My little one LOVES to pokey pin! Why Pokey Pin? It can be a perfect way to help cranky, agitated little ones relax and refocus. It helps with fine motor coordination. Once finished, the pages make a great window display in the classroom. Some of your kids will also enjoy the sensory experience of running their finger along the lines created at the back of the page when its finished. Alphabet Pokey Pin Pages I have made a new set of 'Pinning Pages' for my TpT store. Just print of the relevant page. Staple it to the front of a coloured piece of paper. How to Pokey Pin Provide your students with a drawing pin (push pin) - I like the giant push pins (Amazon affiliate link). Show them how to work on a soft surface or stack of newspaper. Demonstrate and emphasise the safety rules of working with pins. I show them that we always point the pin down, and never move around the classroom with it. Also emphasise the importance of putting the pin away correctly when the activity is finished. I have never had any problems with this activity after a thorough mini-lesson on safety. We have created a set of printable rule posters if this would help you. Students push their pin through each dot on the page to create a small hole. Then once finished, the white cover paper is removed to reveal the design. This spider is just one design out of 26 included in my new "A-Z Pinning Pages" product. Free Sample Pokey Pin Page If you would like to try out this activity we share this pumpkin page with you over in our free Coloring Club library! We know your little learners will love it!
Check out these busy bags that require no prep on your part! These busy bags are the best around for fine motor, color sorting and a host of other skills!
New, Improved ABC Pokey Pin Centers that students love to do while exercising their hand muscles for fine motor coordination and learning the formation of their alphabet letters at the same time. Each letter has a dot for beginning and arrows with numbered steps to help students engrain HOW letters are correctly formed while getting fine motor exercise for their hand. These are independent centers that children can do on their own while you lead small groups. There are 4 choices for easy differentiation: both uppercase and lowercase both on same page, both uppercase and lowercase with picture to represent sound, and then a separate page for upper and lowercase for people who want to get creative. Advanced pokey pinners can cut out separate letters and adhere them to form their name or even sight words! Check out the seasonal/holiday monthly Pokey Pin kits bundled at a discounted rate! The only materials needed are a push pin for each student and these papers stapled to a piece of construction paper and you will have ready-to-go literacy centers. Directions: Put a staple at the top mid center and bottom mid center with the alphabet page on the top. Cut in half and you will have two sets. This must be done on a rug or carpet squares so that the push pin will go through the papers and create a pin hole. Students will poke the push pins along the dotted lines . Upon completion, students remove the white paper to reveal the dotted picture ready to hang on a window to let the light shine through. Children find this activity very relaxing and enjoyable and find the end results magical!
If there is one thing I know, it is busy boys. Trust me on this one. I have two of the busiest little people you have ever seen. Which, of course, is one of the reasons I am also a self-made expert on Quiet Time. As you may know, I wrote a bit about the
12+ I Spy Game Printables. Fun I Spy activity free printables for a rainy day, road trip, classroom party activity for kids.
Students love playing the Math Spinner Games for Numbers 1-10 while working on their counting 1-10, number sense and subitizing skills.
Here’s a project I “completed” a few months ago…I am still adding to it and changing things, so I guess it will never be done, but you know what I mean. I made this quiet book for my daughter to take to
Some kids need quiet activities to keep their minds and hands busy during read-aloud time. This post has 10 great ideas for your young kids.
Camping is one of the most fun activities we do as a family, but we don't always get to go out camping as we would like. Sometimes it's too rainy. Sometimes it costs too much. Sometimes we just don't have
For this Colors and Patterns Busy Bag, children will practice identifying colors and creating patterns using simple materials
Need some busy bag ideas for kids? We have 12 great ideas for the best activity bags for toddlers and preschoolers! Some of these busy bags are even great
Quite time activities are just a little bit of magic to help you get through your day. I’ve searched around and found some of the very best ways to keep your toddler or preschooler entertained during quiet time each day. Quiet Games and Activities for Toddlers (Free) Star Wars Coloring Sheets (Free) Finding Dory Coloring...
Learn to identify 2D shapes in kindergarten with this free roll-a-shape activity. Kindergarten students need to get familiar with basic 2D shapes like the rectangle, square, triangle, hexagon, circle and triangle right away. Here is a free beginning-of-the-year activity kinders can use to practice recognizing shapes. Let’s go over what teaching 2D shapes looks like...
