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…
The Magic of Quiet Bins
If you visit this little space often, I am sure you know that we love Quiet Bins. I stand by the magic of quiet time wholeheartedly! My kids are happier, calmer, and so much more relaxed now that we have a set quiet time in our day. But Quiet Bins do so much more than…
Teaching Numbers with Quiet Time Activities
Settling back into a routine after the holidays? We sure are – hence all of the quiet time activities you are seeing… Adding in a quiet time to our afternoons has completely transformed our days. My little ones rest and unwind allowing them to enjoy the rest of our day. I have been working on…
Our Rhythm for Preschool at Home
Happy Holidays! I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful holiday season. We had a great holiday with lots of visiting, fun, and late nights too. Which means these little ones of mine are ready to get back into our daily rhythm. They may not think they are ready – but goodness are…
Potpourri Making with Kids
We sure do love our homemade gifts around here. With the holidays just around the corner, I was so excited to try to make this potpourri! This week, we headed outside and collected pine needles to make a woodsy potpourri. This made me think about what a fabulous gift homemade potpourri would be for little…
A Painter’s Tape Road (again)
Guess what? I just published my 500th post. 500 posts about playful ways to get those little ones learning – and a few about my chickens. Turns out I have a lot to say – but there are some ideas that simply keep reappearing again and again in this space. Quiet Bins, obviously, but also…
Raising a Wild Child
My kids are actually very well behaved. They are calm, kind, and inquisitive – as long as they are outdoors. Put some walls around those boys of mine and sooner than later they will start to bounce off them. This will change with time of course, as they get older. But for now? I’m raising…
How to use Quiet Bins in the Classroom
Happy Friday! We have officially survived our first week of homeschooling. All of us. And Madeline has survived her first week of High School! I did not set my hopes too high and I am very, very happy with survival. Onward and upward! Our days at home are quite lovely right now, with one small…
Pompom Hockey Quiet Bin
A Quiet Bin idea on Friday (These Quiet Bins are to add to my original Quiet Bins book, A Year of Educational Quiet Bins: The secret to peaceful days at home with kids) Oh I have super exciting news! I have been working and working on a new Quiet Bin book – and it is…