Alphabet Activities for Preschool

Swat the Fly Alphabet Activity

Pick a card and swat the matching letter. Differentiate by having children match uppercase to uppercase, uppercase to lowercase, or letter sound to letter.

Letter Formation Alphabet Boards

Practice letter formation with these hands-on alphabet boards. Trace the uppercase and lowercase letter, write it independently, and then build it with play-doh.

Mix Them Up Small Group Alphabet Game

Children pick a card from the deck and produce either the name of the letter or the letter sound (differentiate based on the group). If they get it correct they can keep the card, if not it goes to the bottom of the deck. When you pull a “Mix Them Up!” card, everyone pretends to mix a bowl and all cards go back to start.

Build the House Letter Sound Center

Play construction worker for the day and build letter-sound houses! The base of each house has an uppercase and lowercase letter, children will find the door and roof that has images with that letter sound.

Lock & Key Letter Recognition

Place the keys with the correct lock by matching up the letters of the alphabet.

Mama Mia Pizzeria

Build a slice of pizza by finding the crust, sauce and cheese with the same letters on them.

Sunny Letter Sound Puzzles

Complete the puzzle by matching the image to the beginning sound of the alphabet.

Splat that Letter

A fun way to practice letter recognition. Look at the letter n the top of the page and find all of the matching letters. Take your play-doh and “splat” it onto the matching letters.

Pencil Puzzles

Build pencils by matching the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter.

Bubblegum Consonant Vowel Sort

Sort the alphabet bubble gum pieces by consonants and vowels.

Alphabet Clip Cards

Use a clothes pin to clip the letter that represents the beginning sound of the image on the card.

Sandbox Alphabet Activity

Practice letter formation with this fun and tactile alphabet activity. Children pick a card and then form that letter in the sand with their fingers

. It even includes a spinner so they can determine how many times they should write the letter.

Beginning Sound Boards

Find the missing beginning sound and circle it. For added fun, build the letter with play dough.

Popsicle Alphabet Mats

Practice letter formation by building uppercase and lowercase letters with popsicle sticks

Play Dough Letter Sound Cards

Build objects that begin with specific letter sounds out of play dough.

Cube Alphabet Mats

Build letters of the alphabet using snap cubes.

Alphabet Books

Student-made books for each letter of the alphabet! Children illustrate each page of their book with items beginning with that sound. You can add as many blank pages as you’d like.

Alphabet Dough Mats

Build uppercase and lowercase letters with play dough.

Guided Readers

The perfect guided reader for small groups, based on sounds of the alphabet.

Dab-A-Dot Alphabet Mats

Work with the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet with these dab-a-dot mats. They can use bingo daubers, dot stickers, pom-poms and more!

Digital Lowercase Alphabet Activity

Click and drag the matching lowercase letters

Digital Uppercase Alphabet Activity

Click and drag the matching uppercase letters

Digital Letter Sounds Activity

Select the UFO with the correct letter sound

The post Alphabet Activities for the Year! appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

If you’re looking for a fun alphabet activity that will help your students master the alphabet and letter sounds, then I’ve got you covered! These free alphabet printable letter books are an amazing learning tool for your preschoolers!

Alphabet Activities for Prek

While teaching the alphabet, there are a lot of different skills to cover. We need to master letter recognition, letter formation, and letter sounds. The best way to help your preschool students with this is to give them plenty of opportunities to practice, along with a mix of printables and hands-on learning.

At the end of each letter study, we create our alphabet books!

Alphabet books come in the shape of each letter. The cover shows an image that starts with that letter for reference. Following the cover are blank pages. You can print as many or as little as you’d like.

Children illustrate each page of their alphabet book with an image starting with that letter sound.

Free Alphabet Printable Letters in Action

Let’s take a look at my preschooler working on his letter B and C books.

After they illustrate and color their book, they can label their pictures. If they are not ready to sound out words, you can always write it for them. I like to write it in a highlighter, which allows them to trace it and practice letter formation and proper pencil grip.

I love this activity because the finished product is one that they can save and look at over and over again.

Children get to be creative while also practicing a key phonics skill.

At the end of our alphabet curriculum, we will have a full set of student-made books for letters A through Z!

These alphabet printable letter books are a part of our Alphabet Curriculum, but you can snag them for FREE here!

