How To Fit "PLAY" Into Your Day!

I am often asked how we can incorporate playtime into our busy, academic day. I did it through academic centers. 

Each center had academic skills that were embedded in the activities. 
For example: The train tracks had sight words on them and everything in the home center was labeled.

First, let's look at a common full-day kindergarten schedule:

Next, add centers around your classroom. 

Post the maximum number of students allowed at each center. 

Here are some of my centers:

Click the image to grab Boomer's Take-Home Book.

My "Sentence Writing Center" includes pictures of nouns (on pink cards), verbs (on green cards), and more nouns (on blue cards) for the predicate. Students chose 1 card of each color to create their sentence. 

CLICK THE IMAGE

Additional "helping words" were provided to help students complete their sentences. 

This center was a favorite! I introduced it as a center after we created a few sentences together in a small group setting. You can grab all of the pieces needed plus the writing page template by clicking HERE

Last, change the centers slightly throughout the year. 

For example: 

~Change the store to a seasonal shop like a candy shop* in Feb. or a flower shop in May.

~Change the items at the Discovery Center with seasonal objects found in nature such as leaves, acorns, a bird nest, etc. 

~Change the paints at the painting center to all secondary colors (green, purple, and orange) and put up a sign that says "We are using secondary colors this week."

*You can grab my FREE candy templates by clicking HERE.

Here is a list of my classroom centers:

Start with the centers you already have in place and add centers as you can. 

I hope this helps keep "play" in your kindergarten day!

Keeping "Play" in Your Kindergarten Day + FREEBIES

Justifying the Importance of Play:

In these times of "Kindergarten Rigor" and test score mania, how do you justify the importance of "play" in your kindergarten classroom?

Kids love to play, so why not play with sight word meatballs?

Well, I was basically able to keep my “play based” kindergarten by providing excellent test scores at each of the trimester reporting periods. Achieving high test scores doesn't mean that you can't provide lots of opportunities for play. I understand the importance of accountability and measurable means to report student grown and drive my instruction and intervention, but I refused to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Where "play" fits in my day:

My kindergarten day consisted of engaging whole group lessons, meaningful independent work (required of all students), and differentiated small group guided reading and math instruction.  CLICK HERE so see a post about my typical day. 

From attendance check-in to just playing with numbers, these centers are just plain FUN!Click the image to see a post on how you can build your own Rekenrek. 

You can grab the FREE NUMBER CARDS by clicking HERE.

During the independent work time, I pulled my homogeneous small groups for specific skill work. If your independent work was done (and quickly checked by an adult, meaning me or a parent volunteer) and you weren’t meeting with me in a small group, you could use your time to choose ANY center and play.

Kids can "play" with letters and learn their names while having fun.

Why this formula is win-win for teachers, admins, & kids:

So basically, admins see kids engaged in powerful small group lessons, meaningful independent work, and educational play activities.  You can see great ways to keep "play" in your day by CLICKING HERE for part 1. Then, CLICK HERE for part 2. 

One more additional benefit: Happy Kids who are excited to learn!

Creating Centers That Foster Play:

So, how did I create play centers that were also educational? I started by looking at the standards I needed students to master. There are some samples of great centers throughout THIS BLOGPOST. CLICK HERE to see it.

The power of print should be everywhere in your classroom. 

I literally wrote the sight words on the train tracks with a Sharpy marker. Students were often heard saying, "Give me the piece that says like," as they were building their train track. 

I also labeled EVERYTHING! From the science center to the home center. This also provided opportunities for sorting as students sorted the forks and spoons or the fruits and vegetables according to the labels.

These "detectives" are exploring at the Science Center. No directions included, just explore & discover! 

I incorporated social studies and science in our centers. I set up outfits representing our community helpers in our home center and lots of science realia in our "Discovery Center" which also included math tools like rulers and balance scales.

And then there were the stores! My students loved my monthly stores were students could pretend to buy items with plastic coins. They were adding, subtracting, and problem solving as they had fun. 

We also created a coffee shop, a candy store, and a burger stand. The kids created the menus. 

