Motor skills with Play Dough



The other day my little guy and I were playing with Play Dough that Santa brought him for Christmas. Since I'll be teaching Kindergarten in the fall, I thought it'd be interesting to see how my own little guy handled the gooey toy. While playing with him, we came up with these creations:

I know that he's only 3 1/2.... and kindergarteners are a tad bit older. But I'm curious... what do you, as a teacher, use Play Dough for in your classroom? I was thinking:

-Morning play time at the beginning of the year

-Free center time

-Art center

-Making letters to practice formation



What do ya'll use it for?

Have a blessed day,

A B C..... 1 2 3

Another great idea that I've been seeing a lot of is different learning tools that are made out of popsicle sticks or paint stirrers. Since we will be using more small-group settings for next year's reading groups, I decided to use popsicle sticks for this next craft. I might still make a larger set.

Here is what I made (again it only took about 5 minutes):

I used the wider popsicle/craft sticks and scrapbook students. I simply placed one sticker on each stick. I did have to "fix" a couple of letters so that my sprouts in the fall will be able to easily recognize and learn the letters. For example, with this set of stickers I had to add a top and bottom to the I. Also a top and more of a curve to the J (I hadn't done it yet in this picture :) ). Now my little sprouts will be able to use them to hunt out letters while they read sight words or the perfect match books. These would work great at home for preschoolers too!

Have a blessed day,

Getting a head start!

There are two things you should know about me besides what you already do....

 #1- I get very worried if I don't know what's coming (with big decisions it's easier for me to know the who, what, when, where, etc.)

and

#2- I am always concerned that I won't be ready!

So, since I now know that I am going to Kindergarten (big decision that I finally know the who, what, when, and where of...) I can start preparing! I have been slowly looking at all the amazing Kindergarten teachers out there and their fantastic ideas. Here are some (just a few) that I have found so far:

Hubbard's Cupboard

Teaching Heart

Little Miss Kindergarten

Carl's Corner

PreKinders

Oh my, I could go on and on! I think (if it could have) my bookmark list wants to cry.... especially after I found that there are even teaching blogs!!!

Miss Kindergarten

Ladybug's Teacher Files

Stay and Play

ABC and 123

Fairy Dust Teaching

AH-mazing teachers who are crafty, crafty, crafty!

That lead me to start getting my crafty itch going.....and here's what I made:

Aren't they cute? If you are not an elementary school teacher, these are pointers :)

Not what you remember from school, huh?

Well, the kids love these even more because they are cute! 

Here's a close up on three of them.... the ladybug is my favorite!

Want to make your own? It's not hard at all!

You will need:

- cute wooden shapes (mine came from Michael's)

- precut wooden dowels

- paint

- sponge brushes

-glue gun

The first thing that I did was paint my dowels. Since my theme is going to be a garden theme for my whole room I stuck with a green color. After my paint dried (only a few minutes wait), I hot glued my shapes on. And you know what? I was done! See, told you it was simple :D

The great thing about this project is that you can change it to fit any theme since there are dozens of different types of wooden cut outs at Joanns, Michael's, and Hobby Lobby.

Happy crafting! Now my students will have lots of cute pointers when they 'read the room', read big books, and help with calendar this fall.

Have a blessed day,