readingword consciousness

learning during read-alouds: word consciousness

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

We shouldn’t try to fill every second of our children’s lives with learning and lessons.

Our kiddos really do need time for free play indoors or out in the fresh air every single day. However, it never hurts to sneak in a little-teeny lesson during read-alouds, especially since many of us read to our children several times a day.

raising word conscious kids teachmama.com

Even before children are able to read texts on their own, they can develop vocabulary, oral language, comprehension strategies, phonological awareness, and print awareness just by participating in a read-aloud with an adult.

For this series, I’ll highlight some ways to develop each of the above areas in super-simple–but very worthwhile–ways.

Here are just a few ways of developing Vocabulary during read-alouds:

Vocabulary Development–Word Consciousness:

Before, during, and after reading, we have a captive audience during read-alouds. Why not use this time to model how excited we are when we come across the use of rich and descriptive language?

By sharing our love of words and talking about new and exciting words, we are teaching our children to become Word Conscious. Word Consciousness is an integral component of language development and one of the early predictors of success in reading comprehension.

We can develop Word Consciousness by stopping during a read-aloud and commenting on a particularly awesome, unusual, or interesting word we encounter. 

While reading the book The Farmer, by Mark Ludy:

Oh, I love that the farmer ‘perseveres’ after the fire ruined his farm. He doesn’t give up. He keeps going, he re-plants his crops, and he moves forward. I love the word ‘perseveres’ because I like how it sounds when I say it, and it is a strong word. It means that someone doesn’t give up and that they work very hard (re: The Farmer, by Mark Ludy).

Sure, kids need down-time, but time during read-alouds can be useful for sneaking in some learning, too–no matter the child’s age!

Or when reading Deborah Guarino and Steven Kellogg’s Is Your Mama a Lama? you might say,

The bat says he ‘does not believe that’s how llamas behave.’ I sometimes like to use the word ‘believe’ instead of the word, ‘think’. To me, ‘believe’ just sounds a little fancier. I ‘believe’ I prefer the word ‘believe’ instead of ‘think’.

You can also develop Word Consciousness by:

  • talking about the way a word sounds when you say it;
  • discussing the meaning of a word;
  • talking about the way a word looks on the page;
  • trying different ways of using a particular word;
  • challenging each other to use a ‘new word’ later that day;
  • listening for ‘new words’ during other read-alouds and taking turns ‘catching’ them;
  • sharing ‘new words’ as a family, at the end of the day or at dinnertime;
  • keeping a family list of ‘Cool, New Words‘ or becoming ‘Word Wizards’ and making a ‘Word Wizard Wall’ of words you love. . .

Word Consciousness can be started with our littlest readers and should continue into adulthood. (Okay, or at least until our kids can stand it!). It’s easy, it’s important, and it promotes a love of language and an awareness of language that will ultimately help strengthen reading comprehension down the road.

When children are word conscious, they “are motivated to learn new words and able to use them skillfully” (Lane & Allen, The Vocabulary Rich Classroom: Modeling Sophisticated Word Use to Promote Word Consciousness and Vocabulary Growth, in February 2010’s The Reading Teacher.) So let’s start noticing words–and keep talking about it!

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bumblebee birthday ideas: bumblebee wands, pens, games
birthdays

bumblebee birthday ideas: bumblebee wands, pens, games

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

 

bumblebee birthday party teachmama.com.png.png

We’ve been very busy over here lately, as this week I helped organize and run our elementary school’s Kindergarten Orientation (so fun!) and I have been trying to get myself ready for the theMom 2.0 Summit in New Orleans this weekend (so exciting!).

But I’ve wanted to share how we made Cora’s bumblebee birthday a buzzing success, so here we are: the skinny on how we made sweet bumblebee wands, bumblebee pens, bumblebees for our hair, and played bumblebee games. All to ring in our Cora’s big #4.

After a ton of research, we’ve got a boatload of bumblebee birthday ideas: bumblebee wands, pens, games.

We had bumblebee cupcakes–of course!–that were a huge success, but the wands and pens brought smiles to her teeny-tiny playdate party pals, too.

  • Bumblebee Wands: Cora’s fantabulous preschool teacher gave her a bumblebee wand at Halloween because Cora dressed as a bumblebee.  It also marked the day that Cora needed to have a bumblebee birthday party (her birthday was still five months away–) with bumblebee cupcakes, bumblebee wands, and bumblebee games.

So bumblebee it was.

The bumblebee pens actually were made for her family party–we thought that the large number of boys who were part of our ‘family’ party might prefer a bumblebee pen to a bumblebee wand (which would have probably morphed into a bumblebee sword or poker).

 

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday funHow PRETTY are these bumblebee pens!?

 

S0 I basically copied the bumblebee wand that Cora’s teacher gave her. I started with a bumblebee patterns which can be downloaded here as a pdf.

Then I copied it onto yellow felt, cut out two pieces–for a front and a back–and outlined the bumblebee body with a black Sharpie.  I cut out small black stripes out of black felt, and the bumblebee body was born!

 

 

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday funBumblebee pens are in the works!

 

To fluff up the bumblebee, I cut small pieces of a flat cosmetic pads (the kind that you can buy at the drug store).  Then I hot-glued the two pieces together, leaving a small opening at the bottom where I shoved in the top of the pen.  I glued the pen inside, and then the fun began.

First, I cut a small piece of a skinny black feather boa (found at the craft store in feather section) around the base of the bumblebee body.  Then I outlined the bee in gold glitter, adding blue glittery eyes.

They turned out cuter than cute, and the kids loved them!

 

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday funBumblebee pens totally rock!

Making the Bumblebee Wands was very similar, except that in place of the pens, I used thick wooden sticks (a la craft store).  I also used a Larger Bumblebee Pattern for the wands (see below) and cut bigger pieces of the ‘fluff’ for each one.

The bumblebee patterns can be downloaded as a pdf if you’d like.

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun

 

Since the wands were larger, I also divided the bumblebee wings with black felt to break them up a bit more.

We also tied pretty ribbon on the wands–two different types–to make them look more fluttery and fancy.  I love the bumblebee ribbon, but you could totally use white satin mixed with a simple pattern ribbon, and it’d look awesome.

 

The bumblebee wands were ready to be cut. . .

. . . filled with fluff. . .

 how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun

 

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun. . . and decorated with some glitter and feathers!

 

For Cora’s little playdate party, we needed a bumblebee game.

So we made teeny pom-pom bumblebees out of yellow pom-poms and black pipe cleaners for the game, Find the Bumblebee!

Each kiddo got a tiny bumblebee magnifying glass and a plastic bag.  The instructions mirrored the game name–Find the Bumblebee--and that’s what they did.

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun

 

We hid tons and tons of not-so-scary plastic bugs in our playroom along with about 10 bumblebees.  The girls used their magnifying glasses to become little bumblebee detectives, finding as many bees and bugs as they could.

 

Because Cora only really wanted to have a teeny party with three preschool friends and that was it, that’s the only game we planned and played. The girls played freely with dress-ups, the bugs, the playset, and each other–and it was honestly one of the most fun parties ever!

how to make bumblebee wands, pens, and buzzy birthday fun

Things don’t have to be huge and wild and crazy to still be a lot of fun, especially for our little guys. I know it’s easier said than done when the crafty possibilities seem endless–but something that makes sense so that we, as parents and party-planners, don’t go insane.

We put bumblebee wands and pens and tiny tablets in simple white bag (stamped with a bumblebee, of course!) and containing flower pins/ barrettes with a bumblebee glued on. The girls snacked on bumblebee cupcakes, marshmallows, and sweets, and my littlest bee was a happy, smiley new-four year old!

Many, many thanks to Cora’s super-awesome bumblebee preschool teachers for making her year so fantastic that she not only wanted to be a bumblebee for Halloween but also have a bumblebee birthday party! Woo-hoo, good teachers are the BEST!

 

fyi: affiliate links are used in this post

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visualizing during read alouds
comprehensionreadingvisualizing

learning during read-alouds: visualizing

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

visualizing during read alouds

Many of us have taken a moment now and again to encourage our children to find pictures in the sky on a cloudy day, right? No matter if it’s a turtle, a shoe, a bunny, or a Cheerio, it always amuses me to hear what types of things my kids see the clouds.

With very little effort, even in the time during a read-aloud, we can have our little ones continue to stretch their imaginations by practicing visualizing. This time the pictures aren’t in the clouds; with visualizing, the pictures are in their heads.

  • Visualizing: Visualizing, as a reading comprehension strategy, is simply using the words on the page to create images in your mind. Some teachers refer to visualizing “mind movies” to make the concept easier for younger learners.

Many children’s books are jam-packed full of illustrations, photographs, and drawings, our little ones don’t even need to use their brains to visualize what’s happening. And it makes sense; the reason we want to spend time each day reading rich and varied literature with our children is so they create banks of images in their little brains. They can then pull from this ‘schema’ later to make connections to new reading and concepts. And the pictures they have stored will help them to better understand these ideas.

But it’s quite all right every so often to stop for a second during a read-aloud and purposefully close the book, forcing listeners to create their own “mind movies” before you show them the next page, the next illustration.

For example, if you’re in the middle of a book, and the character has been working up to something–a decorated Christmas tree, a surprise for a friend, or even that first step into a new classroom–consider pausing. Close the book and say, Hmmm. Take a minute, close your eyes, and use your brain to make a picture in your head of what the decorated tree/ picture for her friend/ new classroom might look like. What colors do you see? What kinds of things are in your picture?

Be forewarned: kids get antsy. They want to see what really comes next without figuring it out for themselves. But if you model for them, explain what you see in your “picture” or “mind movie”, they may be more inclined to follow suit.

