family paper roll dolls: a silly way to help teach emotions I’ve had a really difficult time with my sweet Cora lately, and I’m not sure how much longer we can chalk her hot-headedness up to a bad …Read morefamily paper roll dolls: a silly way to help teach emotions
fun ways to learn spelling words Not only did we lose Maddy’s very first homework packet over here in the chaos of the first few weeks of school; we also only spent only a …Read morefun ways to learn spelling words
super-important inferring during read-alouds Read-alouds are the perfect time to sneak in a little bit of learning, whether you’re talking simple reading comprehension …Read moresuper-important inferring during read-alouds
quick trick: names, names, everywhere, names! This Quick Trick is super easy but has big pay-offs. As one of the most important gifts we give to our children, names carry serious weight. Little …Read morequick trick: names, names, everywhere, names!
help with letters b and d As I’ve said very recently, letter reversals are quite normal for emerging readers and writers. But there’s absolutely …Read morehelp with letters b and d
time to rhyme–go fish! Lately all Maddy wants to do is read, read, read, which is fine with me. She’ll read to me, my husband, and she’ll read to Owen or …Read moretime to rhyme–go fish!
a scared and lonely bear: predicting Predicting is one of the easiest comprehension strategies to use with emerging readers, and like many of these important components of early literacy, …Read morea scared and lonely bear: predicting
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
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
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 I have …Read moreevery picture tells a story
teach kids patience on their own: arm circles Arm circles. What are they? They’re both a distractor and a way for two little ones to try to work out sharing issues. And they make me laugh …Read moreteach kids patience on their own: arm circles
a good-night book walk Tonight when I returned from tutoring, I went up to say goodnight to Maddy, and she was drowsily looking at a few of the million books …Read morea good-night book walk