Can I tell you a secret? You know those dry, mundane, ‘The cat is brown. The dog is black.’ stories? I LOVE THEM. Yes, the storyline leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, the words and pictures are so predictable it can be a little (more than a little) painful. But these books can be…
STEPPING Up the Reading!
Oh exciting things are happening in this house of ours — Sammy is starting to read. As a teacher, I just love this stage of child development. He knows all his sounds and blends and he is starting to sound out words all on his own. He is so excited about it, he is ready…
Name Hockey
My oldest is very artistic. My middle child loves being outside and in nature (and wild). And as it turns out, this baby of mine loves sports. I have to be honest, I really didn’t see that last little curve ball. I would say we are a crafty family, sure. An outdoorsy family, most definitely….
Alphabet Recognition Activities for Preschoolers
Do you know what I love? Questions from Mamas. ESPECIALLY when I have the answers! While there are oodles and oodles of parenting questions I could not even take a stab at, those related to learning—and specifically alphabet learning? I’ve got your back. How do you introduce letters? Capitals? Lower case? What order? When do…
S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g it Out to Learn to Read
Learning letters and their sounds get little ones ready to read, right? Wrong!!! (Well, that was rather abrasive and negative. I’m sorry. Please see it as passion and not negativity) Letters and sounds, letters and sounds, letters and sounds. You could find thousands of activities to practice these skills with your little ones on this…
The Great Boat Float: Teaching Rhyming to Preschoolers
A little while ago, I was playing a rhyming game with my little one when I realized he really wasn’t grasping the concept of rhyming. I tried a different game, and low and behold, he wasn’t grasping it that way, either. Teaching rhyming to preschoolers isn’t always easy! How could this be?! I thought for…
Flying into a Letter Recognition Activity!
I mentioned a little while ago how I wanted to share some of my older posts with you again and how I hoped you wouldn’t mind, and how they were really cool activities, but the writing was perhaps a little off, and how sometimes I rambled (okay that clearly has not gotten any better). Well,…
Activities for Preschoolers – February Classroom Tour
Valentine’s Day is next week and you are not ready. Your little preschoolers will be crushed! AH! No need to panic – we’ve all been there. Don’t you worry – I’ve got your back. Here are some fabulous February activities for preschoolers you can set up in a jiffy. You are going to love these…
Beyond the Alphabet
Without these 7 skills, children will never (never, never, never) be amazingly strong readers. (WHAT!) That is quite a claim to make! But I stand behind it wholeheartedly. I know firsthand. I have seen students who rock at reading, and children who struggle every single day. Learning letters and their sounds are important for children….
A Valentine Name Puzzle – Preschool Valentines Day Craft
Name puzzles are a fabulous way to help children learn to identify and order their name letters. And name letters are the very first place we start when teaching kids letters. (You can read all about that in the order to teach kids letters.) We have been playing with name puzzles for ages! I made…
