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ABC's & 123's - Calling All K Teachers! 📚✂️✏️🛝
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items I have been teaching for 25 years…15 in Kindergarten! Structured literacy and foundational skills are my passion and focus! I have a lot of favourite tools, tricks and materials to help make your classroom run smoothly! Hopefully this list is helpful...
Sections
4
Teaching Tools
Consumable Materials
Classroom Organization
Science of Reading Professional Books
Teaching Tools
These tools will help your classroom run seamlessly! I hope they become your favourite things, too!
Every classroom needs a visual timer! This can be used with your whole class, in a small group and even with individual students! It serves a visual reminder of how much time is left before a transition takes place! This is key for autistic or behavi...
Visual Timer with Protective Case
This tool is a game changer! This presentation remote allows you to click through your Google Slides or Power Point presentation without standing at your computer! A laser is included, which is amazing in it's own right! Such a great tool for teachin...
LNKOO Presentation Remote
This will be my literacy program, once again! It is amazing and teaches my little friends how to read and write! I love it!! Get on board and order one today!
UFLI Foundations
Phonemic Awareness program all wrapped up for you! The kids love it and it really helps with segmenting and blending words! Combined with UFLI, it really moves my little readers along!
Kindergarten Curriculum
The Secret Stories put my students' foundational literacy skills over the top! It gives my little friends access to phonemes that may not be taught in the scope and sequence until later! Between UFLI, Heggerty and Secret Stories, my students have soa...
Secret Stories® | Cracking the Reading Code with the Brain In Mind
These books are great for teaching specific skills in Math! The children love to listen to them and they have very rich, Math vocabulary throughout! Highly recommend!
MathStart 1
Perfect for capacity, measurement, number sense, patterning and also keeping track of the school days!!
Learning Resources Interlocking Gram Unit Cubes
Finding sturdy white boards is super important for a primary classroom! We use these whiteboard every day in our UFLI program.
Magicfly Double-Sided Dry Erase Lap Boards
7 sets of lower case letters in each kit! I ended up buying 4 kits to cover my class! They have stood up well, even after using them daily to make words in our UFLI program.
JOYNOTE Classroom Magnetic Letters
A staple in our classroom!
Learning Resources Hands-On Soft Dot Dice Bucket
These magnatiles are a staple on our light table!! The kids love to build elaborate castles, buildings and towers!
Picasso Tiles 100 Piece Set Magnetic Building Tiles
These are the original Magna-Tiles! The other link I added are from Amazon and are a knock-off!
Classic 100-Piece Set
For light tables and sunny windows!
Rainbow Acrylic Blocks (24 pcs) - Wooden Toys for Toddlers- Play on Light Table/Sunny Window
Straws and connectors keep our kids busy for a length of time! Working together they build some pretty impressive structures!
MiKoom 400 PCS Straws Connectors, STEM Toy
Working on a geoboard is great for spatial awareness. We use this as a table top activity or small group activity.
Auvewilo Wooden Geoboard with Rubber Bands
We are always looking for building materials we can add to our light table or mirrors! The kids love to create patterns and pictures with these!
Constructive Playthings EDX-147 Cp Toys Translucent Pattern Blocks / 147 Piece Set
We use these when we teach 3D shapes but we also use them to teach capacity! The kids love to fill the shapes with sand at the sand table. This is why we have two sets…one for teaching and one to play with in the sand!
Learning Resources View-Thru Geometric Solids
This is a favourite centre to play with! The kids love to sort the money, play store or sometimes just hoard it in their pretend wallets! We use it to teach about money, too!
Learning Resources Canadian Currency-X-Change
We had this board in our class this year! It was a favourite activity, especially for my children with special needs. They were able to access the letters and be successful with them!
Gamenote Double Sided Magnetic Letter Board
Segmenting, blending, word building and decoding are just some of the activities you can use this pocket chart for! Perfect for word chains in small group!
Gamenote Word Building Desktop Pocket Chart
Consumable Materials
This list has all of the materials and products that I buy yearly for my classroom!
I always buy a box or two of white board markers to get through our year! They dry out so quickly!
Black Dry Erase Markers Low Odor Fine Whiteboard Markers Thin Box of 30 markers
I buy these every year! I love how bright they are and of course, the smelly part is good too!
Mr. Sketch Scented Markers, 12 Pack, Assorted Colours (1905069)
We use these daily in our classroom! They are so great for keeping the photocopying to a minimum!
Amazon Basics Heavy Duty Dry Erase Ticket Holder
A personal laminator is a must! These pouches work great for many projects.
Tapsin 5 Mil 100 pcs Thermal Laminating Pouches
Dry erase markers are essential in a K class! I buy this set, just for teacher use, when I need it!
EXPO Low-Odor Dry Erase Markers, Chisel Tip, Assorted Colors, 36 Count
Every year I buy a box of labels! They come in handy to label every home bag, duotang and workbook we have!
Printable White Sticker Labels, Laser/Inkjet Printing - Matte (2" x 4" | 50 Sheets)
We uses these daily in Kindergarten! The kids don't but we do!
Sharpie Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Black, 36 Count
We use these to jazz up art projects with the kids!
Sharpie Colour Burst Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Assorted Colours, 24 Count
Good adult scissors are just as important as the kid scissors in Kindergarten!
Scotch Multi-Purpose Scissor, 8 Inch, 2 Pack (1428-2)
I usually end up buying one of these by the end of the year! I am convinced they eat the glue??!!
Elmer's Washable All-Purpose School Glue Sticks, 0.24 Ounce Each, 60-Pack (E501)
Classroom Organization
An organized classroom is the key to making it through your day without losing your mind!
Every classroom needs one of these! Just be sure to keep little hands off of it…or it won't last;)
RIYO Electric Pencil Sharpener
I will need something like this to organize my small group materials!
3 Tier Mesh Utility Cart
This might work for table top activities…or small group organization, too!
Simple Houseware 8-Drawers
We have found that having clear storage bins with lids helps to organize our cupboards as you can stack them and see what is inside! We have many different sizes.
Citylife 1.3 Qt./ 1.25 L 10 Packs Small Storage Bins with Lids
Take this as a hint to get one of these for your classroom! Game changer!
Laminators - Office Electronics
I suggest you buy 2 or 3 of these staplers! Our kids use them at the craft table, daily!
Bostitch Office Metal Executive Stapler - 3 in 1 Stapler - One Finger, No Effort, Spring Powered Stapler, Black/Gray (INP28), 28 Sheets
Keeping a glue gun close by is essential! You just never know when you are going to need it!
Genesis GLGG08B 8V Lithium-Ion Cordless Rapid Heat-Up Glue Gun with Removable Battery Pack, Charging Stand, and 6 Glue Sticks
If you only knew how many times per day that I need to scrape some weird substance off of a table, desk, chair or floor!!!
Scrigit Scraper Scratch Free Plastic Scraper Tool, Perfect for Reaching Tight Spaces and Crevices, Easily Remove Food, Labels, Paint, Grease and More- 2pk
These pouches can be used as “home bags” but can also be used to keep small games, activities and manipulatives together!
MILEKE Waterproof A4 Mesh Zipper Pouch, Office File Holders, Durable School Filing Envelopes, Confidential Document Bags, 10/Pack
I think it is time to buy one of these!
Amazon Basics Paper Trimmer -12" Blade, 10 Sheet Capacity
Science of Reading Professional Books
I will try my best to recommend some great books for those who are interested in learning more about the “Science of Reading”. My learning curve has been huge this past year and after 25 years of teaching this new learning has been a blessing! Just jump in and learn! Your students will thank you!
This is a relatively new book! It looks simple and gives offers some great activities that you can implement right away!
7 Mighty Moves: Research-Backed, Classroom-Tested Strategies to Ensure K-To-3 Reading Success
This is a great book for those starting their journey! Highly recommended as a introduction to understanding the “science of reading”!
Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading Into the Balanced Literacy Classroom
There is definitely an “art” to teaching reading! This books will help guide you and your students!
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF TEACHING PRIMARY READING
Another essential! Louisa Moats is a pioneer behind the “science of reading"! Highly respected and extremely intelligent!
Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers
This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to phonics instruction. It is meant for the classroom and will provide best practices for teachers of reading!
A Fresh Look at Phonics: Common Causes of Failure and 7 Ingredients for Success
Decodables! What more can I say! These are the “training wheels” that the kids need to learn to read. This book helps you understand decodable books and how to use them! Get started! Your kids will thank you!
Choosing and Using Decodable Texts: Practical Tips and Strategies for Enhancing Phonics Instruction
This is the ultimate “rule book” for all my rule lovers! This book helps uncover the rules of English through systematic, easy-to-read examples! This a “go-to” for checking any and every rule in the English language!
Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common-Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy
This book examines the top half of Scarborough's Rope. This is also an important piece of teaching reading!
The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System--and How to Fix it
Seidenberg helps us understand the “Science of Reading” by drawing on cutting-edge research in machine learning, linguistics, and early childhood development. Language at the Speed of Sight offers thorough examination of this most human of activities...
Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It