spelling

learning to spell contractions: sneaky games and play

February 22, 2012

We were so thankful for the gorgeous three-day weekend to slowly get us back on track and to allow us to (kind of) regain control over the mess that had become of our home.  After being away last week, the game nights, our movie night, book-reading, errands–even cleaning and organizing with the kids–was really a [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

best of teach mama countdown: #2 — spelling words

January 12, 2012

Yay! We’re getting down to the wire with this teach mama top 10 all-time best countdown! This post is one that I have shared probably more than times than any other post I’ve written.  It seems that most of the emails that I receive are from parents who are tired, desperate, and . . . [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

best of teach mama countdown: #9 — building words, names

January 4, 2012

This post, which rolls in at #9, continues to surprise me with the amount of hits it gets. Maybe it’s the title: word building, name building (and crossing the line). Maybe people find it unintentionally when they’re trying to figure out what to do when their kids ‘cross the line’–I’m not sure. I’m really not [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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 [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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 [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

family names: reading and writing the ones we love

November 21, 2011

Homework time is still a really important part of our day, especially now that Owen’s in Kindergarten and Maddy’s second grade work is picking up. And I really try my best to find something fun and focused for Cora to do while Maddy and Owen are doing their work.  Lately, she’s been really into learning [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

learning during read-alouds: improving fluency

November 16, 2011

Fluency is a tricky–but totally important–element of reading comprehension. No. Question. About it. And though research is funny about fluency’s roll in reading comprehension, I’m a firm believer in the fact that in order to fully understand what is being read, it must be read fluently. Lately, fluency has been my focus for Maddy and [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

new for us friday: LeapFrog Storytime Pad (& giveaway!)

November 11, 2011

This New For Us Friday, I’m totally excited about a new product from LeapFrog designed especially with younger kiddos in mind. And I’m not at all surprised that though I originally handed it to Cora, that Maddy and Owen have been vying for the LeapFrog Story Time Pad for the last few days. It’s new, [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

window writing: spelling word and letter practice

September 28, 2011

Who knew that window writing would be so much fun? Maddy has been window-writing for the last few weeks to study her spelling words, and Cora has jumped on board the window-writing train to do some letter-writing practice. It’s been a riot. Even yesterday one of Maddy’s buddies came over for a short playdate–aaaand so [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

meeting new teachers: hello, teacher notes!

August 16, 2011

Today we spent a few minutes doing one of our favorite back-to-school activities–one that gives my kiddos a chance to say a little ‘hello’ to their teachers even before they meet them at the Open House. A while after breakfast and after we all enjoyed some much-needed end-of-summer downtime, I printed out Hello, Teacher Notes [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →

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 [...]

StumbleUponShare
Read the full article →