Educational creativity

Listening center      As a child I remember having a Mickey Mouse record player with hundreds of records tht came with books.  My sister and I would recreate the stories like we were putting on a great play.  Reading to children teaches kids to read.  That's why we tell parents it is so important to read with their children on a daily basis.  As a teacher, we do not have the time to read lots of books directly to children.  I believe a listening center is a great substitution.      You could buy one of those listening centers set up with head phones, which can be quite expensive, or you can use multiple CD players like Kids Count 1234.  You'll find the link below.      Scholastic is a great place to order books and the CD's to go with them.  I order multiple books when they are only $1, so the kids do not have to share a book while listening.  Many books are in a sing song ...

     Writing, for young children is a playful but purposeful activity.  Doing countless tracing worksheets will not teach a child to write and will probably discourage them from wanting to write.  Here  is a site that explains this concept well.  Teaching writing should also be playful and purposeful.  If you are interested in learning more about the stages of writing  look at this previous post.   Along with fun group lessons that help children learn to write letters, words, sentences, and stories, I use a writing center as a way to encourage writing, practice writing, and making writing purposeful.  I frequently visit this center to prompt new letter or word uses.  I try to encourage story writing, also.  This will help with reading skills.  If they can write their own story, they can read it back to you.      In the writing center, children always have access to writing material...

You are suppose to have like 14 books per child available to children each day in order to promote good reading.  And, the books need to be rotated often.  I don't nearly have that  many available, but I like to try to get as many books out as possible.  That doesn't mean you need to have 14 of the same book or that they need to be good quality books.  So how do you collect enough books?  I have found books at garage sales, scholastic $1 books and freebies, Dollar Tree, and thrift stores.  Books in your library don't have to be the same as read alouds.  Board books, old books, black and white books, or any kind of book will work.  Don't forget to provide inexpensive paperback copies of your favorite read alouds and provide multiple copies of the children's favorites.  Make sure you put out books that are from the different genres and different reading levels.  You can also have class or child ma...

Exploring words in a variety of ways will help children learn spelling and improve vocabulary.  I believe in a hands- on approach even when spelling words.  I plan on making word boxes using sight words I will show you as soon as they are finished.  I will be using the empty baby food containers and stickers and other letters.  Children will be able to put the words together using the outside word as an example.  I may also make a surprise word box when they start reading words a little better.  For now here are some really special ideas I would like to try this year.    Name work- provides letters so children can practice their names without worrying about correct letter formation.  These activities easily fit on a tray to encourage individual work. Word work - for older children Milk caps or bottle tops make a simple name game.  You can make each child a set and put it in a baggies with a label or just provide plent...

     I was attempting to show all the literacy center ideas as on post, but it has become a very large and long post.  Therefor I am going to show you one center at a time. Some things to remember about centers.      Centers need to be ever changing.  Repetition is good.  Kids learn exactly how to use the materials, but if you use the same materials day after day, week after week, month after month, the children will get bored and become a  behavior problem.      Centers should be mostly independent.  This way you as the teacher can facilitate, solve behavior problems, have small groups, and perform assessment.      Centers may seem like play to children, but they should be organized and purposeful. Letter Work provides children with multiple opportunities to play with letters.      Connect Game- you will need plastic link toys (fine motor) and a set of...