When teaching visualization to students, no matter the grade, I always pulled a rich passage from one of my own texts–for high schoolers, it’d be a vivid passage from Jurassic Park or Frankenstein, and for the younger kiddos, a stanza from a Maya Angelou poem or the The House on Mango Street would do the trick.

I’d say something like:

  • Close your eyes. Listen to this passage, and let your imagination go to work.
  • Hear the words and think about them, letting them be the brushes for the movie in your mind.
  • What do you imagine this (whatever it may be) to look like? What kinds of things are in your mind picture?
  • Take a picture as I read of what you see. Remember the colors, the textures, the sounds and smells.
  • Use the words on the page to make a visualization–or picture in your brain–what’s happening.

And after you take a minute to share what you visualized, let the kiddos share what took place in their “mind movie”. Finally, if you are able, turn the page and compare what you thought to what the author and/or illustrator created. The similarities–and differences–can spark a pretty worthwhile follow-up discussion about the author’s word choices and the illustrator’s artistic decisions.

So that’s that. Just another quick, totally easy way of throwing in a meaningful reading comprehension strategy lesson that can–and should!–be introduced even before your child is the one decoding the words on the page. And for transition readers who will soon be moving into chapter books? This exercise is a must-do because it will get her into the habit of visualizing now!

Many thanks to Anne E. Gregory and Mary Ann Cahill for writing “Kindergartners Can Do It, Too! Comprehension Strategies for Early Readers” (The Reading Teacher, March 2010), an inspiring and informative article worth checking out!

 

Originally posted on ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative, this post will be the first in a formal series on Learning During Read-Alouds. We’ve got captive audiences during read-alouds, so we really need to make sure we jump on easy, worthwhile learning opportunities for our kiddos when we can!

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comprehensionreading

pow! bam! wow! print referencing and onomatopoeia

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

I’ve said time and time again that read-alouds are an absolutely perfect time for sneaking in some learning with our kiddos, I believe there the sky’s the limit as far as what concepts, terms, and ideas we can teach our little ones during these times.

My kiddos love to learn ‘big’ words, so when I introduced Maddy and Owen to ‘onomatopoeia’ during our bedtime reads last week, they were all over it. Paired with a little print referencing, some superheroes, and some really silly books, it was time well-spent.  (And they had no idea they were learning along the way!)

  • Print Referencing and Onomatopoeia: Print referencing is really nothing to be afraid of; it’s simply paying attention to the print (form, features, and function) on a page, pointing out and chatting about it with our kids.  That’s it.

Onomatopoeia, on the other hand, is much more exciting in my opinion. I have always been a lover of words, and ‘onomatopoeia’ is one of my faves for obvious reasons–it’s fun to say (it just rolls off of your tongue!), it’s like no other word I use, and the meaning is just plain cool. Onomatopoeia is using words whose sound suggests its meaning, like buzz, hiss, pow, or bang. So fun.

So when Maddy, Owen, and I read Superhero ABC, by  Bob  McLeod, along with Mungo and the Spiders From Space, by Timothy Knapman, print referencing and onomatopoeia were obvious connections and emerged naturally during our reading. Superhero ABC is an alphabet book that incorporates superheroes for each letter, along with tons of alliteration (repeated initial consonant sound in words).

Mungo and the Spiders From Space is a wacky book where Mungo, the little boy, is peacefully enjoying his book about Captain Galacticus trying to save the universe from the evil Dr. Frankenstinker when all of a sudden, Mungo jumps into the book and saves the day!  With tons of onomatopoeia and wild and crazy text features, Mungo lent itself to many learning opportunities, even in a short time, even with a silly, silly book.

Owen just pointed to ‘yow!’

Drawing attention to text features, even simple words on a page, helps our little ones’ early literacy skills.

 

Initially, all I did to throw in a little print referencing was simply point to the words as I read them. I did this as we read through the comments and description on the pages of Superhero ABC.   Maddy can read on her own at this point, so this was more for Owen.  But we all got involved.

In the first few pages of the text, I’d point to the words as I read: Choke! or Caw! on Captain Cloud’s page, or Gross!, *Gulp!*, or She Grins and Giggles with Glee! on Goo Girl’s page.

When I hit ‘E’, The Eagle’s page, where the little squirrel says EEK!, I said, Hey! Do you know that there’s a special name for words like this–‘eek’?  Words like ‘ouch’, ‘bam’, and ‘buzz’ are called ‘onomatopoeia’.  Isn’t that a wonderful word, ‘onomatopoeia’? I love it. I always have.  It was one of my favorite things to teach kids because it’s so cool.

Like a big nerd, I had them each say it themselves a few times, saying it slowly at first and then speeding through it so it barely came out correctly.

From that point on, Maddy took over as ‘the pointer’, and by ‘T’ (The Terrific Three’s page–and just in time for Upside-Down Man’s page), Owen took over. I’d read the word, and they’d point to it.  It was a simple, but important, exercise for Owen to listen for the sounds in the words I was saying and then look around on the page for words with letters that made that sound.

It’s silly, playing with onomatopoeia in the first place, but it was a cool way of also working on phonological awareness–figuring out which groups of words created the sounds I was saying.

 

By the time we finished Superhero ABC, we were ready to read an actual story, and Mungo–with all its superhero silliness and unusual text layouts–was a really cool (totally random and completely lucky) follow-up.

I read the story, and for the first few pages, I’d point to  the words as I read them just to make sure Owen was following the left to right movement of text and so both he and Maddy could appreciate onomatopoeia when we bumped into it.

Sometimes I’d read a page with particularly unusual fonts or spacing without pointing to the words. Instead, I’d say something like:

  • I just read, Boom! and Zoom! two great examples of onomatopoeia.  Owen, can you point to either ‘Boom!’ or ‘Zoom!’?
  • The rocket ship went, vrooom-vrooom.  Take a minute and search for those words on the page. Can you find them? Who can point to them?
  • Wow!  I just said a word in a really loud voice, and the author showed me he wanted that word read loudly because all of the letters are in uppercase.  Look on this page for that word and point to it when you find it. Good. Now read it exactly the way the author wants us to read it.
  • Sometimes this author shows us how he wants us to read certain words by making the whole word bigger than the other words.  Like this one here, ‘Yeerrpp!’
  • How do you think he wants us to read this word, ‘HOORAY!’? Like this, ‘hooray!’ (in a tiny voice) or like this ‘HOORAY!’ (in a big, booming voice).

That’s it. We rocked it out with some serious onomatopoeia and print referencing, superhero style, and then Maddy and Owen hit the sack.  Here’s to hoping that their dreams were comic-book crazy.

 

Print referencing is easy–and it can be done with just about any book, to any degree, at any time.  It’s as simple as putting your finger at the top left of a page when you begin reading and touching the last word at the bottom right of a page.

It can be pointing to the title of a chapter or a character’s dialogue.  It can be asking a child to point to a letter in a word or a word on the page (just always remember to give choices–Can you find the word ‘dog’ or ‘cat’?–so that we’re setting our kiddos up for success!).  Print referencing can be just about anything relating to the form, features, or function of print on a page.

These two books are about as close to comic-book reading that my kiddos do at this point, but I do know that comic book reading can yield some really worthwhile results for reluctant readers.  In fact, I found Jason Ranker’s article, “Using Comic Books as Read-Alouds: Insights on Reading Instruction from an English as a Second Language Classroom” (The Reading Teacher, December 2007) incredibly interesting and packed with ideas.

 

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listeningparentingquick trick

quick trick: fast-finger challenges with play-doh

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

Like so many families, we love Play-Doh over here.  And whether it’s the real-deal, packed-in-yellow-containers-Play-Doh or happy homemade-on-the-stovetop-playdough, it doesn’t matter–my kids love it just the same.

They’ve even been known to love a total playdough flop.

But what I’ve found is that even playdough time can be an opportunity for some super-sneaky learning over here, so this Quick Trick shares one super-easy way we do just that.

  • Fast-Finger Challenges with Play-Doh:  Sure, Maddy, Owen, and Cora love the times when I lug out our super-cool Play-Doh sets.  Who wouldn’t love squeezing out bright pink ice-cream or making a guy’s hair grow down to his feet in seconds? The ice-cream shoppe, hairdresser, and kitchen sets are awesome.

But I’m also a firm believer in giving kiddos the opportunity for free play, so that their growing brains can find ways of occupying time, figuring out what they can make with no limits or impositions, and having fun together at the table full o’ playdough.

So on occasions when my kids are rockin’ the playdough like free birds, I’ll give them a good 30 minutes or so to do whatever they want. But when their fingers are warmed up, when the colors have all become one big blended mess, I’ll throw out some Fast-Finger Challenges.

And. They. Love. Them.

Can you guess what this Fast-Finger Challenge was?

 

You got it! Healthy foods!!

 

So the Fast-Finger Challenge? Simple.

I come up with a topic–pets, numbers, clothes, junk food, fruit, sports–anything. And then my tiny sculptors sculpt.

They sculpt slowly at first, working hard on their very first item.

Then we talk about what they made (shhhhh–it’s always a surprise!) and then we brainstorm as many other things that will fit into that category, and they use their fast-fingers to quickly create whatever they can.

We put all the items in one central place–either a bowl if we ‘re doing fruit, or a box if we’re doing animals, or on the table if we’re doing numbers or letters.

And then we talk about what they made, oooh-ing and ahhhhh-ing and acting all impressed at each other’s sculpting skeels.

 

And this Fast-Finger Challenge? A little more tricky. . .

 

Yes–JUNK FOOD!!

Though Cora is not as quick with her sculpting as Maddy and Owen, she’s getting there. And what she makes, she makes in bulk.

Her many, many lollipops are pictured to the right.

Some of our standard, go-to topics include:

  • pets
  • numbers
  • clothes
  • junk food
  • fruit
  • sports
  • toys
  • tools
  • seasons–this is tricky!
  • birthday

As long as we can explain why it fits in a topic, it’s good to go.  And this is not high-stress; it’s fun.  Cora and I are usually on a team, and sometimes even Maddy and Owen team up.

