The Zebra Basket is the handwriting basket. A lot of schools have a handwriting curriculum in place, but so many do not, and either way this is a great way to start a beginning overview to basic handwriting skills. This isn’t an assignment that is graded or even really scrutinized in any way. It is more of an opportunity for kindergarteners to get a feel of what it is like to complete an assignment and to have something tangible to take home.

The handouts we have available at Teachable Method include both D’Nealian as well as the traditional ball and stick handwriting. Most school districts have a policy on which handwriting form they want you to use. At Teachable Method we prefer ball and stick, but we also understand that you can’t go against the wishes of your district.

There are two handouts in the basket for students to choose from. If they have time, they can complete both handouts, but this is for your more advanced students to give them something to do if they finish. The teachable method has handouts available for purchase, but if you want to make your own, you just need to make sure you are using the theme and have lined paper with dotted letters for them to trace. For example, our shapes handwriting handout has shapes on it with the names of the shape below in a traceable font.

When the students are finished with the handwriting part of their work, they should be given the opportunity to color their handouts and put them in a folder to take home at the end of the week. I try to save all the work until the end of the week to send home so that parents actually get a chance to see it instead of it ending up wadded up in the bottom of their backpack.

The final tabletop center basket is the Monkey Basket. This basket will have a simple dot to dot sheet or a color by shapes sheet in them. For this center it is very important that you have a laminated example in the basket for the students to look at. Remember, kindergarten just started and they only have fifteen minutes to complete this project, so it is important that they don’t feel defeated by not knowing how to complete the work. The teachable method handouts that are available for purchase on the website take this all into consideration, but if you want to make your own, you need to remember that children can’t read yet, and will need a lot of help and direction from both you and the handouts in the beginning.

The Monkey tabletop not only incorporates fine motor skills, but basic math skills as well. By using this tabletop center, you are helping your students develop beginner geometry. Always let the children color their paper if time permits. This gives them a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that their work is valid. When they are done with this center, it should go into their take home folders.

Now that you know what each center is, and how each one is used, let me tell you a little more about using them.

If you are using the teachable method handouts, you just need to go in and print out that week’s handouts and put them in the corresponding baskets. There is a small animal in the top right hand corner of each sheet that corresponds with the animals on the baskets. You can get your free animal center tags here. This is to make it easier for you to prep your centers.

You need to remember that table top time should not last longer than fifteen minutes. Allow at least 25 minutes each Monday because you will be explaining the baskets to your students before they actually get table top time. This is a long time for new kindergarteners to sit, so I suggest having the students go around to different tables to get the explanation of each center, and then having them go back to their own tables to begin.

It is very important that you are up and walking around during these centers because you will be constantly monitoring and assessing the needs of the students. You will find that some children complete these centers quickly and with relative ease. If that is the case, then you can have them help out some of the other children who are struggling, or you can give them manipulatives such as bears or counting blocks to play with while the other children finish.

Tabletop centers are not designed to be a full year curriculum. They are going to tie into a much larger writing curriculum throughout the school year. (In fact, you will start doing them in conjunction with writing almost immediately.) They are, however, designed to teach children basic rules and procedures of kindergarten while helping develop the fine motor skills the students need to be successful writers.

Have fun with these centers! Go over to the play-doh center and challenge the kids to create the longest snakes, or ask them to make the tallest snowman! These baskets are designed to help you facilitate the beginning of an entire year with these students. Using them effectively now could make your kindergarten year a breeze.