The Kindergarten Smorgasboard, an educational resource store created by veteran kindergarten teacher Greg Smedley-Warren, offers a collection of free printable materials designed for early childhood education. These resources are available for download through platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers and the store's own website. The freebies cover a range of subjects and themes, including math, literacy, science, and seasonal activities, and are intended for use in classrooms or at home with children in Pre-K through early elementary grades. All materials are digital downloads that require printing, and many are designed to be laminated for durability and reuse. The resources are created by an educator with over 18 years of teaching experience, who holds a Teacher of the Year award and has been featured in national media outlets.
Overview of Available Free Resources
The free resources from The Kindergarten Smorgasboard are primarily instructional materials that educators and parents can print and use immediately. They are not physical product samples or promotional offers from brands, but rather educational tools created by a teacher. The collection includes activities for various subjects and seasonal themes. Key categories of freebies available include:
- Math Activities: Resources focus on counting, number recognition, ten frames, subtraction, and graphing. Examples include Christmas-themed counting cards, turkey-themed counting centers with clothespins, ten-frame cards using manipulatives like mini erasers, fuzzy subtraction puzzles, and a Super Bowl graphing activity.
- Literacy Activities: These include sight word-based emergent readers, letter recognition games, and phonics practice. Examples are a fall-themed emergent reader, a turkey-themed letter and sound recognition game with "disco turkeys," and a solar eclipse-themed emergent reader.
- Fine Motor and General Skills: Materials include tracing and cutting lines practice, which is a back-to-school freebie.
- Classroom Management and Motivation: A set of 31 printable "cheers" is available to celebrate student successes, with instructions for creating a container for the cards.
The store also lists resources for preparing children for kindergarten, though specific details of these freebies are not provided in the source data.
Accessing and Using the Free Printables
The free resources are available through two primary channels: the Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) platform and The Kindergarten Smorgasboard's own website. The TPT store lists 113 products, all priced at $0.00, indicating they are free downloads. The store's own website, thekindergartensmorgasboardstore.com, also hosts a "freebies" collection.
To access and use these materials, the process is generally as follows: 1. Download: Users visit the listed websites and download the digital PDF files. 2. Print: The files are designed to be printed on standard home or school printers. 3. Prepare: Many activities recommend laminating the printed cards or sheets for durability. Instructions often specify cutting apart cards or pieces. 4. Implement: Educators and parents can then use the materials with children according to the described activities. For example, with the ten-frame cards, students might use physical manipulatives like mini erasers to represent numbers.
The resources are designed to be hands-on and engaging, with an emphasis on kinesthetic learning. The creator, Greg Smedley-Warren, guides users to his website for additional freebies, handouts, a blog, and event information where he makes appearances.
Detailed Look at Specific Free Resources
Based on the source data, several specific free activities can be detailed:
- Christmas Math Activity: This resource involves printable number cards. Students use Christmas bows to create ten frames and record their answers on a provided sheet. It is designed to be a hands-on counting activity for the holiday season.
- Thanksgiving Turkey Counting Center: A printable set of turkey shapes and oval shapes. Students place clothespins on the turkey to match the number, practicing one-to-one correspondence and counting.
- Turkey Letter and Sound Recognition: A game featuring "disco turkeys." Students select a card, say the letter or the beginning sound, and color the corresponding letter or picture. The cards can also be used for a matching game if two sets are printed.
- Ten-Frame Cards: These cards are versatile tools for counting practice. The source mentions they work well with specific manipulatives like fruit mini erasers from Target or Halloween-themed erasers (e.g., witch hats, cats, pumpkins). Students identify the number on a card and count out the corresponding number of items.
- Emergent Readers: The store offers sight-word-based emergent readers for themes like fall and the solar eclipse. These books are available in both color and blackline versions to accommodate different printing needs.
- Super Bowl Graphing Activity: A timely activity where students vote for the winning team by coloring and gluing football helmets onto a class graph. They then complete their own graphs and analyze the data.
- Fuzzy Subtraction Puzzles: These puzzles provide practice for subtracting to 10 and building fact fluency. Students match an equation to its answer.
- Classroom Cheer Cards: A set of 31 printable cards designed to motivate students and celebrate successes. Instructions suggest placing them in a container, such as a Cheer laundry detergent bottle or a homemade container.
Creator Background and Reliability
The resources are created by Greg Smedley-Warren, a kindergarten teacher with 18 years of teaching experience. His background includes teaching fifth and second grade before focusing on kindergarten for the past 15 years. He was named Teacher of the Year in 2013-2014 and has been recognized with other educational awards. He is also a curriculum developer, international speaker, and co-founder of a professional development conference for Pre-K through 2nd-grade educators. His work has been featured on major media outlets like Fox Chicago, Good Morning America, and ABC World News. This extensive experience and public recognition lend credibility to the educational materials he produces.
The information about the freebies is sourced directly from the product descriptions on the Teachers Pay Teachers platform and the store's website, which are official channels for these resources. These descriptions provide clear instructions on how to use the materials, making them reliable for educators and parents seeking structured activities.
Conclusion
The Kindergarten Smorgasboard provides a valuable collection of free, printable educational resources for early childhood education. Created by an experienced and recognized teacher, these materials cover a wide range of subjects and seasonal themes, from math and literacy to fine motor skills and classroom management. The freebies are accessible through digital platforms, requiring only printing and some preparation, such as laminating and cutting. While they are not consumer product samples, they represent a significant free offering for educators and parents seeking high-quality, hands-on activities to engage young learners. The clear instructions and thematic variety make these resources a practical tool for supporting early education at home or in the classroom.