table. The number on the pie matched the number I put on the spinner!
(I even included a blank spinner so you can write in the words you are working on- just don't forget a number in the 'dollop' if making different sets of pies/spinners!)
I found some real cute white pom-poms in the Target Dollar Spot (I originally bought them for a fun winter station I have yet to make, but realized they would work great for this too!)
If you don't have white pom-poms, cotton balls will work the same!
Here is how they will play:
They continue to spin, read, cover...
They then clear the pie and can play again, try another slice/spinner and/or record the words on a white board and/or use one of the words in a sentence!
But that wasn't the end of the paint chip fun!
I also found these color chip 'mini books'
I chose the 'pumpkin' colors
And then used a sharpie to write the numbers 0-5 on the squares (we are in our 0-5 unit)
I made these 'count' cards to go with them:
Print/laminate/cut the cards and then place them face down on the table (I like to print on patterned scrap book paper for things like this- you can read about it HERE).
Students draw a card, count the number of objects and then take a dollop of 'whipped cream' and cover that number on the board.
Continue until all the numbers are covered.
You can also use dice in place of the cards.
Give students 2 dice for addition practice!
You can program them with any numbers you are working on!
I had purchased 'build a turkey' clip art and was itching to use it, so I made these:
Students roll the dice, count out that many beads and drop it into the bottle!
If you're visual like me, this might help:
I originally thought the tweezers would be great to use for extra fine motor practice BUT they wound up being too hard so I just had the kids use their fingers (thumb/pointer so we were practicing that 'pinch' grip!) to put the beads in.
You could have a whiteboard there for them to practice writing the number and or use for addition and have them write the number sentence for what they added to the turkey!
The kids had SO much fun with this one!
They said to me 'Mrs. Drake can we use these even after Thanksgiving is over?!'
Now my wheels are turning....feed Santa maybe?!
Must save more bottles!
You can find the turkey bodies/feathers to tape onto your water bottles for FREE HERE!
Here are a few of the other fine motor stations we worked with this week:
Ordering numbers 0-10
Although we have only covered 0-5, I left 6-10 in there and told them to reference the number line if they needed help. This one was super popular (and quiet)...a lot of concentration to get those links on!
I don't have any pictures of us using this fun pasta yet, but I made a few things to go with it for counting, sorting, same/more/less and number ID that I hope to post soon!
And while I was at The Christmas Tree Shoppe I grabbed the Hanukkah and Christmas versions of the pasta too!
Hope some of these ideas help you make your classroom exciting and fun over the next few weeks too!
You can grab each FREEBIE from the links above or find them all HERE!
If you need additional Thanksgiving Resources, be sure to check out what I have in my TpT Store:
Here are a few of my favorite things to do in my classroom this time of year:
Thankful Crown/Hat
We wear these at our Thanksgiving 'feast' on the day before Thanksgiving.
Pilgrim & Native American Readers
A lot of books about Pilgrims and Native Americans are WAY above my students' reading levels, so we make/read these and keep them in our book baggies all month.
Thankful Mat
We make these, I mount them to construction paper, add a handprint turkey to the back and then laminate. We use them as our placemats for our class party and then they take them home to use as placemats for Thanksgiving dinner. Parents LOVE them!
In less than a week our country will elect its newest President!
And this year's election has caught more media attention than ever before...
Children appear to be more aware of who the candidates are than I have ever witnessed in the past.
I feel it is important to teach them about Election Day and what it means to have the right to vote even at an early age.
Every year I conduct an election in my classroom but it is usually to vote on something that has an immediate 'reward'- certain snack, special activity, a privilege, etc. BUT after the day is over the 'impact' of what was decided upon does not really stick and there is no 'long term' reminder of what our vote got us.
So this year I really tried to think about what I could do in my kindergarten classroom to show students the impact a vote/decision has long term....
...and then it came to me!
We hadn't started our 'take home reading buddy' program yet this year...
THIS would be perfect!
Students will vote on which animal they want to be the 'take home buddy' for the year.
They will be reminded of the outcome of the vote each week...the other 'candidates' will slip away and never be seen, but the winner will be a part of our classroom, and fun at home, for the remainder of the year!
So I rummaged through my cabinets and collected books and such that each 'candidate' had used in the past when the were the take-home buddy.
I made a 'ballot'...
...and thought about what each 'candidate' would 'say' to persuade the 'voters' to pick them!
You have the very famous Pete the Cat...
The classic Clifford the Big Red Dog...
And the oh so adorable Cookie Mouse...
Students will have to really think hard about which 'candidate' is going to make the best 'take home reading buddy' for the year!
Each 'candidate' has some really good points as to why s/he should be picked...
Will students go with the popular favorite? A fun puppet to play with? The less popular, yet cutest?
Only time will tell!
In the meantime I am waiting on all these permission slips to come back to me...
I have done take-home reading buddies in the past (you can read about Pete the Cat one HERE) and know that the stuffed animals and books that go into them are doomed destined to take a beating! Thankfully, Kohl's Cares for Kids program has stuffed animals 4 times a year for only $5 each...as well as books that go with them...so I don't mind using them!
But in any case, I do emphasize that the children need to be responsible and will only send home with kids whose parents have filled out the permission slip.
**If I don't get slips back, I do let those children have a day in the classroom with the special friend so that they don't feel left out!**
And then on Monday we will go into our secret 'voting booth'...
...and will have to make the important decision that will impact who stays around in our classroom ALL YEAR LONG!
They will mark their choice and then fold it and drop it in the SUPER OFFICIAL ballot box...aka...
...last night's dinner box 'up-cycled' into a ballot box!
I will take all the ballots out, we will tally the results and the winner will be announced with fanfare and zest!
The kids will wear this badge home:
to hopefully spark some discussions about what we did in class and also remind parents to vote!
On Wednesday (our schools are closed to students on Election Day) our new 'take-home reading buddy' will be sworn in and s/he will begin their adventures with families beginning on Thursday!
The take-home buddy will be placed in a special mini backpack filled with his/her special books & a notebook to chart adventures!
Each Monday s/he will return and we will read about what s/he did that weekend! S/he will come home with me to 'take a bath' and be all prepped and ready for his/her new adventure the following weekend!
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If you think this is something you would like to do with your class, download the FREE template HERE!
The images I used are from Google Images and I do not own them, nor did I purchase them for commercial use, so I am giving you a blank editable template (one or '2' choices, one for '3' choices).
Simply add text boxes or pictures to suit it to fit your needs.
I also included a blank 'Vote For...' poster that you can use to make for your 'candidates!'
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Still need some poems/songs, activities, books or more for Election Day?
Check out this video of 4 of my Election Day Resources:
