• Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Shop
  • Free Downloads
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • interactive read-alouds
  • crafts
  • digital
  • centers
  • handwriting
  • kindergarten essentials

Miss M's Resources

August 7, 2018 · 1 Comment

DIY Letter Wands

Uncategorized

 

My students always LOVE using pointers in the classroom.  We use them for concepts of print practice (pointing to different parts of the books/words/letters), to track words when reading in big books (these pointers are too big to point to words in regular-sized books), to go on letter and sight word hunts around our classroom, to point to letters and words in pocket charts, and to use on our SmartBoard.  I also like to call them wands–I just find that word more fun–and my students agree!

I decided to make letter wands to use when teaching letter recognition, letter sounds, and beginning sounds.  Because I want to use these for letter sounds, I’m using lowercase letters (when I have time, I’ll probably end up making uppercase wands as well, and only use them for letter recognition).  The best part of this project is that the final product only cost $16 total!

To begin, I needed wooden letters.  My search began with looking for small(ish) wooden letter blocks that I would end up spray painting in neon colors.  I quickly realized this would be quite expensive and time-consuming, so I rerouted my search to wooden letter puzzles.  I happened upon these amazing wooden letter puzzles from Amazon (duh!) for $11.99 (no tax + free shipping).  They are the perfect size for kindergarten pointers and they are already painted!

For the “wand” part, I bought 30 wood dowels (1/4″ diameter 12″ long) from Joann’s for $1.49 a pack.  I can’t find them online, so here is a picture of what I purchased:

Attaching the wood dowels to the wood letters was easy!  I simply drilled a small hole (with a 1/4″ drill bit) into the bottom of each letter, added a dot of wood glue, inserted the dowel, and allowed them to dry for a few hours.  That’s it!  I definitely recommend using a drill bit that is exactly 1/4″ wide; there is really no room for error.  Too small and the dowel won’t fit, too large and the dowel will fall out.  The

I’m so excited to have these letter wands ready for the first day of kindergarten.  I have 24 students this year, so having 26 letter wands will allow for each friend to have their own wand (and a couple extra for Miss Morgan).  For the Letter Wands label, click here (I also included a “Letter Pointers” version).  The jar I put them in is from Target, and can be found here.  Enjoy!  🙂

« Kindergarten Readiness
Sight Words »

Comments

  1. Unknown says

    January 17, 2022 at 7:10 pm

    Thank you for the freebie Letter Wands label!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Subscribe via Email

Search

Categories

Latest on Instagram

Cannot wait for the rain to stop in California. ☔️⁣
⁣
But at least we can write what we know with these Spring Coloring + Writing pages!⁣
⁣
My students can’t get enough of them. ⁣
⁣
And I’m hoping to add a new page or two soon!⁣
⁣
{link in profile}⁣
⁣
Happy writing! ✏️🌧️⁣
⁣
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Coloring-Pages-7819540
Happy Very Hungry Caterpillar Day + first day of S Happy Very Hungry Caterpillar Day + first day of S P R I N G ! 🐛 ad⁣
⁣
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle is a forever classic kindergarten read. ⁣
⁣
Perfect for story sequencing and retelling, butterfly life cycles, spring, + more. ⁣
⁣
So join @penguinkids, @worldericcarle, + me to celebrate Very Hungry Caterpillar Day with a read aloud!⁣
⁣
Enjoy! 🐛
H A L F O F F !⁣ ⁣ Spring is {almost} officia H A L F  O F F !⁣
⁣
Spring is {almost} officially here and this is the time when I like to reinforce our classroom routines and expectations.⁣
⁣
Because we can all see the summer light at the end of the tunnel, but it's essential we get the most out of our last ten weeks of school.⁣
⁣
And to help you do the same, my classroom management bundle is H A L F off for the rest of today and tomorrow ONLY!⁣
⁣
It includes six of my classroom management bestsellers:⁣
- visual directions⁣
- visual schedule⁣
- crayon visual timer⁣
- bathroom signs⁣
- table points⁣
- classroom rules ⁣
⁣
{link in profile}⁣
⁣
Happy classroom-managing! ✏️⁣
⁣
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Management-BUNDLE-8318735
G I V E A W A Y !⁣ {closed} ⁣ "How Many Squirr G I V E A W A Y !⁣ {closed}
⁣
"How Many Squirrels Are in the World" by Mister G.⁣
⁣
The most fun counting book with rhyming text.⁣
⁣
Perfect for all primary classrooms for a fun + interactive read!⁣
⁣
And I'm giving away a copy! To enter, simply like this post + comment!⁣
⁣
Giveaway ends Sunday, 3/19, at noon PST. Winner will be notified via DM.⁣
⁣
Good luck + happy counting! 🐿
Need a NO-PREP activity for tomorrow?⁣ ⁣ Let t Need a NO-PREP activity for tomorrow?⁣
⁣
Let this little leprechaun save the day!⁣
⁣
This resource includes two different sized leprechaun crafts with two decodable readers.⁣
⁣
Major win. ⁣
⁣
{link in profile}⁣
⁣
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️⁣
⁣
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/St-Patricks-Day-Crafts-and-Decodable-Readers-9215043
G I V E A W A Y !⁣ {closed} ⁣ My Kindergarten G I V E A W A Y !⁣ {closed}
⁣
My Kindergarten Readiness Handbook is one of my fave resources.⁣
⁣
We give them away at our spring visits {kindergarten round-up} along with little supply kits.⁣
⁣
Both the kids + their grown-ups love them.⁣
⁣
And I'm giving away SIX copies (PDF or hard copy)! To enter:⁣
⁣
- like this post⁣
- comment with your top tip for students to be kindergarten ready⁣
⁣
That's it! Giveaway open to both parents + teachers and winners will be notified via DM. Ends Thursday, 3/16, at noon PST.⁣
⁣
{link in profile}⁣
⁣
Happy learning! ✏️⁣
⁣
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Readiness-Packet-3645780
“Fiona’s Luck” by Teresa Bateman. ⁣ ⁣ Th “Fiona’s Luck” by Teresa Bateman. ⁣
⁣
The B E S T leprechaun folktale. ⁣
⁣
With a strong female main character. I love how the book focuses on her cleverness and her ability to outwit the leprechaun king. ⁣
⁣
The perfect read for St. Patrick’s Day, or really any unit on strong women character studies. ⁣
⁣
And my Fiona’s Luck Interactive Read Aloud is perfect to make your read aloud more meaningful and purposeful. ⁣
⁣
{link in profile}⁣
⁣
Happy reading! ☘️⁣
⁣
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fionas-Luck-Read-Aloud-and-Activities-4450788

Copyright © 2023 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs · Privacy Policy