letter magnets

One way that we practice spelling is with letter magnets. I got the magnetic boards at The School Box and I love that they have lines on them. Here are a few ideas on how to use letter magnets for spelling.



To practice "writing" their name, I place the letters to their name in a plastic bag and give them a sentence strip with their name on it. I think this is a great way for preschoolers to learn how to spell their name!



In one of their workboxes, I like to write a word that goes along with our letter of the week. I write out the word and draw a picture of the word.




Another idea is to get a set of flashcards and punch a hole in the top left corner. Place the set of flashcards on a loose leaf ring and your kids can pick a card and spell the word.




For more advanced spellers, you can use the ring of flashcards and have them spell the word on the magnetic board and then flip the card over to see if they spelled the word correctly or not.

Letter Tt

Handwriting -

letter Tt worksheets found here


explode the code


bendable building sticks

Phonics -

letter Tt worksheet found here


explode the code

beginning sound picture sort (t and P)

letter Tt mini book found here


match it! (rhyming words)

Math -


turtle graphing found here


match it! (addition)

Art/Crafts -



letter of the week (tulips)


mosaic turtles

Other -


sight word readers


letter magnets

Tt blends (ta, te, ti, to, tu)

short vowel sort

Sorts are a great way to learn! I gave away 2 sorts and a game during the curriculum clean-out and decided to provide everyone else with the option to download their own short vowel sort.

materials:

(click on the thumbnail to download the file)

file folder
velcro


learning styles:
visual
tactle/kinesthetic

directions:
1. download the sort. cut and laminate for durability.

2. place velcro on the vowel (a, e, i, o, u) cards and one velcro dot at the top of each side of the file folder.



3. choose 2 vowels to do at a time.

* The downloadable sort is different than the sort pictured above. The sort above was taken from a book I have and the downloadable sort is one that I made.

learning styles

I think it's important to get to know your children's learning styles. By knowing each child's learning style, you will be able to offer learning experiences that will enhance their learning process. There are 3 types of learners...

1. visual learners - learn by seeing the teacher's face, may think in pictures and learn through visual aids (graphic organizers, videos, power points, handouts)

2. auditory learners - learn by hearing. written material may have little meaning until it is heard (read alouds, books on tape, sound bingo)

3. tactile/kinesthetic learners - learn through moving, touching and doing. they will find it hard to sit still for long periods of time (experiments, projects, involve them physically, hands-on activities, use highlighters when reading)


"What I hear, I forget.
What I hear and see, I remember a little.
What I hear, see, and ask questions about or discuss with
someone else, I begin to understand.
What I hear, see, discuss, and do, I acquire knowledge and skill.
What I teach to another, I master."

and the winner is...

MoziEsmé who said...
Very cool - it looks like something my daughter could use right now!

Okay, I told you there would also be a surprise for all of you, too! I made a short vowels sort for you to download for free!!

short vowel sort.docx

I plan to make a beginning consonants sort, beginning blends sort and the onset and rimes game, too. I will try to do 1 a week for the next 3 weeks.

I also have another math game and sight word matching game to share with you guys later on, too.

thanks!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to say thanks for participating in my giveaway! Be sure to check back tomorrow morning to see who the lucky winner of the giveaway is and...

a SURPRISE!!!!!!

pig out!

No, I'm not talking about pigging out with food! This "pig out" is a fun math game that you can use for addition or multiplication.

Here’s how to play:

1. roll one die to see who goes first. the player with the highest number goes first. give each player their own game board.

2. player one rolls both dice and writes down the equation in the first column, writes the sum/product in the second column and the total amount (running total) in the third column.

3. after player one’s turn, he/she decides if he/she wants to roll again (play) or pass to the second player.

4. if the player chooses to pass, he/she must pass the dice to their partner to end their turn. If he/she chooses to play, he/she will roll the dice again and add the new sum/product to their previous score.

5. don’t Pig Out!! if the player rolls one (1), he/she loses their turn.


if he/she rolls two 1s (pig eyes), he/she loses their points and must begin again at zero.


