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Color Shade Matching

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http://flipchickdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/popsicle-stick-puzzles-tutorial.html

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/190980840431350912/

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https://www.icanteachmychild.com/make-it-ziploc-my-body-book/

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/190980840431350912/

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http://onecreativemommy.com/wow-your-class-with-these-cool-back-to-school-bulletin-board-ideas/

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http://www.superteacherideas.com/spelling6-sparkleA.html

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https://teaching2and3yearolds.com/simple-journals-3-year-olds/

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/423056958739247459/

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https://www.pinterest.com/source/media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/

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http://www.threeghostfriends.com/2013/09/toddler-busy-bag-lift-and-find-shapes.html

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https://pocketofpreschool.com/first-10-days-of-school-lesson-plans

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https://www.pre-kpages.com/

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/554153929119745876/

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https://www.adabofgluewilldo.com/display-student-work/

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https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Social-Emotional-Learning-Activities-for-Valentines-Day-and-February-3549358

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https://easyteachingtools.com/2016/01/memory-book.html

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http://www.allabout3rdgrade.com/2016/09/teachers-save-time-using-these-tips-to.html

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https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/heart-math-counting-game-preschool-valentines-day-activity/

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https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/crystal-hearts-valentines-science-experiment/

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https://www.pre-kpages.com/valentines-books-preschoolers/

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Snowman in a bag

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Winter has fully descended upon us this week, with LOTS of snow and bitter cold. To keep the kiddos entertained, we made this fun winter sensory and fine motor activity for preschoolers, affectionately named - Jumbled Snowman. And you can find nearly all the supplies you need to make one of your very own at the Dollar Store. It takes less 5 minutes to put together...

Winter is tough with young children. The weather often limits active time outdoors and free exploration. I find my kids crave sensory play more than ever, and I think it's why these Jumbled Snowman sensory gel bags are such a hit.

You can find almost all the supplies you need to make your own in the Dollar Store or your kitchen.
Googly eyes
Prep Time: Less than 15 minutes Black sequins
Snowflake sequins
Colored foam - black, orange, red, brown
Colorless hair gel
Ziploc freezer bag, gallon-size
Magic Eraser
Permanent marker
Tape
Card stock
This was originally inspired by these Gingerbread Sensory Bags from Gift of Curiosity. But since we discovered these post Christmas, we made a winter-themed version instead! You could definitely make these gel sensory bags year round with any theme. Check out our Starry Night Sensory Bag as part of our Studying the Stars series, and this Shark Tank sensory bag we made for Shark Week on Left Brain Craft Brain!

Making Your Winter-Themed Sensory Bag

I highly recommend using a freezer bag for your sensory bags. I have used Dollar Store bags in the past, and they don't hold up as well to repetive play and manipulation by tiny fingers... which is the whole point, right??? Quick tip - you can easily remove the printed label on the bag with a Magic Eraser!

To start, draw a snowman outline on your bag with permanent marker. Then, cut out shapes from foam for the hat, scarf, nose and arms. Hobby Lobby sells individual foam sheets for less than $1 each. You can also get this pack of 50 assorted sheets from Amazon to stock your craft closet. Use black sequins and googly eyes for the rest of the snowman parts.

Next, empty your entire bottle of hair gel into your gallon freezer bag, along with the sequins, googly eyes, and snowflakes. You can find 16 ounce bottles of clear hair gel your local Dollar Store. Squeeze out as much air from the bag as you can, seal closed and then tape the bag shut as well.

Watch it all come together!

See how simple this really is to make in this 2-minute tutorial video!

Endless Winter Themed Sensory Play

Since the girls were going to play with these on our kitchen table, which is a darker surface, I taped the bag to the white side of some heavy scrapbook paper. It made it easier to see the snowman outline, and helped hold the bag in place as they dragged the components around.