 

Owen works on his animal. . . a bird.

 

Maddy’s animal (gulp–I can’t remember what it is. . . ) eats one of Cora’s lollipops.

 

Norman! I made Norman, and he got us all smiling!!

Watching little fingers moving, brains thinking, and eyes dreaming as they create anything under the sun is incredible to me.  It’s not only a forced slow-down for us all, but it’s a great opportunity to talk, sing, tell stories, and laugh together. It’s time to listen, practice good manners (and finding at least one nice thing to say about someone’s sculpture!), and work on that all-important skill of grouping and sorting.

If you’re not a fan of playdough (and many people are not–) no worries!

Try these similar ideas:

  • Fast-Painting Challenge with watercolors
  • Fast-Chalk Drawing Challenge with chalk on the sidewalk
  • Fast-Dry-Erase Board Challenge on white boards with dry-erase markers (kids LOVE these!)
  • Fast-Magnadoodle Message Challenge on Magnadoodles
  • Fast-MarkerCrayon Challenge with markers or crayons on over-sized paper, drawing on the floor or on paper taped to the wall
  • Fast-Water-Paint Challenge with water on paintbrushes on a sunny afternoon

It’s been a busy week over here; our tiny Cora turned four!  So we celebrated with a very small–but very buzzy bee-special–birthday party.  With birthday preparations along with the incredibly exciting work I’ve been doing on some online curriculum has kept this family busy as can be!

I’m looking forward to sharing what we’ve done in the next few days–thanks for reading and  happy Fast-Finger Challenging!

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questioning to improve reading comprehension | teachmama.com
comprehensionquestioningreading

quick, sneaky questioning to improve reading comprehension

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

post contains affiliate links

 

 

 

questioning to improve reading comprehension | teachmama.com

It seems that Maddy’s leveled out a bit with her reading this year.

She’s doing great with her spelling, she’s made huge strides with decoding, but she’s stuck on one particular level and needs to stretch her brain a bit as far as reading comprehension is concerned in order to move upward and onward. I’m not stressing about it. We couldn’t be more proud of how hard she’s working, and she loves that she’s a big ‘chapter book’ gal who can read to Owen and Cora.

I’m just trying to sneak in a few things here and there that might help her, whenever I’m able.  Quick, easy, 5- or 10 minute strategies during nighttime read-alouds.  Anything helps.

Doing a little bit of questioning is one teeny way, and it’s a strategy I wish I would have explored a bit more months ago.

  • Questioning to Improve Reading Comprehension: When Maddy had to knock out her first ever Book Talk last week, she chose a book that she really fell hard for–The Perfect Sword by Scott Goto.  The Perfect Sword follows an apprentice, Michio, and his teacher, the acclaimed swordsmith, Sensei Masa, as they search for the perfect owner for their perfect sword. Richly illustrated by Goto, with amazing attention to detail, this story emphasizes the importance of humility, hard work, compassion, and Bushido–the Samurai code of honor.

I’ll be honest–it’s unlike any book we have around here–which is partly why I believe Maddy was so taken by it. But it really is a beautifully crafted story filled with characters both awful and incredible.  And the message is one that is worth exploring at any age.

 

questioning to improve comprehension | teachmama.comahhh, the beloved Takeshi

The Perfect Sword was perfect to use with questioning, but I had to be sneaky. My kiddo was tired, so our first reading, though it was before bedtime, had to be totally relaxed, comfy, and engaging. I didn’t even tell her what I was doing; I simply modeled my own questioning to get her brain moving.

After every few pages, I’d simply stop and say something like, I wonder why Sensei Masa is so worried about who gets his sword.  I mean, what’s the big deal? and then I’d kind of shrug and move on.

questioning to improve comprehension | teachmama.com

Sometimes if I found an answer to one of my questions, I’d comment aloud: Oh, so he wants the sword to go to someone who deserves it–not just anyone, but someone special. I got it.

By the end of the book, I invited Maddy to share a question. After I read the page, I said, What question is in your head after hearing . . . ? She thought for a while and gave me something–not what I’d hoped for, but it was something.  I said, Hmmm, that’s an awesome example of a ‘thin’ question–one that you can find an answer to pretty easily like ‘I wonder what color his hair is or where his shoes are’. You can find the answers by looking at the page.

My questions are ‘thick’–they make me think a bit, look hard for the answer, and might not be so easy to find. Let’s keep going. We read on, and I modeled another thick question for her: Takeshi stopped the thief in the market. Why would he have done that, when it wasn’t his stuff that was stolen?

She added, Yeah, and I see Michio and Sensei Masa are watching, so I wonder what they’re thinking. I said, Good ‘thick’ question, my friend.  You’re really thinking!

And that was it. We questioned. We read, we thought, and we asked ourselves questions. Because that’s what strong readers do.

questioning to improve comprehension | teachmama.com

My hope is to continue to practice some sneaky self-questioning with Maddy (and Owen and Cora for that matter!) because it’s easy, it’s important, and it is a super-worthwhile skill for emerging readers to develop. I’ve said before that children do not have to be readers themselves in order to develop reading comprehension strategies; rather, teachers and parents can model strategies through think alouds, shared readings, and by promoting critical thinking (Cunningham & Shagoury; Hickey).

And questioning in particular is muy importante because self-questioning is one characteristic of thoughtful readers which results in deeper levels of understanding text (Brown, et al).  When kids can ask themselves questions while they read, they’re interacting with the text in a way that will make them more active stakeholders.  They’ll be more likely to remember what they read and will want to read on to find out more.

Questioning can be as easy as asking yourself things like:

  • I wonder why that character. . .
  • What did she think about when she . . .
  • How did he feel about. . .
  • Why did that character say . . .
  • When will he figure out that. . .

It’s anything you, as a reader, want to know about what you’re reading. Anything goes. And no worries about distinguishing ‘thick’ or ‘thin’ questions at this point; we want our kids to enjoy reading, to want to read, and to grow as readers. That’s what’s important.

Thanks to the following sources for information in this post:

-BrownG. Cassar, M., Craven, R.G., & Marsh, H.W. Improving standardized reading comprehension: the role of question-answering. SELF Research Center, Univ. of Western Sydney, Austrailia. Oct. 2006.

-Cunningham & Shagoury. (2005).  Kindergartners explore reading comprehension using a surprisingly complex array of strategies. Educational Leadership.

-Hickey. (1998). Developing critical reading readiness in primary grades. The Reading Teacher.

 

 

A few more literacy-related posts worth reading. . . (click on image to read!)
what to say when kids make reading mistakes teachmama.com.png
literacy terms every parent must know
talk to kids about books
how to help kids choose just right books
Want a little more help with all things literacy?  
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holidaysvalentine's day

lunchbox notes: valentine’s day knock-knock jokes

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

Yikes! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and although we’ve been busy over

Our family’s still on a knock-knock joke kick, so I ran with that again for our Valentine’s Day-themed notes.here planning our Valentine’s Day cards, I’ve been sneaking around, making more lunchbox notes.

valentines day lunchbox joke notes

Really, I’m of the notion that any way we can get our kiddos to read–whether it’s a comic strip, the tv-listing, the menu at McDonald’s, license plates, street signs, etc–is something.

So if my kids are into jokes, I’ll go with it.

And especially because Owen’s beginning to pick out words here and there, if he can read ‘knock’, he might be able to create the word ‘sock’ and ‘rock’, and if we’re lucky, he may be able to make–or at least read– ‘clock’,  ‘block’, ‘smock’.  So cool.

But I’ll be honest: if he picks up a word or two, great. The really important thing is whether or not my kiddos giggle with their buddies at lunchtime. That’s what I’m really hoping happens.

So here we are again, rockin’ the knock-knocks:

Here’s the skinny. . .

valentines day knock-knock joke notes:

I grabbed Olive You! and Other Valentine Knock-Knock Jokes You’ll A-door, by Katy Hall & Lisa Eisenberg.  We’ve had the book for ages, and the kids love it.

With apologies to Hall & Eisenberg, I modified the jokes slightly, but only because the book’s jokes link together; several jokes on a page center around an illustration or tell a little story.valentines day joke notes | free printables on teachmama.com

valentines day joke notes | free printables on teachmama.com

A Valentine’s Day Joke Note is ready for Owen’s lunchbox.

The valentines day knock-knock joke notes are here to download as a pdf if you so choose.  There are two sheets of mixed shapes and various jokes and poems.  I printed mine on cardstock because it holds up better, but plain paper will do.

xxxxxx

I fold the longer ones and hold them together with a heart foamie.  But you don’t have to, and if I’m running late, I’ll just toss it in.

valentines day joke notes | free printables on teachmama.com

I think it’s a riot to throw these kinds of notes in your kids’ backpacks, lunchboxes, or tennis shoes.  Put one on a pillow or around a toothbrush; sneak one in a pair of undies (clean ones!) or coat pocket.  Leave one on the car seat, placemat or piano bench.

And sometimes it’s hard, but I try really hard to laugh harder and harder each time I hear the jokes because before  I know it, knock-knocks will be a thing of the past for my kiddos, and they’ll be onto the next thing. . .

So that’s it–just a teeny bit of (silly) learning between now and Valentine’s Day.  I’ve got a super-cool, fabulous and fun lunchbox love up my sleeve for after the day o’ love, thanks to one of my pals.  Stay tuned!

 

Want a few more fun Valentine’s Day ideas? Check out: 

valentine's day class party ideas

how to throw a rockstar valentine's day party teachmama.com 2

 

valentine's day class party ideas, 2.0 | teachmama.com

 

fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy. 

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getting kids to write: write around the room | teachmama.com
writing

getting kids to write: write around the room

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama
write around the room | teachmama.com

Finding interesting and meaningful activities for Owen and Cora during Maddy’s homework time has kept me busy lately, but I’ve found tons of great things for these two to do.  Finally, it’s a natural part of our day for everyone to sit down for ‘work time’ after snacks.

Recently, I pulled out an oldie but a goodie for Owen: Write Around The Room.

He loved it. Loooved it. And it’s really super simple.   So we’ll certainly pull it out again this week or next.

Give a guy a clipboard, some paper, and a pen, and he’s happy. At least for a while.

  • Write Around the Room: Write Around the Room is just that–giving kiddos the task of writing the words that they see in any room.

It’s great for a classroom, where there’s a Word Wall, a huge calendar, and children’s work, posters, and signs, but it works just fine even at home.  It’s funny what they can actually find in the rooms you spend so much time in every day.

And all kiddos need is some paper–Owen used his own personal notebook–and a pen.  My kids love themselves a clipboard, so I clipped the notebook in, and Owen was ready to go!

write around the room | teachmama.com

I said, Okay, today, Owen you can do a ‘Write Around the Room’ for your work time.  Grab your notebook and a clipboard, a pen, and your detective eyes, and I’ll tell you how to do it.

He scrambled for his supplies, and when he found everything, I explained what to do: For a Write Around the Room, you do just that–you write the best words you can find around the room.  But you need your strongest detective eyes so that you can pick out only the best words you can.

And once you find a word, you write it on your paper here.  Your goal–and I’m not sure you can do this because 10 is pretty many words–but your goal is to find 10 words.  Be sure to copy the letters exactly, and when you find them all, come back and we’ll read them together.

write around the room | teachmama.com

So he did.  His words were found in our work room and in our living room, and he really did use his best detective eyes! He found words on the sides of boxes, on papers, and on our Wii!

When he was finished, we read them together. I wasn’t sure where he found some–but he was able to point them out.  Although ‘en’ and ‘cdu’ were initials on boxes and a paper, he got the idea.

 

Owen’s Write Around the Room list.  Number one word? Wii.  Yikes.

write around the room | teachmama.com

And because Owen cannot decode the words himself at this point, he totally understands that a bunch of letters grouped together is a word–and that’s half the battle of reading!

Owen’s heading to Kindergarten next year (wah!), so he should be practicing his letters and some simple sight words at this point.  Something as simple as Write Around the Room gets him moving, practicing his letter writing, and challenging his hand-eye coordination.

Although our goal for getting our kiddos to write is to find authentic writing experiences, something contrived like Write Around the Room is fine–it’s great!–to use as an activity to get them paying attention to the words around them because it’s sometimes a loooong journey from scribble to word.

According to the Continuum of Writing Development, writing mark levels include:

  1. scribble (even scribble has variations–all over the page, to scribbles in lines, to scribble in lines without detail, to scribble in lines with detail–really!)
  2. mock letters
  3. actual letters (rudimentary approximations)
  4. actual letters (closer approximations)
  5. actual letters (conventional)

The most common levels in the preschool years are levels 1-3, although some older preschoolers reach levels 4 and 5 (and there are always variations, remember!).  Preschoolers can “often form best the letters in their names” possibly because they see this letter the most or because oftentimes they write that one letter to stand for their whole name.  As for the other letters, preschoolers often compose letters without much care to their exactness.  In fact,

. . . even though a few preschool children write letters that are fully conventional, this is the exception, not the rule.  Forming letters conventionally requires fine motor skill beyond what is typical for most preschoolers, along with very detailed knowledge of letter features and how to combine lines to create these

from Schickedanz, J.A., & Casbergue, R.M. (2009). Assessing Writing Development in the Early Years. In Writing in Preschool (pp. 75-87). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

So what can we as parents do to support our little learners’ letter writing? We can help them develop their fine motor skills, practice their sweet names, and do a little early-writing practice.  Or we can just continue reading, print referencing, and creating word conscious kids–everything we do helps, my friends. Really!

Many thanks to the above article and Duke, N.K., Purcell-Gates, V., Hall, L.A., & Tower, C. Authentic Literacy Activities for Developing Comprehension and Writing. The Reading Teacher, (2006, December)  for information for this post.

Want some other cool ideas for creating words and sending messages? Check out:

Have fun and feel free to link up any other ideas you have–I’m always up for more sneaky fun ways of spending time with my kiddos!

 

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how to have some fun with leftover candy canes
sciencescience experiments for kids

how to have some fun with leftover candy canes

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

fun with leftover candy canes | teachmama.com

Each year, we end up with tons of leftover candy canes after the holidays.  This year, I vowed I wouldn’t allow one candy cane in our house past January; I was determined to find some useful way of using them.

So, in the spirit of our previous candy experiments, and after our wave of coughs and colds this past week, we hit the ole lab (kitchen counter), put on our lab coats (not really), and had some fun with our leftover candy canes.

Nothing fancy, no new recipes, no fabulous dessert to show for it–just some learning, once again, in the name of sweet-science:

  • How to Have Some Fun With Leftover Candy Canes:  I think it was between Dora and Sid on sick day numero dos that I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora to meet me at the counter if they wanted to play with some candy.

With a sweet-toothed family like ours, candy is quite a draw to any sort of activity, so the kids came quickly. I said, Remember after Halloween, when we played with some of our leftover candy–painting with Skittles and watching the letters come off? They did. And they were eyeing up the candy canes, boy. . .

Our candy canes, ready to meet their match.

Today we’re going to do some experimenting with candy canes.  We’re going to see what happens when we put candy canes in different liquids–hot water, warm water, freezing cold water, and vinegar.  Then we’re going to sculpt with candy canes. It’ll be so cool. But first we need to unwrap. Let’s get our fingers going.

So we unwrapped and unwrapped some more.

I said, We’re going to use these bowls for the water and vinegar. Then I poured boiling water into the first one, warm water in the second, and icy water in the third.  I put vinegar in a fourth.

We talked about what predictions they had for what would happen to the candy canes when we put them in each. Maddy thought the colors would come off in all of the water like it did with the Skittles and M & M’s.  Owen said the candy canes would freeze in the freezing water (yes!), and Cora said she didn’t know but could she have a bite of one.

Everyone had a few pieces before we dumped the candy canes in, and then we watched.

We noticed that within a minute or two, the candy canes became teeny, skinny sticks in the hot water, but nothing much happened in the warm and cold water. And then the kids started giving the glasses a stir, and the colors started to move, just like Maddy predicted.  Hooray!

The candy canes melted into tiny twigs in the boiling water.

When nothing much happened in the vinegar, and we had given the hot, warm, and cold glasses a few good final stirs, we moved the water out of the way.  I brought out some baking soda, talked about what the kids knew about it (we used it for baking, in cookies and muffins), and then we talked about what would happen if we added it to the vinegar and water.

Everyone was in agreement that nothing much could happen except the water might turn white (verrry logical for little scientists), so they were crazy excited when I dumped some into the vinegar and it bubbled over the glass.

Eeeeee! The bubbling vinegar was one of our experimenting highlights!

We checked the candy cane afterward, and nothing much changed–same results as the water but nothing major.  We added some baking soda to the water glasses and the kids held their breath for bubbles, but nothing.

They decided it must be something strong in the vinegar to make the bubbles–they’re right, and that’s as far as I went with scientific explanations for the day. Not enough prep on my part; I wasn’t sure where to go from that point anyway.

Finally, we sculpted.  I said, Okay, we know what happened when we put candy canes in boiling water, so what do you think might happen if we put candy canes in a hot oven?

Maddy said they might melt, and Owen said they might shrink (like they shrunk in the glasses, perhaps?), and Cora said they’d melt.  So we tried it.

I put a bunch of candy canes on a cookie sheet at 225 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.  I pulled them out, and formed it into a letter ‘C’ for Cora, and she loved it. I gave the kids their own canes to mold, and after some initial frustration with cracking canes and moving quickly, they got the hang of it–if they moved slowly, they could twist and stretch and turn their candy canes into something new.  And they did.

After three batches of sculpting, we were finished. We had enough, but we had fun. It wasn’t but 30 minutes or so that we ‘experimented’, but the predicting, the hands-on learning, the using one thing for something new, the brief excitement of bubbles and wonder–it was pretty cool. And it was a super-cool way of using candy canes if I do say so myself.

I found TONS–and I mean tons–of amazing recipes, crafts, and ideas for ways to use candy canes, but I didn’t find much on using them for science experiments. I thank my friend Loralee for initially getting us into candy experiments, and I thank Marie, from Make and Takes for sharing her idea of sculpting candy canes.  Many thanks, Loralee and Marie, for sharing!

If you have any ideas for how to use them, please link back or share them here–I’d LOVE to know; we’re always up for something new!

 

&nbsp
Want a few more holiday-inspired gift ideas or activities? Check out:

must have gifts for kids and families | teachmama.com

gifts for sunday school teachers or CCD teachers | teachmama.com

 

kids and family gift guide from teachmama.com

 

teachmama gift guide 2012

 

 

holiday gift guide | teachmama.com

 

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remembering the importance of pretend play | teachmama.com
parentingpretend play

remembering the importance of pretend play

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

The Red Checks Restaurant was up and running over here for the last few days, serving up its famous chicken noodle soup, corn, pizza, sandwiches, eggs, and chicken legs.

Wearing brand-new, made-especially-by-Grandma aprons, the servers were polite, prompt, and eager to serve.

remembering the importance of pretend play | teachmama.com

And sure, they were coughing a little, but everyone was, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.  And I was the only customer who could talk; there were several small dolls and stuffed dogs there, but who needs conversation with a plastic meal this good?

We’re sick. We’re all sick.  And on day six for me and four for the kids of being stuck in the house, rather than go batty, we got creative. My husband was on his golf trip, so this weekend, we opened up a restaurant in our basement.  Here’s to thinking big.  Here’s to really rockin’ pretend play on a sick day.

