The Letter I

Little Guy and I are working our way through the alphabet and this week we are on the Letter I. 

Although Little Guy can identify most of the capital letters of the alphabet we are still going through it one letter at a time and talking about things that begin with that letter. 

So this week is the letter I.  We started with reading the story,  Inch by Inch, by Leo Lionni.   I brought out a sensory activity that I had prepared for him, Saving the Inchworms from the Ice.  It was very simple to set up.  I have some measuring inchworms and I pulled out all the inch size worms and put them in an ice tray.  I filled the trays up with water and froze them over night.  When we were ready to start the activity, I got some warm water, food coloring and the eye droppers.  Little Guy just squirted away. 

Little Guy enjoyed squirting warm water on the ice.  He put all his inchworms in a container and then we got out his notebook.  

First he sorted all the inchworms by color, then we counted how many inchworms of each color.  Then I introduced Little Guy to the terms most and least and had a little discussion.  This activity did not last long because Little Guy's attention span is very short.  

After lunch we decided it was time to do our I art project.  

We made an ice cream cone with a cherry on top.  Little Guy wanted strawberry and chocolate scoops.  

I couldn't believe it, but Little Guy sat for yet another activity.  I had prepared this name activity for Little Guy in his notebook.  With this activity I was introducing the lowercase letters in his name.  Very simple for me to set up and for Little Guy to complete. 

Of course, we had a scoop of ice cream after lunch.  It was a fun week.  

Stick Bang or Kaboom

 Stick Bang or Kaboom whatever you call this game it is something you need to have in your teaching bag of tricks.  It is so popular with all of the students I work with.  They love this game in fact they beg to play this game.  I first found this game in a sight word packet I purchased from Reagan Tunstall.  It was the best $5.75 I spent on TPT. 

I have made so many games based of her idea and at a variety of grade levels.  

This year I made several different versions for different students. 

For the little four year olds I work with I made:

• Capital Letters
• Lowercase Letters
• Number Awareness to 20
• Shapes and Colors

For the five year olds I made:

• Number Awareness to 30 (for the beginning of the years)
• Number Awareness to 100
• CVC words

For the first graders I made:

• sight words at different levels
• CVC words
• CVCE words
• Blends/Digraphs
• vowel team words

For the advanced math students I work with I made:

• Fast Facts for Math Fluency

I keep all the different games in plastic quart size baggies and then have my large pails for games.

I have to admit with the four year olds we had to take the BANG stick out of the bucket.  There were way to many tears and the little ones were so happy to collect sticks.  

Another bonus to this activity is that I can easily put this together the night before.  You can use simple markers, stickers or pre-made materials to make the sticks more colorful.  Here is a link to Pinterest for more ideas.    

I Spy the Alphabet

Recently I purchased this I SPY LETTERS book for little four year olds who are learning their letters.  They loved looking at the pictures in the book and finding the different things.    

Afterwards we played an I SPY game I made with all my extra alphabet stickers.  

I used 12 x 12 white scrapbook paper and just put all capital letter stickers on one side of the paper.  

Then I put lowercase letters on the other side.  Then I laminated the sheets.

Now with the boys we play I SPY...

The one little boy says, "I spy with my little eyes..."  It is so cute.  

The cost of the project depends on the extra supplies you have around.  I only purchased the book.  Everything else I found in my supplies.  

I made several mats and right now I am teaching them to play in small group.  Maybe they will be able to play on their own during centers.  

Did You Know...that Oriental Trading has a coupon and savings page.  I thought you might want to bookmark it.  Katie from OT asked me to share this with you.  She has been super kind to me this school year so I thought I would pass on the information to you.

K is for Kindergarten

One of my readers suggested that I make another cover for my book F is for First Grade but for a kindergarten class.  What a great suggestion!  I don't know why I didn't think of it.  Kindergarten is mainly where the alphabet is taught. 

This is a book I generally have my students make the first week of school to introduce themselves.  I read the book A My Name is Alice.  

As a class we brainstorm a list of things that begin with each letter of the alphabet.  Then during centers the students complete the class page.

So thanks to Elizabeth I added a new cover to my unit on TPT now kindergarten teachers can have their class make this book anytime during the year as they are working on the alphabet. 

F is for First Grade/K is for Kindergarten will be my featured product this month and will be on sale for $1.  

  

Christmas Gifts from Oriental Trading

Once again I was given a wonderful opportunity from Oriental Trading.  I was able to pick out anything from the Christmas or Teaching Catalog within a budget.   How Exciting!  It was definitely a Christmas gift to my students.   I was able to pick out several things for the children I work with.  

You will notice that a lot of the things I picked out were for the littlest learners I work with because that is the area I am lacking the most in materials.  Most of my things were not for the Holiday season they were things I could use year round.    

When I saw the Block Play Set I jumped for joy because I knew three things I wanted to make with it:  A beginning sound match, a rhyming match (both from thisreadingmama) and an alphabet tower building set(I just used stickers) that I saw on Pinterest.  

My students absolutely loved the activities.  They loved using blocks and building as they were working on the alphabet. I picked two sets of Block Play Sets and I still have some left over for the recess basket or maybe a sight word activity for first graders.    