At 3 years old, Big M is my crafter - and has always had a great attention span. Lil' M has the attention span of a flea - but even she sat and played with her bag for a good 10-15 minutes, which is decades in her time. Since these are flat, I have kept them stored on the kitchen counter, and drag them out every other day or so when I need to buy myself 10-15 minutes to get meals on the table or round everything up to get out the door. And even Dad, who is usually not into crafts, has taken a turn at trying to un-jumble our Jumbled Snowman!

The change in temperature and snow offers the ultimate resource for endless sensory activities for preschoolers. And you don't necessarily have to go outside to enjoy it! Bring the snow inside for Indoor Snow Play, and let your kids explore it with all their senses. Or for more Snowman fine motor fun check out this Paper Punch Snowman from Craftulate.

Not cold enough to snow where you live? Make Playdough Snowman with this simple set-up from Crafty Kids at Home. Or make your own Instant Snow with this simple recipe from Wunder Mom. And this one is still on my personal bucket list - Freeze Bubbles! Get the inside scoop on how to make your own Frozen Bubbles from Fireflies and Mudpies.

You can find all of these ideas and more on our Winter and Sensory Play boards on Pinterest! What fun winter sensory play ideas will you be tackling this month? Follow me on Instagram at @PGPBMeghan to see our latest winter fun.

Love it? PIN THIS!

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Jumbled Snowman - A Winter Fine Motor Activity

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Winter has fully descended upon us this week, with LOTS of snow and bitter cold. To keep the kiddos entertained, we made this fun winter sensory and fine motor activity for preschoolers, affectionately named - Jumbled Snowman. And you can find nearly all the supplies you need to make one

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I don't know about you, but I know that many of us are just DONE! At least for this year and with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I decided that we needed a brief break from serious topics, like prompting, and need some nice pictures that are easy to comprehend. I also have been holding this post since last summer and thought it was timely. I know many of you are working ESY so I wanted to share these stinkin' cute pictures from the Baudhuin Preschool at Nova Southeastern University from last year. I want to thank Nicole and Sue for letting me share them on the blog.

The Baudhuin school is where I used to work and it's a preschool for children on the autism spectrum. There are a variety of autism programs at Nova from teaching professionals about autism and ABA to early childhood programs. You can read more about the school here and the autism programs at Nova here.

The Baudhuin Preschool is set up in 3 cores of classrooms. Within each core, the classes open up to a large open space that is used for indoor play and a variety of activities. For ESY last year, they set up the core to be a camping theme to go with the Unique Learning System's summer curriculum. The ULS curriculum is a camping theme again this year if you are interested in using these ideas to put the together (remember that the ULS summer unit is free). I want to share with you some of the ideas they put together to make the camp out of the core. I will probably complete 2 or 3 posts that will take us through Memorial Day and then will get back to ABA strategies. There are so many details that Nicole and her team thought of that I wanted to make sure I touched on them all.

This is a picture of a part of the core and you can see the canoe, the log cabin, the bear and the trees.

This is a sign made up as a treasure map for the outside of one of the classrooms as their "Where are we" chart. They moved the pirate around to the different places in the building where they might be found when they left the class.

I thought this was so cool. They made a swimming pool into a fishing hole using torn paper to fill it and look like water.

They had a fishing sign, life jackets, tackle boxes and fishing poles all set up to be used. They could put things in the fishing pond and the kids could use the fishing poles to get them out. So many skills can be worked on this way to have them name items, talk about them, describe them, etc.

I loved this as well. They covered the walls in paper and created the stream and the cattails as well as the blue rocks in the back corner. They made a fire out of construction paper and cardboard and had these cute stools that look like logs to sit around the campfire. If you look on the bench, you see a communication board. Each area had a communication board for the students to use to talk about the area with the vocabulary targeted for that specific activity at camp. I'll focus more on the visual supports in the third post.

Finally, for today, you see the log cabin with the bear and the trees they created-I love the owl they put up in the tree!

