Recap: October 2023

Hi friends! I was playing catch up with the September post, so here is my October recap post! I’ll add things to this post if I share anything else new on Instagram/TPT before the end of October, but I wanted to make sure I posted this before then since the freebie in this post is a Halloween one😉

1. PRE-WRITING LINES & SHAPES PRACTICE SHEETS

So I’ve shared in the past how my oldest is not a fan of pencil work and printing doesn’t come easily to him. I was doing some research on teaching children how to print letters and learned that kids need to master 8 pre-writing lines and shapes before they can form letters! And children learn to write these pre-writing lines in a developmental progression.

So I created these pre-writing practice sheets to help my son practice mastering pre-writing lines/shapes and I hope they can help the kiddos in your class too!

The lines/shapes included are horizontal lines, vertical lines, circles, crosses, squares, diagonal lines, x shapes and triangles.

If you are interested in grabbing these for your students, you can find them here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pre-Writing-Lines-Shapes-Practice-Sheets-10283303 or by clicking on the image below:

2. DIWALI ACTIVITY PACK

This has been highly requested year after year and I FINALLY found time to finish it! I love how it turned out so I hope you do too, and I hope this makes teaching about Diwali and incorporating them into your centres easy 🙂

You can see more photos from this activity pack at the bottom of this Diwali post: https://apinchofkinder.com/2019/11/diwali-in-kindergarten.html or you can grab the pack on TPT here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Diwali-Activities-Lessons-Centres-10321372 or by clicking on the image below:

3. { UPDATE ALERT! } SYMMETRY UNIT

Next up on my math unit updates is symmetry! I love all of the new, hands on centres I was able to add to this one.

You can see a couple of the activities in the photos above or check out the preview on TPT to see more of what’s included!

You can grab this unit here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Symmetry-for-Kindergarten-Hands-On-Centres-Printables-3099291 or by clicking on the image below:

4. { UPDATE ALERT! } NUMBER LINES UNIT

Another unit that got an update is the Number Lines unit! This was mostly an aesthetics update (updated clip art + fonts) but I also added a road version of the race to 10 game!

You can see more in the preview here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-Lines-for-Kindergarten-Hands-On-Centres-Printables-2395376 or by clicking on the image below:

5. NEW RESOURCE – AMERICAN COINS

This has been requested for years and I finally got to it this month, the American version of my popular Canadian Coins unit! You can check out my “Teaching Money in FDK” blog post here: https://apinchofkinder.com/2015/05/teaching-money-in-fdk.html to see how I use the Canadian version of these printables!

Here’s also a few pages from the preview so you can see some of what is included:

You can grab this on TPT/wish list it for later here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/American-Coins-for-Kindergarten-Centres-Printables-More-10363624 or by clicking on the image below:

6. WELCHES “HALLOWEEN MIX” SORT & COUNT FREEBIE

Both of my kiddos are obsessed with Welches fruit snacks, so when I saw this Halloween edition, I knew I had to grab them! I made up a sorting mat for my oldest to sort on. You can have students record the number for each directly in the circle, or if they need some help you can provide them with the tracing strips to trace, cut and glue!

I know not all schools allow food (especially things with gelatin) but if you are able to have it in your class it would be a fun Halloween week activity!

My oldest loved this activity but he actually got 4 witches, 1 haunted house, 1 jack-o’-lantern, 1 bat and no ghosts so the tracing strip I made above didn’t have all of the numbers he needed. So I made and included a second tracing strip option (0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4) and I also included a page with all the same number on each strip (students can just cut off what they need from each strip). Please choose and use whichever one fits best for your class!

Click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q1-Y5zHonJr7csnsfc3P8tf3gbSc8Kys/view?usp=sharing or on the button below to grab this freebie!

I hope you enjoy the freebie!

7. CO-CREATED WINTER DRESSING CHART

I realized I never shared what I did for teaching winter dressing routines the last time I was in the classroom, so I decided to finally share this month!

Here in Southern Ontario, we get snow pants weather as early as November and lasts it sometimes lasts until March!

I know how helpful it is when we teach out littles to get dressed as independently as possible, so I’ve tried a few different things over the years and this is what has stuck!

First, I introduce “The Winter Dressing Song”. I project this page:

on the projector and we sing it together as I point to the pictures. I included two version (scarf then hat or hat then scarf). Scarf then hat works better if most of your students have tube scarves! Please use the one that works best for your class!

Next, we co-create our reference chart by having students gather their outdoor gear (I just choose names out of a hat and the chosen student can bring their snow pants, boots etc. to the carpet). We take a photo of each piece of clothing and I add them to the editable file and print them out (I included my sample in the file as an example, but it really is best to use your own student’s gear! It adds so much student voice to your walls, the students remember it more if they make it with you and they love seeing their clothing in the chart 🙂

I also get a few of my fine motor experts to help me with the title for the chart (or you can use one of the tracing options included OR you can jusst print out the pre-made one!)

Once all of the pieces are made/printed and ready, we gather in the cubby area and put the chart up somewhere high so that every (or at least mot) students can see it.

This has helped tremendously with the “What do I do first?” question, as we can refer the mto the chart. I also created a cut and paste song that the students can do as a centre or small group activity and then take home to encourage winter dressing practice at home as well!

I hope you enjoy this resource and that it helps make the pesky snow pants season a little bit easier! You can grab the file to make your own here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Editable-Co-Created-Winter-Dressing-Chart-Song-10392088 or by clicking on the image below: