These past two weeks in kindergarten have included some new hands-on activities that the students are loving. We have been learning about shapes, and the students cannot get enough of these personal light pads that come with a set of translucent tangrams.

Students had the option of building using the templates or creating their own designs.

I have also created an activity for Morning Exploring that utilizes these personal light pads. Students use translucent letters to identify the beginning sounds in words, matching the letter to the picture that I have printed on a transparency. Using the personal light pad makes everything so much more FUN!

So many of the students asked me to share the information for these light pads that I thought I would write a post. Below is a link to the light pad we used in class. I will also link a different version of a small light table that comes with many different options for playing.

Transparent Letters and Numbers

Geometry Light Pad

Small Light Table for Kids

Another new activity we did this November was perfect for fine motor development. Students created ears of corn using colorful pony beads. We took four pipe cleaners, wrapping one of them around the middle of the other three. Students then beaded each of the eight  “arms”. We left a little of the pipe cleaner exposed at the end of each “arm” and then pulled all the pipe cleaner “arms” up and twisted them to make the shape of an ear of corn. The student absolutely loved this beading project.

The end result is beautiful ears of corn that will add a fall festiveness to any space!

We have been writing in our Gratitude Journals daily. In addition to this, students created a placemat that highlighted one thing they were grateful for. Students used a Sharpie to draw their pictures. Then they used watercolors to paint the border of the placemat. I was very impressed with the way students were able to control the paintbrush and successfully use the watercolors to create crisp, clear, and vibrant colors.

I love the quality and color choice of these watercolors.

Another activity we have been doing frequently is writing uppercase and lowercase letters. I will say a sound and then the students write the uppercase and lowercase letter that makes that sound. We sometimes use sand trays or sensory bags for this activity. Recently, we have been using these really fun writing tablets.

Writing Tablet

Finally, students have been creating their own alphabet puzzles. They are really enjoying illustrating a picture of each letter of the alphabet. We hope to finish these this week so that students can bring them home to use over the break.

DIY Puzzles

Each of these activities gives students multiple opportunities to strengthen fine motor skills in fun and engaging ways!