Dry Erase Boards

I just love dry erase boards in kindergarten!
It is not permanent so this is great for young learners.  They can erase and try again without tearing.

Here's a list of only some things I use them for:

 * Wake up their brains - every day as the students come in after checking in with attendance, helper jobs, and marking lunches, they get a dry erase board, marker and eraser and begin to "wake up their brains before the bell."  Practice varies as their abilities increase.  We start with writing their name, then write letter pairs, (alphabetical order), and numbers as far as they can write.

*Practice writing stokes.  Make straight lines top to bottom, long and short, across the board left to right, make them little lines and making continuous loops, making circles "o's" and starting at the top.  Make bumps (as for h, n) and 'cups' (as for u's).  Make zigzags left to right, top to bottom and even from center and continuing around getting bigger. 
*When introducing a new letter or number or shape, we practice on a dry erase board before writing on paper.  (We start with air writing.)  We chant "START AT THE TOP." It is easy to check and remind to work left to right and top to bottom.  
Remember not all strokes are practiced all at once.  Handwriting is a gradual practice. 

*Write sight words.
*Write number sentences, Story of addition 'facts'.
*Group practice to write dictated numbers, letters, shapes
*Group practice of story problems to listen, record and solve and show your work.
*Play a game "Show me"  

I say a letter pair, number, etc.  Students hold board in the crook of one arm and write.  I say "cap your markers and put them down next to your eraser."  Hold the board close but not touching you so others don't see.  Boards on top of your head (facing backwards) 

then I say "1,2,3 show me"  The students turn their boards around still on their heads.  
I can see at a glance those who get it and those who need help.

*Write the number that comes after ___?
*Write the number that comes before ___?
*Write the series of numbers beginning with ____. (counting on)
 *Write the series of letters beginning with _____. (alphabetical memory order)
*I say a series of random  numbers (4 or more) to write from auditory memory.
*Write the numbers ____, ___ ,__.  Practice putting a comma between the numbers.
*Write the numbers _____, ____.  Circle the number that is more/less.
*Write a dictated sentence using sight words.
*Write a question.  Trade board with someone and they have to write the answer (in a sentence).
*Say the sounds and students write the letters for the sounds.  Does it make a real or nonsense word."
*Circle the vowel in the word you wrote.
*Write word families lists.  
*Make a word ladder.  Change the "letter" to a "__" to make a new word.
*Practice making tally marks while listening and counting...
*Write a number line.
*Use the number line to add-on, take away, count backward.

*Students can take surveys in the class asking yes-no questions and tally responses. 
*The children love to play school during their free choice times.  They make up their own activities and always choose the dry erase boards.
*They love making lists of classmates names and writing words around the room. 
*They love to use the boards and markers when their parents visit to show them what they can do.
 
*Use the board to learn directionality and vocabulary of: tall, "long way up & down", vertical, horizontal, "long way sideways", short side, long side, front and back
*Practice positional words.  Put the eraser above your board.  Put your marker between your board and your eraser.  Put your marker to the right side/left side, below your board.
AND these boards are used on the backside as 'table tops' when we do use paper with our rug groups.


The children learn how to properly cap the markers until they click.  
We go through a lot of markers.  So far I still like the Nasco and The Markerboard People dry erase markers. We buy them in bulk sets of 30.  
They are cone tip and easy for the children to hold and use.  Since we do use them daily, these last a bit longer. It is December and we have gone through about 2 per student so far.  I rotate between the black and blue ink. 

The children want to use them all the time.  They are learning routines of putting them away and responsibility for the care of materials.
 
The more they practice right, the better they will get.

Ten Day

So we do things the 'ten way'.  
You can do this any time of the year for a variety of ways of ten fun.  Somethings are too difficult on just the tenth day of kindergarten.

Fingerplay
The kids love this because we ham it up when we say "would you like to see?"
I HAVE TEN LITTLE FINGERS

I have    (point fingers/hands toward chest)
ten little fingers   (spread all fingers wide)
And they all belong belong to me.  ( point fingers to self)
I can make them do things
Would you like to see?

I can shut them up tight.   (close up fingers tightly)
Or open them wide      (spread fingers wide)
 I can put them together   (fingers together and palms together under chin)
Or make them all hide.   (put hands behind back)...like where are they?

I can make them jump high. (wiggle fingers and hands up...make voice high pitched when saying the word high) 
 I can make them go low.  (wiggle fingers and hands down..make voice low pitched when saying the word low)
I can fold them so quietly.   (fold hands together)
And hold them just so.   (sit down while putting hands in lap, criss-cross legs)
 (can make voice at a whisper soft level for last line)

1,2,3,4,5 
1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive.
6,7,8,9,10 then I let him go again.
Why did you let him go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did he bite?
This little finger on the right.

Finger Counting
Practice showing quantity of fingers 1,2,3...10.  This develops finger dexterity and control.

Then ask students to put hands behind their backs and say..
Show me....3 fingers and students show quickly.  

 
Plink counting  
You need a glass jar and some pennies.
Children should close their eyes and listen while you drop pennies into the jar.  Tell the children to open their eyes and ask a few how many pennies they think were put in the jar.
It is interesting that this is difficult for some children at first.  After a few students give their answer, say 'let's check it.'  With their eyes open now, take out the pennies and drop them in again while they count out loud.  
I do this ocassionally throughout the year, increasing the amount between 1-20. 

Counting stations
Set out items to count into groups of ten such as:
links to make a chain of 10
unifix cubes to make a stick of 10
1" wooden cubes to stack
lego blocks to stack
1" tiles
pennies to stack
cups to stack
beads on a string
And rotate the children to try counting  various manipulatives.  Clean up (take stacks apart) before moving to next counting station.

Art Centers
Using bingo dobbers, to make a picture or design using  only 10 dots.   Or make 10 dots and draw a picture around using the dots. 

Playdoh
Make 10 smooth balls.  Make 10 snakes or worms.  Make 10 small pancakes.

Toothpicks
Give students 10 toothpicks and challenge them to make something.    (2-d, 3-d)

Patterning
Make an AB, AAB, ABB pattern using bottle caps, colored cubes, shapes, etc.  Or challenge them to build a pattern and label it.  They must prove it is a pattern.  And they can only use up to the amount of 10 to show it. 

Songs of Ten
"Ten little Indians"  counting forward and backwards.
"Count Up Count down" song by Hap Palmer.

Game of counting in group.
Stand children in a circle or a long line and begin to count.  The child who says 10 has to sit down.  Continue until only one child is standing.

Stories
Ten Little Ladybugs 

Ten Black Dots 



Ten, Nine, Eight

Feast for 10



Dominoes
Challenge children to find a domino with 10 dots on it and record how many on each side that total 10.  
(4 and 6 make 10)

Dice
Using 1 die, roll and count dots.  Record how many dots from each roll.  Record number of dots with a different color until they reach 10.  Cannot go over 10 or they need to start over.  

Tug of Cubes
Students each count a stack of ten Unifix cubes.    
First player holds out their 10 stack and partner breaks stack and puts it behind their back.  First player has to figure out how many they took.  Count the number of cubes they have left.  (10 take away 3 left means that 7 were taken).  Partner shows the taken away stack and returns it.  Player two gets their turn.   Later in the year students can record their number sentence as 10-3 = 7.

Show and Tell 
Good old-fashion, show and tell.  Give the children a zip bag with instructions to put 10 things in it and bring it to school.  Are the items in the bag all the same?  What variety of collections of 10 did the children bring in?   Sort collections by color, edible or not, hard or soft, etc.

 The more they practice,

the better they get!

 

Connecting the letter name and symbol

Connecting the symbol and letter name (and letter sound) activities available are overwhelming.  There are no quick ways to learn just be patient and persistent in practice.
Let the children know that it is their responsibility to learn.  

NOTICING letters everywhere. 
Name Cards - Using the students' names is the most personal way to hook into "it's important" because they are important.  
Cheer the letters in their names.
Sing the letters in their names.

Find letters on:
Cereal Boxes

Clothing

Posters and Cards
Use posters to look at while singing the ABC song in order but also point to the letters out of order.  Singing the song can help as a hook to 'figure out' unknown letters out of order.  Mini posters and alphabet lines can be used for students to keep close when trying to remember the letter names.

'Flashing' (flipping) cards  to say it fast.

Sentence strips made with letters in uppercase and/or lowercase form to read the letters.

Students can be the 'teacher' to help and encourage each other. 

Letter naming challenge - Divide students into two teams, showing a letter card to first students in each line.  The team who names the letter first gets a point.

Alphabet arcs -Students match plastic letters to an outline on the card. 

Letter manipulatives can be:
Plastic letters
Magnetic letters
Foam letters
Wooden letters
Felt letters
Letter tiles
Letter blocks
Write letters on bottle caps
Magnetic letter cards

Something to do with letters:
Put it in a sock-  Put plastic, wooden or foam letters in a sock.  Students reach in and 'feel' the letter trying to guess what it is.  Use letters that the form can be guessed more readily.  T,  X,  C,  E, O.  A mat could be made so as student pulls out a letter, they can match it to a letter (traced) on the mat.  Limiting the selection and giving a hint what the letters in the sock are, helps students focus and be successful.

Varying the hands-on items keeps the children's curiosity.  Remember this age just loves to touch!

Technology
I found a free ipad app called ABCSound-Lite .  It is a phonics visual song that follows the Discovery Toys Sounds Like Fun CD song "Letter Sounds" by Barbara Milne.  "apple, apple, /a/-/a/-a/"  The online and current Discovery Toys song has changed some of the pictures from when I originally purchased.  

• Starfall.com uses alphabet blocks that when selected by the student, helps practice identifying the letter and hears the letter sound while clicking.  Some activities match initial sound and letter form.

 

• Reading Eggs.com  is a subscription site that assesses and moves the students along a program of lessons for developing phonemic awareness and phonics skills for reading progress. 