You Might Also Like:

• Hands-On Alphabet Activities
• No-Prep Alphabet Worksheets

Some of my favorite alphabet games and activities

The post Letters FREE Alphabet Printable appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Alphabet Theme Centers for Preschoolers & Kindergarteners

Let’s talk about alphabet theme centers for our preschoolers! This is my favorite time of day because I am all about hands-on learning! Watching students interact with each other, become engaged with a task, and learn at the same time…I mean, what more can we ask for?

Fun Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

Let’s start with letter recognition activities. These alphabet theme centers are perfect for preschoolers as they are learning to identify the letters of the alphabet.

1. Mama Mia Pizzeria Center

It’s important that children are able to identify both uppercase and lowercase letters. With this alphabet center, preschoolers can build a slice of pizza, by matching the crust, sauce, and cheese with all of the same letters of the alphabet.

2. Fly Swatter Letter Recognition Game

This is an absolute preschool favorite. Put out the fly alphabet cards and give each child a fly swatter (you can grab them at the dollar store). Pull a card from the instructor deck and say the letter name. Children then have to swat at the bug card that matches.

Differentiate this activity by producing the letter sound instead of just naming the letter, and then have children swat the letter of the alphabet that produces said sound.

3. Lock and Key Letter ID

Here’s another great alphabet theme center. Print the locks and place them on a gift bag or a basket, anything students can drop the “key cards” into. Children pick a key card and find the matching lock. They place the lock into the bag.

4. Pencil Puzzles

Children not only have to be able to identify the letters of the alphabet, but they also have to be able to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase and know which two go together.

One alphabet theme center we love for this skill is our pencil puzzles.

Children complete each pencil by matching the uppercase and lowercase letters. You can do this activity by placing all of the pieces on the carpet or tabletop. Or you can use a pocket chart. I prefer this method because it keeps things organized and I’m able to set up the first half of the puzzle in alphabetical order.

Here is what our pocket chart looks like before we start the alphabet center.

And here is what it looks like once my children have completed it!

Alphabet Small Group Activities for Preschool

Alphabet theme activities not only make great centers, but they also work well in small groups. Whether it be guided reading warm-ups, phonics groups, or intervention work, these next few alphabet activities are perfect!

5. Letter Formation Sandboxes

Letter formation is tricky, so it’s good to find multiple ways to practice. Below are our Letter Formation Sandboxes.

6. Sunny Day Letter Sounds

Now let’s talk about some alphabet theme activities for preschoolers that involve identifying letter sounds.

Sunny Day Letter Sounds is a puzzle activity where children have to match the letter to the picture that starts with that sound.

7. Beginning Sound Clip Cards

Clip cards are awesome because not only does it practice a given skill, it works on fine motor skills as well. Preschoolers have to look at the image in the center and clip a clothespin to the correct letter.

8. Beginning Sound Dry Erase Boards

Beginning Sound Dry Erase Boards are fun and also help children with identifying letter sounds and letter identification. There’s a picture clue and then the word. Except the word is missing the first letter. The board gives three options on the bottom for children to pick from. Two letters are incorrect and one is correct. If you laminate these boards children can use a dry erase marker to circle their answer. For extra fun I always have them then build the letter with play-doh and put it in the missing spot.

9. Build That House

Let children become construction workers for the day and have them “build” alphabet houses! The base of the house has a letter on it. Children must find the roof and door that have images that start with that letter sound.

Other Alphabet Activities You Might Like:

• Our full-year Alphabet Curriculum that provides everything you’ll need to create fluency with your preschoolers.

• No-prep alphabet worksheets
• Alphabet mats for centers
• How to successfully implement hands-on learning

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There are so many wonderful alphabet activities that can help children. As a part of our alphabet study, children work on identifying objects that start with that week’s letter sound. Once they’ve brainstormed their own list, they work on their Letter of the Week Take Home Book.

Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

First, let me share some of the alphabet activities we do prior to our alphabet books.

We do a lot of great hands-on work. We use cubes to build our letters on our Snap Cube Mats.

We build items that start with our letter of the week out of play-doh. Here’s an example from our Letter A unit.

We also work on a variety of no-prep worksheets.

And to finish off our alphabet study, we create student books that each child can take home and practice with.