Remembering the Importance of Pretend Play:

I was putting away the last of the Christmas gifts when I came across the beautiful aprons my mother-in-law made for us.  For a split second, I thought, Ooooh, what could we bake? and then the chorus of Maddy, Owen, Cora, and my coughs reminded me it wasn’t that great of a time for cooking.

We’ve got a play kitchen full of food, some small tables, and aprons. Let’s open a restaurant! I said to the kids, and we headed downstairs.

We’d been taking it verrrrry easy for the last few days, watching a lot more tv than usual and reading a lot more books than my throat cared to admit. So it was natural for us to branch out a bit, head downstairs, and get our imaginations going.

remembering the importance of pretend play | teachmama.com

I put everyone to work; Maddy and Cora organized the play kitchen and food, and Owen and I set up the restaurant. We pulled out two small tables, covered them with blankets, and put two tiny chairs near each one.

I found two small vases for a flower on each table, and then we rallied at the computer.

Okay. Take a look at the food we have in the kitchen, and let’s decide what kinds of food we want to serve at the Red Checks Restaurant.  I’ll type up the menu.  What should I add first?

Maddy said, Soups! We need to serve soup, and I think we have chicken noodle.

I typed, ‘Soup: Chicken Noodle’.

Okay, what else should our restaurant serve?

Drinks! Owen yelled.  We have drinks! I know we can have lemonade, juice, and milk.

Cora added, Soda! We have soda! (Did I mention that we’ve been drinking a ton of ginger ale?)

I added ‘Drinks’ to our menu.

remembering the importance of pretend play | teachmama.com

Owen takes an order at the Red Checks Restaurant.

We decided on Appetizers, Meals, and Desserts for our menu, and I printed out four copies of the Red Checks Restaurant Menu.  Just like that–simple menus for the Red Checks Restaurant.  (Print out a copy if you’d like!)

And that’s it–we took turns as customers, as cooks, and as servers. We brought down the cash register, pretend money, and pretend credit cards.  Sometimes we were polite customers, and sometimes we were rude–we laughed a lot but did end up practicing some different ways of dealing with unexpected occurrences (the customer whose soup is never hot enough, the crying baby, the very clumsy customer, the server who just can’t get it right. . . ).

And then we got tired of it, hung up our aprons, and watched Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue for the third time in three days. But we came back to the Red Checks again today, which tells me that we have something good going on. At least for a while.

It seems like supporting childrens’ pretend play is all the buzz lately, with an article written by two Harvard professors for CNN and an article arguing the importance of playground play in the January/February issue of NEA Today Magazine.   Both articles essentially said the same thing: that pretend play is absolutely necessary for childrens’ development, possibly even more important than instilling the ole ABC’s and 123’s into their little brains.

One thing that stood out for me in Want to get your kids into college? Let them play was this:

One of the best predictors of school success is the ability to control impulses. Children who can control their impulse to be the center of the universe, and — relatedly — who can assume the perspective of another person, are better equipped to learn.

Psychologists calls this the “theory of mind”: the ability to recognize that our own ideas, beliefs, and desires are distinct from those of the people around us. When a four-year-old destroys someone’s carefully constructed block castle or a 20-year-old belligerently monopolizes the class discussion on a routine basis, we might conclude that they are unaware of the feelings of the people around them.

The article goes onto cite a study where 4- and 5-year olds were engaged in pretend play with adults.   The study recognized ‘substantial and durable gains in the ability of children to show self-control and to delay gratification’ and ‘countless other studies support the association between dramatic play and self-regulation‘ (Erika Christakis, MEd, MPH, and  Nicholas Christakis, , MD, PhD, CNN.com, 12/29/10).

So pretend play is muy importante because without it, children are unable to really, fully understand how “take turns, delay gratification, negotiate conflicts, solve problems, share goals, acquire flexibility, and live with disappointment”, skills that these two Harvard professors are noticing are lacking in some of their own students.  That’s pretty scary if you ask me.  Makes the decision to wait a year for kindergarten for my boy a little easier when two Ivy League prof’s are saying that the social piece may be a heavier weight than the academic weight for kindergarten readiness.

In “Play Ethic“, an excerpt from Playing for Keeps: Life and learning on a public school playground (2010), written by Deborah Meier, Brenda S. Engel, and Beth Taylor, (and available on the NEA Today site), the authors say basically the same thing: that the lessons learned on the playground are invaluable.  In fact, they’re imperative for a democratic society. Through years of observing mixed-aged children playing on a public school playground, the authors came to the conclusion that creative thinking, meaningful interactions, and true life skills require free play and that

the future of democracy. . . depends on “wishful thinking” in the positive sense, on playing with ideas and being able to imagine better solutions. As adults, we need to cultivate the habit of taking leaps beyond our own self-interest and kinship. It is from such thinking that new realities are invented.

Interesting stuff.  Makes me wonder where the kids and I will go tomorrow. . . I’ve always wanted to head to the moon.

Many thanks to my awesome mother-in-law for bringing these articles to my attention, and, of course, for the fabulous aprons she made for my littles.

Check out a few other posts that may help you develop strong and healthy habits for your family:

 

fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy. 

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mastering math with mini math fact cards
computationmath

mastering math facts with mini flash cards

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

mastering math with mini math facts

Simple addition math fact flash cards should have been made, used, and memorized months ago, but they weren’t, we didn’t, and Maddy hasn’t.  And I feel awful.

Like foul shots in basketball, these basics are concepts that can be made better with repeated practice, and these are things that parents can–and I believe should–help their kids practice and learn. They’re the building blocks of math, and with a little support and a few reminders, most kids can commit these to memory.

So after Maddy (gulp) had to repeat her Math Fact Practice Sheet for the (gulp, again) gazillionth time, with a little push from one of my super-smart sisters, I realized I needed to move my Reading-programmed brain into full-fledged math-mode.  So along with a lot of new-toy playin’, this winter break will be filled with a lot of math-fact practicin’.

Maddy wants to learn these basic facts–and she needs to in order to move forward. But I’m afraid that unlike her brother (and much like her mama) her brain is more wired for reading and language.  So practice she needs, and practice we will do.

So I tried to make these basic mini math fact cards addition simple, but a little bit novel.  They’re not normal-sized flash cards–big, bulky and screaming that she doesn’t know the facts she should know by now.

 

mastering math with mini math facts

The mini math fact cards addition are ready!

Instead, they’re mini without being too, too small.  Because everything my sweet Maddy seemed to ask for recently has been just that–mini.   Littlest Pet Shop pets, Polly Pockets, American Girl accessories–teeny-tiny things for already small toys.

The mini math fact cards addition are here to download as a pdf if you so care to use them. They include 10 pages of basic addition facts: 0-10 with ten cards on each sheet.  Small enough to fit in your pocket or your purse or your kiddo’s backpack.

Want the math fact cards subtraction NEW, too? You got it!

mastering math with mini math facts

The basic addition Math Facts are cut out . . .

When I printed them out, Maddy was unusually, surprisingly excited. She actually smiled and said she wanted to use them immediately so she’d do better on her Math Fact Practice sheets at school (my textbook oldest child).  So I cut them out, and we sorted them by fact families.

mastering math with mini math facts

. . . and the Math Fact bags are labeled, sealed, and ready to be learned.

And then I labeled six sandwich bags with ‘math facts’ in six different colors. I put about 16-20 cards in each bag, and they were ready to go.

I want to have six bags of mini math fact cards addition ready to use and practice anywhere–in my purse, in the kitchen, in the living room, in Maddy’s room. Anywhere.  And I think that 16 or so cards will be just enough to create a mix of facts that she knows already with facts that she needs work on, and since the bags are color-coded, we’ll kind of be able to keep track of which groups she knows and which she doesn’t know as well.

mastering math with mini math facts

And then I asked which bag she wanted to start with, and she chose blue, and we practiced. And practiced. And practiced more.

We reviewed some tricks as we came across problems needed tricks, like the 10’s family (just put the number added to 10 in the 1’s spot, and it you have the answer), and we reminded her that if she’s stuck, it’s totally fine to take a minute to figure the answer out. When in doubt, she can always take the larger number and use her fingers to add the next number to it.

With a lot of praising, she ran through the mix of cards about six or seven times, and she tried to get speedy the last few times.  We focused on her successes and were patient when she got hung up, reminding her to give herself a second before she called out an answer.

After a week or two, once I notice that Maddy’s committed more of the facts to memory, I’ll pull out some math-fact games–much like the ones we do with spelling words or with sight words–so that she gets used to ‘playing’ a little with the facts like she does with words.  But until then, we’ll rock out with these simple mini math fact cards addition for a good long while, increasing her confidence and doing what we can from our end to help support Maddy’s math learning.

It’s (almost) a new year–a time for starting fresh and stepping out on the right foot–so we’re turning over a new leaf as far as math facts are concerned.  Let’s hope this is a New Year’s Resolution I can remember to stick with!

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reading

word searches for early literacy learning

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

 

word searches for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

I’ve struggled this year with how to occupy Owen and Cora while Maddy does her homework, and what I’ve come to realize is that in order for me to  support Maddy, Owen and Cora have to pretend they’re in Rome and do as the Romans do.

So after we get home from picking Maddy up from school, we get organized, clean up, have a snack, and we do homework.  All of us.  Maddy, Owen, and Cora.  It’s become our after-school job.

It takes a bit of prep on my part–not much–but it’s worth it.

I felt like it just wasn’t fair to plop Owen and Cora in front of the tv while Maddy worked, and that Owen and Cora could both actually benefit from 20-30 minutes of quiet work time. Next year in Kindergarten, Owen will have a bit of after school work to do, and the following year Cora will.  There’s no harm in starting the pattern one year early, right?