6. Take turns repeating steps 2-5.

7. The winner is the first person to score at least 100 points or the agreed upon score.


materials:
game boards
dice
dry erase markers

educational benefits:
numbers and operations
mental math

** Here is the link to download the game. I've never done this before, so please let me know if it works or not!!

Pig Out.docx

BLT Salad

I am so in love with this salad! It is so easy to make and so good! It's really the perfect summer salad - light and healthy (relativly speaking)!


romaine hearts
cherry tomotoes
real bacon bits
croutons
honey mustard salad dressing
pepper

Chop the lettuce, cut the tomatoes in half, sprinkle bacon bits, croutons and pepper on top. Top it off with your favorite salad dressing - eat and enjoy!

curriculum clean-out giveaway

At the last minute (of course), I've decided to participate in the curriculum clean-out. I love picture sorts and games! So, I've made 2 sets of 2 different picture (for non-readers) and word (for readers) sorts and a game. One set for me and one set for you! I've done all the work - cut and laminated all three sets for you! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. This giveaway is open for US residents only and will end at midnight on April 24th. I will announce the winner on Monday, April 26th! Thanks for stopping by!

Here are the 2 picture/word sorts and game you will receive:


1. short vowels sort
48 picture cards, 10 short vowel cards and 61 word cards



2. beginning blends sort
48 picture cards, 19 consonant blend cards and 54 word cards



3. on-sets and rimes game
40 onset cards and 36 rime cards

Letter Kk

Handwriting:


letter Kk worksheets found here


Explode the Code

Phonics:


Explode the Code


letter Kk mini book found here


Kk blends (ka, ke, ki, ko, ku)

letter Kk worksheet found here
beginning sound picture sort (k and p)

Math:


kite pattern block mat found here


skip counting by 10s (review)


roll a kite found here

Art/Crafts:


letter of the week idea from here


made a kangaroo found here

Other:


sight word bingo


kite size sort found here


colored a letter K wooden magnet from Michael's

curriculum clean-out in progess

Hi! Have you heard about the great curriculum clean out that's going on right now? It's wonderful and has lots of FREE stuff up for grabs! I've entered in 2 giveaways so far and I haven't even made it through the list of giveaways yet.



Here are the 2 giveways I've entered so far...

set of 25 sight word readers over at Grace Christian School
preschool mailbox superbook over at Homeschool Creations

To find out all of the other great and FREE giveaways check out Homeschool Creations!

alphabet activity

I made this alphabet flip matching game a bazillion years ago for one of my college classes. On the left side is all of the capital letters and on the right side is all of the lower case letters. The idea is to have your child/student match the lower case letter to the capital letter. The capital letters are not in alphabetical order and neither are the lower case letters. But, I think it would be fine to put the lower case letters in alphabetical order.

review:
I put this in one of my 3 year old's workboxes and she matched about 8 letters before she got tired of it. She liked the idea, but she got tired of flipping through the lower case letter side each time. Looking back, I should have only put 10 letters of each side. That way she would have had a "do-able" number and could have had a sense of accomplishment when she finished. (See, I told you I was learning a lot as I go along!)

materials:
4x6 index cards (unlined)
small notepad (I think I got mine from The Schoolbox)
pre-cut upper and lower case letters
a sturdy piece of cardboard for the backboard
a spiral thingy

educational benefits:
alphabet matching (visual discrimination)

match it!

I wanted to share these great finds that I found! My girls have really enjoyed them, too! They are fun and easy for the girls and quick and no prep work for me! You can't beat that in my book!

I found the double set at my local Sam's Club for $9.98 and the two yellow sets at my local T.J. Max for $4.99 each.

Letter Mm

Handwriting:
letter Mm worksheets found here


finger tracing paint bag and texture card


Explode the Code


Phonics:
letter Mm mini book found here


Mm words found here

beginning sound picture sort (m and n)


Explode the Code

Math:


muffin math mats found here


domino parking lot found here


skip counting by 10s


Art/Crafts:


letter of the week idea found here

Other:


sight words and reader


blends (ma, me, mi, mo, mu)


letter beads


If You Give a Mouse a Cookie story wheel found here