My favorite new homeschooling tool is Learning Center Activities. To create centers within my home I simply place hands-on activities in an area of our home for my children to go to as a transitional activity, or during their free time, if they choose. Although they are many wonderful hands-on manipulatives that can be purchased, many of which I’ve reviewed for Heart of the Matter, one of my new favorite finds is Evan-Moor’s Take it to your Seat series, available as both a standard book or ebook. Using this series you can create your own hands-on activity centers inexpensively. Although they are obviously created for classroom use, they work perfectly in our homeschool and are simple to make and are a great way to review, reinforce or introduce skills. We’ve even taken them with us to restaurants and are a great way to pass the time anytime you find yourself waiting.

Literacy Centers: Take it to your Seat Grades K-1
Includes everything you need to create 12 centers that cover beginning reading skills practice. All of the activities can be done on a table or on the floor and allow students to self-check if desired. Step-by-step illustrated instructions for creating a bag center and instructions for using each center are also included and are easy to understand. Each center activity also includes a coordinating worksheet.

Activities included in this center:
Find the pairs of matching lower case letters & words
Read the color & place the paint brushes in the correct jar
Positional words: Read the word on the sorting mat and select an appropriate picture.
Rhyming Puzzles: Name the picture you see and find three other pictures that rhyme.
Word Families: Sort Kangaroo joeys into the correct mother Kangaroo’s pouch.
Following Directions: Using illustrated cards follow the instructions to create simple drawings
Alphabet order: Adhere lower case letters to a giraffe in order
Categorization: Sort pictures into groups
Real and Make Believe: Sort pictures into groups of things that are real and things that are not.
Make a word using beginning and ending sounds
Rebus Story
Word Family Puzzles: Read a word card and put it on the correct mat. Then flip cards and arrange puzzle.

Take it to your Seat: Phonics Centers level B
Included are instructions and cut-outs for creating 13 envelope center activities using 9 x 12 envelopes. All of the activities can be done at a desk or on the floor. Activities are included for: visual discrimination, rhyming words, word families, matching upper and lower case letters, listening for initial consonant sounds, listening for final consonant sounds, listening for initial and final consonant sounds, and short vowels.

Both series are available standard book or ebook form. Available for purchase from Currclick or from Evan Moor.

Attention ebook users: If you use the ebook version make sure that you glue the backs onto your manipulatives before using if you want your child to be able to self-check, otherwise you won’t have the color coding on the back of the cards.

Karin Katherine is a proud stay-at-home mother of four who feels blessed to be the mother of 5 year old fraternal twin boys and two daughters, ages three and 10 months. You are invited to follow her homeschooling adventures at www.PassportAcademy.com and her adventures as a mother, wife, homemaker, decorator and organizer at www.MommyMattersBlog.com