Some ‘homework time’ activities have worked well, and some things have totally bombed.  One thing that Owen really loves is a made-just-for-him Word Search.  And thanks to Discovery Education’s puzzlemaker, he’s got a ton to choose from!

Here’s the skinny:

Owen has always loved Word Searches, and even before he was able to search for words, we ‘revamped’ his Spiderman Activity Book so that he could play with the Word Searches way back when.word searches for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

Owen likes to highlight the words on his Word Searches.

word searches for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

So the very first time way back in the fall when I brought out the Family Word Search for Owen to do during homework time, he was really, really happy. I have often touted the power of names in early literacy, so when he was able to actually read many of the family names that he was searching for he was over the moon excited.

The Word Searches require me reading the list of words to Owen before he begins. I read and point to each word as I go.  Initially I helped him get started; I’d run my finger along the top line, looking for the first letter of the first word to be found.  If we found it, we’d go back to the word and  check out the second letter.  If we could find that second letter next to the first, we’d look for the third letter, and so on; if not, we’d move to the second line of letters.word searches for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

word searches for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

Rockin’ the Halloween Word Search

Over the last few months,, I’ve created a ton of Word Searches for him, and every few days, he’ll pick one up, finish it–or not–or clip it on the board to finish when he’s up for it.

I try to keep them in a Word Search folder, easy-to-reach and labeled so he knows where they are if he wants one.

word searches for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

The Word Searches I’ve created this year, thanks to Puzzlemaker–are below  as pdf’s to download and print out. I will add to this list as Word Searches are created.

Most days,  we do more interactive, directed activities with Owen and Cora before their rest time, but the ‘homework’ time really has to allow me to sit with and chat–uninterrupted–with Maddy.

I’ve found that our day rolls more smoothly when homework is finished right off the bat; we’re an early-to-bed family, so homework at 7:30 won’t work, and after dinner is the only time they get to hang with their dad.

So that’s that–the first of a bunch of  ‘homework time’ posts to come. . . and a super-fun way of getting our emergent readers to practice their letter recognition and early literacy skills!

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little holiday notes and lunchbox jokes
christmasholidays

little holiday notes and lunchbox jokes

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

Who doesn’t need to laugh a little more during this sometimes-way-too-stressful holiday season? I surely do–and there’s nothing like a super-corny, incredibly simple knock-knock joke to get me smiling and my kids rolling.

little holiday joke notes teachmama.com

And I mean rolling.  On the floor.  In stitches.

So thanks to my dear friend with many great ideas who sent me her own set of Halloween jokes that she made for her two lucky girls, I felt inspired to follow suit and create some holiday lunchbox jokes for my own kiddos.

At least these jokes kind of make sense; the ones that Maddy, Owen, and Cora seem to be telling these days are totally off-the-wall.

Holiday Notes and Lunchbox Jokes:

These are simple but funny, and I found them all around the internet.  I didn’t make them up, and they didn’t come from one source–they came from a bunch of places and I lost track (so, gulp, thanks for sharing!).

The Holiday Notes and Lunchbox Jokes are here to download as a pdf if you’d like to share ’em with your little lovies.  (Please, if you decide to share, link to this post instead of the attachment page!)

Little holiday notes and lunchbox jokes:

little holiday joke notes teachmama.com

 

Just throw your email in the box below, and the notes will magically appear in your inbox. Enjoy!

The jokes are waaay basic, and I tried to choose ones that had relatively easy to read words so that my emerging readers could at least read them and tell them to their buddies at lunchtime.

little holiday joke notes teachmama.com

little holiday joke notes teachmama.com

Our holiday notes and lunchbox jokes are so totally cute and actually pretty funny.

I loved how my girlfriend’s Halloween jokes were formatted so that if you folded one side in, you had to read the joke on the left side and then open up the page to read the answer.  So I tried to do that for most of my holiday jokes.

Using a small Foamie sticker, I folded the right half of the paper shut, and planted a holly leaf or tiny star right there to keep the answer a secret until the reader was ready!

little holiday joke notes teachmama.com

 

And that’s it–just a little teeny holiday note that doubles as a lunchbox joke to get my kiddos laughing a bit and reading along the way.

It’s been so busy here, preparing for Maddy’s birthday and trying to get everything set for the holiday, and carry on with normal everyday activities that it’s almost laughable.

But I’m sure it’s the same for everyone everywhere.

So I’m just going to read a few of these notes to keep myself focused (ha!) and smiling.

Cheers!

Want a few more holiday-inspired learning ideas? Check out: 

 

 

fyi: affiliate links are used in this post

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magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com
early literacysight words

quick trick: magnetic letters (how to use them with your kids!)

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

post contains affiliate links

 

 

 

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

Holiday time is here, and things are sure to be nutty around our house–and everyone else’s–for the next few weeks.

Although I know it’s going to be hard to sneak in a little bit of learning each day while we’re busy decorating, making gifts, wrapping, and eating sweets (which we do a lot of over here!), I do have a little something up my sleeve.  I threw our magnetic letters on the fridge this week just to squeeze in a little word-learning when we’re able.

This Quick Trick has been used by millions of homes all around the world, but I’m sharing just a few of the next steps for moms and dads out there.

It’s one thing to put some letters up on your fridge.

It’s another to actually use the letters to teach your kids a teeny trick or two after breakfast one day.

Here’s the skinny on how you can really use magnetic letters with your kids for early literacy learning.

  • Magnetic Letters: Our magnetic letters are on and off of the fridge every few weeks.  Usually at first I put all of the letters in one big clump, hoping that someone will stop by on their way to the breakfast table to create a word or two.

Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Sometimes somebody will put the letters in alphabetical order (woo-hoo!) and sometimes a mystery kid will sneak into our kitchen and spell ‘butt’ or ‘poo’ or ‘bootie’ (certainly not one of my kids and it’s usually blamed on Brady. . . ).

Sometimes someone will stop to spell his or her name, create a little message, and make this mama smile big.

But if no one notices the letters for a few days, I’ll build a few words myself, some varying-in-difficulty CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant) with a CVCC here and there, and when my kiddos are in the mood, maybe they’ll play around with them.

 

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.comjust a few words on our fridge, ‘real’ words and nonsense words

Here are a few other little, teeny ways that little ones can learn a bit o’ something while you’re working on dinner and the kids are hangin’ around the kitchen, playing with the magnetic letters:

  • ABC Challenge: Put the letters in alphabetical order but then pull every five or so letters out of the mix.  Place the ‘lost’ letters under the alphabet and ask your little one to help the lost letters make their way back to their alphabet family.
  • Find Me A . . . : For the early letter-learners, simply asking, Can you use your strong eyes and smart brain to find  me a letter ‘O’ or ‘M’? is all you need to do to get them focused.  Always give a choice between two letters because we want  to set our kiddos up for success; if we ask, Can you find the ‘L’? and they can’t, they’ll be less likely to want to play our little learning games down the road.
  • Sense and Nonsense: Create several ‘real’ words that are easy to read, and add in a few non-sense words that follow the same word family pattern– cat, bat, rat, zat, wat.   Once your little one can ‘read’ the ones he can recognize, he’ll giggle like crazy when he reads a silly nonsense word.
  • Make Many: The simple act of adding an ‘s’ to a word is incredibly empowering for emerging readers.  With just one letter, they can read–and create–a whole new word!  So throw a few easy-to-read nouns up on the fridge (dog, cat, pet, hat, etc.) and show your kiddo how to make one into many!

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

  • Family Names: I’ve said it many times before, but it’s true–names are some of the first words that little guys can read.  So starting with Mom and Dad, make your way through the whole family, challenging your kiddos to build their names first, then Mom and Dad, then their siblings’ and pets’ names.  If they’re not ready for the whole name, you build the name and then take away the first letter.  Mix it up with three other letters and ask if they can find the letter that begins that person’s name. It’s a start–but it helps!
  • We are (Word) Families: Word families are a great starting point for emerging readers because in just a few minutes, a little guy can ‘own’ a whole word family! Start by putting ‘at- at the top of the fridge, and then put some consonants close by (c, b, h, m, r, s).

Demonstrate how just by adding one little letter to the beginning of  ‘at’, your kiddo can now read six new words! Challenge him to ‘surprise’ you with a new word by switching that important first letter, and every few days add a new word family to the fridge.

  • Spell it, Baby: For an older kiddo who’s already conquering the Spelling List, ask her to spell a word from that week’s list on the fridge, just like the good ole days when she was teeny and could only find A, B, and C.  You’ll be surprised how interested she might be in demonstrating her expertise!
  • Prefix/ Suffix FUN: Really, prefixes can be fun.  Put ‘re’ on the fridge and then add ‘write’ to make ‘rewrite’.  Then leave ‘re’ on and add ‘view’ or ‘do’.  Talk about each word and its meaning and then explain that two little letters placed in front of these words means ‘to do again’ and then talk about what ‘rewrite’, ‘redo’, and ‘review’ mean.  Play around with different prefixes (pre-, un-, mis-) and suffixes (-y, -less, -ful).

 

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

click here to download: making and breaking words

This does not need to be anything major, crazy-confusing, or stressful.  These are just a few fun–fast!–ways of throwing in a little bit of deliberate word learning with those magnetic letter friends of ours when we have a minute or two.

Want a handy little sheet about the basics of word-building? Here’s the making and breaking words which I still find super helpful.   Or head over to a previous Letter-Lid Word-Building post.

If we’re excited about words, our kids will become excited about words and will (hopefully!) become eager learners. All of the reading research on the topic of word learning says basically the same thing:

Effective teachers display an attitude of excitement and interest in words and language.  Teachers who are curious and passionate about words inadvertently share their enthusiasm with students, and it becomes contagious (Bromley, “Nine Things Every Teacher Should Know About Words and Vocabulary Instruction,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. April 2007).

