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Several times a year, our kindergarten teachers display a large “Giving Tree” on the bulletin board outside of their classroom using apples or hearts. Each apple or heart is attached with removable tape and added to the tree, requesting a specific item needed in kindergarten – some small items and some large. A topiary plant or twig tree with requests tied on hearts also works well. We make it easy for parents by being very specific.
Parents can see the tree next to the kindergarten door—and at any time if they want to give a special gift—they can give what is most needed and appreciated. Parents remove the apple or heart to fulfill the wish. Most parents, and even grandparents, are happy to donate items to help their child’s wonderful kindergarten program.
Here are some great literacy gifts to consider:
Magnadoodles or Doodle Pro by Fisher-Price are available at amazon.com. Ideally, six units are needed for small group (CVC) phonics word work. Consider putting these on your kindergarten wish list for parent contributions.
High-Frequency Word Stamps: (for making
“Stamp and Read Skinny Books”) Durable, hardwood stamps in a set of 6: “I, see, a, This, is, the.” (Two six-word sets keep four children occupied at the bookmaking/word study center.) Available online only at Nellie Edge Online Store.
Bare Books: For publishing children’s stories. Bare Books, 800 255-9228 or online at barebooks.com. (We use Bare Board Chunky Books, 6” x 8”, approx. $1.65 each. Item #3602)
Fingerspelling Font: Available at Educational Fontware, Inc., 6396 NE Ralston Rd, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110. 1-800-806-2155; educationalfontware.com
Permission granted for teachers to make multiple copies of Sing, Sign, Spell, and Read!, with credits noted, for family literacy.
Sing, Sign, Spell, and Read! CD and 32 “I Can Read” pages to photocopy! These 32 songs and chants are popular spelling and handwriting songs that we use to teach children high-frequency “heart words” and build fluency with print.
- See Anthology cover and Table of Contents (PDF).
- See our Online Store for details and enjoy an audio sample.
- Entire program is FREE with Nellie Edge Online Seminar #3.
Date Stamps (self-inking) are available at local office supply stores. Teachers and children use these to date their name tickets and writing projects. They are often stored in Independent Writing Totes.
Speech Bubbles: Children love adding speech bubbles to their “kid writing” notebook pages. Find them at www.amazon.com : Kikkerland Talking Bubble Sticky Notes (ST08-W).
Ask a parent to make these!
White/Dry Erase Boards: The shower board comes in a big sheet (4' x 6', approximately $14.99 per sheet). Local home improvement stores may cut them to size for free. We use 9" x 9" and 12" x 12". We round the edges and attach black socks with a 1” ring.
Individual pupil boards (9" x 12") may be purchased in a set of 10 online through classroomdirect.com. 1-877-698-1988. Dry erase lapboards (12” x 9”) are also available at reallygoodstuff.com (1-800-366-1920).
Please make 60 “squish” books (a.k.a. Fold-a-Books) for our Independent Writing Center Tote. We have 11” x 17” paper and directions for you.
- Purchase CD from our Online Store
- The Little Books of these songs are free downloads.
In Celebration of Spanish Folk Songs CD
Designed as a teaching CD to accelerate the learning of well-loved traditional Spanish Nellie Edge Read and Sing Big Book™ songs.
- The CD features Hector Pichardo singing: De Colores; Las Mananitas; Mi Rancho; Un Elefante Se Balanceaba; and Los Pollitos. Each song is repeated three times, once with pauses.
- Directions are given in Spanish and English. We believe that all adults and children deserve to know these songs and discover the read and sing connection.
Permission granted for teachers to make multiple copies, In Celebration of Spanish Folk Songs, with credits noted, for students and parents to use.
Have Fun with Elephant and Piggie: Our Hilarious Literacy Friends!
Elephant and Piggie soft toys: These well-loved, huggable animal characters are available at yottoy.com, #506 and amazon.com. Elephant wears his signature round glasses, while Piggie maintains her perfectly positive outlook. A few stitches have been added to keep this popular pair together, so you can keep these best buddies side-by-side!
Learn about our Elephant and Piggie Book Club.
- See our Free Resources for current book club cover page, parent letter, and organizational detail.
If you serve children from low-income families, First Book can help. Sign up at fbmarketplace.org. You can save up to 61% on collections of Elephant and Piggie books!
Giving Tree Hearts
Resources
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