When it comes to teaching letters and sounds, I should really be saying ‘sounds then letters,’ because teaching sounds actually comes first! The ability to hear and manipulate sounds is called Phonological Awareness, and it is the first step in teaching a child to read. In fact, phonological awareness is even more important for…
Teaching Letter Recognition – What Order to Introduce Letters
Wondering about the order for teaching letters to your little ones? I’m on it! I feel as though I am always writing about waiting to teach letter recognition. Wait and let little hands get strengthened by other activities. Wait until little minds have had ample time to hear different words and sounds. But a day…
What is Phonological Awareness? From Rhyming to Reading
As you likely know, I am a huge proponent of waiting until children are developmentally ready to learn skills. It is not developmentally appropriate to teach most 3-year-olds to read. But it is developmentally appropriate to teach most 3-year-olds to rhyme. And rhyming is the very first phonological awareness skill that little ones should learn!…
Summer Alphabet Games & Activities
With some absolutely beautiful weather this week, summertime—and all that it stands for—is calling me! It’s a time for fun in the sun, loads of play, and exploring this incredible world of ours. It’s also the perfect time to do some one-on-one learning with little ones. No matter how incredible a teacher is, there is nothing…
Bee Crafts and Activities | 20 Fun Ideas for Kids!
Earlier this week, I shared a watercolor crayon resist bee art project with you. And today, I have even more bee crafts and activities for you—20 of them, to be exact! Everything from bee crafts, bee sensory play, educational bee activities, bee pretend play, and more. If you want to teach your little one more bees…
Christmas Activities for Preschoolers
Christmas is such an exciting time of year for preschoolers and kids of all ages! We can harness this excitement to make learning around this time of year extra special for little ones! I have so many fun Christmas activities for preschoolers that do exactly that to share with you! But first, you’ll also want…
Fabulous Fall Science Experiments
I really do love fall. I always have. The beautiful colors, the crisp air, pumpkin spiced everything… and perhaps most importantly, the end of MOSQUITOES! Mind you, this year wasn’t too bad for the guys, but I remember a few years back the mosquitoes in our area were truly out of this world. Our neighbours…
Phonological Awareness Games… with Building Blocks!
Are you ready to build some strong pre-reading skills? Well, block off some time in your schedule for play—because I’m going to show you how to use building blocks to play some fun phonological awareness games! Not unlike building a block tower, a strong foundation is also necessary when building a reader. Before we teach…
Moon Activities for Kids
One of the most exciting parts of homeschooling is the time available to explore topics that are of interest. When my boys were younger, one of the first topics that really intrigued them was the moon. And so, “moon activities” became the name of the game. We spent a lot of time reading moon books,…
Free Printable Toadstool Counting Cards
Did you know that a local mama creates all of the beautiful watercolor art for our Curriculum and Family Unit Study cover pages? Every time she creates something new, I am absolutely blown away by how stunning her artwork is! And her latest cover page design for Nature School was no exception. When I saw…