We are our children’s first teachers, so let’s get excited about word learning and put some love into our simple fridge magnets!

 

fyi: affiliate links are used in this post, which means that if you purchase something from one of the links, we over here at teachmama.com get a teeny, tiny percentage

 

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computer timemathprintables

the terrific task of teaching kids how to tell time

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

Teaching kids how to tell time is no easy task. But this little analog clock, printed on cardstock–with labeled, movable hands–has made Maddy’s homework this week a whole lot more manageable.  (And I’m betting just a little more fun!)

The minute- and hour-hand confusion, the skip counting by 5’s for the numbers on the clock, the craziness of figuring out the hour hand when it’s not really on the hour yet–it all makes for one difficult lesson for many kiddos. And at this point in time, in this digital age where even teaching penmanship is controversial since students do so much work on computers, I have to admit that it takes me a few minutes to think about telling time on an analog clock.

Here are a few resources I used–and hunted down–to get my sweet Maddy over the telling-time hump (or so I hope):

  • Teaching Kids How to Tell Time: There’s no magic here, I fear; it’s the ole basic principle of practice, practice, and more practice.

Maddy had several worksheets this week in her homework packet that focused on telling time.  She seemed to breeze through the half-hour and hour-clocks from previous weeks, but this week she hit a wall when it came to figuring out the mixed-up hours and minutes.

I knew she needed something in her hands that she could move herself, or she’d be constantly erasing like crazy.  Luckily, her amazing first-grade team of teachers provided her with this fab clock a few weeks back.  I didn’t realize quite how awesome it was until this week, when the worksheets got a whole new world of tricky.

the clock, before it got its hands

I scanned the Analog Clock and page of numbers, I printed it on cardstock, and we used a gold fastener to secure the hands. I cut two small circles from a margarine lid and placed them on the back of the clock and also between the hands and the clock face; sometimes it helps with spinners and rotating pieces to have more space to move.

The Small Analog Clock with Movable Hands is here to download as a pdf if you’d like.  I cannot give credit to anyone other than Maddy’s teachers and school.  Many, many thanks yet again!

After the major road bumps Maddy hit the first time she attempted the clock worksheets this week, she seemed a little relieved to have an actual clock to practice on before she drew in the hands on her paper.

When Maddy could actually manipulate the hands, see the numbers better, and see the ‘hour hand’ and ‘minute hand’ written on the pieces, she became more comfortable.

I wrote the numbers by each quarter hour–15, 30, and 45–and that seemed to help her a bit, too.

And really, that’s it–it’s just a clock that helps my sweets with her big-time first grade homework.

And here are a few other time-telling resources I hunted down in a feeble attempt to support this (initially) troubling task:

Time for Time site:

Just in Time:

Math is Fun: Analog and Digital Clock: Kids can set the times and compare the clocks

And that’s it.  Just a few time-telling treats to keep in our back pocket and some really cool online stops worth checking out!

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teach kids to stand up for themselves
behavior managementparenting

teaching kids to stand up for themselves

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

teach kids to stand up for themselves

 

It’s been a gorgeous fall week here, so one morning, Owen, Cora, and I spent a good while at the park with our buddies.  Turns out there were a handful of 4’s and 5’s there, and Owen made fast friends playing superheroes with ‘the big guys’.

Little did I know that this seemingly eventful playdate would lend itself to a great ‘teachable moment’ –one that every kiddo needs to experience and one that every parent should find time to sneak in: a lesson on standing up for themselves.

It’s a Quick Trick because it only takes seconds to give children the words they need to build confidence and, in the long run, create better friendships.

  • Teaching Kids to Stand Up For Themselves:  I am so far from an expert on parenting that it’s not even funny.  Every single day I’m learning something new, researching one thing or other, begging my pals for advice, calling my mom and dad, wondering how terribly I’m screwing up my kids, and trying to figure out this parenting gig.

I do, however read a ton and continually refer back to those parenting books that have found a permanent place on our shelves.  I’ve learned to take pieces from one guy and parts from another and form them into some sort of recipe for my own parenting madness. It’s not perfect, and it’s certainly a work in progress.

One person I do love and often keep close at hand is Dr. Becky Bailey’s and her whole Conscious Discipline approach. Her advice on empowering even the littlest guys by giving them the words they can use to stand up for themselves is something I really admire and often use.

So on the playground this week, when my Owen came-a-runnin’ to his mama saying that some little guy was name-calling and wouldn’t stop, I said,  What did you say to him?

Owen told me, I told him ‘don’t say that’ and ‘no I’m not’ but he still won’t stop.  So I don’t want to play with him.

I felt really sad for my uuber-sensitive boy because I knew the guys were really having a fun time zooming around the equipment, flying from buildings and saving the universe, all the while playing soccer on the side. And I knew Owen was probably really confused about why this guy was calling him a poopie-whatever-whatever.

So I said, Did you try saying ‘I don’t like it when you name call me because it hurts my feelings’?

He said, No.  Will you come with me and I’ll do it?teach kids to stand up for themselves

Of course I said I would, and we walked over together.  Owen bravely put his chin up and said I don’t like it when you name call me and it’s not okay because it’s not nice.

And did the rest of the conversation unravel perfectly like I wished, with the little guy saying ‘I’m sorry‘ and the two buddies slapping five and heading back to superhero world? No, not really.  Bummer.

But I can only worry about my Owen and how he handled things and hope that by sticking up for himself he felt better and more confident about the situation.  And I really think he did.

I guess my point is simple: that kids need to know that it’s okay to stand up for themselves. That if one guy on the playground says or does something that isn’t cool with the next guy, that the second guy can–and should–say something like ‘I don’t like it when you (hit me/ run away from me/ take my ball).  It makes me feel (sad/ upset/ frustrated/ angry).

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being kids direct with their friends–even new friends–about how they’re being treated. It’s better in the long run, and although the identification of feelings is hard for little ones, it may come with time.  And there’s no arguing the way that someone makes you feel.  It’s not like saying ‘I don’t like it when you run away because you’re a big creep.‘  Even if they end their ‘I don’t like it when you (whatever) with a ‘so I’m not going to play right now’ or ‘so I’m taking a break from this game‘ it’s something.  It’s empowering because we’re teaching our kids to step into the driver’s seat, which ultimately becomes a confidence builder because our little guys–and gals–should not tolerate unkind behavior from one of their pals.

So that’s it–just a little Quick Trick teachable moment on the playground this week, thanks to a couple of 4 and 5 year old superhero soccer players.

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paint with candy | candy experiments
sciencescience experiments for kids

painting with candy: candy experiments (part two)

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

Maddy, Owen, and Cora had an absolute blast performing candy experiments using their Halloween loot this week, but I think the most fun they had stemmed from our own experiment missteps.

We tried to conquer the Color Separation experiment, but our little sheets from the USA Science and Engineering Festival didn’t outline the experiment steps like we (I) needed them to.paint with candy candy experiments

(Please note: I should have done a little more research to prepare, but I, too, was in a candy fog, I admit. I’m sure if any other person read the directions on the handy dandy little Candy Experiment Sheets, she’d have no problem whatsoever!)

Here’s how my scientists turned all Monet on me:

Painting With Candy:

The goal of Color Separation Experiment is to let brightly colored candy dissolve in water, then use coffee filters so that the different dyes separate and climb up the filter paper.

Sounds incredibly interesting and magical, right?

paint with candy | candy experiments

Maddy dips her Skittle ‘brush’ into the water, ready to paint!

paint with candy | candy experiments

paint with candy | candy experiments

paint with candy | candy experiments

My little experiment sheet from the ‘Fest didn’t outline the steps like I needed them to be outlined, but what my little scientists learned was that the dye on their candy worked just as well as the watercolors in their palates. And this was fine with me.

We reviewed the sheet a few times, tried to follow the directions, but Maddy, Owen, and Cora got majorly distracted by their inner artists.  So they spend a solid 30 minutes painting.

They rolled, they dropped, they blended, and they drew.   With Skittles.

We talked about how the colors moved up and around the coffee filter and how they could stamp colors onto the filters if they placed the filter on the color-saturated plate.

paint with candy | candy experiments

Candy painting was not the cleanest of activities. . .

paint with candy | candy experiments

paint with candy | candy experiments

. . . but it was so much fun!

We watched the colors fade over time, when more water was added or when the whole paper was submerged. We wondered what would happen if we tasted the ‘paint’ (nothing) or if we tasted the colorless candies (no one wanted to).  Unlike the times when we’ve played with Jell-O mix on wet fingers (accidentally, of course), these colors weren’t that sweet, so we did chat about where the sugar seemed to be in the candies (not in the dye–or not much in the dye).

paint with candy | candy experiments

paint with candy | candy experiments

We are totally hooked on candy experimenting!

Although that’s all we’ve done up to this point,  we do have a ton of other ways we plan to play with our candy in the next few days.   Until then, however, we’ve got a soccer season to close out, some Thanksgiving projects to begin,  homework to be completed, and family coming in for the weekend!

Again, many thanks to Loralee for her work on candyexperiments.com and for her inspiration on our own Candy Experiments (part one) as well as today’s post.

Happy experimenting!

Want a few more fun, foodie-science ideas?

Check out:

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playing with candy: candy experiments (part one)
halloweenholidays

playing with candy: candy experiments (part one)

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

 

With  three overly-tired kids and three pumpkins full of Halloween candy, I knew that I had to be extra creative if I wanted Maddy, Owen, and Cora to do anything other than moping around and asking to eat another piece of candy all day.

candy experiments

So I pulled out the teeny-tiny candy experiment sheets I picked up from one of my bloggy-mom idols who I had the awesome opportunity to meet just last weekend at the USA Science and Engineering Festival on the Mall in DC.  If you missed the Fest, no worries!