They loved wearing the clerk aprons and making the parts for the stores. For our See's Candy Shop, they decided that the cube shaped candies were 1 cent while the cylinders were 2 cents. Then, they filled the empty heart shaped boxes with pretend candies (which our upper grade buddy class made with my free templates) and they added to come up with a total price for the box of candy. See's is happy to give you paper candy cups and little bags too. There is just so much you can learn from shopping!  You can grab the FREE candy template by CLICKING HERE.

Why I Wrote This Post:

I received an email from a teacher asking how I was able to justify "play" and when I put the question out to my FaceBook followers, I was directed to this article. CLICK HERE to see that article too.

I hope that this post helps you to bring "play" back into your day and justify its importance to your administrators. 

I'll be presenting on this topic at: 

Brea, CA:  Click Here  and CLICK HERE to see the brochure. 

Norman, Oklahoma:  Click Here and again Here

Austin Texas: Click Here and 

Pasadena, CA:  Click Here

And you might like:

Sight Word Pocket Lockets:

Click on the image.

My students loved creating these at a craft center and wearing them home:

      

Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom Welcome to my Classroom!

How I planned my day:

I was lucky to teach an Early Bird / Late Bird program where half of the students came to school at 8:00 AM and stayed until noon while the 2nd half came at 10:00 AM and stayed until 2:00.   

During the overlap time, we did our whole group calendar, literature, our special classes (like computer lab, science lab, library, P.E., and music), and one additional 25 minute activity which could be a followup activity to anything we were doing that week.

The Academic Block:

That was the time when I had only half of my class of 24. Having a group of 12 really allowed me to  teach efficiently to 3 groups of 4 students. It was a 2 hour block of time.

Whole Group Time:

We always started with a whole group intro to the day. Whatever I was going to teach during my small group time was introduced during my 25 min. whole group time. For instance, if I was teaching about the letter C, I might read the book Corduroy.  Then, I would introduce the independent table work and front load the students with any content they will need prior to their small group lesson. 

For example:  

(Remember, I was doing this with only 12 students and I might do only 1 of the following activities.)

~We might look at photos of things that begin with hard /C/.

~We might share our "mystery item" that we brought from home that begins with the hard sound /C/.

(Students give 3 clues about the item & the class guesses.)

~ We might brainstorm more words that begin with hard /C/. 

~We might use words that begin with /C/ to finish the sentence "I like ______." The teacher writes the sentence the child says and the child comes up to sign it.

~We might watch a quick video or Brain Pop Jr. about the letter C.

~We might watch one of Heidi's videos (from heidisongs.com) about the letter C.

~We might do a Close Reading Lesson.

~We might do a Smart Board lesson.

~We might write in our journals (and with only 12 students,  I could check each journal.)

and...

~I could teach the "signal word of the day" which might be: The teacher says, "C," and the students reply, "Says /c/ like Catina Cat," as they make a claw motion (Zoo Phonics style) with their hand. This signal word, and their reply, will signal the time for them to move to their tables to begin their independent work. 

Sample Whole Group Activities

After our whole group time, I would say the signal word, students responded with the proper reply, and they would move to their tables. That's when I would circulate to check for names on their work. I would rub a dot of scented lip balm on the top of their hand if they wrote their name neatly. Then I started calling groups for small group lessons. 

What Independent work might look like:

Students might find photos of things that begin with hard /c/ on their tables. They would choose 3 photos, draw a picture of each one on their paper, and label it. (The photos are labeled.)  Then, they might trace all of the uppercase and lowercase Cs on the dotted alliteration chant. 

You can do this on blank paper using pictures found in magazines or old workbooks or you can use the 26 templates and pictures included in my Picture Dictionary Set. 

You can find the dotted chants by clicking HERE.

Click the image to see the Picture Dictionary Set which includes all 26 letters and 3 pictures for each letter.

If they still haven't been called up to meet with me in a small group, they may go to any classroom center. (Centers were labeled with the maximum number of students who can play there at a time.) 

If you have a volunteer in your classroom, have them assist at the tables, supervise centers, and check work before students to to a center. 

What Small Group Lessons might look like:

Meeting with a small group.

