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    • comprehension
      • activating schema
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      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
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    • environmental print
    • fluency
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    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
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    • informative writing
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    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
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counting, identifying, and writing numbers during play

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counting, identifying, and writing numbers during play

One of the things I believe in strongly is that any time can be a great time to sneak in some sort of learning.

Whether itโ€™s counting the candies in the line at the grocery store checkout, learning about the fish in your neighborโ€™s backyard pond, or trying new veggies from your local CSA, kids are naturally curious and their brains are pretty much like sponges at this point.

They want to learn. They want to try new things every single day.ย  So itโ€™s our job to jump on those opportunities when we canโ€”and where we can.

Yesterday was a rainy, grey day, so Cora and I decided to open one of her birthday giftsโ€”a Shrinky-Dink Pet Playset.

And though we are huge fans of all things shrinky dink, we did manage to sneak in some learning along the wayโ€”and of course Cora didnโ€™t even realize she was learning.

She was just happy to have time to craft, chat, and play with her mama.

Hereโ€™s the skinny. . .

  • Anytime Number Learning– Counting, Identifying, and Writing Numbers During Play: The cool thing about anytime number learning is that it can be done with anything, at any time.

counting, identifying, and writing numbers during play

Cora organizes the pieces. . .

counting, identifying, and writing numbers during play

. . . then surprises us with some of her first-ever written high(er) numbers!

We just happened to have Shrinky Dinks on the brain and a playset at our fingertips. But it can be done with blocks, dolls, cars, crafts, you name it.ย  Very simply, all we did was pull out all of the Shrinky Dink pets and parts, and we colored and counted as we completed each piece.

Cora started by saying, Letโ€™s count how many pets we colored.ย 

And I said, Super idea.ย  We can count as we put them on the baking sheet, and once we have about 15, our tray will be filled and we can start shrinking!

Yes! she said, as she started placing them randomly on the tray.

It might be easier for us to keep track of our counting if we put them in straight rows, like our grid games, I said.ย  Letโ€™s try that.

 

counting, identifying, and writing numbers during play

Shrinky dinks are all lined up and ready to be shrunk!

So we did.ย  And the rows werenโ€™t perfect, but they were all we needed.ย  As we counted, Cora wanted to write down the number of Shrinky Dinks we had.ย  She asked me, What way does a โ€˜7โ€™ go again?

counting, identifying, and writing numbers during play

I grabbed the Number Spelling and Math Terms sheet that I created for Maddy a few months ago, and I put it on the table in front of Cora.ย  The Number Spelling and Math Terms sheet is here to download as a pdf if you’d like.

This is Maddyโ€™s number sheet, but Iโ€™m sure sheโ€™d have no problem letting you borrow it.ย  (Anything Maddy does is cool, so I was totally playing on that. . . ) Take a look at this sheet, count down from one, and see if you can find number 7.ย 

She did.ย  It was a super reference to have, and she used it the whole morning.

She wrote number 7 on her page.ย  And as soon as we finished coloring the eighth Shrinky Dink, she wrote a number 8 right next to the 7.

Weโ€™d chat a bit, color a bit, sometimes stop for a snack or to let Brady out, but weโ€™d always come back to re-count our colored Shrinky Dinks. ย And Cora would write another number on her paper.

Once our tray was filled, weโ€™d shrink them and add them to the set.

We got to as high as 15, and then we shrunk the Shrinkys. Then we’d start again.

Quick, easy, and sneaky learning in between coloring and catching up and playing with Shrinky Dink pets.ย  Love it.

Today, we’ll finish up the coloring and shrinking–and during homework time I plan to give her the Number Writing Practice sheet I have saved on my laptop for months now.ย  And if she’s up for it, great; if not, no biggie. I think it would be a great foll0w-up, and it will be even more fun if it’s followed by some window writing, jell-o writing, or the like!

I am embarrassed to say that I’m not sure where it came from! So if you are the creator–or if you know the creator–please let me know so I can link back to your work (if you’ll allow me!).

Happy playing, counting, and sneaky learning!

