Mrs. Albanese's Kindergarten Class

Magnetic Board Fun - let's build!

Back to school is just around the corner! If you've been following me here on the blog, or on social media, you know I've been a kindergarten teacher my entire career (nearly 20 years!). Well....some BIG news is coming...this school year I will be transitioning to the Teacher-Librarian position at my current school (half time) and another school (half time).

I'm so excited to start this new journey and share my plans with you!

As I begin to think about the Library Learning Commons space, one of the areas I plan on setting up right from the beginning of the school year for the students to explore is the magnetic board. I've teamed up with Quality Classrooms to share a few of my favourite items that they carry!

The STEM Explorers Marble Runners manipulatives from Learning Resources is a great open-ended activity that you can quickly and easily set up! There are 18 individual pieces that students can use to create a marble run - any which way they like!

There are so many possibilities...I just love that students can be as creative as they like! All of the pieces are so different!

This set comes with 3 balls...which got me thinking of challenges I can set up for students to race one another or time which path was quickest!

Let's see if this works!

Each piece is easy to remove and re-stick if you'd like to modify your track!

The pieces come with a foam backing that sticks to virtually any surface!

I even tried it out on the window pane that reaches the ground which is perfect for our younger students to explore!

I have been wanting to try out this Giant Magnetic Letter Construction set from Learning Resources for a while now! The magnetic pieces are very large and durable!

I started by scattering the pieces around the magnetic board.

Can you see my hidden message?

These pieces are great to form both uppercase and lowercase letters...and even names!

What I like about these magnetic letter pieces is that they can even be used in a lesson - teachers can model how to form a letter step-by-step!

Students can take each piece of the letter they are constructing and run their fingers on top to trace it! I love manipulatives that are also tactile! It's so important for young learners!

(And for those of you who may be stuck as to which pieces to use to build the letters, this guide that comes with the set shows you how! It's even helpful for students!)

I know that the students will absolutely love using both the STEM Explorers Marble Runners and Giant Magnetic Letter Construction set from Quality Classrooms! Be sure to follow both myself and Quality Classrooms on Instagram for a virtual tour of my new Library Learning Commons spaces in the upcoming few weeks!

father's day, growing celebration, number sense

Weekly Plans - Week 39 (June 17-21)

Happy Father's Day to all the father-figures in our lives!

Our students were busy over the past few weeks creating a poster and keychain!

We also put on our Growing Celebration last Friday to celebrate all of our amazing kindergarten students!

We have two weeks left of school and I'm not going to lie...this is probably THE most challenging time of the year! The weather is HOT (remember, no air conditioning in schools!), we have to start cleaning and packing our classroom and there are nearly 30 students in our classroom to keep entertained while doing that! AHHHH! Some days are more challenging than others! We actually recommend that students bring in some "home toys" these last few weeks to play with one another - games, colouring books, small figures/dolls, etc. which definitely helps when more and more of our classroom materials get stored away for September.

That being said, not too much has changed for our classroom centres.

We did add a few new areas to explore...

Here's a look at our centres this week:

Can you create an ocean scene using loose parts?

Can you build a tower? A fun roll and build math game!

Can you make a friendship bracelet for a friend?

Can you create a letter using shells in the sand?

I'm so excited to tell you that I added a few new math games to my Number Sense in Kindergarten pack. We will be playing them this week!

You can find the above math games that I just added to this HUGE pack (and sooooo much more!) in my Number Sense in Kindergarten pack in my TpT store.

Already own this? Please go back and redownload to get these games for FREE!

Here are my weekly plans if you'd like to download!

If you would like the editable version to modify this for your own class click HERE.

The original blank PowerPoint file has been uploaded onto Google Slides but the formatting has changed.

estimating, mosaic, symmetry

Weekly Plans - Week 38 (June 10-14)

The final countdown has begun...only 3 more weeks left!

This upcoming week we will be having our Growing Celebration! We can't wait to celebrate all of the wonderful learning that happened this year!

You will notice over the next few weeks that our centres are winding down. We are starting to do end of year cleaning of our materials and finishing off any inquiries.

Here's a look at our centres this week:

Can you create a marble run using pipes?

(These pipes were donated by a parent last year. We have used them in so many places including our sensory bin!)

Spin and write the CVC word!

Can you retell the story Stick and Stone?

Make the picture symmetrical using the Mira!

You can find the above templates in my Symmetry in Kindergarten pack.

Read all about how we introduced students to this math unit from my blog post last week.

Here's a picture of our Digraphs Sort at our Pocket Chart Centre (because I forgot to take a pic last week!).

At our Science and Discovery Centre, we set out some books on insects!

We've been finding quite a few insects out and about now that the summer-like weather is upon us and students have many wonders about them!

At our Games Centre this week we set out this Mini Motor Math Activity Set (from Quality Classrooms) for two people to play (similar to "Race to the Top" but using fun cars!).

At our Light Table, we set out these small plastic tiles from Quality Classrooms.

Students are invited to create a mosaic picture using them!

Download the mosaic art poster for FREE by clicking the picture below.

In our fine motor small group, students can use the hole punch to punch out the dots.

These hole punchers are my favourite! Super easy to grip and use.

They are from Amazon (click HERE for link).

We added these Mini Sumblox Starter Set from Quality Classrooms to our Math Centre. I paired them with 10-frame cards (which you can download similar ones for FREE HERE).

In math our focus is estimating. I'm using these Google Slides to introduce and teach this concept, along with jars of loose parts to estimate amounts!

We will be playing these fun number games in our math small groups this week as a great review!

Roll It! Stack It! (various templates included)

Hear It! Write It!

You can find the above math games (and sooooo much more!) in my

Number Sense in Kindergarten pack in my TpT store.

We are also working with students who need more practice with letter identification/sounds by having them create their own mini alphabet folding booklets!