Alphabet Learning Activities for Preschoolers

Our alphabet books can be used in so many ways. Not only do they focus on the given letter sound, but they give children an opportunity to practice reading, sight words, and tracking (one-to-one correspondence).

When I introduce this alphabet activity, children are given each page. They trace the letter on the front cover and then color it in. Following that, children take a picture walk and name each object, focusing on the letter sound they hear at the start of each word.

Afterward, we read the text, focusing on tracking our words, identifying sight words, and hearing the letter sound. Children can color and cut each page so that we can staple it and form a true alphabet book.

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the other components of our

Alphabet Curriculum

All of these alphabet activity printables for preschoolers shown in this post are from the Alphabet Curriculum: Letter of the Week. You can see more about this curriculum here!

Looking for more alphabet activities for preschoolers (printables and hands-on)?

• Swat the Fly Letter Recognition Game
• Build that House Letter Game

• Splat that Letter Book
• RTI Letter Identification Pack
• Alphabet Dough Mats

• Digital Uppercase Letter Match
• Digital Lowercase Letter Match
• Digital Beginning Sounds

The post Alphabet Activities: Letter Books appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Teaching children the alphabet is a long process, so why not make it fun! These alphabet activities for prek are a great way to engage students while also practicing letter identification, letter formation, and letter sounds. Check them out!

Fun Alphabet Activities for Prek

I love activities that can be used more than once. These alphabet learning activities do just that! All I have to do is laminate them, and now they can be used over and over.

These make great literacy centers, work for fast-finishers, and intervention group activities. Children take a mat, and form the uppercase and lowercase letter using play doh. Each mat has one set of letters, an image that starts with that sound, and the uppercase and lowercase letter in a traceable font.

Another alternative is to use cubes to build the letters. Children take snap cubes and place them on the mat to create both the uppercase and lowercase letters.

My son loves these mats. He makes sure to match the cubes to the color on the mat.

You know all of those craft supplies you hoard and never use? I bet you have some popsicle sticks laying around. So why not have children build the letters of the alphabet with them?

Alphabet Books

Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers at Home

These alphabet activities for PreK work great for homeschool settings as well as classroom setting. Like these dab-a-dot worksheets. You can use a variety of manipulatives to fill in the dots on the sheets. My go-to items include pom-poms, dot stickers, and bingo dabbers.

Here’s an example of a sheet that was completed using dot stickers.

Here’s an example of a sheet that was completed using pom-poms.

All of these alphabet mats are a part of our Alphabet Curriculum, which can be found here!

Fun Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

The last activity I’d like to share today is our Sound Mats. Similar to the above play-doh mats, this works with the child using play-doh. However, this time, they will build an item that starts with a specific letter sound. This alphabet activity is perfect for our prek students who are beginning to learn all of their new sounds.

Other Alphabet Activities

Repetition is key when it comes to learning the alphabet. Here are some other great letter activities for your preschool/pre-k and kindergarten children.

    Alphabet Worksheets                 Letter Sound Dough Mats            Splat that Letter

You Might Also Like These Posts and Resources:

• Free phonics pacing guide
• How to Successfully Implement Hands-On Learning
• Sunny Day Letter Sand Boxes
• No-Prep Letter Sound Worksheets

The post Alphabet Activities for Prek appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Learning the alphabet is one of the first phonics skills you will teach your preschoolers. This is a lengthy process as it includes so many different aspects. Preschoolers need to learn to visually discriminate between letters, recognize uppercase and lowercase, learn how to write letters, and memorize all of the letter sounds. Below are some of my favorite alphabet activities for preschoolers, in the form of no-prep worksheets and printables.

Alphabet Knowledge Activities for Preschoolers

Letter discrimination is a huge part of learning the alphabet. This “I Spy” worksheet is great because it helps children practice letter recognition and also helps with visual discrimination between uppercase and lowercase letters.

Grab the full Alphabet Curriculum Here!

They must identify the uppercase letters in the first half and color them in, and then work on the lowercase letter on the bottom half.

Alphabet Books

Alphabet Writing Activities for Preschoolers

We also need to give our pre k students ample practice with letter formation. By sprinkling alphabet writing activities into their work, they can begin to develop fluency with not only letter identification but also letter formation.

Here are some printable alphabet activities for preschoolers that we love!

