Literacy Stations {and a mini giveaway}

Hello friends! So I have recently posted about my math tubs and RTI. Now, it's time for literacy stations! Maybe it's because I teach little ones, but I {puffy heart} LOVE stations! I feel like my students get so much hands on learning out of them. Here's what my stations look like for kindergarten at the beginning of the year. 

First, I set up a pocket chart using their picture and free station cards from One Extra Degree. My students rotate through stations and only do one station each day. 

Our stations are:

1. Listening Station (2 students)

2. Pokey Pins (2 students)

3. Word Work (2 students)

4. Computers (4 students)

Listening:
For my listening station, my students will listen to stories on storylineonline.net, leap frog videos and alphabet songs. It varies depending on the group. I want them to listen to something they can learn from and enjoy.

Pokey Pins - Then Read to Self

I use the pokey pins from  from Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business. Students lay on their bellies to do this work. They are great for fine motor skills. I also have carpet squares if I have a student who would rather sit at a table for this activity. Felt under their paper will also work. When students complete this one we hang it in the window just because it looks cool and then they go and read to self. Our read to self is a little reading corner with a kid sized couch and beanbag. 

I had a hard time finally deciding to implement this station. Students use push pins to do the work. When I was in kindergarten, the little boy I sat beside put a push pin on my seat hoping I would sit on it. I saw it and immediately told on that stinker. But I tell ya, I cried! And all of that made it hard for me to do this station ( I guess that scarred me, LOL). But as I see my kiddos doing this station, I know I made that right choice to make it part of our stations. 

Work Work

This is how I fit my sensory table into my stations. (And just happens to be the only thing I remembered to take picture of.)

I  have many activities for my table all stored underneath it. With this activity, students will pick a side to stand on and look at the board to see what letters they need. 

Then, they will look through the table and dig through the noodles and find the uppercase, lowercase and 3 pictures for each of their letters. 

The board is dry erase and magnetic, so I added a small magnet on each card so my students can easily sort what they find, remove and switch spots with their partner to work on new letters.

You can find that station here in my little store:

P.S. -all sensory activities are on sale until the 4th!

Computers

Four of my little friends will work on Starfall.com during station time.

Now I'm sure you are wondering how many kids I have, since they can't possibly fit at those few stations. I am very blessed to have an aid for 30 minutes each day. I have made that time my station time. She takes half of my students into our back room  to work on letters, sounds and words in a small group setting. The half that stay with me go to a station and then I pull for guided reading. 

This is the first year that it has worked out this way and I love it! 

With all of that said...I'm still a firm believer in very small groups for stations. With computers as the exception, I only put 2 kids at each station. I do the same with math tubs (and all of my kids are in the room for that). Only 2 kids are at a tub at one time. That means more things going on in the room and more stations to teach procedures for. But, you don't have to change stations out as often and I find that my students are actually quieter with just one friend instead of 2 or 3 friends in their group. 

Now is your chance to enter to win my alphabet activities for the sensory table. Just use the rafflecopter to enter and 2 lucky entries will be randomly chosen!
Lois is the winner! Check you email for some goodies! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Throwback Thursday {with a freebie!}

Hello Friends! I'm linking up with Cara from The First Grade Parade for Throwback Thursday!

 

This post was a fun one about using stamps in a station even though I'm very OCD about everything getting back where it belongs and students NOT looking like someone just took their fingerprints!

 

***Originally Posted March 12, 2013***

Click here to see the orignal post.

 

Hello friends! Do you have a favorite part of your school day? My favorite part would have to be station time. Though, it would be a tie between Math and Reading stations. They both are so much fun! One of my favorite reading stations is my stamping words station and the kids think it's pretty cool, too. :)

Here's a little look as to what goes on during this station that they visit once a week.

 

This year I finally figured out something that worked to store my stamps in. The cases they come in don't last long. I had seen an idea on Pinterst to use ice cube trays, but I wasn't sure how that would work. And then it came to me, the little baskets I already had would work perfect! Who knew those cheap baskets from Wal-mart would work so wonderfully?! By this time in the year, they can pretty much keep the stamps in ABC order (they know how OCD I am about that!). The stamp pads you see came from Oriental Trading and have lasted all year, which is quite an accomplishment!

Here's a little unit that I use to help differentiate at my stamp station:

 

And a freebie to go along with it!

 

 

 

Creating Class Books and a Peek at Some Number Sense

Do you create class books to put in you library? Whenever we work on a writing project, I usually make 2 copies. One will go in the student's writing file (which I compile at the end of the year and send home with their year's worth of writing) and the other will be used to make a class book. Our class books are very simple. Just construction paper stapled on the front and back and a handwritten front page with the title, author and date. Here's a look at some of our books!

