• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • About
  • Shop
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

teach mama logo

teach mama

helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

new for us friday: magnetic poetry (and giveaway!)

home / reading / comprehension / fluency / new for us friday: magnetic poetry (and giveaway!)
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

I have been a huge fan of magnetic poetry, ever since my college pals and I had a set on the fridge of our off-campus house a lifetime ago. Our poetry was. . . well, mostly just for a good laugh.

So when Maddy received the Magnetic Poetry Really Big Word set as a gift from her grandparents a while back, my heart skipped a beat.

We’ve fallen fast for the set, and when I let the kind people at Mag Po (that’s how the cool kids roll) know now much I totally love their stuff, they sent me some other products to try out.

They’ve even offered to give one lucky teach mama reader a combo pack of Magnetic Poetry: Really Big Words and First Words so another family can rock some poetry at their own house this holiday.

Here’s the skinny:

  • Magnetic Poetry: Like I said, Maddy was given the Really Big Words as a gift, and we would occasionally take them out to play with words, create silly stories, or to do a Silent Conversation, where one person composes a line, then the next person responds–no words are spoken.

We combined her Really Big Words with the Monsters and Cuties set that we were sent, and everyone–Owen and Cora included–had a blast creating silly monsters and creatures.ย  (Though they weren’t all that cute, if you ask me!)

Maddy works hard on her message to me. . .

. . . and she shares her Girl-Power love next to her cute (?) monster.

Silent Conversations are a great way to use the Really Big Words during rest timeย  or quiet work time, and I am always in awe of how kids respond to questions when they don’t actually have to compose the words. When the words are there for emerging readers, it seems like kiddos are more inclined to take risks, to enhance description, or to take ideas a step further.

Or they just get sillier, making up total nonsense.ย  Which, depending on your mood, can also be really good for a laugh.

Owen loved the First Words set; I think the size was just right for him–they are smaller than the Really Big Words but large enough to see clearly and move with his hands.

He could recognize some words, which was incredibly empowering for him–Mom, Dad, yes, no, the, dog–and some others. I emptied the First Word box out onto the cookie tray, and it was a bit overwhelming, I have to admit.

So I wrote, ‘What do you see’, and I as I read it, I pointed to each word.ย  Owen scanned the pile of words, and he grabbed a ‘slow’ and ‘play’, neither of which would complete the sentence.

I re-arranged my question to say, ‘I see the. . .’ and then I put ‘some’ over the word ‘the’.ย  How do you want to answer my question, Owen?

Owen moved quickly into full-fledged silly mode with his First Word stories.

He found ‘cat’ and added it to the sentence.ย  Then I read, I see the cat.ย  Great! You created a sentence–a complete thought.ย  Want to use the word ‘some’ instead ofย  ‘the’? Here you go: I see some cat.ย  Uh-oh, we need something to make this sentence sound better.ย  ‘I see some cat.’ No.ย  ‘I see some cats.’ย  Let’s find an ‘s’.

I found an ‘s’, added it to ‘cat’.ย  Wow! We made a new word and the sentence sounds better: ‘I see some cats.’ Awesome.

And that was that. He smiled and started to grab at other words like ‘candy’ and ‘bad’ and ‘mom’ and everything he wrote made him giggle, but that’s totally cool.ย  It’s SO incredibly amazing to teach an emerging reader even a little trick as simple as adding an ‘s’ to a word to make a new word.ย  I love, love, love it.

And any game, toy, or anything that provides for some fun and sneaky learning is a winner in my book.

The learning opportunities with these two sets is endless.ย  And I am completely and totally excited to pass Really Big Words and First Words onto one reader so I can see what you can come up with that will be way more awesome that what Owen and I did today.

GIVEAWAY: A combo pack: Really Big Words and First Words!

Do you want to win MagPo’s Really Big Words and First Words–perhaps to keep one set for your family and pass another onto a pal?

  • Leave a comment here (along with your email address) simply sharing who in your life would benefit from a set ofย  Really Big Words and/or First Words.
  • For extra entries,ย  you can share this post with a friend (just tell me who you shared it with!) OR Tweet this: Win @magneticpoetry Really Big Words & First Words set at @teachmama http://teachmama.com/?p=735 #ece #literacy

This contest ends on Friday, December 3, 2010 at midnight ET.

And here are few more reasons to love Magnetic Poetry (as if you need one):

  • MagPo loves teachers–they’ve got a whole section of their site dedicated to teachers, including a Classroom Guide with tons of directed activities for pre-readers through advanced readers.
  • Kids can play with MagPo ONLINE–with one of four kits, they can move words to a fridge right on the screen. It’s so fun.
  • Dave’s Blog–Dave Kapell is the creator of MagPo, and he not only came up with a fab product, but he writes a blog, he’s in a band, and he’s just an all-around smooth dude.

