Developing Fine Motor Skills

Build your child’s (student's) fine motor skills as well as develop confidence by using these fine motor activities. Each category begins with novice activities and then moves forward in complexity; aiding development.

Table of Contents:

Cutting with Scissors:

Help the Airplane Fly
Chugging Train
Astronaut Journey
Alien Adventure
Frog Hop
In the Pond, Dragonfly
Robots I
Robots II
Vroom I
Vroom II
Cowboys I
Cowboys II
Cutting Shapes I
Cutting Shapes II


Using Glue

Glue Practice
Gluing Zig Zag
Glue a Star
Glue a Smile
Glue a Robot
Glue a Bear
Glue a Tree
Glue a House


Drawing Practice

Dot to Dot 
Drawing Vertical Lines 
Drawing Horizontal Lines
Drawing Curve Lines
Drawing Circles



Drawing, Cutting, & Gluing

Make a Tree
Make a Car
Make a Castle
Make a Dog
Make a Bird
Make a Person

The Three Bears

This summer I am taking a summer institute class from Sally over at Fairy Dust Teaching. For my fellow classmates (and anyone else who would like it), I am posting one of my favorite songs: Three Brown Bears.

To make this into a chart size poster, simply copy this jpeg into iphoto or whatever photo management system you use and then save it on a thumb-drive as a jpeg. Take this to your local photo store ( I really like Sam's Club for this) and make it into a poster. Be sure to laminate to make the colors more brilliant and for durability.  Enjoy!

Giant Give-Away $50.00 Value

I think I have finally figured out how to create a Kindergarten Kiosk Facebook page and link it to my blog! To celebrate we are going to have a giant giveaway to one of our Facebook followers. 

To enter, all you have to do is follow the Facebook link and "Like" our page. On July 20th, we will randomly draw out a winner for a complete set of Homework Packets. You may choose either the Preschool, Kindergarten, or 1st grade versions. Each of these monthly homework packets are available individually at our on-line stores for $4.00 each. These packets are strategically linked to the Common Core standards and are favorites of teachers, students, and parents alike!

Be sure to become a follower on our blog! If you are on both the blog and Facebook, your name will be entered twice into our drawing! For an additional chance at winning, post a comment! Want one more chance to win! Go to Lyndsey's brand new blog, mammastots.blogspot.com and become a follower there.

Teach Common Core Math Through Dramatic Play

Dramatic play offers unprecedented opportunities for teaching Common Core Math concepts through authentic experiences. In fact, when asked to work on math skills in the context of a play situations, students are always able to work at a level above their normal skill. To meet the high academic demands of the 21st century, play will be critical to student success, scaffolding their learning in a way that allows them to be successful.

Table of Contents

Dinosaur Museum: Decomposing and composing shapes

Post Office: Understanding the relationships between numbers and quantities

The Costume Shop: Know number names and the count sequence

Pizza Restaurant: Comparing numbers

Ice Cram Parlor: Represent addition and subtraction

Chocolate Shop: Composing and decomposing shapes

Trip to Space: Classifying, sorting, and charting data

The News Station: Answer “How many” despite the arrangement of objects

Santa’s Workshop: Identifying teen numbers as groups of ten and some ones

Knight’s Castle: Describe and compare castles by their measurable attributes

Farm Fluency: Adding and subtracting fluently within 5

The Bakery: Composing and decomposing shapes

Three Bear’s Cottage: Describing objects in the environment using names of shapes and position words

Preschool Common Core Language Arts Assessment: Preparing Preschoolers For Kindergarten

Keep your preschooler(s) on track by using these Preschool Language Arts Assessments that are systematically linked to the Kindergarten Common Core Standards.

A common question asked of parents of Pre-K children is, “Is my child ready for kindergarten?” Using this handy assessment will not only answer that question with solid data, but it will also allow parents and teachers to make informed decisions as to the skills necessary to confidently enter kindergarten. 

Teaching Your Preschooler or Soon-to-be Kindergartner at Home

Are you looking for something extra to do with your child this summer, looking toward your child's all-important Pre-kindergarten year, or simply looking for some great early education ideas? Head on over to a brand new blog, Mamma's Tot's,  for some informative posts about teaching young children.

Preschool Common Core Assessments: Preparing Preschoolers for Kindergarten

Is my preschooler ready for kindergarten? 

This Preschool Math Assessment (adapted from the National Kindergarten Common Core Standards) is designed to answer that question. It will assist the parents and teachers of Pre-Kindergartners to make informed decisions on the skills necessary to meet the child’s upcoming Kindergarten Common Core Assessments in the area of math. If these assessments are mastered by Pre-K children their transition to kindergarten will be with increased readiness and confidence. 