Games (there are so many)
Calling an activity a 'game' intrigues most children to play with letters.  

alphabet recognition:

• memory match
• letter lotto
• Go fish with letter cards
• matching magnetic letters 

These games can be adapted to vary practice for:
identifying the lowercase form,
identifying the uppercase form,
matching uppercase to lowercase,

Walk the halls searching for the letters.  
Take a walk and ask the children to find an A a,  B b,......  In order and out of alphabetical order.

I Spy
Make pages with random letters in various fonts, sizes and pictures.  Children can use a bubble wand and spy the letters with a partner or as a small group practice.  I made these, if you're interested leave me a comment. 

Writing Letters
Write in alphabetical order.  Write letter pairs.
Select a letter  "make a Dd"
Say the letter name while writing.  D  d 
Model 
-write it in the air (large to smaller)
-write with dry erase boards

Include stories to read and point out letters. 
Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom  by Bill Martin, Jr.  
(a separate post coming with more ideas)
Dr Seuss' ABC


Singing and body movements connect with letter sound.
Dr. Jean's  "Phonercise" and "Go Letters: Cheer" are on YouTube or in CD.

The more they practice (right),

the better they get! 

IT'S AROUND THE CORNER

Here it comes....
Yes, August and returning to school is just around the corner.  Here are some ideas to get started for today.

Fine motor practice
 Developing the correct pincer grasp is important for a lifetime of stable pencil grasp.  I cringe when I see a sales person with the thumbwrap over the index finger grasp.

Yes, they adapt but the strain they will experience.  Practice developing specific finger strength by doing: 

Finger plays

"Where is thumbkin?" helps with individual finger control.

"I Have Ten Little Fingers"
I have 10 little fingers    (hold both hands spread and wiggling fingers)
And they all belong to me.  (touch fingers to chest like saying "Mine")
I can make them do things
Would you like to see?
I can make them jump high   (wiggle them above your head, make your voice higher pitch)
I can make them go low   (wiggle them below knees, make voice lower pitch)
I can fold them so quietly  (fold hands together)
And hold them just so.   (sit crisscross with hands in lap)

Counting with fingers one at a time.  It is a big deal to me.  The children have many variations.
1 show with the dominant pointer finger.  (never just thumb)  
*and thumb holds other fingers down.

 
2 is bunny ears using index with tall finger *and thumb holds other fingers down.  NOT index and thumb.

3 is index, tall with ring finger *and thumb holds pinkie  down.

4 is all fingers up while thumb is still crossing palm

5 all fingers

6 all dominant fingers and pointer on non-dominant hand
7 all dominant fingers and bunny ears on non-dominant hand
8 all dominant fingers and index, tall and ring finger on non-dominant
9 all dominant fingers and fingers on non-dominant with thumb crossing palm
10  all fingers on both hands.
Make up a quick game, Put both hands behind your back or in your lap.   Teacher says: "Show me....2....4....8" This sounds easy but is more difficult at the beginning of the year.  Practice quantity 0-5 so they can do it quickly without needing to count fingers.  Advance to include 0-10 randomly.
Roll a number cube or die for number selection and connecting numeral and quantity.

Tongs and ice cube trays

Demonstrate how to hold the tongs with the first two fingers on top of tongs and thumb under tongs.  The students must use the tongs to pickup the porcupine balls from the tub and put them in and out of the ice cube trays.  They are NOT to touch the porcupine balls with their hands.  They may select specific colors or make a pattern.  The kids love this!

Pegboards and pegs

This used to be a staple activity in kindergarten classrooms.  Bring it out again.  There are so many variations of boards and pegs.  I have straight wooden pegs.  Make sure they are picking up and holding the pegs with their fingertips (index and tall fingertips and thumb) not their thumb against the side of their index finger.  The children can match the pegs along a drawn shape or makeup their own design.  At first, they just love to fill the board with pegs in every hole.

Toothpicks and Pickup Sticks 

Use thumb and pointer to pinch when picking up.  Allow time (days) to free exploring. 

Then teach them how to play pickup sticks.  Hold all sticks (or begin with 10 sticks) over play area and let them drop all at once.  Take turns picking up one at a time, WITHOUT moving the other sticks.  If another stick is moved, the next person gets a turn.  

FUN FRIDAY ACTIVITY

Scratch pictures with a toothpick

You can buy these premade  through Oriental Trading Company (my favorite) or make your own.  Here's how to make your own.  I take out the extra colors in boxes of 16 pack crayons such as red-orange, yellow-orange etc and use these as 'fancy colors.'  Use these extra colors to fill up a card. The children will want to stand and make their strokes from their shoulder.  Let them fill up the card using their whole body movement.

AH, yes, coloring is an excellent finger strengthening activity in itself.  

Now paint over the entire card with black paint.  

When it is dry, use a toothpick or nail cuticle stick to scratch off paint to reveal colors.  You DO NOT need to SCRATCH all the black paint off,  write a name or make a shape or squiggles.   

So have a little fun and wiggle those fingers.  Pretend you are playing the piano or trumpet.  Pretend your fingers have magic sprinkles and sprinkle some magic!  

Please leave a comment so I know what you like or don't like.  If we can take away at least one new idea or try something old in a new way, we are making a difference together.