Words in the Great Outdoors!

Outdoor word work is so much more than side walk chalk! Here are some supply ideas:

• Chalk (most common) - there is an endless supply of ideas out there for chalk. Your child probably has endless ideas of what they could do with chalk! Swing on over to The Home Teacher to see some great sidewalk chalk activities!

• Sticks- use sticks and build the words/ letters.

• Leaves- use leaves to build the words/ letters.

• Silly string- 1) use silly string to write words 2) write words with chalk and then tag the word said with silly string.

• Fly swatters- swat words that are written with fly swatter.

 (now just imagine this outside!)

• Pebbles/rocks- use pebbles/ rocks to spell words and letters.

• Sand/ dirt- use a stick or finger to spell words in the sand/ dirt.

• Water/squirt guns- write with the guns, tag the words that are already written, for rhyming words (or any other spelling rule)- spray the beginning sound to erase it and change out the word to another word in that family.

• Hopscotch pad- chalk out a hopscotch pad or if you want to make it more permanent paint it, hopscotch spell the word or recite the alphabet as you hopscotch.

• Cardboard letter tiles (think of this like giant Scrabble pieces) - cut cardboard squares (about 1ft x 1ft) and write letters on them like Scrabble. Then use to recite ABCs or spell out words.

• Jump ropes- use the ropes to spell or jump rope and spell the words.

• Paints- paint the word on a stone then you can hide the stones around the yard and have a scavenger hunt.

How do I create Word Work centers?

Word Work is by far my students' favorite time of the day! They just love writing in unconventional ways and creating silly words. In Kindergarten we start Word Work with simple letter recognition, sound practice, and writing the alphabet. As the year progresses, the difficulty increases in our word work centers. Our year looks something like this:

alphabet practice
names of classmates
site words
CVC words
sneaky E words
Vowel teams/ diphthongs/ digraphs
building sentences

For each step they have many tools to use:

• Alphabet practice- they tote their name tags around the room so they have their own personal alphabet at their disposal. 
• Names- I make a key ring of laminated names for each table consisting of each students' name. 
• Site words- we use the word wall, but I also add their site words onto that key ring. 
• Spelling Patterns- we make an anchor chart on each pattern and I post it on our bathroom door. All the student has to do is refer to the chart and recreate the pattern. 
• Building sentences- they combine ALL tools for this and any other print in our classroom. 

(pictures below)

I've already mentioned how I like to use items in my centers that are commonly found around the home, this way the student can recreate the center easily at home. Same goes for Word Work. If you are looking to create Word Work Centers here are some supplies you might want to keep around:

spoons
cups
chopsticks
letter stickers
letter stamps
fun colorful paper
markers
colored pencils
pencils
regular stickers
play-doh
yarn
old keyboard
poster paint/ bingo paint dotters
water colors
magnets
dry erase boards and markers
newspapers/ magazines

This list could really go on and on, and I encourage you to use Pinterest for innovative ideas!

Shown Above: They are kind of beaten up, however this is a popular center! The bottom cup has a word ending written on it and the top cup has single letters on it (I put about 4 on each top cup). The student spins the top cup around and sounds out the CVC words. 

Shown Above: This is a printed keyboard, I also have old real keyboards which kids just love. Anytime you can give them an artifact not only does it help them put the skill into a practical sense but it makes the task more enjoyable. Anywho, the student selects a word and types it out. This has helped with student logins and with students pecking words out in the computer lab!

Shown Above: This is pretty self explanatory. At home you could do this with magnets on the refrigerator and words written on a sticky note!

Shown Above: YES this is word work! No it doesn't involve words, but does involve fine motor skills or working out those small muscles in our hands. The stronger those muscles are the better handwriting will be. It also is a big brain workout, like a puzzle. See my fine motor skills blog for more fine motor practice. Chopsticks are my kids' favorites for fine motor practice, along with lacing cards.

Shown Above: Newspaper/ Magazine + paint dotter. Students locate and dot their site words. They love this. Another similar one is water color painting site words WITH a paint brush not fingers. This helps for practicing holding a pencil. They really enjoy water color writing!

The Kissing Hand and A Pocketful of Kisses

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/bQMHkQHgSm/digby-and-chester-share-things

Here is a Haiku Deck we made today! The kids spelled most of the words and helped pick the pictures. This Haiku Deck was created after reading The Kissing Hand and A Pocketful of Kisses. The students shared what the two books had in common and then created their picture book on Haiku Deck showing what the two books had in common.

Enjoy!