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

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Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
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So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
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Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
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What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia
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(Part 2) 

The series will be shared on IG stories, on tiktok, on the teachmama facebook page, and in the Take 5 newsletter. 

Look for the logo on social, and if you want to receive the whole thing via email, then sign up for Take5 on the link below. 

Iโ€™m really excited about this. Itโ€™s taken a long, long time to create, and the only thing I ask is that you, once viewing it all, could take 2 minutes to give me some feedback. There will be a google form on the last of the slides, at the end of the series. I thank you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to learning along with you.

Join the Take 5 list if you want this series to land in your inbox: 
https://take5.teachmama.com/

#raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher teachersofIG dyslexia teachreading
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Hi and thank you for your interest in watching my โ€˜de-mystifying dyslexiaโ€™ series. 

My name is Amy Mascott, and Iโ€™m a reading specialist and former high school English teacher. Iโ€™m also the creator of teachmama.com  where since 2008, Iโ€™ve helped families make meaningful connections with their kids and build bridges between home and school. 

As an educator, Iโ€™m always trying to share important informationโ€”bc I really think that when we know better, we do better. This series is part of my final project for a course Iโ€™m taking through Advancement Courses called โ€˜understanding dyslexiaโ€™. 

And as a reading teacher, I need to know all I can about this condition. What I realized is that I had a lot to learnโ€”maybe you, as a parent or teacher yourself, can also stand to learn a little bit. 

Maybe, like me, youโ€™ve grown up thinking that dyslexia was a condition where people read letters backwardsโ€”b for d or p for g? Maybe you thought, like I did, that if a person was dyslexic, they saw all of the letters jumbled together on the page? Iโ€™m here to tell you that both of those things are untrue. 

So if you would like to learn a little about dyslexiaโ€”if you would like for me to โ€˜de-mystify dyslexiaโ€™ for you, then follow along! 

(Continued on next VIDEO)

#readingteacher #teachersofIG #demystifyingdyslexia

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Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
View
Open
How can people with dyslexia learn to read? ๐Ÿค”

Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
View
Open
Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia
View
Open
(Part 2) 

The series will be shared on IG stories, on tiktok, on the teachmama facebook page, and in the Take 5 newsletter. 

Look for the logo on social, and if you want to receive the whole thing via email, then sign up for Take5 on the link below. 

Iโ€™m really excited about this. Itโ€™s taken a long, long time to create, and the only thing I ask is that you, once viewing it all, could take 2 minutes to give me some feedback. There will be a google form on the last of the slides, at the end of the series. I thank you, I appreciate you, and I look forward to learning along with you.

Join the Take 5 list if you want this series to land in your inbox: 
https://take5.teachmama.com/

#raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher teachersofIG dyslexia teachreading
View
Open
Hi and thank you for your interest in watching my โ€˜de-mystifying dyslexiaโ€™ series. 

My name is Amy Mascott, and Iโ€™m a reading specialist and former high school English teacher. Iโ€™m also the creator of teachmama.com  where since 2008, Iโ€™ve helped families make meaningful connections with their kids and build bridges between home and school. 

As an educator, Iโ€™m always trying to share important informationโ€”bc I really think that when we know better, we do better. This series is part of my final project for a course Iโ€™m taking through Advancement Courses called โ€˜understanding dyslexiaโ€™. 

And as a reading teacher, I need to know all I can about this condition. What I realized is that I had a lot to learnโ€”maybe you, as a parent or teacher yourself, can also stand to learn a little bit. 

Maybe, like me, youโ€™ve grown up thinking that dyslexia was a condition where people read letters backwardsโ€”b for d or p for g? Maybe you thought, like I did, that if a person was dyslexic, they saw all of the letters jumbled together on the page? Iโ€™m here to tell you that both of those things are untrue. 

So if you would like to learn a little about dyslexiaโ€”if you would like for me to โ€˜de-mystify dyslexiaโ€™ for you, then follow along! 

(Continued on next VIDEO)

#readingteacher #teachersofIG #demystifyingdyslexia

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