Today it's all about monsters. Back to school monsters that is. It's such a cute and fun back to school theme!I wanted to share a sneak peek of my latest 6 Pack Centers packet, some read aloud ideas, along with a fun NO-PREP freebie!
Those first few weeks back to school are nothing short of CRAZY…so we need all the EASY we can get. I'm hoping that's just what you'll find in these two activities that I'm going to share with you!
This article, along with many other articles on The Printable Princess, contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase through the links I earn a small commission. Clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps this website to keep great articles and freebies coming your way.
Monster Themed Read-Alouds
As Kindergarten teachers, we know that read alouds are such an important part of our classroom schedules. I especially love read alouds at the beginning of the year. It's a {mostly} calm time, where kids can just sit, relax, and listen.
Asking questions about the read aloud is a great way to assess student knowledge and have conversations that help build student relationships.
Below are some ideas for your monster theme read alouds.
The next idea for your monster theme are literacy and math centers. Each packet in the 6 Pack series includes 6 centers {3 literacy and 3 math} and 6 follow up no-prep practice pages.
The activities included are completely different than the ones in my larger monthly centers packets. I had lots of requests to make more centers, so that's where the 6 Pack idea came about!
The practice pages are to help reinforce the skills students work on during the center activity, so they are great for morning work, small group work, sub tubs, homework, or even remediation.
And just like the monthly centers, these also come with recording sheets and corresponding answer keys, teacher friendly directions, and “I Can” visual direction pages to keep kiddos on task.
These visual direction pages are especially helpful at the beginning of the year. Plus I love that when admin walks through, they can look at these “I Can” pages and know exactly what the kids are supposed to be working on!
This activity is called Back to School Monster Alphabet and includes two versions. Students identify the capital letter on the card and find the matching letter on their paper.
You can chose to have them match uppercase to uppercase {pictured above} or uppercase to lowercase {pictured below}.
The instructions for both activities are the same. Students color the letter on the paper to match the color of the letter on the card. Included is an answer key so you can easily check student work.
Monster Sounds:
Monster Sounds is an introduction to phonemic awareness. Students identify the beginning sound of the picture on the monster's sign. They color the picture that has the same beginning sound. A practice page is also included for this activity.
You can have students use clothes pins to clip the sound before they color – sneaking in a little fine motor practice too.
Monster Match Up:
Students color or dab the matching lowercase letter and then write the letter pair on the lines.
Monster Counting:
The math activities in this packet focus on numbers 1-5. For Monster Counting students count the monsters on the card and then find a square on their paper with the matching number of dots. They color the square to match the color of the monsters.
Monster Numbers:
Students read the number on the card and color the set of dots that matches. They trace the number and then practice writing the number on their own.
Monster Math:
Students count the circles on the card to determine how many. They find the corresponding number on their paper and color the square to match the color of the circles. You can see a sneak peek of the “I Can” directions in the picture above. All of the centers come with one to promote independence.
See it on TpT
You can check out this 6 Pack Centers Back to School Monsters kit in my TpT shop by clicking on the picture below. Be sure to download the preview to see what is included.
Back to School Monster Freebie
Here's a few pictures to show you a sneak peek of some of the activities included. This freebie is in my TpT shop so you can click on any of the pictures to take you there or click on the big picture at the end.
First up is Monster Supplies. This makes for a fun class discussion during the first week of school and a great introduction to sorting. We talk about what students need for school and color those objects. This leads into a discussion on the importance of talking care of our class supplies.
Name practice with Watch Me Write. There's picture cues on the page to help students remember what writing utensil to use.
Another name practice page {because in Kindergarten you can NEVER have enough}! Students write their name, color the letters in their name, and then count the letters in their name.
This next page helps us practice using just a small dot of glue. We use glue sticks a lot, but I do like to introduce my students to glue bottles. Using the bottles helps strengthen hand muscles and they use them in art class so I like for them to have some practice.
Here's a fun little activity that is super easy to put together. Just print the page and slide it in a page protector. Student will need a dot cube for this activity.
To play, they roll the dot cube and count the number of dots and place that many snap cubes on the board. They roll again, count, and add more dot cubes to the board. They continue rolling, counting, and adding dot cubes until the board is full.
A few helpful tips…I have my students switch colors each time so they can keep track of their rolls. On the last roll they have to roll the exact number they need. So if they have four empty spaces, they have to roll a four to complete the activity!
Another title for this next activity could be “My First Write the Room” because it's basically the same idea. It's perfect for getting the kiddos up and moving and exploring their new “home away from home”.
First go over the names of each picture with the students before having them complete this activity independently or with a partner. The little explorers walk around the classroom on a hunt for each location listed. Once they find it, they color it on the paper.
This would also be a great activity to do Meet the Teacher night!
Here's an uppercase and lowercase matching activity. Little learners roll the dot cube, count the dots and color {or dab} a lowercase letter based on the letter code in the square. You could also slide this page in to a page protector and have your learners use snap cubes to cover the letters.
So there's your sneak peek of what's included. You'll find a couple more pages are included, but I'll leave those for a surprise! Be sure to stop by my TpT shop and download this freebie. Click on the picture below to take you there.
Wishing you the very best school year with your back to school monsters!!! Thanks for reading along!
Thank-you for sharing! I'm looking forward to using the "Where Is It?" as we do staggered start. I thought the kids could work with partners to find the things in the room. Have a great year!
Thank-you for sharing! I'm looking forward to using the "Where Is It?" as we do staggered start. I thought the kids could work with partners to find the things in the room. Have a great year!
Amanda
Thank you for the freebie! I hope to get the pack in the future!
Thank you so much! I wish I had this in the beginning of the year. I'll definitely be using next year.
Thank you for the freebie. The ^ Pack is on my wishlist. I hope to get it soon.
Thank you for the freebie. The ^ Pack is on my wishlist. I hope to get it soon.
Thank you, Thank you!:)
I LOVE the centers! I just added them to my cart! Thanks so much for the freebies too! They are beyond cute and perfect for the first week of school!