Push, Pull, Click, Click (Susan Shomo)
Use this chant to focus children’s attention before identifying flash cards:
Push. (Push hands in the air.)
Pull. (Make a pulling motion)
Click, click. (Snap fingers.)
Say this sound/letter/word/shape
Really quick!
Friendship Lotion (Jennifer Smith)
Write “friendship lotion” on a bottle of lotion or disinfectant. (You could also use an empty bottle.) Children take turns passing it around as they put some in their hands. When everybody has some rub your hands together as you say…”It smells like friendship.”
*This is perfect for the beginning of the school year or whenever you have issues with being kind to friends.
Home/School Connection (M. Seay)
Make a visual conversation starter by writing “Today at school I…” For a closing activity students circle or color what they did so parents can talk to them about it when they get
home.
Crocodile Circle Time Fun (Dona Worley)
You can make a game using a Cascade dishwasher soap box. See makinglearningfun.com/homepages/alligator/circletimefun for details. Children draw letters or words out of the crocodile.
*Make a hippo game out of a container with a purple top.
Letter Bottle
Fill a plastic bottle half full with sand or salt. Add letter beads and shake. Give children an answer sheet with the alphabet letters from A to Z. As they turn the bottle they can mark off the letters that they find.
*You can do the same thing with little objects.
Erasers (Megan Blevins)
Use socks as erasers for dry erase boards. You can also glue pompoms to the lid of dry erase markers and use to erase.
Hint! I used E6000 glue! Love the stuff!
Sticker Writing
Let the children pick three stickers to help prompt them to write. After writing they can add a background and details.
Sensory Play (Kristy Vicars)
Place shredded paper in the sand/water table. Hide small objects like rubber animals, beads, magnetic letters, etc. in the paper. Children use tweezers or plastic spoons to remove and identify the objects.
Field Trip Book (Laura Buell)
Take pictures on field trips. Print the pictures, put them in sleeve protectors, and put them in a report folder. Children dictate or write about the pictures on sentence strips. Slide the sentence strips in the sheet protectors and the children will “love” to read about their trip.
Movement Patterns (Amy Grubb)
For transitions or to regain focus do a pattern for students to repeat. Examples:
Snap, snap, clap.
A A B
Hop, spin, stomp.
A B C