“Looks Like, Sounds Like” allows preschoolers to recognize the letter, trace the letter of the alphabet, and hear the letter sound.

Alphabet Review Activities for Preschoolers

A definite class favorite is our color-by-the-code worksheets. I personally like these alphabet printables because they work on reviewing more than one letter at a time.

Alphabet Activities for Letter Sounds

Alphabet Activities for preschoolers must also include letter-sound printables! Take a look at some of my favorite letter-sound worksheets for preschoolers.

Working with images is a great way for children to make the connection between the word and sound they hear at the beginning.

All of these alphabet activity printables for preschoolers shown in this post are from the Alphabet Curriculum: Letter of the Week. You can see more about this curriculum here!

Looking for more alphabet activities for preschoolers (printables and hands-on)?

• Swat the Fly Letter Recognition Game
• Build that House Letter Game

• Splat that Letter Book
• RTI Letter Identification Pack
• Alphabet Dough Mats

• Digital Uppercase Letter Match
• Digital Lowercase Letter Match
• Digital Beginning Sounds

The post Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers: Printables Edition appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Let’s talk about the Lips the Fish reading strategy. Using Beanie Babies to help students remember key strategies is a great guided reading tool. Lips the Fish is a key strategy for your new(ish), readers. It involves teaching children to get their lips ready to make the first sound of the tricky word. Let’s get into it!

This is part three of a six-part blog series. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out parts 1 and 2.

• One to One Correspondence
• Eagle Eye: Using Picture Clues

What is the Lips the Fish Reading Strategy?

Lips the Fish reading strategy is about getting your lips ready to make the first sound. This reading strategy works really well with new readers who have a solid understanding of letter sounds. This works especially well when paired with the Eagle Eye reading strategy. Children should practice looking at the illustrations, and then the first letter of the word they are trying to decode. When paired with appropriately leveled texts, this can be very beneficial in figuring out the tricky word.

Here’s an example of a book I use with children when I first introduce the Lips the Fish reading strategy.

The combination of Eagle Eye and Lips the Fish can make decoding tricky words a breeze! With this introductory text, children have the Lips the Fish image above the word they should try to decode. In some cases, Eagle Eye is enough to help children read the word. However, there are instances where a picture can possibly represent more than one word. For example, looking at the images below, if children are only using picture clues, they may mistake the gorilla for a monkey. However, if they start to make the initial sound, they can self-check themselves and know that it is not a monkey.

Introducing the Lips the Fish Reading Strategy

The reason for using Beanie Babies to help teach reading strategies is because children find it easier to remember the characters than just the name of a strategy. And with remembering the characters, children can then make the connection to the reading strategy. It’s a win-win!

I refer to each Beanie Baby as our “Reading Buddies.” Whenever I introduce a new reading buddy I follow this routine:

• Show students the actual Beanie Baby and introduce them by name.
• Explain the reading strategy that this particular Beanie Baby wants us to remember. It sounds something like this:

“I want to introduce you to our next reading buddy. This is Lips the Fish. Lips the Fish reminds us to look at the first letter of the word we are trying to figure out so we can make that sound. She tells us to get our lips ready.”

• Model using the strategy. I display an appropriately leveled text on our smartboard for this.
• Give children a Lips the Fish reading strategy “watch” to wear. This gets them excited and wanting to use their new strategy. You can see a picture of my son rocking the Eagle Eye watch below!

• Do a group activity that encourages children to try the new strategy.

Lips the Fish Reading Strategy Activities

So now let’s talk about the kinds of activities we can do to help support the Lips the Fish reading strategy.  Here are some examples of Lips the Fish reading strategy activities.

1. Initial Sounds in Words with Pictures

Find pictures that could be perceived as two different words. For example, garbage or trash, jet or plane, bunny or rabbit.

If you haven’t taught children about Eagle Eye yet, make sure to check out this post before you go any further.

Below is an example of a guided reading warm-up that I use while teaching about Lips the Fish. Children have to look at the picture to help them figure out the word. However, the images on the cards can be perceived as something else, so it is imperative that they self-check by using the initial sound.

2. Using Lips the Fish in Sentences

Here is another Lips the Fish reading strategy activity that I like to use in small groups. It’s the same concept as the above activity, but slightly harder. Children will read a sentence and use both the picture clue and the initial sound to figure out the tricky word.

