Magnet Center Activities

Ever since I put up an oil drip pan in my classroom I've been intending to make some activities to use at this center. In the meantime we've had a combination of magnetic letters, numbers, farm animals, Mickey Mouse, etc.

Last year I wanted to add a magnet center but wasn't sure where to put one. This year I re-arranged my classroom and the perfect spot presented itself. I used industrial strength Velcro to attach my oil drip pan to the back of a shelf and voila- magnet center created.

I {FINALLY} got around to creating some center activities to use in this area that are a little more structured than free play magnets. This first pack is great for the month of December with a holiday theme, and the next pack will include a winter theme. The pack includes 4 different activities that I rushed to prep so that I could share photos of what they look like set up in person.

The first activity is letter matching. Line the presents up on your magnet board and have students sort either capital, lowercase, or both under each of the presents. I am just using capital letters with my group and in hind sight from looking at this photo I would probably cut the alphabet in half. The board looks very full and busy with this many letters. That's just my opinion, and some older kiddos could probably handle it just fine.

I snagged an action shot with this one today and 2 of my kiddos.

After I snapped the photo he realized his R did not match the P and moved it :)

The next activity is for number matching. There are 4 trees, the first 3 including numbers 1-20. The 4th tree has random numbers on it. I lined up the number ornaments along the bottom and students match them on top of the tree. My only suggestion for this one would be to use a stronger magnet on the ornaments so they hold onto the board through the tree. You could also place the ornaments in a small container nearby.

Activity number 3 includes stocking shape sorting! Place each of the stockings along the top of your magnet board. Have a container nearby with all of the ornaments. Students sort the ornaments out by their shapes and place them under the correct stocking.

The last activity is for color sorting. Place the color words on your magnet board. Put the light bulbs in a container nearby and students place them under the correct color word. I have this activity set up to use for tomorrow and have it started with 1 light bulb under each word to give students a cue to get going on their own.

I'm SO excited for this and can't wait to keep the ball rolling to have engaging and structured activities for my kiddos at the magnet center! You may have also noticed in each picture that there is a PEC For ABCs above the magnet board. Students always have the option to request the magnetic letters if they like. Nothing like adding in additional communication opportunities where you can. And hey, as long as they're engaged meaningfully, I don't mind if it's with the activity I suggested, or the one they chose!

If you want to purchase this item click {here} or click the cover photo below.