Differentiation Station Creations

Learning Ideas, Teaching Resources, Free Printables

Novelty & Learning

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Have you ever noticed how kids just can not resist the pull of something strange and new? Novelty helps capture attention.

 I love capitalizing on childrens’ love of novelty to cement new information into their brains. Thus, I began to dream up “Container Creations”.
The beauty of these interesting objects is that they are novel and grab attention, but also have some specific educational value. The kids are able to interact with the creations and practice specific skills. It turns rote practice into a coveted activity.

DIY Turkey From A Plastic Bucket

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Learning Fun With Turkey: Turkey Learning Activities

Tons of learning activities revolving around a turkey. Great ideas to incorporate around Thanksgiving. DIY turkey container (he really eats!), rhyming activities, letter identification, initial and ending sound fun, and more!

You can see the directions to make a turkey out of a Cascade container here.
Get the directions to make the Print & Cut turkey here.

Ways to Use Your Turkey

 Pass out cards to help kids practice basic skills: letter identification, beginning & ending sounds, rhymes, numeral identification, counting, addition, subtraction, or any skill you choose. We used cards from my Turkey Time: Literacy Pack. You can pass out cards to the whole group, or use the turkey in a center. Kids will feed the turkey!

thanksgiving initial sounds initial sounds ending sounds alphabet

Use the “Turkey Time” rhyme to spark excitement with the kids. Change the key words in the rhyme to help students’ focus on the specific skills.

Get your free copy of the turkey rhyme here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzdf4OqBvDfcbWFOTFhkWFRXZFE/view?usp=sharing

Materials Needed for Bucket Turkey

  • Plastic bucket (I got mine from the Dollar Store)
  • Foam or card stock
  • Felt to cover the turkey’s body
  •  Hot glue
  • Magnet
  • Tape

 DIY Bucket Turkey

Step 1: Cut out the shapes for the turkey. Use foam or card stock for the turkey shapes. I use foam for a more durable turkey.
Step 2:  Fold the beak in half.

Step 3: Tape the feathers together and glue the black pupils into the middle of the eyes.

Step 4: Tape a magnet or rock to the tip of the beak. This is just to give the beak some weight. It will help keep the turkey’s mouth closed.

Step 5: Tape the beak to the back of the bucket.
Step 6: Tape or glue the eyes to the top of the beak.
Step 7: Tape the feathers to the back of the bucket.
Step 8: Hot glue felt around the base of the bucket.

 Step 9: Your turkey is ready for learning fun!

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to head over to The Primary Pack to see more ideas on how to use the turkey!
Head over to my TPT store to get my “Turkey Time” pack. It will be 50% off for the rest of this week for Kelly and Kim’s Markdown Monday. Check out their blog for this week’s deals!
http://kellyandkimskindergarten.blogspot.com/2015/11/markdown-monday-linky-party-november_8.html

DIY Mini Magnetic Stand

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 DIY Projects with PVC

 Create your own DIY Mini Magnetic Stand to use for storytelling, interactive math activities, centers, and more! An easy DIY project to create the mini magnetic board out of PVC, metal cookie sheets (from the dollar store), and velcro! Put the mini magnetic board to great use at Halloween- use a round metal pan and sharpie to create a magnetic spider web.

DIY Mini Anchor Chart Stand

PVC is such a versatile tool for creating teaching supplies. I created a mini-anchor chart stand and love how sturdy and useful it is for holding directions, anchor charts, and whatever I need. See the DIY directions for the Mini Anchor Chart Stand here.
http://differentiationstationcreations.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-mini-anchor-chart-stand.html

Magnetic Boards

I made a spider web out of a pizza pan from the dollar store this year, but was having a terrible time trying to hold up the web and act out poems at the same time. PVC came to the rescue! I created a smaller version of the Mini Anchor Chart Stand that could easily hold my metal cooking sheets. It turned a cookie sheet into a magnetic center. When you put the cookie sheet on the stand, you create something exciting from something mundane. It also is perfect for kids to interact with material.

Use for Storytelling & Poems

 It is also perfect for holding pictures/ manipulatives for your stories, poems, and any instruction. I used it here for a five little spider poem and song. You can get your free copy here.
http://www.classroomtestedresources.com/2015/10/fall-fun-that-will-give-you-creeps.html
You will need:
  • 50 inches of 1/2 inch PVC Pipe
  • Cutting Implement (I use a Ratcheting PVC Cutter. The ratchet makes it very easy to slice through PVC. My tool cuts up to 2 1/2 inch PVC)
  • 2 Tee Sockets- Should fit 1/2 inch PVC pipe
  • 6- 90 degree Elbow Joints-Should fit 1/2 inch PVC pipe
  • Velcro
  • Optional: Decorative Duct Tape or Spray Paint
 Here are the dimensions for the completed stand. Width 8″ and Height 10″.

DIY Mini Magnetic Stand

DIY Mini Magnetic Stand Directions

This project is very simple. Use a ratcheting PVC cutting tool, for an easier cut.
1. First, cut all your PVC pipe to the correct dimensions. Cut two 10″ pieces, three 8″ pieces, and four 1″ pieces.
2. To create the base of the stand, insert the 1″ pipe into both sides of the Tee Socket. Do this for both sides of the base. Attach a 90 degree elbow joint to each side of the Tee Socket.
 3. Push the 10″ PVC pipe into the top of each Tee Socket. Push an 8″ pipe into each of the Elbow Joints on the Base.
4. Finally, push the Elbow Joints onto the top of the stand and attach the 8″ section of pipe across the top. You’re created the stand for the magnetic board! For more fun, use decorative duct tape and affix it to the PVC, or spray paint the PVC.
5. Attach the pizza pan or cookie sheet to the stand by adding Velcro with adhesive to the sides and top of the stand. In the picture, I attached small sections of velcro to the stand; however, after using for the stand for awhile I attached Velcro the entire length of each section. This keeps it from pulling off every time I switch the magnetic surface. Then, add small sections of Velcro to the back of the cookie sheet, or pizza pan.
 Thanks for stopping by to check out my Mini Magnetic Stand. I love it and hope you will, too! Check out some of the fun ways I use the magnetic stand!

Ways I Use the Mini Magnetic Stand:

Spider Math Pack:  I use it with these fun spider math poems and songs. Great for center activities! You can get this pack here.

“Vat of At” Word Family Center:  Kids love interacting with the “at” word family with this fun center. You can see this set in get the pack here and see it in action here.

DIY Mini Magnetic Stand

 

See What’s Sticking In My House!

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DIY Dramatic Play Garden

Earlier this summer, I got to spend a week with my brother, sister and their families. We each have 2 kids and they are all under the age of 8. It was a thrilling time for all the kids!

I loved getting to see and play with my niece and nephews. My niece is crazy for duct tap, so I decided to get her involved in making vegetables for a sensory bin. As soon as she started creating, all the other kids joined in, too.

The 7 of us spent at least four amazing hours elbow deep in duct tape. All the creations in the pictures were created by kids, 5-8 years old.  Absolutely amazing, if you ask me!

I created DIY directions, so you can make your own duct tape vegetable garden!

There are 3 options for creating the carrots and radishes.  Option #1-

Option #2-

This version is very light, in case you have kids that tend to hit others with learning materials… They can’t do much damage with this veggie.

Option #3-

You can create radishes, turnips, beets and green onions in the same way as the carrots. Use rounded stones or plastic spoons to create the base of these vegetables.

I hope that you found these directions useful and would love to hear about your creations, too! Have fun with the incredibly sticky duct tape!

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