Lips the Fish Visuals

Providing visuals is a helpful tool for children. I like to hang up posters, provide desk plates, bookmarks, and more, to help children easily access our reading strategies.

Teaching Children to Use this Reading Strategy

When it comes time to start working on this reading strategy with your students, there are a few things you can do to guide them.

• Have children take a picture walk prior to reading
• Remind children to look for the pattern in the text
• Encourage them to track words on the page
• Review Eagle Eye and Lips the Fish
• Model getting stuck on the word that doesn’t match the pattern and using the illustrations to figure it out. Check your guess by now using the initial sound of the unknown word.
• Have children ask themselves, “Does this word make sense?”

I typically follow the above at the start of our guided reading lessons. This provides an opportunity to remind children of important strategies, but it also gives me a chance to work closely with individual children.

2. Buddy Badges: When I catch students using their reading strategy, I give them a Buddy Badge. Buddy Badges go on a chain and they say “I was caught using Lips the Fish”. Children can wear these Buddy Badges during reading groups and reading time. Throughout the rest of the day, they have a place to hang them in our room.

3. Self-Checking Charts: Another way to incentivize students is by providing self-checking charts. These charts are to be completed and filled in by the students themselves. Whenever they catch themselves using a strategy, they color the reading buddy in.

What’s Next?

While working with children in small groups, make sure to collect data so you understand which children need more support, and which are ready to move forward.

It is imperative that you find a system to help you monitor and track reading and comprehension progress. This will help you determine the next steps and plan the appropriate reading lessons to help them grow.

Taking notes during one-on-one reading conferences doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be a matter of jotting down keywords or phrases.

For me, these are the main things I want to collect data on:

• The date, name, and level of the text they are reading at the time of the conference
• The strategies they are using independently (with or without success in deciphering the word).
• Specific decoding observations. Example: “Attempts to sound out words but struggling with blending the sounds.”
• Specific comprehension observations. Example: “Answers recall questions easily”
• Goals and next steps. Determine what you want to work on with this specific child in order to push them to the next reading level.

Here’s an example of the sheets I use to track this information.

The post Lips the Fish Reading Strategy: Using the Initial Sound appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Let’s talk about Eagle Eye as a reading strategy. Using Beanie Babies to help students remember key strategies is a great guided reading tool. Eagle Eye is a key strategy for your new readers. It involves teaching children to utilize picture clues when they can not decode a word. Let’s get into it!

This is part of a 6 part series. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Part 1: How to Teach One to One Correspondance 

What is the Eagle Eye Reading Strategy?

The Eagle Eye reading strategy is about using picture clues to figure out the unknown word. This reading strategy works really well with new and non-readers because their texts allow for it. They typically have only a few words per page, made up of mostly sight words, and follow a pattern. Each page typically has one “tricky” word on it. That is where using the pictures comes in.

Here’s an example of two pages from a book where Eagle Eye would help children figure out the word that doesn’t match the pattern.

On each page of this book, it says “Get the (insert ingredient).” Both words “get” and “the” are sight words, but they also follow a pattern. Guided reading texts for new readers often follow a similar layout.

With the understanding of the pattern, and the ability to use picture clues, they can read this book. The picture clues help them to figure out the tricky words, such as “tomato” and “pepper.”

Introducing Eagle Eye Reading Strategy

The reason I love using Beanie Babies to help teach reading strategies is because children find it easier to remember the characters than just the name of a strategy. And with remembering the characters, children can then make the connection to the reading strategy. It’s a win-win!

I refer to each Beanie Baby as our “Reading Buddies.” Whenever I introduce a new reading buddy I follow this routine:

• Show students the actual Beanie Baby and introduce them by name.
• Explain the reading strategy that this particular Beanie Baby wants us to remember.  In this case, it would sound like this:
  • “I want to introduce you to one of my reading buddies, his name is Eagle Eye. Eagle Eye helps us remember to look at the pictures when we get stuck on a tricky word. He tells us to use our eyes to look at the illustrations.”
• Model using the strategy. I display an appropriately leveled text on our smartboard for this.
• Give children an Eagle Eye reading strategy “watch” to wear. This gets them excited and wanting to use their new strategy.

• Do a group activity that encourages children to try the new strategy.

