Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten

A Teaching Blog by Kelly Smith

Fun with Workshop! Spelling Stampers & Dice Math

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Hi friends! I am so excited to actually be writing a blog post for you today. I have been absolutely SWAMPED this school year… getting used to not only a new grade level (1st) but also a new district has been very time consuming and overwhelming! Not to mention that I’ve never taught in a public school (only private) until this year. That being said, I apologize for my bloggy slacking, but I am back with some new ideas for you today! 
Something that my first grade team, and most of our school uses is the term “workshop” to describe centers or small groups. I had always used the word centers, but workshop is pretty much the same thing. I do it every afternoon for about the last 30 minutes of the day. It’s hard to manage by myself, but it’s much easier with firsties than with kinders! It also helps that I have 6 computers and 6 iPads to use in my classroom, so those are always workshop groups. 🙂 
Here’s a look at how I organize my supplies. My kiddos are in color groups based on their abilities. I put their workshop supplies in the bins, and put their sign out on the table or area that they need to go to. I got the frames at Michaels. 
A new workshop group that I’ve incorporated this year is called “Spelling Stampers!” My kids LOVE using stamps to practice their spelling words. 
My stamps are ABC organized in a bead box that looks like this! 
I bought stickers and the bead box at Michaels. 

The stamps came from Michaels too! 
All that I needed to do was put the stickers on each box, and voila! I was ready to go! 
Here it is, ready to go in my classroom!! The stamp pads are in the tin on top. 🙂 
I also created some generic recording sheets for my students to use with their stamps. It really helps that I can use the same worksheets no matter what our spelling words are for the week! 
Here’s my Spelling Stampers Pack on TPT! There are 2 versions included. One with small boxes, and one with larger boxes. Check it out!! 

 

My next new workshop group that I incorporated this year became a FREEBIE in my TPT store!

One of my teammates handed me some extra double dice that she had one day, and bam! Dice Math was born! My kids LOVE using double dice during workshop. I love that they can practice so many skills at the same time!

I put the recording sheets that I created for Dice Math in page protectors so that my kiddos can reuse them. We erase with socks in my classroom. 🙂
Please disregard that her Math is wrong for one of the problems in the picture… This is one of my lower students, and she was SO excited that I had to take a picture before I helped her with her math! 🙂

Interested in trying out Dice Math in your classroom!?? You don’t have to have double dice, it works with any kind of dice! Click on the picture below to download this FREEBIE from my TPT store. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by today friends! I also blogged this weekend over at my collaborative blog: 
Head over there to read about how I use book envelopes in my classroom! 

Have a great weekend, friends!! 🙂 

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    1. Awesomeness!! So glad you're back! I am glad that your acclamation to a new school, grade, and system is going well. Isn't public school a weird tangled web of good intentions? Ha! I love it personally. Hope you stick around! Our public school kiddos need a dedicated WONDERFUL teacher like you! Thanks for your new products and your hard work. Looks great!

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