Center Task for the week & lot's of Freebies!!

Can you feel the excitement in the air?  With Halloween just around the corner I've noticed how loud my kiddos have been.  Plus we are expecting some of Hurricane Sandy's icky weather.  Our weather report has reported that Sandy's wind field will be so large, they anticipate a significant storm  here in Maine.  Oh Joy!  Hopefully it will go in time for Halloween.

So this week I've planned some Halloween and Fall themed centers.

My Math Center this week is a great freebie from Smedley's Smorgasbord of Kindergarten.  You can grab it here.

The Phonics Center is all about beginning sounds.  Check it out here.

My Math Center is a combination of math and art.  I love the 100 charts by Lil' Country Kindergarten
 

The Writing  Center task is another activity with beginning sound.  Using spooky Halloween theme.  Students pick a card say the picture, listen for the beginning sound and record it on the recording sheet.  You can grab it here free for until November first!!!

Crazy busy and a look at my Center Tasks

Wow, what a week!  I had a workshop session with Cathy Collins on Tuesday, a field trip to a KinderConcert and some field work to Harvest Hill Farm (Pumpkin Land) on Friday.  Then next week is conference time.  Phew!

Our school as adapted the Teacher's College Reader's Workshop model.  We have spent the past three years working on this model with the help of Cathy Collins.  She has been coming to our school and modeling reading lessons.  So many wonderful ideas.  She has a great book called Growing Readers.

Now  for a look at what I have planned for my center task this week.  This week is more of an October theme.

For my Math Center I found this great freebie from Kelly's Kindergarten in her October centers:

Spider Count

Print spider webs and have children use plastic spiders (Dollar Tree) to create matching sets.

Writing Center Task:

Another freebie Spider Roll ‘n’ Write from Love Luck and Laughter

grab it here

Phonic Center:

I created this Pumpkin Rhyming activity that my students can play as a memory game or just match them up.

 

Check it out here.

And lastly my Art Center 

A cutting practice activity from DLTK

Home to school reading folders

I’m very excited for my students to be bringing home reading folders.  Each child has a folder that holds a Ziploc baggie and a year long book log.  The bag will hold their high frequency train card rings and leveled reader.  As the school years goes along I will add reading strategies and  high frequency word games for students to practice at home.  Here are some examples of their reading folder.  I apologize for the quality of the photos.

A week of pumpkin center fun

I'm so excited to be able to share with you my center ideas for this week.  Over the years I have arranged my center time in many different ways.  Now I love how they flow and it allows for my kids to get the independence and extra practice on the skills I'm teaching.  My center time is right in the middle of the day.  The kids have just come back from lunch and have to go to an assigned center.  I've mention in an earlier post that I have four rotating centers (math, phonics, art & writing).  On the fifth day they have free play time.

Here is a look at what my four centers for the week are:

Math Center

Writing Center Activity

You can check them out here

Art Center Activity

Phonics Center

download for free here

Pumpkins

Check out my new pumpkin beginning sound write the room center.  In my class I have four rotating task centers.  Each day my kids complete one of the centers.  I have a math, writing, phonics and art/fine motor center.  By Friday (since they have worked so hard)  I give them free choice with free play, such as, blocks, i-pads, board games, etc. 

 I've been on kick this year with updating and giving my centers a theme.  This week I had a fire safety theme and next week I'm planning a pumpkin theme.  I want each task that the kids do to be a review or practice for what we have been learning.  This years group of kids are flying and ready to focus on beginning sounds.  Most kids have all their sounds down so I wanted to give them lots of practice with saying words slowly and listening for that first sound, but then be able to write the letter that makes that sound.  This will be used in my writing center.  You can check it out at mt TPT store

Learning to blog and a freebie

I finally have found the time to get back to my beginning blog and post an update.  I'm hoping as I get into a routine that I will be able to share my teaching with others regularly.  I so enjoy seeing what other  teachers are doing and seeing all the wonderful teaching going on.  I take a lot of what I see and adapt it to my own teachings.

This year I've been taking what I have done in the past and updating the way I present it.  My first update was with our kindergarten high frequency word rings.  I wanted to add a little bit more to give them a fun twist.  So I thought that making their words  like a train would be fun and adding a writing part to it (they trace the word that gets added to their ring).  In our district K has up to 25 words to learn, but we always find that most can keep going.  So I created 200 high frequency train cards.

The way it works: I meet with with each of my students and start with list one.  I cut apart the cards.  Hole punch a hole in the corner and add it to a ring.  They then trace over the words and practice reading them.  Once they can read all the words on their ring, I mark the date on a check sheet and give them the next list.  These word rings are kept in a reading bag for them to bring back and forth to school.  I hoping to post pictures soon.

You can grab it for free right here:

High Frequency Train Cards

High Frequency Word Checklist