wiggly words: fun ways to get kids to write Maddy’s Kindergarten teacher is–in my humble opinion–the best of the best. My dream has come true: Maddy landed a super teacher with …Read morewiggly words: fun ways to get kids to write
let’s eat. . . and read As Maddy learns more reading strategies and picks up new words each day, it’s been awesome to watch her unlock the world of words around …Read morelet’s eat. . . and read
we’re counting–hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid games My kiddos are Halloween nutty. They love our scarecrows out front, our pumpkins around the house, and the little plastic spider that hangs from a …Read morewe’re counting–hats, cats, and pumpkins: halloween grid games
just owen and me, sorting s’s and t’s Owen and I did a simple sort today–another beginning sound sort that focused on s-, st-, and t-. He is used to doing sorts, but the way we did …Read morejust owen and me, sorting s’s and t’s
letter learning tic tac toe Lately, Owen has been having a difficult time with the ‘W’ and ‘N’ in his name. Sometimes upside down or with too many lines, …Read moreletter learning tic tac toe
free fence writing Today we used the bright afternoon to our advantage and did some fence writing and drawing.Fence writing?Yep. Free-bird, outside, sun shining, wind …Read morefree fence writing
lunchbox love notes We had a fantastic long and sunny weekend, and my heart hurts at the thought that tomorrow Maddy goes back to school. I’m sure that one of these …Read morelunchbox love notes
swinging and clapping Lately, since Owen’s mastered pumping on the swings, we’ve spent a whole lot of time in our back yard–just swinging.Most of the …Read moreswinging and clapping
age-appropriate speech sounds As a Reading Specialist and English teacher, I am always looking for ways to make learning to read fun for the students I tutor and my own little …Read moreage-appropriate speech sounds
our not-so-teeny-zucchini Last week, a good friend of mine gave us the most ginormous zucchini I had ever seen. I’m not sure what she’s feeding her plants, but I …Read moreour not-so-teeny-zucchini
sticky finger writing: writing letters and sight words There are a million, trillion cool ways of getting little ones to practice letter writing and to commit sight words to memory. It’s so awesome …Read moresticky finger writing: writing letters and sight words
tricky, tricky digraph sort I had Owen all to myself this afternoon while Maddy played at a friend’s house and Cora took her nap. I gave him the choice of playing anything …Read moretricky, tricky digraph sort
traveling writing centers Since last fall, I’ve had little writing centers in both Maddy and Owen’s bedrooms, and I’ve really been surprised at how well …Read moretraveling writing centers
backyard alphabet hunt I found these awesome rolls of paper a few weeks ago–cheap!–so I picked up a bunch, and I’m having a blast using them in fun ways …Read morebackyard alphabet hunt
rockin’ rhyme bingo Owen and I revisited Rhyme Bingo today, this time with Maddy, and it was a blast. We only played for a short while–about 15 or 20 minutes …Read morerockin’ rhyme bingo
picture and word sort Yesterday was a super-busy and a totally out-of-the-ordinary day for us. We spent the day at PBS Headquarters in Virginia (seriously!) with some …Read morepicture and word sort
every picture tells a story The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart and illustrations by David Small, is honestly one of the most beautiful children’s books …Read moreevery picture tells a story
rhyming and sorting, sorting and rhyming Owen and I had a tiny bit of quiet time together yesterday while Cora was napping and Maddy had lunch at preschool, so he and I read, played cars, and …Read morerhyming and sorting, sorting and rhyming
recipe-reading: let’s make muffins! Today, we mixed up the way we usually make muffins–and we make them a LOT around here. Usually my little bakers stand on their chairs, aprons on …Read morerecipe-reading: let’s make muffins!
a, 4, B, 1, Y, L, v: Sorting it ALL out! Today we all seemed to be cranky; poor sleeping, new teeth coming in, bellyaches, too little snow, wanting more Hershey’s Kisses–whatever …Read morea, 4, B, 1, Y, L, v: Sorting it ALL out!