Materials: -Tin container with lid -Quiet and noisy items from around the house What I placed in the tray Quiet Items: tissue paper, card stock paper, straw, foam number 1, plastic fly, tin foil, wax paper, pom pom ball, sticker, and pipe cleaner. Noisy Items: coin, apple button, earring, car, basketball easer, whistle, plastic letter D, small metal cookie cutter, and glass pebble. *I found this small (magnetic) tin container at Michaels in the dollar bins. How to play: I had E place an item in the container and he would shake it to see if the item is quiet or noisy. To begin I placed an item in the container, shook it and said, "This is noisy!" And then I I took that item out and replaced it with a quiet item, shook it and said, "This item is quiet." I asked him if he would like to try. Of course he did! He would pick an item to place in the container and as he shook it I would state wether the item was noisy or loud. Then I would prompt him by asking if the item was noisy or quiet. *This would be a great game activity when learning the five senses: the sense of hearing. Throughout the month I will share game activities for the sense of taste, sight, touch and smell. :) Thanks for your support and stopping by! Love to hear from you. Blessings, Erica Follow on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLittleSonbeam Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyLittleSonbeam Follow on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/pin/345721708866250375/
Having quiet bags can make church or any place you need your child to be quiet a lot easier. Here's my 5 tips to making it work.
Looking for a quiet activity for your child? Try these free printable roads! The perfect roads for toy cars and mini trains!
So it’s late November and we have just a few first graders who have not yet mastered their letters and sounds. For these little firsties, we needed to readjust their intervention plan and bump it up a knotch in terms of intensity. It’s always difficult to find time in a jam-packed school day, but mastering letters […]
Inside: I believe that engaging kids in creative play don't have to be overwhelming, so yourself a headache with these useful tips you need to know before starting making a quiet book. Okay, you decided to make a DIY quiet book as a present, but know what? Are you a bit confused and overwhelmed with
These Fall Counting Centers for Preschool and Kindergarten are a fun way for kids to practice counting, numbers 1-10 with low prep fun!
A kindergarten blog to get you through the year! Find art projects, common core standards, freebies, abc's, counting, holidays, field trips...
Have you seen them? Pool noodles are everywhere... especially Pinterest. I'm here to share my ideas on using pool noodles for word work, spelling, and sight word activities in the classroom or for your homeschooler. Keep reading for my "oopsie" moments as well! If you are wondering why pool noodles are all the craze, let me tell you why...CHEAP. QUIET. EASY TO FIND. TACTILE. FUN. Seriously, pool noodles are my new favorite manipulatives because they are so inexpensive and don't make any noise! They are colorful, easy to manipulate, and perfect for fine motor skills. You can stock your literacy centers with pool noodles for building sight words, practicing spelling words, creating word families, or working on CVC/CVCe words for just a couple bucks. I was cutting my pool noodles while my littles were napping. My cat was very skeptical. She couldn't imagine what we were going to do with all of these. As soon as my preschooler saw these, he was all over it. He wanted to build every word he knew! He started with his name and then progressed to some simple sight words that we keep on index cards. We worked together on this activity, but he could also work independently by using the sight word cards to build his towers. These noodle letters are great for building spelling words and word families too. Here is my #1 tip for teachers and homeschoolers who are planning to run to the Dollar Store to bring this activity to life for their kiddos... Think about which way you write the letters on the noodle pieces. When I first started writing with a Sharpie, I was writing them all sideways. OOPS moment #1. Here is my next tip- think about how you want kids to build the words. Do you want them to build towers like this? If so, a paper towel holder from the Dollar Tree is perfect. If you would rather them build the words horizontally, like they are written, you will want to use something like a dowel rod instead. This is my four-year old, Reed, when he first started building his name. He started with R, so he ended up spelling "deer." Oops #2. I'm loving pool noodles for hands on, easy, and fun additions to any Pre K, Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade literacy center! I would love to find out how you use noodles in your classroom or with your homeschooler. Leave a comment and share your ideas!
25 Quiet Time Activities for Kids. Keep your kids entertained with these educational activities.
Kindergarten students will enjoy these INSTANT Tubs N Trays activities. These activities can be used for fine motor work and centers.
possibly can! My kiddos have loved the medial sound activities, as well as the 2-D shapes, 3-D shapes and more! So, the endless bundle was born!
I am constantly amazed at all the talent that the readers of this blog have. I receive submission after submission that just leave me floored. Sabrina's quiet book is no exception - from the fantastic embroidery, to the awesome cover, to each and every one of the creative, cute, and fun pages. Some of my favorite pages from Sabrina's quiet book include her solar system page (wow! So cute and cool and the detail on her planets is incredible!), her farm page (the ears of corn are awesome), her refrigerator page (looooove all the food), and her forest page (again - the detail is just incredible). It would be hard to not be inspired by this book. So please, enjoy! Interview What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. My name is Sabrina and I am a stay at home mama from Germany. Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? I made it for my wonderful daughter Christina. She is almost 2 years old and already loves her book. What's your level of sewing experience? I think I am advanced. How long did it take you? I don't know... Maybe 2-4 hours per page. I do all embroidery files by my own which has taken the most time to complete. Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? Most ideas I found on this blog. I made my own embroidery and cutting files. I am not very good in handstiching. So I decided my machines can do the work :). Here are two other pages I found my inspiration from - Solar system: Imagine Our Life: Solar System Quiet Book Page; Forest page: Meli Melo: Wild Animal Habitat. How did you bind your quiet book? I used grommets and binder rings. What material are the pages made out of? I don't know the English word. In German it's called embroidery felt. It is for embroidery applications and it is washable and stable. What other materials did you use? Cotton and fleece for applications. Ribbons, buttons, KamSnaps, and felt. How much did all the supplies cost you? I think the materials which I used have a value of more than 60€. About $80. What's your favorite page? Why? Ooooh! This is hard to say! But my top 3 pages are - solar system - farm page - forest page. Thank you so much for sharing your book with us, Sabrina. It's fantastic! Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!