So, if you ware looking for some inspiration for a fun theme at ESY, consider camping. I'll be back in a couple of days to share some more of these cool ideas.

Until then, just keep swimming...the summer is coming!

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A Camping Theme for ESY from the Baudhuin Preschool: Camp Yes I Can. - Autism Classroom Resources

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I don't know about you, but I know that many of us are just DONE! At least for this year and with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I decided that we needed a brief break from serious topics, like prompting, and need some nice pictures that are easy to comprehend.

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Let's kick of the season with a 14 Valentines Day STEM challenges countdown. Valentines Day STEM activities are simple twists on everyday STEM activities. Adding hearts, traditional holiday colors, or themed candies/supplies is great for young kids. Encourage a love of learning with holiday themed STEM activities.

14 DAYS OF VALENTINES DAY STEM ACTIVITIES COUNTDOWN

We do love holidays around here, and if you are into them too, these Valentines Day STEM activities will be a big hit. One day my son may not care about themed activities as much, so I am going to enjoy these days while I have them.

Below you will find a mix of classic experiments, activities, and challenges that have been recreated with a Valentine's Day theme. We are also adding a few new things like playing around with our Squishy Circuits!

I have planned 14+ Valentines Day STEM activities to keep you and me busy this Winter. We will be learning and playing along side of you. I have gotten a jumpstart on a few of the activities. A few we did last year that are great fun.

I will list the general supplies needed for each activity to get you prepared. I love to start out our countdown STEM activities with a themed Tinker Tray.

In addition I have the following Valentine's Day resources if you need more ideas for planning or want to trade out ideas! Click on red links.

Valentines Day Early Learning Activities

Valentines Day Science and STEM Activities

Candy Heart Kids Activities and Science Experiments

Building Hearts Engineering Projects

Our most popular Valentine's Day Science Activity is Crystal Hearts

14 Days Of Valentines Day STEM Countdown
NEW! FREE 15 Printable Valentine's Day Challenge Cards!
Have fun with these ideas. Move the calendar around to suit your needs. Pick just a few to enjoy! It's up to you how many you try.

The materials are inexpensive overall. You may already have some in the cupboards. The craft store, dollar store, and grocery store also have what you need. Plus some purchased materials can be reused for different activities.

Click on the highlighted links in the day's description to see the Valentines Day STEM activities in action.
WHAT IS STEM?
Let's get started! STEM is science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM is fun. STEM is the future. Plus, you can start STEM young. My son is in kindergarten this year. Check out our newest resource for understanding STEM better.
NEW! Simple Valentines Science Ideas. Click photos.

Day 1: Valentine's Day Tinker Tray

A tinker tray could also be called an inventors tray. It's not making a craft but coming up with an invention using simple materials that are kid friendly and age appropriate.

Day 2: Valentine's Day Slime {NEW!} or Valentine's Slime {Last Year}

Slime is really cool. It's science and sensory play. Slime can be made it into any theme for seasons and holidays. We have a whole year of themed slime activities. Our homemade recipe is easy too!

Day 3: LEGO Marble Heart Maze

A base plate, LEGO bricks, and a marble!

Day 4: Cardboard Hearts Engineering

All you need is some mid-weight cardboard from the recycling bin and a heart shape to trace!

Day 5: Heart Designs or Heart Shaped Geoboard

Styrofoam or wood. Small finishing nails, loom bands or small rubber bands.

Day 5: Valentine's Themed Thaumatrope Ideas {Paper and Straws Spinning Toy}

So easy! Computer paper, drinking straws, markers, and tape! No mess!

Day 6: LEGO VALENTINES DAY IDEAS

LEGO bricks
Day 7: Heart Launcher {Catapult}
Or you can use red popsicle sticks, rubber bands, small lightweight items to launch such as marshmallows or pompoms. Check out how we make simple popsicle stick catapults too.
Day 8: Squishy Circuits Light Up hearts
The is the most expensive activity on the list as you would need to purchase the squishy circuits kit. You will find an Amazon Affiliate Link below to check it out. It will also require ingredients to make play doughs but you may already have them on hand.