I would call up 3 small groups to my horseshoe table during this 90 minute block. I would spend 20-25 minutes with each group. A sample small group lesson might look like this:

~Review the formation and sound for the letters C and c.

~Students are given a page with lots of pictures on it and a set of 10 Unifix cubes.

~Students place one cube on each picture that begins with hard /C/. When done, they count their cubes and link them together again.

~Students use dry-erase pens to trace and write the letters C and c on a laminated card.

~Students use a bingo marker (you can get these at The Dollar Store) to dot the letter C.

~Students use a push-pin to poke the dots on the letters C and c. Find the set by clicking HERE.

You would use all of these activities for one letter: "C"

When I was done teaching all 3 groups, I would help individual students. 

If you have a full-day class of 20-32 students (or a half-day class of 24 or more, you will have to modify and meet with larger groups at small-group time. Sign up 6th grade students to assist in your classroom during their recess time and try to get volunteers to help supervise students at independent and center time. 

How many students do you have and do they attend full-day or half-day K?

My 10 Best Tips For Teaching T.K.

Have You Heard of TK?

If you teach Pre-K or K you will probably get a lot out of this post, so read on.

The sign says, "Welcome to The Kingdom"
See what I did there?
T.K. = The Kingdom

We have T.K., Transitional Kindergarten in CA. It all started a few years ago because children in CA didn't have to be 5 years old until Dec. 2. Think about that for a minute. That made about 25% of the K students in CA way younger than most K students in other states. That also meant that when 8th grade scores are compared across the country, no one ever considered that about 25% of the 8th grade students in CA were in a grade one year higher than most 8th graders in other states. So they moved our kindergarten entry date back to Sept 1. 

The state decided to provide Transitional Kindergarten for all of the students born between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1. Those students may attend T.K. for one year and then kindergarten for one year. Exceptions can be made if the parent and school both agree that a child can skip T.K., but they may not enter K until they are 5 years old.

That said, a new curriculum, standards, and assessments needed to be made. T.K. is not just kindergarten light. It focuses more on social development, language skills, and fine motor skills. Academic skills like letter names, sounds, sight words, numbers, and shapes are still taught, but with an emphasis on social and language skills.

My 10 Best Tips For Teaching T.K.:

1. Meet your class outside at least 5 minutes before school starts. 
Then they can tell you all about how their dog threw up last night or how they got to have pancakes that morning with 4 1/2 blueberries. This will save you tons of time when you are trying to take attendance and they just HAVE to share this important information with you.

One morning, I brought the ducks out that we had hatched.

2. Take it easy. 

Avoid rushing kids to finish within a time schedule. Schedules are great, but build in extra time so children won't feel rushed and you won't feel stressed. Does every project need to be completed? Maybe not. Don't worry about building bad habits. They still have next year to practice working faster. For now, plan short projects and build in play time so students are motivated to complete their tasks. And make sure that all students get that play time. Sometimes you just have to ask, "Would you like to finish that later?" Trust me. It will be fine.

Free choice activity to do when your work is done. 

3. You don't have to use a pencil for everything. 

Provide opportunities for students to use other tools such as paint brushes and water. Let students paint their name with water on the playground, use Wiki-sticks to create letters and numbers, or write in shaving cream on the tables. 

To clean up, wipe up with DRY paper towels first. When most of the soap is off the table,
use damp paper towels and then dry ones. 

4. Set up educational centers that promote investigation, exploration, and imagination. 

I love centers that don't have any directions. Just put out some magnets, a variety of objects, and two containers with a happy face on one and a sad face on the other. Students will quickly discover that some objects are attracted to the magnets and some are not and they will decide which container to place the objects in. Other centers might in include Sink & Float or just a variety of seasonal objects found in nature and a few magnifying glasses. 

Just put everything out. They will figure out what to do and they will be so excited
about their discoveries! 

5. Plan free time for you to circulate throughout the room. 

It's a perfect time to give praise, assist with fine motor skills, or just get to know your students better. I tried to schedule about 20 min. each morning when I was able to just sit and work with individual students. 

Making food in our home center.

