writing center

  • preschool St. Patrick's Day centers

    Preschool St. Patrick’s Day Centers

    St. Patrick’s Day is such a fun holiday for little ones because it’s all about magic and mischief. This is the perfect day to get right into the fun with the children! Let’s take a look at some of the materials that I use for our St. Patrick’s day centers. Shamrock Observations – This set is designed to help children focus on small details, which is perfect when it comes to shamrocks and finding that elusive 4-leaf clover. There are images of a variety of different shamrocks, and then zoomed in images of the same shamrocks so that children can see if they can match these. There are also two paint-chip…

  • 4th of July lesson plans

    Patriotic Resource Round Up

    Summer might’ve just started, but I’m thinking 4th of July lesson plans already! I’ve added a ton of patriotic materials to my TPT store over the last couple of weeks so it felt like a good time to share all of these so that you can start planning for the holiday. Patriotic 4th of July Alphabet Book for Preschool and Kindergarten – This book is a great way to celebrate the 4th of July while encouraging literacy. Each letter corresponds with an American themed vocabulary word which will help children practice letter sounds. Print one for each child, or a few for a center. You could also have children create…

  • preschool birthday

    It’s a Birthday!

    This is a big week inn our house – we’re celebrating my daughter’s 6th birthday! We just got home from a Memorial day camping trip, and are excited to party with friends and family next weekend. This means that our week is sure to be a blur of cleaning up from one trip and preparing for the next event. I’ve got so many cute things to share after her party, you know that I’ve been DIY-ing all of it. Until then, I’m making my birthday vocabulary cards FREE on TPT until next Tuesday. Go download your copy now!

  • Teaching preschoolers to read

    Introducing CVC Words in Preschool – Resources

    There are SO MANY different activities that you can do with CVC words – just do a quick Pinterest search, it’s a little overwhelming! After trying a ton of these in the classroom, I realized that I really needed some activities that could be used any time of year, and that were easy to store. Here are the resources I’ve created and use regularly for practicing CVC words: CVC Ring Books – These are the best because the pieces are all self-contained, and they’re really easy for children to use independently. The large colored strip has the word family ending, and the smaller white boxes have a variety of letters…

  • Preschool St. Patrick's day

    St. Patrick’s Day Writing Center

    I’m so ready to share my St. Patrick’s Day language materials with you! The focus of this center is storytelling, and the items that I have available for the holiday really support that. So let’s dive in! Leprechaun Dress Up – Who wouldn’t want to be a leprechaun?! Chasing rainbows and searching for gold sounds like an amazing adventure, and children can use these materials to act that out. I’ve got tutus, bow ties, feather boas, fun glasses, and headbands. I’ve also included top hats, blazers and vests, and messenger bags in the past. Shamrock Cupcake Letter Match – These cupcakes are just the cutest, and sometimes that’s all it…

  • valentine writing center

    Valentine’s Language Center

    Valentine’s Day has a special place in my heart (see what I did there). January can be a long, dreary month and having something fun to look forward to can really change the mood. If you’re like me – looking forward to a holiday that’s all about warmth and love – and you’re planning what this will look like in your classroom, then I have some materials that might be just what you need! Here’s my Valentine writing center: I want children to get excited about using these materials, and I do that by making them inviting – adding decorations, related textiles, and touches that create a homey and comforting…

  • Easter Writing Centers

    There are so many Easter-themed activities out there, I’m sure that just a quick Pinterest search would fill your lesson plan for the next two weeks.  Unfortunately, to find the great ideas you generally have to sift through all of the duds, and the ads.  So this week I’m going to do the work for you, I’ll be rounding up all of the best Easter activities so that you’ve got them all in one place! It is so much easier to put together writing center activities when you have a theme that children really want to write about.  Holidays are the perfect themes because little ones are already excited about…

  • Friday Freebie – Friendship Valentines

    Happy Friday! This has been one of those weeks where I’ve had something crazy every night, and I am so ready for the weekend – I’ve got some sleeping in to do! Today’s freebie is perfectly timed. It goes with my posts this week, which have been all about friendship, collaboration, and building your classroom community. It would also be a perfect addition to your writing center for Valentine’s day. These cute little notes are fun for kiddos to color, and they each have a fun little message.  Children can decorate them and share them with their friends all week long! You can download them from A Burst of First so…

  • Friday Freebie – Valentine’s Day Writing Paper

     Happy Friday! This was a surprise short week for me with my snow day on Monday, so it flew by! Since Valentine’s Day is next weekend I’m saying that this is the official start of Valentine’s week (yes, Valentine’s week) who doesn’t love taking time to share their love with people who are important?! I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve for my favorite people, and since I’ll see them at different times throughout the week, I’ve made it Valentine’s week 🙂 Today’s freebie is one of the first things that I created for my Teacher’s Pay Teachers store, it’s a great little freebie that you can use a few…