Vowel Bat Center Idea

The day finally came to show my kids the Vowel Bat song! I have a lot of Batman fans, so I knew this would be a hit.  We've been talking about vowel sounds a lot lately, so it was perfect timing.  If you've never seen Vowel Bat click here!

To practice our vowel sounds, I had the class do a vowel hunt as a center activity.  They started by watching the video again on the iPad, to get to the video they scanned a QR code. After watching the video, they did a search around the room for vowels.  One person held a bat stuffed animal and one person took the iPad and took a picture of a vowel.  Then they switched.  It was really fun!

Ice Cream Stories

This might be my favorite writing activity we've done all year.  I got the idea from a popular pin I found on Pinterest of a melted ice cream cone which I posted about here. I have a formal lesson plan for this activity, which is on my TpT here.

I did a similar rubric to my scientific observation activity, where I had 4 pieces of writing that I had made and we ordered them from best to what needs the most work.  This helps put my expectations into something concrete that they can compare their work to. I made a chart with my objectives for the lesson and I also shared an old chart with them that we made about writing. This was such a fun, engaging, and creative lesson!

Math Center Activity

This idea also comes from my teaching partner Cathy.  She uses paper rolls to write numbers and reinforce skills like counting by fives, tens, twos, backwards, and counting on.  Her dad built wooden holders to set the tape in and the kids keep pulling as they write numbers.  I usually set a 100's chart on the station in case they need a reference.  Here are some of the activities we do with the tape:

Start at 1 and write as many numbers as you can during the rotation.

Work with a partner and take turns writing the next number in different colors.  Count by two's when done.

Start writing numbers where you left off. 

Start at 50 and write numbers back down to 0.

Write by fives, twos, or tens. 

I also learned a safety tip about this activity.  Be careful not to buy thermal receipt paper, it contains some dangerous chemicals.  You can test it by scratching it with your nail and seeing if it leaves a dark line. Luckily we've always used normal paper rolls!

Partner Coin Game

My teaching partner, Cathy, came up with this fun counting game for our beginning coin work.  She drew the piggy bank and put a ten frame in the middle.  The partners take turns rolling a dice that has both addition and subtraction on it.  They add or take away the numbers of pennies onto their game board.  The first person to get to ten puts a dime in the corner and wins. As they play the game they say "I have __ pennies, I need __ more to make 10."  It was quick and fun!

Snap Circuits-Scientific Drawings

Our class is working on a technology project using Snap Circuits and will eventually be collaborating with other schools on our project.  Our first step in the project was to get familiar with the pieces in a Snap Circuit, so we did a scientific drawing of the pieces we will be using.

I then did a rubric activity by showing them 4 drawings and I had the class put them in order of what they thought a 1 looked like and so on.  Making these pictures really helped, the kids would bring their pictures up to mine when they thought they were done to see what else needed to be added. 

                             

We've done scientific drawings before, but I made sure to remind them of how to make a drawing by giving them objectives on a chart.  

Brain Breaks

Brain breaks are a lifesaver, especially in kindergarten! If we have to transition from one sitting activity to another, I always make sure I squeeze a brain break in the middle.  My class loves them so much, I even use them as a reward sometimes.

Shake Break- This is our ultimate favorite, my kids could seriously watch this 10 times in row. 

 It's short and sweet. Any of the Pancake Manor videos are pretty fun.

Passport Centers

Our usual routine in the mornings is to do 4 rotations involving reading, writing, or math.  We spend the same amount of time at each rotation (usually about 10-15 minutes) and I designate the groups.  I've been playing around with the idea of setting up centers and letting students pick where they want to visit.  In order to give some regulation to the process, I made a "passport" of all the choices they could pick from and let the class know that they needed to get at least 3 stamps during the time.

 

Next time, I would add a couple timers to the popular stations like iPads and read to self so they can make sure they get enough time to visit 3 places.