6. Provide lots of models. 

Samples of their names written with a broad tip marker on on a lined name tag and glued to a piece of construction paper can be laminated and used as a personal workspace. Wiki-sticks will stick nicely to the letters and the laminated work mats keep glue from sticking to your tables. Mats can be easily washed and kept clean. 

You can barely see the blue name tag attached to the blue work mat on the left side of the table.

7. Provide brain breaks. 

Have you heard of Go Noodle. Lots of their site is FREE and your students will love moving and dancing along with their short videos. No Internet? A quick run outside goes a long way in terms of waking up their brains and rejuvenating them. Never keep kids in at recess. They need it and so do you.

Go with gonoodle.com

8. Set up centers that encourage oral language. 

If you don't have a home center, hit some yard sales or make a pretend stove out of a cardboard carton. A puppet center can be created by setting puppets inside of single desk and using the desk top as the stage. You can always make stick puppets if you don't own any puppets. Set up a pretend store with plastic coins. Set out "partner puzzles" where two students work together to complete a puzzle. That will encourage language!

Our lemonade stand

Pretending to travel by bus. Just add luggage. 

Place silk flowers and plants at the garden shop.

Working together at the hair salon.

Partner Puzzles.

Puppets

9. Bring music into your classroom. 

You can play soft music while students are working or playing. You can also bring in an electric keyboard for free exploration. I would take the extra step and add a set of headphones to this center. Provide time for your students to play rhythm instruments and create their own music. If you don't own rhythm instruments, you can make them by placing objects like rice, coins, or beans in sealed containers. And remember to sing about everything you do. Include Heidi's Songs when teaching the letter names, sounds, numbers, etc. Click HERE for her great teaching songs. 

An old keyboard and a set of headphones.

10. Say something wonderful to EVERY student EVERY day. 

Whether you are the only person who says something nice to them or not, it is important to them that they feel loved, liked, and important. Even if they are getting all of this at home, they still need it and want it from you. Of course, you need to be sincere and honest. Wouldn't you just LOVE going somewhere every day if you knew you were loved, liked, and important? They will fall in love with school and will feel at ease. 

Praise, praise, praise!

I hope you found some of these tips familiar as things you already do because you are awesome!

And I hope you found at least one little jewel you can take back to your classroom and try. 

Whether you teach Pre-K, T.K., or K, give these tips a try and let me know how they worked for you. 

Keep your T.K. homework simple too. Here is a set of homework that encourages oral language interaction with each child's parents:

Click the image to see the 34 week set.

Click on the image to grab your entire set.

Do you have a favorite tip? Please share in the comments. 

Classroom Organization Part 1 ~ Keeping Track of The Small Stuff

Back To School Set Up:

I thought I would get back into blogging by posting a series of "Back-to-School" ideas. Now, I know that summer just started, but it's never too early to start thinking about and planning for the back to school frenzy. 

Can you tell I'm obsessed with keeping my centers organized?  

Keeping Track Of The Small Stuff:

Little people can often take lose the little pieces at your center. I don't have the time to check that every piece is at every center, so I create a template that does the checking for me. 

First, I trace all of the pieces, then I laminate the template. At clean-up time, the children simply place the items on the outlines and I can quickly see that all of the pieces are present and accounted for. (I used a plastic tray from a box of Mochi ice cream treats from Trader Joes. Whole Foods carries mochis too. The trays are great to organize magnetic balls or other tiny pieces.)

I will try to post more Back To School ideas here during the summer.

Until then, check out all of the other links by CLICKING HERE!

Part 2: Learning To Play & Playing To Learn

You can view part 1 of this post by clicking HERE.

Part 2:  Playing To Learn

Playing To Learn:

We have all read the research on how play is an important part of learning and how children need to get up and move during their school day.  That is why I have incorporated "play time" or "center time" into our daily routine.

Twice a day, each child has from 10 to 30 minutes each day to explore and interact with the varied centers.  They are given 1hr. & 20 min to complete quality table work, meet with me in a small group setting for 25 min, and meet for intervention or enrichment with my assistant for 25 min each day.  Their table work should take them about 20 minutes to complete, so they can have up to 30 minutes at the centers twice a day, so that's 60 min/day. 