This is a completely unsponsored post, written because I totally heart this product and want to share the love with everyone else.ย  The great people at MagPo did provide me with a set of Really Big Words, First Words, and Monsters and Cuties, but Maddy received her set before all this MagPo fun began.ย  They have offered to provide one reader with a set of Really Big Words and First Words, and I think that’s awesome.

You May Also Like...

  • how we are saving for our kids' college and how you can, too
    how we are saving for our kids' college and how you can, too
  • Navigating Education in a Time of Uncertainty: A Virtual Summit for Educators
    Navigating Education in a Time of Uncertainty: A Virtual Summit for Educators
  • tuition insurance: not even kidding--3 reasons you NEED it
    tuition insurance: not even kidding--3 reasons you NEED it

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

Previous Post:playing turkey feathers: matching beginning soundsplaying turkey feathers: matching beginning sounds
Next Post:our 2010 advent activity calendar!

Sidebar

amy mascott profile blog

join the coolest club around:

  • About
  • Contact
  • disclaimer
  • terms of use
  • privacy policy
  • Site-Map

Instagram


our books

setting the stage for rock-star readers
raise a reader

Find Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us On Instagram

View
Open
UMD Womenโ€™s Basketball ROCKS!! โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ€

We absolutely love watching you play, @terpswbb !

We love watching you perform, @marylandcheer !

And @mightysoundofmd we love your music and your hilarious signs! ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ˜ณ

See you in Greenville! 

#terpsbasketball #terpswbb #umd #familyfun #marylandcheer #umdfamily
View
Open
Tomorrow is St. Patrickโ€™s Day!

Are you ready? 

https://shop.teachmama.com/

#saintpatricksfun #stpaddysforkids #familyfun #classroomactivities #teachmamashop
View
Open
This is how we use the St. Patrickโ€™s Day Brain Teaser Scavenger Hunt! ๐Ÿ€

Super easyโ€”and makes kids work a little for their golden chocolates! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Grab them here: https://shop.teachmama.com/product/st-patricks-day-scavenger-hunt-4-pack/

<< Tag a pal who needs to know about this and would LOVE to use it with kids or students! >>

#stpatricksdayfun #saintpaddysday #stpaddysforkids #stpatsfun #linkinbio
View
Open
and then there were six
๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฆ๐ŸฆŠ๐Ÿฆ„๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฐ

thank you @thewoobles for giving my mind, heart, and hands something fun to do during a really challenging few months. 

#crochet #thewoobles #brainbreak #teachersanitysaver #shescrafty
View
Open
With great sadness, I'm writing to share that my brother-in-law, Jeff Mascott passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this week--at home, surrounded by family and friends. 

The family is very grateful for the community's immeasurable help, encouragement, and prayers over the past several months since Jeff's diagnosis. 

Jeff's obituary will run this weekend in the Post: 
https://www.collinsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jeff-Mascott?obId=27420280&fbclid=IwAR2YTRooCyaLTikfjLeqF4gM-GaB1amZI2OmVl1VtKLUOjWj3Wo4URD8lC8#/obituaryInfo
View
Open
Flowers and a basket of @traderjoes faves are salve for a tired and weepy soul. ๐ŸŒท

Thankful for great, longtime friends ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›

#itshardtobeahuman #thankfulheart #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs
View
Open
Almost 30 years of friendship!! I love these smart, beautiful, strong and creative women who walked with me through my early days of teaching. 

๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š

Thank you, Wilde Lake High School, for bringing us together way back when. 

๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›

Missed you, jigofjoy ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š

#weareteachers #andoneprincipal #wildelake #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs #wildelakehs #teachersofinstagram #celebratewewill
View
Open
Today marks the 4th time in 3 weeks that I have had to hang new Kindness Reminders Tear-off Sheets! 

Makes my heart ๐Ÿฅฐ!! 

Some kids come by every day and give one to a new person. Others take a bunch for the week. One 2nd grade girl comes by evey morning to tell me who she gave hers to the day before. 

Every little bit helps, friend. And every interaction matters!

#kindnessrocks #adoormadeforme #teachersofinstagram #makeadifference
View
Open
Best crew for one of the best @terpswbb games weโ€™ve seen all season! 

And of course super job by @marylandcheer and @mightysoundofmd too! 

#terpswbb #terpsbasketball #familyfun #marylandcheer

Copyright © 2023 · teach mama media, llc · All Rights Reserved