Eagle Eye Reading Strategy Activities

So now let’s talk about the kinds of activities we can do to help support the Eagle Eye reading strategy. We want children to understand that illustrations are there for a reason. They help give meaning to the story. They can also help clarify words for us. Here are some examples of Eagle Eye reading strategy activities.

1. Picture Walks

Picture walks are when children flip through the book prior to reading and examine the illustrations. This is a helpful strategy for a few reasons. It helps to activate background knowledge. Children can become familiarized with the topic of the text prior to reading. It can also act as a way to engage and elicit excitement for the book.

2. Matching Pictures with Words

Any activities that have children practice matching pictures to words will help solidify the importance of picture clues.

3. Practice Sentences

Have children practice sentences where one word can be figured out by looking at a picture. This is a great warm-up activity idea for guided reading groups.

Visuals

Providing visuals is a helpful tool for children. I like to hang up posters, provide desk plates, bookmarks, and more, to help children easily access our reading strategies.

Teaching Children to Use the Reading Strategy

When it comes time to start working on this strategy with your students, there are a few things you can do to guide them.

• Teach children to recognize the pattern in the text
• Take picture walks
• Encourage them to track words on the page
• Model getting stuck on the word that doesn’t match the pattern and using the illustrations to figure it out
• Practice looking at words next to pictures

I typically follow the above at the start of our guided reading lessons. This provides an opportunity to remind children of important strategies, but it also gives me a chance to work closely with individual children.

2. Buddy Badges: When I catch students using their reading strategy, I give them a Buddy Badge. Buddy Badges go on a chain and they say “I was caught using Eagle Eye”. Children can wear these Buddy Badges during reading groups and reading time. Throughout the rest of the day, they have a place to hang them in our room.

3. Self-Checking Charts: Another way to incentivize students is by providing self-checking charts. These charts are to be completed and filled in by the students themselves. Whenever they catch themselves using a strategy, they color the reading buddy in.

What’s Next?

While working with children in small groups, make sure to collect data so you understand which children need more support, and which are ready to move forward.

It is imperative that you find a system to help you monitor and track reading and comprehension progress. This will help you determine the next steps and plan the appropriate reading lessons to help them grow.

Taking notes during one-on-one reading conferences doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be a matter of jotting down keywords or phrases.

For me, these are the main things I want to collect data on:

• The date, name, and level of the text they are reading at the time of the conference
• The strategies they are using independently (with or without success in deciphering the word).
• Specific decoding observations. Example: “Attempts to sound out words but struggling with blending the sounds.”
• Specific comprehension observations. Example: “Answers recall questions easily”
• Goals and next steps. Determine what you want to work on with this specific child in order to push them to the next reading level.

Here’s an example of the sheets I use to track this information.

The post Eagle Eye Reading Strategy: Using Picture Clues appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Now is the perfect time to pull out all of your best winter picture books. I love engaging children with great read-alouds and using them to springboard discussions and activities. Below is a list of the best winter picture books, broken up by topic. I also share some great activities that go great with these stories. So if you’re looking for some fun themes to use this winter, look no further!

If you don’t care about it being broken into subjects and just want the complete list, click here.

The Best Winter Picture Books About Snow

Snow, in general, is an exciting concept for children. I love finding ways to create thematic phonics and math activities based on the idea of snow!
Here are some of the best picture books about snow.

Non-Fiction Books About Snow For Kids

Let’s face it, snow is magical, even as an adult. But it’s still important to understand the science behind snow. These are some of my favorite non-fiction books about snow.

• Snow is Falling
• Curious About Snow
• Snow
• All About Winter Weather
• The Story of Snow

Some science activities that I love to do after reading these non-fiction books include making fake snow, and exploring snow volcanos!

Fiction Books About Snow for Kids

The best picture books about snow lend to fun discussions and great activities. Here are a few of my favorites!

• The Snowy Nap
• The Three Snow Bears
• Ten Sparkly Snowflakes
• Ten on the Sled
• The Snowy Day
• The Mitten
• Good Morning, Snowplow

Here are some ideas to help you implement snow-themed activities after reading these books.
Salted Snowflakes

All you need is some glue, salt, and watercolor paint for this fun snowflake craft.
Mitten Math
We use this hands-on math center to practice numbers and counting.