What About The Exceptions:

We all have students who work slowly.  I have scheduled time, after I teach my small group lessons, to help those students in tiny groups of maybe 2-4 to stay focused and complete their work.  My assistant and parent volunteers (if I have any) assist in this same way.  Our goal is to encourage quality with speed so everyone gets at least ten minutes to play.  

How To Create Great Centers:  (on a dime)

I have been teaching for 36 years, so I have a lot of "stuff", but you can take an idea from each of these centers and make it your own.  Before I had a painting easel, I stapled a clear plastic table cloth to a small bulletin board and set paints up for students to use.  And you don't need ALL of these centers.  Just take the ideas you like and have FUN!  (I have included the skills for each center so you can post them by each center to help explain the value of play to anyone who happens to visit your classroom.)

Painting Easel:  I bought this with money I received from a grant I wrote.  Students may paint only one painting each day.   Skills:  Fine motor.  Also, students can paint something from science (things that sink or float), letters & numbers, or the current season.  

Wet sponges keep the paints from drying out.

Big Books:  I have a rack filled with big books.  1 or 2 students may take one to the rug to read, re-tell, or just explore.  We all have big books.  Why not let the kids use them every day instead of storing them for teacher use only?  Skills:  Concepts of print (front & back of book), picture walk, reading, re-telling the story.)

Class Library:  I added stuffed animals that go

with books (like Clifford & Corduroy) and some cute furniture that I bought with grant money from a grant I wrote.  The books we write as a class are in the library too.  I number the pages with each students class number & I include a numbered class list as the Table Of Contents.  Old beanbag chairs or cushions work well too for your library center.  Skills:  Elements of print, picture walk, read, re-tell.

Discovery Center:  Lots of magnifying glasses, scales, rulers, and "stuff" to explore.  I try to keep it seasonal with seashells in August; fall leaves, pine cones, and acorns in the fall, etc.

  This is the easiest center to set up.  Just go for a walk and pick up leaves, rocks, etc.  Throw in a magnifying glass, a ruler, and a balance scale and you're done!  Students are encouraged to explore & discuss.  No directions, just explore!  Skills:  observation, oral language, use of tools.

Writing Center:  I put out postcards, but you can also just use blank paper to create a post office.  I include a photo of each child by their name so students can write to their friends.  Before I got the mailbox, I just used a shoebox with a slit cut into it.  Blank paper & a shoebox, now that's easy!  Skills: Fine motor, copying, reading names.

Home Center:  Again, I wrote a grant and bought some sturdy playhouse furniture, but you can ask your parents to hit the garage sales or give you some old plastic play house furniture.  Or, make some out of shoe boxes (draw 2 stove burners on the top) or large cartons (for a table).  

Until you get supplies try small paper plates and plastic spoons & cups, and empty food containers.  I also turned a bookcase on its side, added hooks inside and created a dress up center in the playhouse.  Students can dress up as community helpers!  You can find really inexpensive community helper costumes AFTER Halloween from a costume store. Label EVERYTHING and require students to sort items when they clean up (spoons with spoons, dishes with dishes, etc.)  Skills:  Imaginative play, reading environmental print, sorting, oral language, community helpers. 

Listening Center:  A book or 2, a tape,

an old tape recorder, and 1 or 2 sets of headsets and you're done!  Before I acquired lots of listening centers, I asked a parent to tape books for me on blank tapes.  The funny thing was that she told me that she taped the stories in her bathroom because it was the only room in her house where it was quiet!  I think about that every time I set up a new story.  :)  If you want, you can add paper and crayons for students to illustrate their favorite part of the story, the characters, the setting, the problem or wish, or the resolution in the story.  Skills:  Listening, reflecting/comprehending, elements of print, story elements.

Flannel Board Story:  I have flannel pieces that go with some classic stories like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See.  You can ask a parent to make some pieces to go with stories for you.  Students explore the book (after I have read it to them a few times) and re-tell the story on the flannel board with the pieces.  Skills:  Story comprehension, sequencing, re-telling.

Keyboard:  This one requires an electronic keyboard.

I had one at home, but you can find one at a garbage sale.  Add a headset so your classroom doesn't get noisy.  Students discover their own musical creations while exploring all of the different buttons and elements on the keyboard.  Skills:  Listening, cause & effect, musical elements of notes, beat, & rhythm.

