What's in Your Literacy Centre?

 kindergarten literacy centres

It's time to start thinking about which literacy centres to begin your Kindergarten year with. I like to use multiples of the same center while my Kinders are becoming familiar with school expectations, the longer days and being independent Kinders. Having multiples of the same literacy centre allows me to quickly teach a centre and provide time for guided and then independent practice. 
I wanted to share some of my go to literacy centres that I begin the new school year with. These are simple and require few resources. I also use them for quick glance assessment as I am investing in observing, listening and taking photos during this transitional month.
Literacy centers can be organized and managed in different ways I like to begin with ten baskets so that two Kinders are working together. There is enough material in each bin if they prefer to work side by side as they adjust to Kindergarten.
I like the centres to be simple to play, hands on and engaging. As I become familiar with my learners I will change the centres and eventually reduce to four when we are flowing through Daily five. 
Here are my go to September choices:

Letter and object match. This activity encourages my Kinders to work together to match an object with it's beginning sound. Later in the year it can be blends, end or medial sounds. 

Alphabet Grids - I have about four different grids with upper case or lower case, sequence letters or scrambled. This was. a freebie years ago and I am sure that you find lots on the net It is super popular and I usually set up two bins.It is so easy to differentiate as the Kinders can match letter names, sounds or uppercase lower case match. 
I found the stones over the summer and used chalk pens to print the letter. I have two sets of lower and one of upper. But you can purchase them online from a Vancouver shop Giving Gifts that a colleague told me about. I purchased the number stones and they are perfect!!!

Name Play - I use a lot of name centres in the fall including build a friends name, name bingo and sorting names by # of letters. This helps them recognize their own name as well as peers. 

Letter Bingo - many of the Kinders love this game. I have letter cards and they take turns reading a card and if they have the letter on the cookie sheet they slide it down.The first player to have all letters at the bottom is the winner. Then they play a second game. If you have word magnets then you could also play the same game with sight words and a large cookie sheet. A trick to making this game fun is to make a pile that ensures a winner.

Play doh letters- another popular game. They players roll a play doh snake and then form the letter, flattening it and  decorating with jewels. I usually pick letters that are easier to create and then after I have some assessment hand pick letters for my groups. This is a popular bin and in the fall I set up two bins. I have some letter placemats from @apinchofkinder and use those as well  for making the shapes and then decorating.

Sensory Printing - I use kinetic sand and letter stamps for printing names and sight words. At the seashore we use the same activity but with sticks and the sandy beach. 

This popular activity has double bins and is always a hit.

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions just dm me @ReggioKinders