Pick-Stamp-Write

Each week in the Writing Center we have a couple of "must do" activities.  One of the tasks this week is what I call Pick-Stamp-Write!

 

First, the children PICK an alphabet flash card.

Next, they STAMP the letter.

And finally, they WRITE the letter.

 

It's such an easy center to set up! The kids love using stamps and they get some writing practice in, too!

Would you like the recording sheet my kids used?

Here it is...Pick-Stamp-Write Recording Sheet!

Target Tuesday Valentine Mailboxes

It's Target Tuesday and there's still time to grab one or two of those adorable little metal mailboxes from Bulleye's Playground!

 

 

I bought my mailboxes last year but all of the local Target stores have them this season, too. You'll find shiny tins, classic red, pretty pink, as well as mailboxes covered with festive hearts. 

 

My class was due for a review of sight words so I made cards to use during small groups. I put a stack of word cards in the mailboxes and provided each student with a recording sheet. The kids LOVED pulling cards out of the mailbox, reading the word, and writing it! I LOVED how much fun they had doing word work! It was a Win-Win!

 

 

The mailboxes won't get packed away with other Valentine's Day goodies either. I can easily adapt this activity for spring by printing the words on pastel colored paper. I can put frog and turtle diecuts in the mailboxes when we have our pond life theme. Or I can "mail" each student a personalized list of words they need to practice. The possibilities are endless!

Books You Can Count On Workshop

What a wonderful group of teachers at the Math, Math, Math workshop! 

Here are the WORKSHOP FREEBIES I promised you.

 

 
Have fun using "Books You Can Count On" in your classroom!

 

Target Thursday

I promise I'm NOT skipping over Thanksgiving but here's a look at some Christmas holiday goodies you'll find right now at Target!

Stacks and stacks of these cute metal buckets are in Bulleye's Playground!  I put them in my sensory tub and use at the Teacher Table to hold various cards/game pieces during the holidays. 

 

 

If you've missed out before on the wooden food sets, hurry and grab these pizzas and fruits & vegetables before they're gone!  I already have similar ones so I passed them up but they're ideal for the preschool classroom. Sturdy, colorful, and fun!

 

 

So what did I buy? 

 

Adorable wooden houses!  This Gingerbread House will be great for hiding sight word cards at the Writing Center while the Santa's Workshop will be a perfect addition to our classroom Santa's Workshop/Toy Store dramatic play center!

 



 

I also picked up this set of wooden figures to go in the houses. 

 

 

Look!  It's a Jingle Bell BINGO game! Won't this be great for your holiday classroom party or when you simply need a 5 or 10 minute time filler! 

 

 

Looks like there's several ways to play and the cards are a firm cardboard so it should hold up fairly well with preschoolers.

 

 

One final thing from my quick shopping trip...Indoor Snowballs! 

 

These are big!  Actually, they're HUGE!

 

Ten to a package and better than using cotton balls or pom poms for classroom snowball fun!

 

I've heard Target has new holiday themed sets of those mini erasers we all love.  My closest store didn't have any so looks like I'll have to go on a search this weekend. 

 

Happy Shopping everyone!

Pumpkin Life Cycle Book

It's Target Tuesday!

I have to admit I've really missed the Back to School stuff at Target but when I saw these blank books shaped like pumpkins and the fun Halloween pencils...I got a little excited for Fall!

 

 

 

Target has really outdone themselves!  Bulleye's Playground, also known as the Dollar Spot, is filled with everything you need for fall decorating, crafting, and teaching!  

 



I knew I'd use the blank books as a way to extend my students' learning when we study the life cycle of a pumpkin, so I found the best clip art on Teachers Pay Teachers from Drew Doodles and created a template for my booklet. Love how it turned out and can't wait to teach my Pumpkin unit in October! 

 

Here's the cover...

 

 

And here's the inside...

 



Would you like this Pumpkin Life Cycle Book FREEBIE?

 

Click HERE to download!

 

As excited as I am about the blank books, I have to share one of my other Target goodies with you.  

 

Isn't this perfect for a dramatic play Post Office center?

 

 

These felt sets were also in the bins.

 

 

Perhaps one of the best surprises of all was discovering a few Back to School items hidden way back on the bottom shelf! They were already out of the register system but the sweet customer service clerk bypassed it and rang them up for 70% off.  



 

Total spent? Just $3.60 for six storage containers and the little dry erase easel stand! 

 

So there's your Target Tuesday!  Enjoy the blank book FREEBIE!





DIY Pretend Play Cleaning Caddy

I fell in love with this cute Melissa & Doug "Let's Play House" housekeeping caddy but just couldn't justify the $19.99 price.

 

 

 

After taking  a closer look, I realized I could put together my own cleaning caddy for just a few dollars! I LOVE how it turned out! Everything fits just right in the caddy and seems to be the perfect size for my preschoolers!

 

 

 

The orange plastic tote was last weekend's clearance find from the teacher goodies in Target's dollar spot but you might already have one around your house or classroom you could use. Items such as the plastic spray bottle, sponges, scrub wand, and mini broom can be found at Target or Dollar Tree. I had a package of microfiber cloths at home so I added one of those to the caddy, too.

 

 

 

 

The cleaning powder container was made from an empty cardboard salt box! It's the perfect size for the caddy and very sturdy. I simply covered the outside with construction paper and secured it with clear packing tape.

 

To complete my cleaning products, I made labels and adhered those with clear shipping tape.

 

The Homeliving/Dramatic Play Center is still under construction but I had to put the new Cleaning Caddy in there just to see how it looks! 

 

 

 

I can't wait for this year's youngsters to "clean" our classroom!

Target Tuesday

Looking for cute activities with hardly any teacher prep?

 

Here you go!  Everything you need is at Bulleye's Playground!

 

You'll want to pick up several of these plastic storage containers for this project.  They're available in a variety of colors and, of course, priced at only $1. I didn't really need these for storage purposes so I started thinking how I could use them in the classroom.

 

 

 

 

For a quick counting activity, you simply write numerals on small post it notes and place them in each section of the container.

 

 

 

 

Have your students use the Target erasers to count out how many.

 

I lucked up and found these adorable cat and dog erasers that I'm sure my kids will ❤ to use as math counters!

 

 

 

 

For a little alphabet fun, let's use these colorful magnetic letters!

 





 

 

All you have to do to prepare this activity is put the letters you're focusing on in the storage container. How's that for no teacher prep!

 

 

Your students will do the rest as they work on making a match with the lowercase letters!

 

 

How will you use your Target treasures?