You're a Superhero

Sometimes teaching little learners feels like a lot more nose-wiping, conflict-solving, and ouchie-healing than anything else. That is why I love this reminder...

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Ice Cream Cone Trees

Doesn't this look like a fun (and delicious) project?

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Christmas Crafts

Here is some inspiration for some great Christmas crafts...

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Ice Pop Memory

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest today.

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I love the use of color and the simplicity of the game. I think I will use this to review art ideas about types of lines or shapes. You could use this in several ways:

1. Large group game - have students come up and pick one stick.
2. Individual review for fast finishers or assessment
3. Play memory in partners (remember you need two of each pattern)

Time to get out my scrapbook paper and craft sticks!

Clothespins - Number Matching

Yesterday I shared an idea on how to use clothespins for color matching practice.

Today I want to focus on numbers. I found this idea on Pinterest and thought it fit perfectly with this week's theme.

Number Matching from Frau Liebe*

You could create several of these wheels with different designs and levels of difficulty. If you don't want to print it, you could either draw the pictures or use stickers.

Flashcard Style by Learning with Mom

This is another similar activity. Have little learners clip the correct number of clothespins to each card. To make it more exciting visually, you could have objects on the flashcards instead of dots.

Another easy idea I have is to prep number line cards and have students clip the clothespins in numerical order on the number line. (I don't have a picture but I will try to upload one soon!)

Do you have any ideas for using clothespins to learn numbers?

*Warning - The site is in German.

Clothespins - Color Matching

In a world filled with high-speed internet, Ipads, and SMART boards, who knew that clothespins could be the base of so many fun activities?

This week I want to share some ideas for using clothespins with your little learner.

Color Matching from Living Creatively

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This activity is so flexible depending on the age of the learner. You can add more or less colors as needed. For a challenge, you could have older kids match color shades (i.e. light and dark green). You could use mini-clothespins to increase the motor skill practice. See what I mean about it being flexible?

Stay tuned for more clothespin ideas.

SMART Board Wands

I am so excited because I will have access to a SMART Board next year in my classroom. So, I have been busy lately looking for ideas. One thing I noticed right away when playing with it is that my kindergartners might have trouble moving the objects on the screen.

I want to share a great solution I found over at First Grade Factory.

These might be just what I need!