If you’re a homeschool parent-teacher or kindergarten teacher you know how difficult the task of reading can be for a child. Letter sounds, letter recognition, blends, vowels (long and short), digraphs, sight words, CVC words, soft c— it’s a lot, even for me to wrap my head around. And I know how to read! This fun Digraphs SH, TH, CH Printable Pack includes 3 posters and a sorting activity to practice with. [Read more…]
Sight Word Practice with Magnetic Letters
If you’ve got a little one in preschool or kindergarten through second grade, then you know the struggle with teaching sight words. I’m always trying to come up with new and creative ways to try and reduce the repetitiveness of teaching sight words to my very non-interested 5-year-old. Flashcards are great, and in a pinch, I might fall back on them, but I try not to rely on them. I like to incorporate as many hands-on and creative learning when it comes to sight words, which is why this activity, Sight Word Practice with Magnetic Letters, [Read more…]
Sight Word Bingo
Preschool is a fun age for kids to learn about numbers and letters. It’s all cutting and pasting and making animals out of letters. It marks the beginning of many academic milestones to come. My little one recently started VPK a few days a week but still comes to work with me on his off days. I’m always scouring for new ways to [Read more…]
How to Teach a Toddler the Alphabet
When I first started thinking about teaching my 2 and-half-year-old son the alphabet, I thought the easiest approach would be to just sing the ABC song over and over and he’d eventually catch on. Wrong. He couldn’t even stand to hear me sing the ABC song let alone sing it over and over again. I’d get about 5 letters in and I’d hear my sweet boy say, “Mommy stop, stop singing!” Ugh! After being thoroughly offended for about 2 minutes, I had to think of a different approach. I decided to try using the Letter of the Week strategy and after about 4 weeks he was hooked on letters and singing his ABC’s anywhere and everywhere! My favorite is when he sings at the top of his lungs while we’re in the stall of a public restroom…it makes my heart smile every time! [Read more…]
5 Easy Ways to Donate to Schools
It’s back to school for kids across the country. While this may be an exciting time for most, it’s also stressful for many kids. Why? Because there are countless families who can’t afford the basics when it comes to the dreaded back to school supplies list. Many children aren’t equipped with the basics: backpacks, pens, pencils, paper, and binders. According to Adopt a Classroom.org, K-12 teachers spend [Read more…]
Reflections and Mindful Resolutions
The year 2016 is over, and let’s face it, it was not pretty. Everywhere I turned – Facebook and Twitter – they all were counting down the seconds until 2017, hoping that the New Year would be different.
While we might hope that a new year will bring a new us, we have to recognize that years are just marked days on a calendar. Nothing really changes in those final seconds, nothing instantly transforms us. We still have to make conscious decisions to move forward and change. Entering 2017 does not erase 2016. We still have to remember the choices we made to get to 2017.
Without getting political or anything, it’s time to recognize that the world is changing. It’s time to do our part of working with it or against it. Resolutions don’t have to be about getting fit or quitting smoking. They can be about making a difference in the world. Because whether you believe it or not – one person can make a difference, and when we work together we change the world.