I could never say enough positive things about using a work box system in the classroom-- for any child. I've used them with typically developing peers in the classroom as well and it's an amazing way to in-bed practice and skill maintenance, all while working on attending to a task as well. Over the summer I did a whole post on how I structure this system in my classroom. You can check it out {here}. But one thing I've never done is actually post photos of the activities I have in my boxes. My boxes have grown since I last posted a photo this summer. I have 83 work boxes available in my classroom at all times. I know that sounds like the only thing that make up the shelves in my classroom are work boxes, but I promise it's not. It might be close, but it's not! I don't have a lot of remaining storage in my classroom. So to constantly be changing out activities and finding a storage system for previous activities is a little challenging for me. So I prefer to just have a lot of boxes available. We also need a high number of boxes to complete each day. Let's break it down. I have 10 students total, 8 of whom complete work boxes at some point doing the day. Children complete anywhere between 1-10 boxes a day. Right now, as a class, we are completing 28 boxes a day. We come to school 4 days a week, so that's completing 112 boxes a week. And planning so strategically that a child doesn't repeat a box during the week. It's a huge planning challenge. And my paras are awesome at catching my goofs! I'm hoping to come across some appropriate shelving between now and the end of the year to expand our boxes even more. Sounds crazy I know, but it will make the planning challenge so much easier when there is a larger amount to pick from. So the whole point of this post-- what's in the boxes?! I use a combination of handmade activities, printable activities, and existing manipulatives from my classroom to make up my boxes. Our lowest tasks are simple "put-in" activities and our higher tasks include activities like capital and lowercase matching using clothespins and sight word matching mats. I've been trying to come up with more and more put-in activities so that's what I'm going to share with you today. In another post I'll share another category. For this activity I saved a small peanut can from the grocery store. (Yes I washed it out) I simply cut slits in the lid--these lids are super easy to cut into which is nice. It's the perfect height for dropping these mini popsicle sticks into. This activity is another saved container- an almond one. I have saved a ton of these! They are a great size and again, the lids are easy to cut into. This one has a circle in the middle of the lid and heart erasers to put into the container. This activity I found on pinterest. I simply saved a Parmesan cheese shaker, washed it out and added q-tips. When students open the box the cheese shaker is already open. (It would be too challenging for my little guys to get open independently- it's tough!) This task I clearly didn't make. It is courtesy of Lakeshore Learning. Students simply place the buttons in. This jar is one of three included in the pack and can be purchased by clicking {here}. If you wanted to make a more challenging task for a student you could place two jars into one task box so the student has to sort as well. This is the second jar included in the Lakeshore pack. I used another almond container for the activity. And obviously a hole punch to put the holes in the lid. Students have to put the beads into the container through the holes. I saw someone else blog about these small paint containers they found at the Dollar Store. They really are great! I bought four of them and used one for this work box. Students simply push the pom-poms into the container. This activity is similar to the Lakeshore bucket with buttons. I found the small yellow containers at the Dollar Tree in the baby section. They come in a multi-pack which is nice, BUT, they are a pain to cut holes in the top. It's a much harder plastic than I thought, and it cracked in the corners. If I hadn't gone through so much trouble to cut the slot in, I probably would have used another almond container. This was one of the first work box activities I made. I recycled a cookie dough container and cut holes in the lid. Then students just have to put pom-poms into the holes. I'd like to re-do this container at some point because most students catch on that the middle hole is big enough to just drop the pom-pom in versus pushing it through the hole. I don't know if you would call this a "put in" task, but I do. They're putting pegs in a peg board! I can also guarantee you that this peg board is older than I am. For this activity students push down the lever on the gumball machine to get a stone out, then they have to place the stone in the container. I liked the idea of students using their index finger to get the lever done-- additional fine motor practice. Sometimes more than one stone may come out, but that's okay. So there you have it. Those are our current "put in" activities. I hope you get some new ideas for your own work boxes from these. Next I'll share our sorting activities.
Free Printable Daily Work For 9/8/2015 4th and 5th Grade I haven’t thought about sharing our daily work with you all but decided someone out there might find use for it as well. These are a f…
Dale Chihuly is one of my favorite glass artist. You see his work a lot here in the Northwest. He even had a piece on the Frasier TV show. But not all of us can do blown glass. I really like wh…
A Delicious Lesson All Students Can Sink Their Teeth Into Curriculum Design % %
Get this free magnet worksheet to use when you test the magnetism of everyday objects. Perfect for kids ages 4-6!
Inside you'll find an easy step-by-step how to draw a Minecraft Self Portrait & Minecraft Coloring Page. Stop by and grab yours for free.
This is a fun worksheet to practice pronouns with your EFL students.
Sales orders list designed by Anton Yefimenko. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global community for designers and creative professionals.
