This week was our first week of Centers. Students always look forward to this routine! The stations this week were:

1. Alphabooks - students focused on a letter (Dd or Ee) and drew and labeled items that began with that letter.
2. Pattern Blocks with Unifex Cubes - students created two or three color patterns with unifex cubes.
3. Pattern Headbands - students created pattern headbands using both color and shape patterns.

Our second week of centers was welcomed and a complete success. The students are engaged and focused when working in a small group setting:

1. Pattern Snakes: This reviewed our concept from last week. Students were challenged to make three colored patterns on the snake's body. They finished it off with a tongue and googly eyes and cut it out for some fine motor practice.

2. Literacy Studies with the teacher: Depending on  their emergent literacy capabilities, kids work to build simple word families, match letter names and sounds, and compound thier exisitng knowledge of rhyming. These skills will remain the same for several weeks and evolve as the students grow as readers.

3. Hiking in the Hills: A simple and independent board game to match picture cards to certain initial sound groups. An extension activity of transferring certain words beginning with F, E, D, And P ( letters we have learned) from alpha flip books to paper, was available to those who needed the challenge.

We really enjoy the small group time of centers, as it targets the exact area of instruction for groups with similiar abilities.

1. Pattern Frames: We continue our study of patterns, as they follow shapes and turn corners versus just continue in a straight line. When they meet a corner does the pattern continue? Why or why not?
2. Literacy Studies with the teacher: Depending on  their emergent literacy capabilities, kids work to build simple word families, match letter names and sounds, and compound thier exisitng knowledge of rhyming. These skills will remain the same for several weeks and evolve as the students grow as readers.

3. Name handwriting practice: Dependent on thier comfort level of printing, students practice writing their first or last name after a modeled example on HWT paper.  An important exercise to practice!