Quick Holiday Centers

A while ago I shared how I use placemats to make centers for my little friends {That post is HERE}. Today I am going to show you a slight variation to that...just in time for December!

Basically we are swapping placemats for plates.... and Halloween for Christmas.

The idea is to just keep you thinking how many possibilities there are to make personalized centers quickly for your class.

These centers I use for early finishers OR to reinforce a skill my class is struggling on.  These may not be a main "job" for the kids, but instead are disguised as fun, mainly because I don't require them to record anything with my placemat or plate centers.

All you need to create your own are clothespins, a Sharpie and some holiday item... in this case a Christmas tree plate from the 99 Cent Store:

As you can see above, I wrote numbers around the edge of the plate with the Sharpie. The students are to match the correct number of dots to the numeral.

When they are done I ask them to share with a friend. Then leave it ready for the next player like this:

Sometimes I will use the same plate for two centers....or rather, for two different skills.

The numbers are the same, but I swap out the clothespins. This group is working on adding one to a number.

To keep things straight I will tag the back of the clothespins like this:

Just another way I have found to use washi tape. I just stick a little piece on the back of each clip. This helps me if I only want to take one version of the game out. But sometimes I will have both versions out and I tell the kids you can do the red one or whatever the case may be....although sometimes that can be tricky.

The point is you can adapt and change to meet the individual needs of your group.

If I am shopping and see a themed placemat or plate available I will usually get it even if I don't have a plan for it at that moment... that way, it will be waiting for me when I need a quick center.... and yes, clothespins are Sharpies are always in my room too.

I hope this is an easy idea you can use!