I wanted to share what I've done this year for my students who finish early. I don't know why I ever did things another way because this way is so easy! Who doesn't love easy?!
I created "I'm Done" bins and inside are either- math or reading stations I wasn't able to get to, or centers that we have already done and the kids just loved. I have five bins of activities. They are getting changed every two weeks.
I have asked the kids not to go to the same station two days in a row. My bunch is pretty honest about this. I did make one exception though. "I'm Done #3" has baggies with my students names on them and stickers inside for them to use in their writing journals.
They can use their stickers to write every day if they want to. Last year I incorporated stickers into my writing center. This year having it as an incentive to finish their work has helped a lot. I have stickers from the current holiday, pet stickers, foam stickers from the craft store, etc. The kids see creating a story with the stickers a challenge. I was honest with them and told them I can't spend all night counting to make sure everyone has exactly the same number of stickers in their bag, but that I would try as hard as I could to keep them the same. They have been great about that! One of the best books for stickers is
Animals, cards, buildings, etc. Students who normally HATE writing have suddenly found a passion for it! I've had to add stickers to EVERY bag almost every day this week. Student have about ten stickers in their bags.
What else can my kids do when they are done with work? They can practice sight words on flashcards. This idea is totally from Kimberly at
Funky First Grade Fun. She allows kids to pick a scrapbook paper and uses it as the cover of their flashcards. *Lesson learned: find scrapbook paper that has a print on both sides. A 12x12 makes eight flashcards.*
One last item. You know how in your stations with dice your kids seems to totally on purpose accidentally throw the dice across the room? I've had large pieces of felt or carpet and the kids still just toss those little dice all over. Well I purchased glitter mats from Michaels. They are like $2 and the size of construction paper. IT WORKS! Because WHO DOESN'T LIKE GLITTER?!
Dice remain on the mats. They are small enough to fit on desks for partner games too.
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Oooh- so pretty! |
Enjoy your weekend! I'm up in Seattle for Thanksgiving and loving the fact that I can wear sweaters and boots!