My literacy centers are a core part of our kindergarten schedule. They are active literacy centers that keep us on our toes and working so that I can work with small groups. Today, let me share my kindergarten retell literacy center directions, expectations and a list of the 20 stories that make up this year-long center in our classroom. Most of the stories that I place into the retell literacy center are pretty famous (or at least well known within the world of kindergarten teachers) but…

We are always inspired to do fun crafts and learning activities whenever we read some of our favorite children’s books! Here is a list of activities we’ve come up with inspired by popular children’s books (alphabetized by title). (Book titles are affiliate links.) Be sure to follow our Children’s Book Activities Pinterest board! …

marching through a primary world

I was recently reading an article on phonics and fluency by Dr. Timothy Rasinski, a professor of literacy education at Kent State University, and he made an analogy that really resonated with me. He said,… >

Little House activities, printables, ideas.

The story of the first story Thanksgiving feast is such a great example of what can happen if everyone lends a helping hand and we all cooperate with each other. One of my favorite activities to do this month is read the book "stone Soup" and then make "Stone Soup" with my class. Here is the sign up sheet I send home to parents:

Elementary Art Education site

Gathering Activity: Pink Pig Cotton Ball Masks I have been in love with these adorable masks since I first saw ...

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a Caldecott winner and a Before-Five-In-a-Row selection. And this year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of this wonderful book. Quite significant, is that it is the first children’s book to have an African American lead character. I have a very clear memory of having it read to me as a child. I remember how magical the book seemed. The giant mountains of snow and Peter, so small in comparison, discovering the wonderfulness of playing in new snow…

This post may contain Affiliate links. More information here. We love Pete the Cat. He’s oddly cute and has an incredibly upbeat and optimistic outlook that I think sets a great example for young readers. Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons is one of our favorite books {we have so many}. I’ve wanted …

We have been busy working on an author study on Mo Willems {he's famous for the pigeon books}. My little firsties fell in love with his books after we read Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! This one book led my little readers asking for more Mo Willems books and how could I deny them? So...we read every Mo Willems book from the school's library and read them again and again and again. We compared characters and author's purpose among the books. After reading Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up…