We’ve all read, seen or heard the research over the years…kids need to use several modalities while learning. I know I’m a visual person so I tend to like to see things modeled and watch a how to video. I have had students over the years that need to touch, move, manipulate numbers, disks, beads, counters etc.
In my new role as a literacy specialist I have been working with a group of kiddos on the alphabet: recognition, sounds, letter formation etc. I started thinking about creating salt boxes but in my typical ‘vicky’ way I wanted it to be a bit different for my students. So I started researching colored salt….on Amazon one of my favorite images popped up – a margarita. HAHAHA
So, the salt rim on the glasses you get a restaurants…well that salt is sold on Amazon and it’s COLORFUL! I thought how fun for my students in this small group to pick out the colored salt box they wanted to use I mean why not. I am such a proponent of making even the little things at school fun. #letthemstaylittle
So, I purchased a bag of bluish/turquoise ( to match my room of course ) salt. I will say : It’s NOT cheap. I also purchased a huge box of regular salt which was $8.86 for a 4 lb box. The colored margarita salt was $16.95 for a 16 oz bag. ( insert big eyed emoji here )
Now, if you have time you might want to visit Ana’s blog, she explains how to save a TON of money by making your own colored salt here on this post: https://babbledabbledo.com/diy-art-materials-colored-salt/
I know sometimes you are doing #allthethings, especially if you are a mom of young ones so it’s just easier to drop the cash. But, you can make the colored salt as well, OR even better print out the directions from Ana’s blog and leave it for a parent helper! #winning
Now another thing to take into consideration is your little friends that have sensory issues. This works best with their finger tracing the letters in the salt but you could give your student(s) an object – like a colored pencil or thin pointer to use. One of my students has sensory issues and didn’t want to use their finger directly on the salt as the texture felt strange to them.
I just used the Michael’s storage boxes that look like this:
This is what our time looked like, they asked if they could use the salt boxes at our next session! That’s a win I’d say.
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I hope this idea is something you can use in your classroom with your littles to help make them more successful future readers. If you have any questions email me and don’t forget you can find lots of fun ideas if you follow me:
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{ Happy teaching }
xo,