Salt Tray Letters
An engaging way to work on letter formation is with “salt trays.” Using their fingers children practice tracing the snowflake letter card they pick. We use the recording sheet to keep track of which letters we’ve worked on and which we still need to practice.

The Best Picture Books About Snowmen

Do I even need to talk about why kids love snowmen? I mean, even I love snowmen! They’re just too stinking cute! Below is a list of the best picture books about snowmen.

• Snowmen at Night
• Snowmen at Play
• All You Need for a Snowman
• Snowman’s Story
• How to Catch a Snowman
• Sneezy the Snowman

Fluffy Snow Paint

One of my favorite snowman crafts is made by creating our very own fluffy paint! You can get the directions here.

Snowman Ten Frames
I found these adorable snowman mini-erasers at Target and just knew that I had to incorporate them into our learning! So I threw them into a sensory bin that was filled with rice and snowman number cards. My kids pick number cards from the bin and then also grab the correct amount of erasers. They then use their ten-frame card to create the number.

Snowman Shapes
We practice forming two-dimensional shapes with these snowman shape cards. I have them laminated so that children can use play-dough and it won’t stick or ruin the paper. These are a great winter center.

The Best Picture Books About Arctic Animals

Lastly, I want to share some of the best picture books about arctic animals. Here you go:

• Reindeer
• Arctic Fox
• Penguins
• Polar Bears
• See What a Seal Can Do
• Walrus

I hope you enjoyed this list! I’ve compiled all of these winter picture books and more into one place for you. Now you can easily shop for these books simply by clicking here.

The post The Best Winter Picture Books appeared first on Mrs V's Chickadees.

Pumpkins not only make great fall decor, but they lend themselves to some pretty awesome math lessons as well! Here are some ideas for creating pumpkin math activities your kids will love!

Pumpkin Math: Measuring Weight

Pumpkins are a great tool for measuring weight because they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. I love taking my kids to the pumpkin patch and having them pick their own pumpkins. The rule is, if you can carry it, I will buy it! That rule currently works in my favor since my kids are 2 and 4!

Once we have the pumpkins at home the fun begins.

To start our pumpkin math activities we talk about key vocabulary: estimate, measure, weight, height, and circumference. 

It’s important that children know what these words mean before you start. Remember to continue to repeat these key vocabulary words throughout the activities to help children retain these new words.

Of course, you can do this with your class as well by pre-purchasing pumpkins OR having some parent volunteers bring in pumpkins.

Pumpkin Math: Measuring Weight

I’ve always found that children can provide better estimates if you give them something to compare it to. So whenever we estimate the weight of an object, we start by weighing ourselves. This allows children to think “Hmmm, do I think this object is lighter or heavier than I am?”

Providing a number line also helps because children can find their weight, and then determine which numbers come before and which come after.

Once kids have estimated the weight of their pumpkin, they can place it on the scale and see how they did.

Continue this activity with different sizes and discuss the results with children.

• What did you notice about the bigger pumpkins verse the smaller pumpkins?
• Did you get better at estimating as the activity went on?
• Which pumpkin was the lightest?
• Which pumpkin was the heaviest?

Pumpkin Math: Measuring Circumference

Anytime I can throw some fine motor work into an activity, I do! So when it comes to measuring the circumference of pumpkins, I prefer to use these links.

Again, practice making an estimate prior to actually measuring the pumpkins.

Pumpkin Math: Measuring Height

Estimating and measuring the height of pumpkins can be done with many different manipulatives. I used math cubes because they are easy for my preschooler to manipulate.

We decided to measure from the bottom of the pumpkin to the top of the stem. After every few cubes added, my preschooler would hold it up and check to see if he needed to eliminate some or add some.

Once he had the correct amount cubes, he would count them up to see the final number.

You can extend this activity by then having children line up the pumpkins from the shortest to the tallest or vice versa.

I hope you enjoy these fun pumpkin math activities. Be sure to check out my other pumpkin posts for more fall learning ideas!

• A fun pumpkin art activity you might like is our Melted Crayon Pumpkins
• Do you want something spooky? Check out this Spider Sensory Bin
• You can incorporate phonics and math with these Fall Academic Sensory Bins.
• Do you want to create a bulletin board that will stop people in their tracks? Check out this amazing Thanksgiving Display
• If you need Pumpkin Themed Lessons and Centers, check out this Pumpkin Theme Unit

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