Block Play Set
This Reading Mama

I could not believe the next wonderful item I found.  It was this Melissa and Doug color and shape puzzle.  It is just the item I need for several students who do not know all their colors and are still learning their shapes.  I had no idea the Oriental Trading had some Melissa and Doug items.  

I added velcro to the puzzle (a trick I learned at my grand daughter's therapy) to help keep the puzzle pieces together.  This is so helpful as the children walk with the puzzle from the bookcase to the table.   

Melissa and Doug Large Shapes Jumbo Knob Puzzle

I used these little gingerbread people and foam dice to create a game for identifying numbers 2-11.  This was a big hit with my little guys and even the first graders.  (I changed it into an addition game for the first grade.)

Gingerbread People
Foam Dice
Coming soon to my TPT store by the end of the week.  

The Sensory Letter Cards were another good pick.  I picked up some decorating sand at the dollar store and put it in bins. The little guys I worked with loved tracing the letters and drawing them in the sand.  This hands on experience is helping them remember some of the letters.   

Sensory Letters

I also picked out these Winter Stickers and mounted them on white card stock.  I am using them for working on patterns with the kindergarteners.  The children loved the winter pictures on them.  I think the ice skates were the favorite picture.  

Glitter Winter Stickers

Thank you again to Oriental Trading for the wonderful materials.  My students are enjoying all the wonderful learning activities.  

Updated Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet and Number Bingo Games

Years ago I made my first Chicka Chicka Boom Boom game on the computer.  I made the numbers on word and stamped the colorful dots with a pencil eraser.

When I decided to give TPT a try I made a new version on word with my limited computer skills.  

I did sell a few of my TPT version and it worked fine for most of my students.  However, right now I am working with students who really struggle with identifying their letters.  So I decided it would be a lot easier for them if I used a simple font for the letters and numbers. Also I only made the game in capital letters for the little ones that I am working with this year.  

It has a lot more in it.  So you can adjust the centers and your teaching to the needs of the learner.

 When I put my materials together I put the uppercase and the lowercase back to back to save on laminate.  

The boys in small group had a blast today playing the game.  I was concerned that the letters were not sticking in their brains however after playing the game today I feel much better.  They were excited about yelling out the letter names and singing the song to figure out what letter comes next.  I feel like we are making progress.

If you are interested in more Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Ideas check out these posts: September 18, 2011, September 24, 2011, and September 4, 2012,    

If you are interested in the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Alphabet and Number Bingo please go to my TPT Store.   

Hands on Alphabet Ideas

 I am doing lots of alphabet work with the kindergarteners and I am constantly looking for new ways to keep the kids interested in learning the letters of the alphabet. Each week I like to present one new activity.  I wanted to create letters for the kids to fill in with objects.  But WHY..........I searched on Pinterest and found the blog A Dab of Glue Will Do who already created the letters and was willing to share for free.  I just downloaded them and mounted them on colorful paper.  I found some fun things for the kids to fill in the letters with.  The cards were a hit with the kids.    

 I used some left over stickers and some rocks from my flower vase to create another alphabet activity.  I only had lower case letters so for now that is what I will use.  I put modge podge over the stickers so they will stick better.  

I plan on using these for putting the letter in order and spelling simple cvc words.  

Learning the Alphabet

I am working with some wonderful four year olds who do not know most of the letters of the alphabet.  We start each session with our name bags and then we read an alphabet book together.    I found a couple ABC books that we really enjoy. 

A is for Apple, is a great book for teaching the children at all different levels.  It is a must have. 

Here are some of the ABC activities I am using with my little ones. They are mainly hands on activities because I only have a few minutes with them so I do not like to use worksheets. Also I believe little ones learn more when they are having fun. 

Alphabet Rocks

Fishy Alphabet Game

Letter KaBoom

Letter Sequencing with Duplo Blocks

Rainbow Alphabet Hop

                                  

I also purchased this unit, Rice Box and Cookie Sheet ABC Center Pack.  It is fabulous.  I am using it with my four and five years old.  I purchased my magnetic letters at Lakeshore Learning. There are several great activities.  

  

Learning the Letters in Our Name

Bright and early in the morning I was working with some adorable four year olds at school. I asked one of the little boys what letter comes after J in his name.  He said, "L M N O P."  

So cute, however that is not how you spell Jimmy.  So I gave it some thought and came back with a new lesson for them to work on recognizing the letters in their names.  

First I created, with help from Graphics from the Pond, name puzzles.  We are going to start out with 3 piece puzzles this week and next week they are just going to get letters.  

Next I went into my basement and found the Duplo blocks I am saving. I wrote one letter on each block.  Each student will have to build a tower with their name on it.  

If this goes well then we will move on to step two.......

I Love Free Apps

Wee Sing & Learn ABC App

I turned on my Ipad today and this popped up.......a free app in recognition of Autism Awareness Month.   Go quickly it is only for a limited time!

This is going to be perfect for the beginning of the year when my little ones are reviewing the alphabet.

My little ones will be able to view a alphabet story during centers or interact with letters.  There is about four pictures for each letter.  

Very Cute and FREE!