How to Quiet a Noisy Classroom, are you looking for some new techniques to to bring calm and order back to your loud classroom? I have a few ideas that might help calm that too loud classroom and help to bring some peace and quiet to your noisy classroom.
Did you catch the first week of quiet boxes I shared? If not, you can see them right here, This Week's Quiet Boxes. As promised, here is our next week of quiet boxes. As always, these boxes are very, very simple. They are calming, quiet activities, ideas for letting little ones relax and slow down,
TRANSPORT QUIET BOOK – PDF / SVG PATTERNS Buy 3 patterns and get 20% OFF! Use the promo code BELL20! https://www.etsy.com/shop/BusyKidsBook?coupon=BELL20 Learn how to make a quiet book for true construction lovers with this PDF sewing pattern. This is a quick and fun sewing project, suitable even for beginners. TRANSPORT quiet book pattern contains patterns for: ✔ 3 construction vehicles: loader, crane, truck ✔ House under construction ✔ Felt tetris game ✔ Pocket for storing pieces SVG FILES for your cutting machine are also available in the attached archived file. If you can't unzip the file, please write me and I'll send you SVG files the same day. THE SIZE is nearly 7x7 inches (17x17 cm) SKILL LEVEL The pattern is suitable for beginners LANGUAGE: English (!) INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT INCLUDED. You will be able to download 1 file with patterns immediately after purchase. In the following link, you can see how to download a digital file: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115013328108?flash_digest=27cb6cd630570e29f1ed14d1112905243201f953&segment=shopping If you have problems downloading directly, please contact me. PDF files will be sent within 24 hours to the email associated with your Etsy account. Thank you for visiting! To view my other quiet book patterns, please click here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BusyKidsBook
For the little kids, I wanted to do some sort of activity to go along with the same letter that I used for the older kids version. So for these they are either on printer paper size for easy at home printing or you can take it to the copy shop and get it printed. You will need velcro or magnet bits for some of the pages that have pieces to go with it. You can easily attach an envelope to the back and laminate the whole page together then use an exacto knife and "cut" open the envelope to hold the pieces. You can also laminate and use just as table activities instead of a book.
FREE printable rainbow counting beads busy bag math activity for preschoolers and kindergarteners to practice 1:1 correspondence, counting, number recognition, fine motor skills during the spring or for St. Patricks Day in your classroom or at home! Use during quiet time or morning welcome work.
*Included in Math and Literacy Bundle. These spring flowers themed math and literacy centers are perfect for preschool, pre-k and kindergarten. Skills covered: Letter identification Number identification Beginning letter sounds Letter sound isolation Number sense Phonics skills CVC word work Sight words/high frequency words and more! I have got you covered with these hands-on literacy and math centers! Many of the resources come with optional recording sheets so that you can tailor the centers to meet the needs of your classroom and individual students. Better yet, the resources included in this pack are all low or no-prep! All cuts are straight lines and several centers are print and play. In addition, all resources come in color and black and white for ease of use. Have a look at the photos to get a glimpse of the center activities. Here is a list of the centers included in this pack: Beginning Sounds Puzzles Letter Sound Isolation Mats Alphabet Cover Up Game CVC Word Work Mats CVC Clip Cards Editable Spin and Build Word Work Mats Editable Hide and Seek for Words Number Matching Puzzles Number Bond Mats Making Ten Puzzles Missing Number Clip Cards 100 and 120 Chart Find and Cover One More, One Less Mats Roll and Cover the Number
Use these wrist range of motion exercises to improve wrist ROM, wrist stability and use during functional activities.
Fun and simple ideas for classroom management from the best resource available to teachers: other teachers! Top hallway procedure transitions and ideas.
Pool noodles aren’t just for having fun in the water – check out this collection of 16 pool noodle crafts for kids to keep your little ones entertained!
Here is another great idea for a felt busy box, a build a bug busy box, your toddler or preschooler will love it!