I-Spy Jars

So this easy little DIY center has been a favorite of my kiddos ALL YEAR LONG.

As a matter of fact, I had to put less options to do it in the set-up because all the kids were choosing this one! Not that there is anything wrong with that but I need them working of different skills. 

I found these little plastic jars at dollar tree (a teacher's best friend) and filled it with the following:

• Plastic Letters A-Z
• Shape Buttons
• Colored Bears
• A few misc manipulatives (tree, house, man, dog, car)

I didn't put numbers in there but that would work fine too. Next, I filled it with Epsom salt and SUPER GLUED the lid on. No accidents here! ;)    They love it!

I have the students record everything they find on a recording sheet. This includes letter recognition, colors, shapes etc. 

If I want to differentiate, I have the kids write the letter pair, or word that starts with the letter they find, or a sentence about the man, tree, dog etc. I have listed the recording sheet that I use for this under the freebies tab.

I wanna hear if you use I-spy jars in your classroom and what are your tips?!

There is a link to my I-Spy Jar Recording Sheet on my Freebies page at the top!