*The Reading Assessment will be available mid-July.

Numbers and Operations in Base 10: Kindergarten Common Core Essentials

This packet includes seven lessons or activities to help your students understand the standard for Number and Operations in Base Ten.  The lessons vary in style and format. Some lesson are scripted, others are designed for independent practice. Many lessons can be used with small groups while others can be completed with a large group. All lessons can be adapted to support struggling students or to challenge high-achieving students.

Contents Include:

Adding Ten: Composing Teen Numbers Through Song

Ten Frame Team-up: Composing Teen Numbers

Beehive Buzz: Decomposing Teen Numbers

Kitten Pals: Matching Teen Numbers with Decomposed Equation

Teen Count: Counting Objects and Writing Teen Numbers

Teen Numbers: Reading Equations and Writing Answers

Ten Frame Teens: Adding Ten Frames to Make a Teen Number

Geometry: Kindergarten Common Core Essentials

Be assured that you are teaching the Common Core by using this Common Core Geometry Unit for kindergarten. There are two lesson for each geometry standard. 

Contents Include: 

Shape Walk: Finding Shapes in the Environment

Shapes Guided Reading Book: Identifying Shapes in the Environment

Shape Bingo: Identifying Shapes

Shape Memory: Identifying Shapes

3D Match-up: Identifying Three Dimensional Shapes

Shape Graph: Describing and Graphing Shapes

X The Shape: Analyzing and Comparing Shapes

The Shape Song: Learning Shapes Through Song

Touch the Shape: Analyzing and Comparing Shapes

My Shape Me: Building a Person Drawing Shapes

Making Shapes: Making 3D Shapes with Clay

Shape Puzzles: Composing Shapes to Make a Larger Shape

Triangle Duck: Composing Shapes to Make a Larger Shape

Rectangle Giraffe: Composing Shapes to Make a Larger Shape

Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Kindergarten Common Core Essentials

Be assured that you are giving your students ample practice in each component of the common core by using this unit, Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Kindergarten Common Core Essentials. There are two games or activities that cover each standard.

Contents Include:

Addition Trains: Solving Addition Problems
Kids at School: Represent Addition & Subtraction Problems 
Math Journal Page: Represent Addition & Subtraction Problems
Fill the Aquarium: Solving Word Problems
Teddy Bears: Solving Word Problems
Gym Combinations: Making Number Combinations
Little Monsters: Decomposing Numbers
A Frog's Lunch: Making Combinations
Robots: Making Sums of 10
Bears and Shells: Solving Subtraction Problems.
Make it 5!: Adding Fluently to 5

Ending the Year With Fairy Tales

I just finished my Fairy Tale Unit. My kindergartners loved every minute of it! The games were fun, filled with important kindergarten skills, and the building at the block center was amazing to say the least.

Playing "Kiss a Frog"

Painting the Frog Prince

The Royal Castle

Playing Cinderella's Shoes

Playing "Which Kingdom?"

Building Castles 

Building Castles 

Building Castles 

Building Castles 

Taking a Walk with Little Red Riding Hood

Building Castles

Kindergarten Common Core Language Arts Assessments

It is finally here, the newly updated 2nd Edition of our popular Common Core Language Arts Assessments!  These assessments have been successfully field tested for the last two years, and now include commonly requested updates to make the assessments even more user friendly.

You will love these teacher friendly documents that will keep you organized and confident that all Common Core Standards have been taught and more importantly learned!

Kindergarten Common Core Math Assessments

It is finally here! The new 2nd edition of our popular Common Core Assessments for Kindergarten!

If you have previously purchased, simply go to the on-line store and download your free update. If you have not gotten your copy yet, what are you waiting for?

These accurate assessments will allow you to organize and be confident that you are teaching the common core standards!

These assessments are complete for the entire year. These valid assessments measure growth from the beginning to the end of the kindergarten year. As they do not change from quarter to quarter, these vaild measurements will truly show your students' growth.

This packet provides a valid assessment for each standard and uses simple classroom objects as well as the environment.

Also included are the highly requested student copies to aide in administration of assessments.

The scoring is divided into four columns to provide for those who grade in either a quarters or trimesters. The suggested scoring is M)Meet Expectations S) Satisfactorily Developing or N) Needs Strengthening. Also, a suggested timeline is also included. Use these suggestions or the scoring mandated by your state or district.

A sample checklist and report card has been added to the back of the assessments to make reporting to parents a breeze!

Purchase of this product is for one classroom only. Thank you!

Also look for our Language Arts Assessments.