Math Tubs:  Place Unifix Cubes, Teddy Bear Counters, Attribute Blocks, etc. in different tubs.  Add task cards (purchased or handmade) to each tub.  Heidisongs has great task cards for creating numbers out of pattern blocks.  You can find them by clicking HERE.  An easy task card is a piece of 9"12" construction paper.  Draw four  4-inch in diameter circles on the paper and laminate it.  Students can sort the pieces in the tub.  Skills:  counting, sorting, number formation.

Heidi's Pattern Block Cards make an instant center.
Click the image to grab them.

Electronics:  Computers, tablets, iPhones, and toys.  Ask for donations!  I got 2 old computers from

our lab when it was updated, I wrote a grant for an Acer laptop and an iPad mini from Donors Choose and got both of them, and I asked parents to donate old electronic toys (like Leapfrog hand-held devices) and iPhones.  Tips:  If you write a Donors Choose grant for an iPad or iPan mini, be sure to include a case and AppleCare.  And if parents donate an old iPhone, make sure they wipe it and restore it to its original settings so you don't risk having their photos, contacts, etc. on it.  I ask parents to give me iTunes gift cards instead of holidays gifts so I can purchase apps for our classroom devices.  I load the iPhones and iPads with apps I have gotten for free or purchased on iTunes.  Include a headset for each device to keep the noise level down.  Students not only play educational games on them (like Little Skywriter), they also use them to read QR codes to find sight words, letters, or numbers.  Skills:  Letter & number recognition, reading sight words, letter & numeral formation, counting, adding, subtracting, reading, comprehending, sorting, matching, etc.

Puppets:  I have a puppet stage (from a grant I wrote), but a small student desk can serve as a puppet stage.  If you don't have puppets, you can have students make them from craft materials or paper bags.  Skills:  Oral language, re-telling familiar stories, identification of characters.

Shopping:  I use my puppet center because it has shelves and a window, but you can use an open shelf or a small student desk to set up a store.  Keep an eye out for free items like this lemonade stand that Sunkist used to offer for free.  Each month I set up a different store complete with money and a menu.  Sometimes I include uniforms.  Skills:  Counting, adding, subtracting, reading a menu.

Lemonade stand (paper cups, plastic lemon, juice jug, juicer, spoon)

Starbucks (No, I'm not marketing coffee to children.  They already know what a Vente Pumpkin Spice Latte is!)  Starbucks will give you free small cups, cup holders, stirrers, and napkins.  You can make a menu and include healthier choices like a muffin and juice.  We also made barista aprons out of green re-usable grocery bags. 

Leprechaun's Gold Shoppe:  Plastic jewelry (get bargains on beaded necklaces AFTER Mardi Gras).

Smoothie Bar:  Paint the inside of a clear plastic cup, place a straw in it along the side, add white glue to the side of the straw and the bottom of the cup, add a second clear cup inside the painted cup and let it dry overnight.  These painted cups can look like different flavored smoothies.

Sensory Table:  Try Sands Alive (available at Jo-Ann's Crafts) or Kinetic Sand (available at Michael's) and a variety of cookie cutters.  Letter & number cookie cutters work great!  Place the sand in a box top or 2" deep tub lid.  Skills:  Sensory exploration, letter & number formation, fine motor.

Puzzles:  Just put a variety of puzzles in a tub.  Garage sales & parent donations of old puzzles is a great way to build up your supply.  Skills:  Visual perception, eye-hand coordination.

Working together.

Blocks:  This is their favorite center.  Get donations from parents or hit those garage sales.  I love my foam blocks because they are quiet.  Skills:  Visual perception, eye-hand coordination, spatial relations, position in space, social skills, oral language, problem solving.

Train Set:  Donations and garage sales are good resources.  I write sight words on the track pieces.  Skills:  Visual perception, eye-hand coordination, cause & effect, social skills, oral language, reading sight words.

Check out my:

FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)

PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)

TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "17 freebies?!")

How are you using centers in your classroom?

See you all tomorrow!

Palma :)