Here is my favorite one from this year. Who doesn't love Mrs. Wishy Washy?!

 Very simple front cover.

 (Worms are not supposed to have a dog.)

This little writer has come such a long way!

These books are in a basket and stay in our reading center. When they get damaged, packing tape fixes them right up and they will survive the whole year through. By the end of the year we have enough so every student will get to take one home. I will draw names and each child will get a class book.

Now, on to some number sense. We only have 16 days left of school and of that only 9 will not be interrupted by an end of year activity, field trip, etc. So I  have decided to go completely hands on in math and work on number sense. My kiddos that I know have number sense will work on addition facts, but my other little cuties will be working on this to build on their number sense:

 

This packet if 40% off in my little TpT store until I remember to take it off sale. Be sure to check it out!

The 1st 2 followers to leave a comment with their email will get this little packet for free!  The 1st 2 have already commented.

Word Work Station {and *freebie*!}

Hello friends! Do you have a favorite part of your school day? My favorite part would have to be station time. Though, it would be a tie between Math and Reading stations. They both are so much fun! One of my favorite reading stations is my stamping words station and the kids think it's pretty cool, too. :)

Here's a little look as to what goes on during this station that they visit once a week.

This year I finally figured out something that worked to store my stamps in. The cases they come in don't last long. I had seen an idea on Pinterst to use ice cube trays, but I wasn't sure how that would work. And then it came to me, the little baskets I already had would work perfect! Who knew those cheap baskets from Wal-mart would work so wonderfully?! By this time in the year, they can pretty much keep the stamps in ABC order (they know how OCD I am about that!). The stamp pads you see came from Oriental Trading and have lasted all year, which is quite an accomplishment!

Here's a little unit that I use to help differentiate at my stamp station:

 

And a freebie to go along with it!

Gingerbread Decorating Fun ~ With Freebie!

Hello friends! While getting ready for Christmas, my teaching partner and I have decided to do gingerbread all the way until Christmas break. This is due in part to deck the halls that my school has started doing each year. Each year we work together to decorate our hallways based on a Christmas book. Our hallway theme this year is gingerbread men so basically all the finished products in the classroom will find its way to our hallway for deck the halls.

Here is what I have created for my math and literacy centers to go along with our theme:

 

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures of these set up in stations in my room. Most were put in baggies and baskets so they can be easily cleaned up.

The Gumdrop Number Sequencing is my freebie to you to use for sequencing numbers to 20. Enjoy!

 

 

A wonderful parent bought every student in my class a gingerbread man to decorate. Oh my word, we had so much fun with this!

 

 We decided that the one below was the most likely to run away.

 

This week each student is going to be given a cut out of a gingerbread man and students are going to decide which part {head, leg, arm} they are going to bite off first. They will cut that part off of their gingerbread man and then we are going to write about it and do a data collection and graphing activity. Afterwards we are going to eat a gingerbread cookie.

 

The first 2 followers to comment can choose one of my 4 new Christmas/Gingerbread packets. Just leave your email and tell me which one you want!

ABC Madness, Flash Giveaway and Freebie

I've been working really hard on an ABC pack that I could use throughout the year. And it grew and grew then grew some more. My packet ended up being 286 pages!  I could have added more. It has clippy stations, abc order, abc cards, gameboards, lots and lots of word work and word buiding mats. :) I'm excited about it and can't wait to use it with my kinders! To share some of my excitement, the first 2 followers to comment with their email will get my new packet for FREE!!

Click on the picture to check it out in my little store!



I'm sharing my coconut tree gameboard that goes with this unit with all of my fabulous followers! :)

Enjoy!

Mrs. Lindsey

Do You Clippy? and a FREEBIE

During the special education class in my masters, I learned that using clothespins can help students work on their fine motor skills. When you think about it, it makes sense. When you go to clip a clothespin, you hold it just like you would a pencil. When making my little TPT units, I try to include what I call "clippy stations" whenever I can.

Here is what my clippy station looks like:

I just used yarn and push pins. My clippy stations are attached to the back of my cubbies. I actually hammered the push pins in so they wouldn't come out easily. 



 Click below to get your freebie off of my new rhyming unit so you can try clippy stations.

Clippy Freebie

This freebie is one of the many activities in my new rhyming unit.

Here are some more little units that include clippy stations.

I'd love to hear from you! Do you use something similar? What else do you use to develop fine motor skills?

Mrs. Lindsey