Rice Box

I've never been a big fan of using food for non-food purposes. For example, I really disapprove of pasta necklaces on principle. However, I do love my rice box and, sanitary purists plug your ears, I've been using the same rice for 4 years. We build immunity in my classroom!

I hide all kinds of things in the rice throughout the year. I don't bring it out until Halloween, when I hide some themed erasers. What you see in the picture is a selection of the mini-toys I hide around December. Sometimes I hide picture magnets and we put them up on a surface as we find them. As usual, say sounds, make sentences, describe objects at each turn.

Folder Articulation Activity

This one takes some work, but I used it as a warm-up for many weeks in a row. When the students and I were tired of it, I packed it up with this note and sent it home for homework.

I made a Tree.

I originally made this tree at the suggestion of my awesome special ed prek teacher. We hung Easter eggs on it that had different pictures inside (and some had candy - intermittent reinforcement heh heh).  I found, though, that I can hang lots of stuff on it through the year, like these flowers we made in the spring (each petal was earned by doing a speech task, but you knew that already!)

All I did was pour some plaster of paris in an old plastic flower pot (that I lined with a plastic shopping bag- gah so much plastic!). Then I stuck a suitable branch in it, and then put some gravel from my driveway around it for aesthetic purposes.

What else could we hang on this?

Cookie's Week

Cookie's Week is a nice, short, low text book with one of the most captivating first lines ever:

"On Monday, Cookie fell in the toilet".

I have yet to see a straight face after that! Below is a link to a Google doc I made (hope it works!). It contains scans of parts of each page of the book (just for reference) and some of the 'wh' questions I use for each page. I made 2 sets of days of the week so we could do some matching. The kids can order the days, then move the Cookie portrait along as they try to recall the book. I also made a word document with "On Monday..." etc, so the students can make their OWN week with what they do, did, or would LIKE to do. I don't have a file for that, but it is easy to make.

Here are some of the questions I ask while going through the book:
Click here for Google Doc with Scans and Questions.

Transportation and Cookie Sheets

Once again, I have to say that a unit study of "Transportation" is rich with ideas - both online, in your own toy box, and in the library. I just wanted to share one nifty idea pinched from Darci, one of our preK teachers. What I have here is a cookie sheet from the thrift store (with a background drawn with Sharpie markers), pictures of various vehicles, cut and laminated, double-faced tape, and a sheet of magnet. A great sorting activity!