Welcome Fall into the Classroom

It is officially October, which to me, finally feels like the beginning of the fall. It is such a fun time of the year for the students, and I encourage you to incorporate fall into your classroom.

If your Kindergarteners are anything like mine, they have been talking about the Pumpkin Patch and Halloween since the beginning of September. Anything about fall or Halloween makes them so excited, so why not use learning activities around what they are exciting about.

Teachers Pay Teachers has some awesome FREE resources that you can use for center time during both ELA and Math.

We recently just completed a book that can be used in both ELA and Math. The students worked on recognizing words, recognizing numbers in different ways, and worked on writing, cutting, and gluing. The students thoroughly enjoyed reading the story, and counting the different Fall objects throughout the book.

The only negative thing about the book is it took a while for the students to complete. I would recommend reading the story during small group time, and letting the students work on the book during a center rotation, either during Math or ELA. We also did wait until another day to cut out the hands holding numbers. I knew that this would take them a long time to complete.

You can find a copy of Pumpkin Counting Book by The Reading Nook here.

Continue to follow the blog and look out for more Fall activities your students will love, and so will you!

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Differentiated ELA Center Rotation

As I mentioned in Center Rotations Ideas for Every Classroom, I like to do a portion of my center rotations that are very differentiated and focus on what the students need to learn. This year, however, I am trying something a tad new, and I think I have fallen in love with how it is going to work.

The center rotation that I do a lot of differentiation in is called "Boxes". This center is geared towards skills that the students need to work on. When the students come to the center, they pick a box that they would like to work on that is the color that they were given. Since it is the beginning of the year, I have not made the centers very differentiated. I have kept the centers focused on what I believe the students need to work on, like ABC order, sequencing, rhyming, etc. Each box is labeled with a number. Because the centers are simple, it also helps the students learn the procedures.

After they are finished with their "Box" they are checked by myself or my assistant (who is amazing!). They then self evaluate themselves on the center that they were doing on their form that is seen below.  This form that they use is also a great way for the students to keep up with what number they have completed. One of the areas on the form is Computers, where they can play educational reading games. Over the course of two weeks, their goal is to finish all ten boxes that they are assigned and computer time. 

The form is a new part of my center routine, so I am excited to see how they self reflect on their learning.

How do you do differentiate learning in your classroom? Comment below to share your ideas.

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Math & Literacy Fidget Spinner Game

Every teacher knows that fidget spinners are the "in" thing. Instead of saying they are not allowed in the classroom, why not allow them into your learning? I have created a math and literacy game that uses fidget spinners.

You will need a fidget spinner, paper plate, perminate marker, card stock paper, and a worksheet that is provided. This will be a choice centering my classroom, and there will only be two fidget spinner centers out.

First, label your plates. I did one plate with upper case letters, one plate with lower case letters, and one plate with numbers.

Next, cut out a triangle from a piece of paper, and put it on the fidget spinner. 

Students will then put the fidget spinner in the middle of the plate. When the fidget spinner stops, they will look to see where the arrow is pointing. They will say the letter or number, and color in one of the squares on the worksheet. They will repeat the process.

I also plan on making fidget spinner games with the sight words that we are learning.

Math & Literacy Fidget Spinner Game Download

As always, don't forget to sign up for emails if this post has been helpful.

Also, thank you to Teach Me Mommy for the great idea! 

Facebook: Mrs. Peay's Kindergarten Adventures

Instagram: @mrspeaysclass