The elves hid 50 Christmas ducks around the classroom a few days
ago and left a note saying if the class could find them all before Christmas break, Santa will give them an extra surprise. They are all
numbered, so the children are finding them and putting them in order. They have been
occupied for days now trying to find them. Plus it helps with their number
recognition and ordering. Best idea ever.
Whether you agree with me or not, I've found that most worksheets are useless when teaching Pre-K and Kinder. Those worksheets I DO recommend involve teaching them to write. But most of the time the children who most need the help usually copy what they see on others' worksheet. You don't get an accurate accounting of what they can do.
My big suggestion is to make a game out of it. Make it one of your centers, or have them all play the game simultaneously in groups. Reading and math are excellent for this. And the competition hones each student's skills.
The above is a sample worksheet for the season. But you can make any page out of a $1 dollar store coloring book into a game board.
*For this one, put the children into groups of 4-6. They share the ONE game sheet.
(If you have 4 groups of children, then you'll need four copies of the sheet.)
*Each child gets a different colored crayon.
*Child #1 throws a die, then colors in a section with that number.
*Then the next child throws.
*If there are no more empty spaces left for the number they throw, they lose that turn.
*At the end of the game, once all the numbered spaces are colored in, they count how many spaces have their color.
*The child with the most colored spaces wins.
NOTE: You can use this method to also work on letter (upper vs lower case) recognition, rhyming words (using cards or a self-made die), or practically any other skill you want them to learn. The possibilities are endless!
