Lovin Lakeshore!!

I want to show you a new "toy" I got for my classroom that I am in love with....and better yet my kiddos are in love with.....:0) Here it is!! It's called the Phonemic Awareness PLINKO game ......hahahaha - you know...like from the Price Is Right game show?? (Gosh I remember watching that show as a kid - I always wanted to do 2 games: the "punch a number game AND PLINKO!!) This super cool game is from Lakeshore Learning (yes otherwise known as "Teacher Heaven":0)

I love this game because it allows you to help your kiddos practice phonemic awareness tasks (rhyming, beginning sounds, and ending sounds) in a fun way.... The kids really have no idea they are doing anything other than playing a game --- and we know that's when they learn the most!

There are some other reasons I love this game: 
1. It is built so sturdy....there is nothing worse than getting a cool activity, but getting a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach because you know the first time you put it in a center it will be tore up. We've all had those items....they look so cute, but just don't hold up to a bunch of kinders or first graders using them..... Well, rest assured - this thing is WELL made! It folds up so you can store it, but it is NOT made of cardboard - so I don't have to worry about putting this in a center. It will hold up.

2. This kind of goes along with being sturdy..... I love the little circle "chips". I love the pictures. I find that sometimes I get game pieces and it's hard to tell what the pictures are - the pictures are confusing. NOT HERE! The pictures are beautiful and clear. The kids and I didn't have any problems figuring out any of the pictures. Plus.....and this is the part I really like ...... the "chips" are wooden - not cardboard! Talk about sturdy!! Nice job Lakeshore!!

Grade Appropriateness: Kinder, 1st, and beginning of 2nd.

I obviously used this game at the beginning of kinder. We have not thoroughly discussed rhyming or beginning/ending sounds yet so I gave my kids lots of extra support to play the game. In fact, I had them practice using the game by simply saying the name of the pictures. But I CANNOT wait to use this game throughout kinder in both small group review lessons and in literacy centers. It soooo engages the kids - they just think it's so fun!

This is PERFECT for kinder from mid-September through the beginning of 2nd grade (for 2nd grade it would be an activity they could do pretty much independently right off the bat)......

I LOVED this game!!!
If you haven't ever heard of Lakeshore Learning (well... where the heck have you been?)...but if you haven't, check it out.....this link even offers up to $15 off of any purchase you make from Lakeshore.

Love it when companies really listen to teachers and give us stuff our kids NEED and WANT to use!!