A photo on Friday. Did you know that a child’s ability to rhyme in Kindergarten is a direct correlation with his reading success in Grade one? It’s true. So if you are looking to give your little one a leg up on reading, have fun with a rhyme or two. We practice rhyming mostly through…
Sight Word Games on the Pumpkin Patch
I have been wondering for a little while what to do with my older posts. Since I have been doing this for quite some time now, some of my old posts feel a bit awkward to me. I sort of feel like I was in that awkward teenage phase where I was trying to impress…
Super Sight Word Pencils!
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No … it’s a super-sight-word-pencil-to-help-little-ones-gain-confidence-with-their-writing-um, thing! I just love these super pencils and all of the confidence they give little writers. If you have a little one who is beginning to read and write pop on over to Hands on as we Grow to read all about these great…
A Simple Letter Matching Game
Wondering how to introduce the “other” type of letter? Whether you start by teaching your little ones lowercase letters or uppercase letters, a great way to introduce the other is with matching. As I always say, keep it slow and fun. Here is a fun game to play with matching letters that I wrote about…
To Simply Educate {A Photo on Friday}
A photo on Friday, because sometimes all you need is a photo. And perhaps a Latin derivative to ponder? Education, Latin: educare meaning, “To lead or draw out”. I spend a lot of time thinking about teaching, learning, and working with my little ones. I found this definition of education a very helpful reminder. I…
A Simple Reading Trick {A photo on Friday}
A photo on Friday, because sometimes all you really need is the photo. But usually I can’t help but unnecessarily say a few things about that photo. This simple idea, turning the closed captioning on while kids watch television, is brilliant. This idea was suggested at a teaching conference I attended a long while back….
Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers: No Pencil Required!
Sammy is very interested in letters and ‘spelling’ right now. He loves to ask how to spell words, point out letters he knows everywhere he goes, and generally all alphabet activities for preschoolers. He would also very much love to print these letters. However, he is simply not quite ready for writing. He is 3…
Stringing a Painters Tape Christmas Tree
Christmas celebrations are in full swing over here. The Christmas trees are up and decorated, the lights hung, and Santas’ and Snowmen are displayed as far as the eye can see. So it’s only fitting we break out the green painter’s tape! Before we get into my love of painter’s tape …I mean, the Christmas…
Slowly Learning to Read
I have noticed that the preludes to my activities I do with my little ones have gotten a bit lengthy. I recognize that. I know that many of you lovely readers are just popping over from Pinterest, Facebook, or elsewhere because this idea caught your eye. I love that. I do love having so many…
Skeleton Bone Writing (with Qtips)
Halloween is right around the corner. Time to break out the themed activities! I love using themes to encourage learning with my little ones – and if it’s a little spooky, well that’s part of the fun! I wrote a fun post for Hands on as we Grow this week. We used Q-tips as skeleton…