I have a new freebie set ready this week! This set has three puzzles all about bunnies! Not quite in time for Easter, but it's generic enough for any time of the year. One puzzle is a maze in which solvers have to help the mommy bunny gather up her baby bunnies from around the garden. Another puzzle teaches students about bunny related words while they find them in a word search. And the last puzzle challenges students to help a bunny across a river to find her pile of veggies! This puzzle is a new puzzle for me, and I'm excited about it! The solvers has to follow a pattern of shapes, hopping along each shape 'stepping stone', to get to the other side. My kids and I enjoyed doing these! (You can find more of these puzzles in my All About Shapes puzzle pack too!) All About Shapes is available in my TpT store for $4.00 and contains 20 puzzles for young solvers. These puzzles are geared towards kindergarteners and first graders, but pre-schoolers should be able to handle many of these puzzles with help from their parents. This pack contains 3 dot-to-dots, 3 river crossings, 3 mazes, 3 word searches, 4 coloring pages, 2 counting riddles, a sudoku, and a crossword! It's packed with fun ways to practice shape recognition and even learn some new shapes! You can download the Cub Corner or purchase All About Shapes at my TpT store! UPDATE: I no longer have the Cub Corner sets in my store. Just click on the picture to download. Also, the All About Shapes set has been retired, so you can download a free copy by clicking on that picture. Enjoy!
As teachers, we have an unending to-do list. One task that can easily swallow up our time if we let it, is grading. We all understand the importance of knowing where our kiddos stand in their learning
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Are you trying to get rid of your upper arm flab fat? These arm toning exercises will help you get rid of those flabby arms.
For our learners who need to work on foundational learning skills, such as simple matching, I have always love creating hands on task boxes put-in tasks and color sorting tasks. My classroom closet always looked like it could be featured on an episode of hoarders. I kept every shoe box, coffee container, baby jar, and
As frustrating as power struggles and boundary tests are, they’re 100 percent developmentally appropriate for your young child. Here's why, plus practical tricks to make your life as a parent easier.
The Best Dad Jokes that will have the family belly laughing. We found the Best Dad Jokes, not just ok ones, but the Best Dad Jokes, The corniest of them all!
If I Were a Superhero Identify a few well-known superheroes with your students and brainstorm adjectives that describe these superheroes and their actions. After reviewing the list, ask students to identify people in their real lives that possess these characteristics. Ask students to complete this thinksheet and describe what kind…
If there is one thing I have learned from working with preschoolers and now, homeschooling my own preschooler, it is that they love, more than anything else,
My name is Kalie Schult and I am a PE teacher from Winterse, Iowa. I posted a video of my students playing Strikerball on Twitter for my striking unit in PE and it was a hit! Below I have shared … Read More
Watch this video tutorial that will show you step by step how to crochet an invisible decrease for Amigurumi. Visit my blog for more free Amigurumi patterns and tutorials you will love!
3d book, anaglyph, 3d glasses
This post contains affiliate links. Positional Words are some of those concrete concepts that students need to be familiar with. They are a part of our every day vocabulary, especially in the classroom! “Sit beside her.” “Line up behind the door.” “Walk in front of the building.” These are just a few phrases I can ... Read More about Positional Words FREEBIE
This is an idea that comes from one of my interns this year, Tracy. She saw it in another classroom. I could not find anything about it online so I just had to make my own poster. When you begin teaching handwriting on the “lines” this is such a helpful visual for the children. Chicken […]
Unlock the magic of DIY sensory bottles at Especially Education. Discover step-by-step guides and ideas to create your own captivating sensory bottle experiences.
Classroom jobs work great in middle school, too! Learn about the 10 jobs I use in my classroom and the system I use to keep everything running smoothly.
Anyone who knows me, reads this blog, or uses my resources knows that I am passionate about differentiation. I think that is because I grew ...
Back to School is right around the corner for us and I am SUPER excited to kick of this school year with some fun, hands-on and engaging resources for The
Being able to run a 5k in under 25 minutes is a goal for many runners who are wanting to achieve their next PB or improve their race times.
This activity pairs perfectly with the book "Stand in My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy" by Bob Sornson. There is a video of the book being read aloud on YouTube. Kids identify what gives them certain emotions and learn that they can know how others feel by thinking "how would I feel if it were me?"
I really dislike icebreakers. They make me cringe. When I became a teacher, I swore I would spare my students the torture of icebreakers. That being said, I also realize how important it is to buil…
Look Skinny in Pictures with 10 life hacks sure to slim you down! Learn from a top fashion blogger how to look skinny in photos.
These spooky mummy eyes are such a fun Halloween project! I saw a version of this project online and just had to recreate it. The oil pastels are a bit messy but this is a no-paint project that can be completed in one art session.
Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet Recently my 1st grade classroom has morphed into a K/1 combination classroom and then resulted in HUGE gaps (academically, socially, & emotionally) between my s…