I am always looking for new ways to introduce the letters of the alphabet! I use anchor charts, centers, songs, digital games, books, play-doh, and almost every other kind of manipulative that I can to make those alphabet letters and sounds stick. A couple of years ago, I observed an amazing teacher modeling shared reading during a professional development day. It was at that moment that I decided, shared reading would be the perfect way to not only introduce the letters of the alphabet, but also help those new readers develop phonemic awareness, understand concepts of print, be exposed to rhyming, and so much more! I sat down one quiet Sunday afternoon, and started writing these alphabet poems for shared reading. It was my goal to write one for each letter of the alphabet, and then let my kinders create a poetry notebook with all of the poems included. I am happy to say that I was able to get this accomplished. (Some of those letters were tough!) Now that they are complete, we will add a poem to our poetry notebook each week as we focus on a new letter. I will also keep these displayed in the classroom so that they can be used as a reference by the kiddos. If you would like to use these poems in your classroom, follow this link to get the printable version.

Morning Math Tubs are a great way to keep your kiddos busy while you are taking care of attendance, lunch count, and those other morning tasks that need your attention. I created this set of morning math tubs, or math centers, to use at the beginning of the school year when patterns are introduced. This set includes 10 math tubs, with 10 separate patterning activities. I tried to include math manipulatives that most kindergarten classes have such as teddy bear counters, pattern blocks, linking chains, and more. I also created them in BLACK OR WHITE to save ink. Check them out below. If you want to use them in your classroom, click this link to get them.

 Teddy Bear Patterns

The kiddos create patterns, and extend patterns using teddy bear counters.