UPDATE: Super fun. I made our reactive play dough pink and used cookie cutters to make thick hearts for the circuits. We ran through the different activities that the website lists on the kit. The pictures from my phone aren't too great! My son and husband had a great time with the whole kit.

Jelly beans, gumdops, or marshmallows and tooth picks. What can you build? A bridge, a tower, geometric shapes, an abstract sculpture! Check out all the ways you can build structures here!

Day 10: Valentine's Day Computer Coding

We have been playing around with the binary alphabet to check out coding without a computer. Grab some pipe cleaners and beads or even a LEGO baseplate and small LEGO bricks for this idea.

Day 11: Make a Love Bot

We are going to test out a brush bot robot using and we have a tin can robot kit we received for Christmas. Dress them up with a Valentine's Day theme! If you don't want to build a motorized robot, check out our Build a Recycled Robot activity with free printable droid designs {will make a Valentine's addition too!}. We also own Dash and Dot and can't wait to program them for Valentine's Day! Check below for Amazon links to learn more! You could also make a LEGO robot in themed colors!

Day 12: Color Changing Flower Science

White flowers, jars, food coloring, and water. A classic!

Day 13: Magnetic Heart Sculptures

Wire, pipe cleaners, beads, small washers,nuts, and bolts. Use piece of styrofoam for a base.

Chocolate science is something we have already tested out looking at reversible change. We are also going to check out dissolving hearts!

BONUS! Cardboard Tube Heart Run

Save up those cardboard tubes of all shapes and sizes. Grab some fun themed tape, and build a marble run on the wall or a vertical surface. Here's an example.

Disclaimer: Amazon affiliate links for your convenience

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Valentines Day STEM Activities and Challenges for Kids

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Let's kick of the season with a 14 Valentines Day STEM challenges countdown. Valentines Day STEM activities are simple twists on everyday STEM activities. Adding hearts, traditional holiday colors, or themed candies/supplies is great for young kids. Encourage a love of learning with holiday themed STEM activities.

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Aisd/Lee/stefanie Tourk

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Nicole Adams Bushland Pre K

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BISD student journal

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Nicole Adams Bushland Pre

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Claude elementary

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Great free printable. I did this BOY with my kids- Cactus Elementary

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Today we read David Goes to School and talked about behavior at school. We talked about what David was doing wrong on each page and how he could have made better choices. Then I told them we are going to teach David how to make good choices in school. We did a pocket chart picture sort and discussed which behaviors are good choices and poor choices. They all totally got it, and throughout the day it was helpful to refer back to this chart.

After we did this, the children did their own version of the sort by cutting and pasting pictures into the correct box. After this lesson, I introduced our behavior clip chart and reward system and now my kids are super excited about making good choices at school :)

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Today we read David Goes to School and talked about behavior at school. We talked about what David was doing wrong on each page and how he could have made better choices. Then I told them we are going to teach David how to make good choices in school.

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Currently a hot cocoa stand
Nicole Adams Bushland Pre K

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Literacy center set-up ideas and pictures for your Preschool, Pre-K, or Kindergarten classroom.

ABC Literacy Center Set Up

How to set up a literacy or ABC center in your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten classroom. Literacy center ideas and activities for teaching letter recognition and the alphabet.

What do you put in your literacy center?

The tools and toys in your literacy center should be those that the children are familiar with and which you have introduced during small group activities. This will ensure that your students know how to use the materials in your literacy center properly.

Literacy Center Learning Materials

The materials you select to include in your literacy center should be very engaging and fun for your young learners. Pictured above you can see two of the most popular alphabet toys in our literacy center, the alphabet cars and roads and the Alphabots.

The two toys pictured above are also super popular in every preschool classroom; the Alphabet Puppy Chow activity and the alphabet fishing game.

