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…
Counting Snails
A photo on Friday, because sometimes all you need is the picture. And this is actually not one of those times. But that’s okay because I really want to share this with you. Why? I’m not too sure. It’s not that great of an idea, perhaps some would even say it might be considered slightly…
Learning about Tally Marks {A Photo on Friday}
A photo on Friday, because sometimes all you need is the picture. We began exploring the idea of tally marks this week and opted to use sticks. A super simple way to play with this concept and you quite likely have them available to you. I will share some games we played and ideas for…
Our Science and Math Shelf …
Do you know about the power of “loose parts” in play? It’s quite remarkable. Such a simple concept – one of those concepts that just make sense. In a nut shell, loose parts are exactly that. (You are most welcome for clearing that one up!) Loose parts can be anything at all – synthetic or…
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…
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….
Loose Parts Outside {A Photo on Friday}
A photo on Friday, because sometimes all you need is the picture. This week I wanted to remind you how simple activities with little ones can be. The boys were gathering up some stones and pine cones while outside, and Ben (2) decided to build a house with them. Exploring with “loose parts” is wonderful…
Fingertip Caterpillars {A Photo on Friday}
A photo on Friday, because sometimes, all you need is the picture! Making caterpillars with fingerprints is a great way to practice one-to-one correspondence (counting while pointing), patterning, skip counting, a ton! I just drew on caterpillar heads, but you could use these neat printables from Fun Handprint Art Blog. Thank you for reading, have…
Birthday Countdown
The countdown has begun. Already. Though, I suppose, why shouldn’t it? A birthday is a wonderful reason to celebrate, and a 5th birthday? Hardly anything better. With a 5th birthday mere days away (albeit 20 days …) my Sammy was very excited, and ready to do something to get ready for his birthday. I figured…
Move and Learn to Pattern
My most recent year teaching I taught in a unique classroom. I was the teacher for 14 students with profound learning disabilities. This was a class for 12 year olds, and these children had average or above average intelligence, but most couldn’t read or write. Why? They learned differently. Each child had struggled through school…
