Hi! I'm Jeannie from Kindergarten Lifestyle. I am so honored to be invited back to show you…………my most difficult literacy center!! (biting nails)….. Well, actually it's 2 of my least favorite centers…..Pocketchart and Listening.
So, why are they my least favorite centers? Well, because they tend to be my kids' least favorite. Both centers provide great learning experiences for kids and are important to have. However, they also tend to be the most overwhelming for kids.
PocketChart center tends to get boring…(sorry it can) and Listening center doesn't provide enough for them to do. So I compromised! I put these centers together…..
I have a little nook for my PocketChart center.
In this center kids can do the normal things:
**match student names and pictures
**sort words and names into how many letters they have, how many vowels and consonants, syllables, etc.
At the beginning of the year, we even play regular “Memory” (because later we will play Word Wall Memory)…..
Here is my fun twist! I placed a stereo with headphones in this area. I love nursery rhymes and I find kids in 1st and 2nd grade have a hard time recognizing them. So I spend extra time in kinder with nursery rhymes. (They are great for oral language, vocabulary, and retelling).
Each week we read a nursery rhyme, discuss it, act it out, etc. I have a CD with funky versions of many different nursery rhymes on it. My FABULOUS friend, Sherry, recorded each nursery rhyme song on a blank CD 3 times. I have 1 nursery rhyme song on a CD by itself (so kids cannot just listen to whatever). The kids love ROCKIN' out to the nursery rhyme each week.
But….that's not all. As the kids listen to the nursery rhyme they are busy coloring, cutting, and making a sequence book that correlates to the nursery rhyme. They can use the pocketchart to sequence the pictures and retell the story before stapling it (with a non-staple stapler of course).
PocketChart center is now a BIG FAVORITE in my room!
Have you ever tried combining a couple of centers to provide more flexibility and choice? Let's discuss below :0)
I'd love for you to join me over at Kindergarten Lifestyle! :0)
J Tilton says
Yes, I combine centers. I only have 5 centers (one a day) and they have a variety of activities to do at them. The students complete a "must-do", a challenge activity (differentiated) and then a choice. This allows the students who take their time to get the must-do done to their satisfaction and the early finishers plenty to do. I pull small groups at this time, so it is important for them to be on task (with something!)
http://www.kindertrips.blogspot.com.
Shawna says
What a great idea and how fun. I am glad you found a way to make each center more enjoyable for the kids!
Shawna
The Picture Book Teacher's Edition
Caitlin says
Jeannie you took over the internet today 🙂 LOVE it!! I am toying with the idea of combining another center with listening for next year..hmmm!! Great post!
Caitlin
Kindergarten Smiles
Rose says
Love this idea of combining these 2 centers and using nursery rhymes for the listening center. where do you get all of your nursery rhyme activities. I do a nursery rhyme a week and would love to incorporate them into my listening center time.
Rose
Jeannie says
Rose – I use really archaic sequencing pics, but I am working on Nursery Rhyme sequence mini-books this summer!!
Lidia @ KinderLatino says
What a wonderful way to combine centers, Jeannie.
Heather aka HoJo says
What a great idea! I also used nursery rhymes a great deal in my classroom. Somewhere I heard that if a 4-year-old can recite four poems/nursery rhymes/etc by memory – they will be a better reader by age eight! (Plus I just think many parents don't focus on nursery rhymes as much as they used to, so it's fun to teach them to the students!) Great post!
Mrs. Shelton says
Oooh! I love it, love it! Thanks!
Sarah
Kindergarten Korner
Sarah says
I am always amazed at the number of kids who don't know any nursery rhymes! I hadn't thought about using these as part of the listening center. I read your onmet about working on mini books! Can't wait!
Sarah says
*comment I hate when I can't type : )
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Pre School In India – Little Millennium