Easy DIY Name Center

I saw this idea in one of my colleague's rooms and loved it at first sight. It is so simple and super cheap to make.  It is a great letter matching game and the clothespins help build fine motor skills.

What you will need:

• a couple packages of clothespins 
• a sharpie (permanent marker)
• printed & laminated name cards (or sight words!)

Write the letters (I used uppercase - you could use both) on both sides of the clothespin.

Make sure you have at least two of each letter and a bunch of vowels!!

The children find the matching clothespin letters and put them on the card - on the corresponding letter.

The children love searching for friends names and then the letters.

Alphabet Play

This is a lovely idea I saw in my colleague Kati's classroom.  I had to make one for my class and share it with you.

 It is easy to set up.  Put the printed pages into page protectors and slip into a binder.  (I have included a cover for the binder.)

You will need the JUMBO glass gems for the activity.  This activity requires adult supervision with those discs.  This is not recommended for very young children.  Be wise.  You can also use large flat river rocks.

 The children put the gems on the letter.  

So much fun!

Click here or on the image below for your FREE copy of this game.

Reggio Emilia: The Alphabet

Oh my word!  I am so excited!  I took a tour of a local Reggio Emilia inspired preschool, Rosa Parks. I was blown away with the beauty in this school.

I am so grateful for the generosity and kindness of the teachers to allow photos and permission to post them on this blog.  Thank you Rosa Parks!

I documented so many wonderful things to share with you.  I am going to share them by groups over the next 7 days:

• the alphabet
• color
• birthdays
• hanging art
• tables
• numbers
• families

 You are in for a real treat. 

 Little drawers of letters in the writing area.

 Cut pieces of wood with letters.  The teacher told me she put sticker letters on the wood and painted the wood.  After the wood dried, she removed the sticker.  

  The letters of the alphabet created using found objects and materials on a painted surface.

You could use canvas boards, foam core or heavy paper.

 A close of view.

 Each child has the first letter of their name in a wood cut.  On their birthday - they get to decorate their initial.  So cool! 

A writing tray with colored sand and a paint brush.

 A brilliant sign-in sheet!  The first letter of the child's name.  Love this for preschoolers!

Another teacher created an alphabet frieze with twig letters the class made.  Beautiful!

A framed piece of metal sheeting for letter magnets and popsicle sticks with magnets for children to create letters!

See you tomorrow with Reggio Emilia: Color

Hugs!

A Reggio Inspired Classroom

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful Reggio inspired teacher, Mrs. Foshee.  Her room was fab!  Here is a sneak peek:

 Here is her number line.  Love, love it!

 The number is constructed out of tacks and yarn.

 Love the nature items.

 The letters were created from twine.

 Isn't this a grand calendar?!  Love it.

 Painted leaves displayed in wooden frames.

 These would be easy to pick up at thrift stores and garage sales.

 A wonderful tray of nature finds.

Good stuff!

FREE A-Z Graphs

Graph B

During August and September - my kindergarten team reviews the alphabet.  I have developed several things for those days.  One is a sign in sheet with two animals that begin with that letter.  I am sharing these graphs with you today!  These are for personal use only.  I made these several years ago (before blogging days) and have no idea where I found the images.  I apologize that I cannot site my sources.  As a blogger - I realize the importance of integrity and acknowledging where you find things. 

Oh!  The graphs below are uploaded through Mediafire.  I received many emails from readers who cannot download through Scribd.  I just put one graph on Scribd so you could see it!  Enjoy!
A Graph
B Graph
C Graph
D Graph
E Graph
F Graph
G Graph
H Graph
I Graph
J Graph
K Graph
L Graph
M Graph
N Graph
O Graph
P Graph
Q Graph
R Graph
S Graph
T Graph
U Graph
V Graph
W Graph
X Graph
Y Graph
Z Graph

Daily Alphabet Activities with Names

I am posting some of my first alphabet activities of the school year.  In my school, the kindergarten reviews the alphabet one letter a day (we started reviewing today).  Here are some of the things I do:

 Today we reviewed the letter Aa.   I asked each child, "Do you have any a's in your name?"  If the answer was yes, I asked, "Uppercase or lowercase?"  This really helps the children distinguish between uppercase and lowercase.  I use a large tag board to write this down - writing the featured letter in red and the other letters in black.  We count how many uppercase A's do we have?  How many lowercase a's do we have?

Next, we become "Letter Detectives."  We determine what kinds of lines are in the uppercase letters and the lowercase letters.  There are three basic straight lines used:  a sleeping line (horizonal), a standing line (vertical) and a leaning line (diagonal).  There is one basic curved line.  For example, in the uppercase A - there are two leaning lines and a sleeping line.  In the lowercase a - there are two curved lines and a standing line.

 Finally, we create an artsy alphabet!  (All the finished letters go into a small pizza box and will go home at parent conferences).   I found the wonderful Totally Tots blog with great ideas for this project.  For A, we made alligators!  We practice making the sound of A!

Working With Names:

I challenge the children daily to name as many children as they can.  We began by looking at our new friends.  Now we are looking at their names at the chart paper.  So far, one child could name 8 children! The first week of school I made a book of friends that I printed for each child to take home.  "Friend, friend, who do I see?"  I took a photo of each child and under their photo typed "I see ___ looking at me." with the child's name inserted.

My first two sight words are I and see.  I wrote  "I see ________." on the white board and asked each child to stand in front of the blank space.  Then we read the sentence, saying the child's name.  Again, I modeled pointing to each word and then the child (like they were a visual icon!).  So fun!  The children loved it!  By the fifth child, they read it without my help!

I try to incorporate the student's names into as many activities as I can in these first weeks of school.

ABC Rocks

Photo is from I am Momma - Hear Me Roar

I found these ABC rocks on I Am Momma Hear Me Roar  and I loved them (click on the link to see her post! It is called Alphabet Rocks. She has good ideas if you would like to try painting a set.  I love her blog!).  I want a set but I do not have the time to handpaint them.  So once again -  the scrapbook section of Michael's to the rescue!  I found these:

Remember your 40% off coupon!

What you will need:  About 3 bags of rocks, Modge Podge, sealant like Clear Koat, and paper letters from scrapbooking section (do not get any raised letters - you want flat paper letters for best results).

I Modge Podged these on to the rocks.

• First spread a layer of Modge Podge on the bare rock. Put the letter on top of wet Modge Podge.
• Next, spread a layer of Modge Podge over the top of letter (you can use a brush or your finger).

Let them dry and seal with a sealant.  Easy peasy (and fast)!!

Thank you Cheri for the great idea of an alphabet rock set!

Easy ABC Set

A wooden tray of wooden ABC chips! 

I found this great wooden tray at Michael's for $1.99.   

Add a bag of wooden discs...

 And a bag of scrapbook letters. . .

 And a swirl of modge podge 

 and voila!  So quick and simple!  Love it!