ABC Center Idea

In my last post, I promised to share ideas about what I do at my centers.  One of my students' favorite centers at the beginning of last year was one that I use at the ABC center.  It was fairly inexpensive and simple to make.  I was able to get paint sticks for free from Lowe's (or actually I sent my husband).  Then I wrote each of my students' names on a paint stick.  Then I bought lots of clothespins from the Dollar Store.  I wrote one letter from the student's name on a clothespin.  Since, I teach Kindergarten I also taped a picture of each student to the end of the paint stick, so the students could begin to learn each other's names and how to spell them. This is the best part. I was pleasantly surprised last year when I ordered my students' 1st day of school pictures from Shutterfly.  (I used the pictures for my word wall.)  Shutterfly also sends a "proof" of your pictures that are very small.  They were just the right size to fit on the end of the paint stick.  To begin with, I place each student's paint stick and clothespins in separate Ziploc bags to make it easier for each of them to find the letters they needed to match.  By the end of the first month of school I was able to have a container with the clothespins and paint sticks and the students were able to search for the letters they needed.

Below is a picture of my paint sticks:

Thank you for visiting my blog,

Sue Lattea