Teaching preschool in a play-based way can sometimes leave those outside of it wondering when the academic learning pieces come in. But, those of us who practice and love play-based learning know that we use other times to bring in academic skill practice - such as small group.
And since small group time is such an important part of the day, I decided to put together a rolling cart of all the items I use often - right inside the cart. That way I can roll the cart to the large table and have the things I need!
Here is a look inside the things I keep in my small group cart:
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- Pencils
- Skill Cards (used for games)
- Scissors
- Glue
- Chalk
- Dice
- Game Movers
- Markers
- Wikki Stix (for tracing and forming letters/numbers/shapes)
- Mini Erasers (for games)
- Student Name Cards
- Dry Erase Markers
- Feed Me box (used for games)
- More dice and Spinners
- Small easel
- Name Writing Notebooks
So, when it comes small group time, I choose a group of students, grab a lesson plan and use any of the things needed in the cart!
Want to learn more about using small group in your play-based classroom? This Small Group Series of videos can help!
Do you have a place to store your small group goodies?