phonological awareness

how to develop language through play

May 7, 2012

I’m excited to share a few posts I’ve written that focus on developing children’s language through play. Each short article offers parents two teeny little tips that they can easily implement–with just a little bit of focus and effort–to  help their children become more verbal and stronger speakers.  Both pieces were written on the Melissa [...]

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homemade alphabet book: get personal with the abc’s

April 11, 2012

There’s been a ton of little things that we’ve done over here to help Maddy, Owen, and Cora learn the letters of the alphabet, but I have to say that an all-time favorite of theirs has to be their Homemade Alphabet Books. And really, the Homemade Alphabet Books are not all that crazy, gorgeous, or [...]

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family playing cards: take ‘em, make ‘em, then play!

December 28, 2011

A few years ago, I burned the midnight oil way too close to the finish line, in an attempt to create Family Playing Cards for Maddy, Owen, and Cora. And though I made the work harder than it needed to be, it was well worth it. The kids have used the cards steadily for the [...]

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magazines rock: creative, crafty, sneaky-learning fun

December 4, 2011

We are huge magazine fans over here. We love finding them in the mailbox, reading them, playing detective with them, crafting with them, and learning with them.  When they arrive in the day’s mail, it’s like a getting a little gift, just for you.  And when we sit down to read a magazine, it never [...]

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fabulous, fancy game to practice tricky sounds: s, t, r, l

September 19, 2011

It’s Cora’s Sparkle-icious Game. That’s what she calls is. But I don’t care what she calls it because all I know is that she wants to play it–like every single day.  And it gets her saying words with sounds she needs to practice, so I’ll take it. It’s actually a blank game–one that can be [...]

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alphabet letter splash–keeping cool with the abc’s

July 19, 2011

Who says playing with the letters of the alphabet can’t be a fun and exciting outdoor activity? Who thinks that all letter-learning involves a pen and paper? Who knows a kid who doesn’t love using a water squirter to hit a target? Not I, not I, and not I. I’ve found that just like when [...]

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getting ready for kindergarten: short e picture-word sort

June 14, 2011

One of the best activities for practicing early word learning is the picture-word sort. Nothing takes the pressure off of reading like adding pictures since a huuuuge chunk of early reading involves kids using the pictures to help them figure out words.  It’s a natural partnership. So while Maddy worked on her last (woooo-hoooo!) homework [...]

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playing with numbers: counting, matching, spelling, and more!

May 10, 2011

My Owen has been enamored with numbers from the time he was teeny. He’s got a brain for numbers, he’s got a thing number puzzles, and he’s got a way of looking at numbers that I cannot understand. But I do understand that though his math skeeeels will far surpass mine most likely by the [...]

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building words outside, on the fly, WordWorld-style

April 26, 2011

Cora and I were just hanging around out front last night, relaxing in the breeze and getting some fresh air while Maddy, Owen, and my husband hit the driving range. We were  chatting about the trees, about Brady, and about our neighbor’s new puppy when she found a sick on the front porch. LOOK MOMMY!!! [...]

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wordfeud, words with friends and word-building with kids

April 23, 2011

My game-guy Owen has recently fallen hard for a game I’m currently all wrapped up in–Wordfeud.  It’s the same deal (I think) as Words With Friends, and it’s an app for my phone.  About a dozen times a day, my O-man grabs my phone and checks to see if it’s my turn to play. And [...]

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word building, name building (and crossing the line)

April 6, 2011

I try really hard to mix things up for Owen and Cora during homework time; some days they just color.  Some days they paint.  But at least 2-3 times each week I sneak in some specific literacy or math-related activities. And if they express an interest in doing something fine-motor related, I’ll certainly let them [...]

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