These letter builders and large alphabet lacing beads are also very popular in the preschool classroom.

Books in the Literacy Center

Of course, books are an important part of every center in the preschool classroom. Here I have some of the alphabet books the children are familiar with available for reading or reference when they are in the center interacting with the materials. You can find a list of my favorite alphabet books here.

Do you change out the items in your literacy center?

Yes, I change out some of the items according to the students interests and ability levels. As the children mature during the school year you can add new materials to challenge your little learners, and remove those which they have outgrown.

The magnetic Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree pictured above is one of the items that holds the children's interest all year long. In the beginning of the year they enjoy retelling the story and putting up the first letters in their names. As the year goes on, they begin to spell their entire names, names of their friends, and sometimes even simple words on the tree.

Click HERE to find the full instructions for making your own Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree, plus download a free printable recording sheet.

Alphabet Puppy Chow Game

Another super popular alphabet activity is this "Feed the Dog" game.

Click HERE to find the full instructions for making your own feed the dog activity, plus download a free printable recording sheet.

Best Tools for Learning the Alphabet

Here are some of the most popular materials and those that children enjoy using in the literacy center over and over again.

Alphabet I-Spy Bottles: Read the tutorial for creating your own I-spy bottles HERE.

ABC Center Sign: Learn about the benefits of using center signs HERE.

More Center Ideas from Pre-K Pages

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Pre-K Literacy | ABC Center | Alphabet | Preschool

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Literacy center set-up ideas and pictures for your Preschool, Pre-K, or Kindergarten classroom. How to set up a literacy or ABC center in your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten classroom. Literacy center ideas and activities for teaching letter recognition and the alphabet.

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Task boxes

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Nicole Adams Bushland Pre k

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Nicole Adams Bushland Pre

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Aisd/Lee/Stefanie Tourk

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Nicole Adams Bushland PreK

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Nicole Adams Bushland Pre

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Aisd/Lee/Stefanie Tourk

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BISD 1st letter name collage

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AISD/Lee/Stefanie

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AISD/Lee/Stefanie Tourk

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Haidle and Kutin RRISD

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Name practice

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Nicole Adams Bushland Pre K

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Group critical write   Penguins have... BISD

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Group critical write   Penguins have... BISD

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AISD/ Lee/ Stefanie Tourk

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/357684395397758981/

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Snowball Names Fine Motor Literacy Activity

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Discover thousands of images about Kids use their fine motor skills to create Snowball Names in this preschool literacy activity

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AISD/Lee/Stefanie Tourk

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AISD/Lee/Stefanie TOurk

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Healthy choices for teeth.

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Names Initials
AISD/Lee/ Stefanie Tourk

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AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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(click on picture)
AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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ABC chart of environmental print

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HIse- Cactus Elementary- DISD

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AISD/Lee

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Use this activity with your students to reinforce the initial letter of their name. You may like to have the students paint their letter using different colours to practise correct letter formation, o

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Whole Brain Teaching Rules/ sign language for bathroom,tissue & drink

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Whole Brain Teaching Rules/ sign language for bathroom,tissue & drink

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-done everyday with motions
AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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Behavior Anchor Charts(refer back often)

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Behavior Anchor Charts(refer back often)

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AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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This can be used in many ways. If you look up "The Beef" you will find more information.
AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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The Beef poster whole group instruction done for an entire for focus.  -Also sorting math Anchor chart

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The Beef poster whole group instruction done for an entire for focus.  -Also sorting math Anchor chart

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AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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Print on card stock laminate and use over and over
AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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AISD/Lee/StefanieTourk

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http://inspirationlaboratories.com/valentine-candy-science-dancing-hearts/

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Taking care of others starts with taking care of me.

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Dental Office.

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Student's sing abc song while brushing away letters.

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Dental Office

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Have someone from the local dentist office come visit and present to the kids.