Super-cool Loralee Levitt has a handful of candy experiment sheets to download from her site, candyexperiments.com.  If you haven’t been over there, it’s worth checking out–and it will give you something fun to do with all that Halloween candy!

Here’s how we passed some time this morning, playing with candy in the kitchen–all in the name of science!

Candy Experiments:

From the time they fell out of bed today, my three kiddos had candy on the brain–and why wouldn’t they? They gathered what seems like their weight in the sweet stuff, it’s a wonder they could lug it all back to our house.

candy experiments

Cora gets the Skittles ready for their bath.

So when I said for the millionth time, No, you can’t eat any candy now, but you can play with candy in the kitchen if you want.  Let’s do some candy experimenting–they ran.  Fast.  To the kitchen.  Before I knew it, their chairs and stools were positioned, and three little scientists were ready.

candy experiments

candy experiments

Maddy re-reads the experiment instructions. . .

We began with the one I perceived to be the easiest: Floating Letters. This experiment is  super-simple; scientists simply submerge candy with lettering on them and watch to see if the letters float.

Maddy, Owen, and Cora searched for Skittles and M & M’s–candy we knew had letters–dumped them on a plate and then dumped them in some agua.

And then we waited.

And we watched all of the rainbow colors merge into one nasty, ugly-duckling Easter egg mix of green nasty.  Maddy re-read the directions to make sure we had done everything correctly, and then we waited a bit more.

 

candy experiments

candy experiments

. . . and while she read, the letters appeared!

And then all of a sudden, after a little stirring, we noticed these teeny white flecks appear on the top of the water–the letters were floating!

We didn’t talk much about why they floated and that’s okay in my book, but we talked about what kinds of things float–lighter vs heavier–so we figured that whatever material made the letters on candy was lighter than the stuff that colored the candy.   Cool.

candy experiments

candy experiments

The second experiment we conducted was the Acid test.  This one wasn’t a huge hit for us, but the playing with baking soda was a huge hit.

The Acid Test involves dropping baking soda into candy that has been dissolved in water, and if the water bubbles, then the candy contains acid.

I filled eight glasses with water, and we picked out eight different candies–sour Skittles, Sour Patch Kits, Hershey’s chocolate, Tootsie Roll, regular Skittles, Nerds, Swedish Fish, and a Twix– to try.  Maddy, Owen, and Cora each poured candy into the glasses, and then they took turns adding baking soda to ‘their’ candies.

To be honest, we didn’t notice a huge difference with the sour candies or the Nerds (which are more acidic than the others), but it didn’t matter. Just for kicks I let the kids spoon some vinegar into each glass to watch it bubble, so that was cool for them.

candy experiments

Our Acid Test was ready to go!

candy experiments

candy experiments

candy experiments

We talked a little about acid and how certain foods are more acidic–like oranges or lemons–and how they taste and feel different than other foods.  I asked what kinds of candy we eat that makes our mouths want to pucker like when we taste lemons? And that’s as deep as we got into acids vs. bases.

Maddy, Owen, and Cora really loved making the bubbles in the glasses, mixing up the candy, and really just playing with candy in the kitchen, but this is only the half of our fun.

They even more seemed to enjoy pulling out their Monet skills when it came to candy and creating mini masterpieces.  But I’ll share that piece tomorrow.

Until then, many, many thanks to Loralee for her fab work at candyexperiments.com and for sharing her science expertise in many parent-centered publications.  We only took our experiments so far–really there’s a ton more that parents and teachers can do with this if they want to.  More specific counting, color sorting, prediction and hypothesis creating, chart-making, observation-recording, and result-graphing would take this candy fun to the next level.

And it’s worth exploring.

Want a few more fun, foodie-science ideas?

Check out:

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super easy halloween treats
halloweenholidays

super easy, super spooky halloween treats

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

Woo-hoo! It’s the busy few days before Halloween, and as I’ve said before, I’m more a fan of tricky and treaty than I am of scary and creepy.

This week, I planned my first-ever elementary school Halloween party for Maddy’s class (with the help of the coolest co-Room Parent ever). We put our heads together and came up with (we think!) some really fun ways of rockin’ Halloween, first-grade-party style.spooky halloween snacks

We played a bunch of Halloweeny games but our super-easy–and super-spooky–Halloween treats are what I think were crazy cool.

I put all of the recipes our family used this year at home and at school (except Dinner in a Pumpkin) on one sheet so that next year it’s all together.

Super-Easy, Super-Spooky Halloween Treats is here to download as a pdf if you’d like.

Here’s the skinny:

spooky halloween treats eyeballs-WMeyeballs on a plate
Eyeballs on a Plate: Not to worry! They’re not really eyeballs! They’re just powdered donuts, gummy Life-Savers, a chocolate chip, and gel icing.

My super-awesome co-RP made these, and they look so fabulous! I am not sure I would have had the patience to make them look so realistic, but I’ve learned that my pal has crazy eyeball-making skills!

spooky halloween treats fingersThe fingers were all ready. . .

Fingers in a Bowl: So easy–and for some reason, so funny to me–these ‘fingers’ turned out completely hysterical. Peeled carrots, a little cream cheese ‘glue’ and a slivered almond for the nail are all they are, and they only took a few minutes to make.spooky halloween treats fingers

. . . to meet their hands.

I tried to pick out the long and skinny, twisted carrots, cut them in half, and that’s it. The fun part for me? Putting the hands together in the bowl of dip.

Boogies on a Stick: I’ll be honest, these did make me gag as I made them. Cheese-Whiz meets green food coloring and together they meet a pretzel rod.

That’s it. I read that to make ‘goopier’ boogies you could let the ‘boogies’ cool, then dip them again, but I couldn’t do it.

I could barely handle the bubbling mixture as I blended the Whiz and food coloring.

Maddy admitted later that the Boogies on a Stick might have been ‘the absolute grossest thing she ever saw in her life’ and they tasted ‘disgusting’. Nice.

spooky halloween treats boogiesBoogies on a Stick, lookin’ oh-so-yummy on their tray.
spooky halloween treats

Frozen Ghosts: One that I’ve wanted to try for some time, Frozen Ghosts are really just bananas dipped in white chocolate and frozen. Yum.

I did try to make mine lighter and more ice-creamy by adding a tub of Cool Whip into the melted chocolate, but these were not as easy as I thought they’d be.

Some of my bananas broke when I pulled them out of the chocolate (like that poor, first guy in the photo), so things did get a little messy for Owen and me as we made them this afternoon.spooky halloween treats ghosts

Soon we hit a stride, though, with me doing the chocolate dipping, and Owen adding eyes (and a mouth when he could).

spooky halloween treatsOwen was my right-hand Frozen Ghost makin-man today.

spooky halloween treats

I also had a bunch of extra tiny banana pieces left over, so I dipped them in the chocolate, broke a popsicle stick in half, and gave them eyes–just for fun. Some are really ugly.

I put both trays of ghosts in the freezer and will take them out for an afternoon pre-Trick-or-Treat snack tomorrow!

And that’s it. I like these recipes because they’re easy. They’re funny, and they’re quick. And the huge plus is that they’re all pretty inexpensive.

Want a 2-page printable of these fun and spooky recipes? Grab ’em here:

 

It’s Dinner in a Pumpkin tomorrow and it’s been super-easy, super spooky Halloween treats all week long!

Many thanks to a handful of sites and books for inspiring our Halloween treats: Family Fun & Family Corner to name just two!

Want a few more fun halloween party ideas?

 

fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy.

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20 fun ways to learn spelling words
Best Of Teach Mamareadingspelling

fun ways to learn spelling words

by Teach Mama
written by Teach Mama

20 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 fraction of the time we should have on her first spelling word list.

Needless to say, that first test wasn’t pretty, and Maddy really didn’t learn the words like she should have–or could have. So we’ve been trying new ways of tackling the spelling word beast over here.

This teachy-mama has done a little research and has come up with some very exciting Fun Ways to Learn Spelling Words for my sweet Maddy so that she doesn’t look at it as homework–she looks at it as fun.

So here’s what we found:

The entire fun ways of learning spelling words as a pdf to download (find it at the bottom of the post!), but here’s a sampling of what we’re trying. . .

With spelling word flash cards:

  • Flash Cards: I’m a flash card fan–not to endlessly flip in front of a kid’s face–but to use in games, activities, and sneaky-learning ways. I’ve created flash cards for each of Maddy’s lists but I’ve also created a Blank Spelling List for those weeks I just can’t type one myself (or for anyone else to use). spelling list-blank sheet is here as a pdf.

fun ways to learn spelling words | teachmama

  • Spelling Word Memory: Create a double set of word cards and play a game of Spelling Word Memory by spreading out the cards face down and then taking turns flipping two cards at a time to find a pair!
  • Flip 4 Steps: In just 4 steps, your child can practice reading, spelling, and writing his words.Have him flip over a word card, look at the word, say it out loud, say the letters, then flip it back over, and write the word on paper.
  • Trace, Copy, Recall: Fold three columns on a piece of paper, and label one column ‘trace’, the next ‘copy’ and the last ‘recall’. Write the word in the first column, and have your child trace the letters.Next have her copy the word by looking at what she’s just written.Finally, have her fold (and hide) the first two columns and recall the spelling on her own as she writes the word independently.

fun ways to learn spelling words | teachmama

Maddy tries Flip 4 Steps

With a pen, pencil, marker, & paper:

  • Spelling Word Race: Create two teams, with a player from each team taking the ‘pen’ at a time.Teacher (or parent) calls out a word from the list, and players race to write the word.
  • Spelling Puzzle: Make a home-made puzzle by writing each word in large letters on an index card and then having the child cut each card apart.The fun is in putting the puzzle back together!
  • Stairsteps: Write the words as if they are stairs, adding one letter at a time.

S

Sp

Spe

Spel

Spell

  • Tic-Tac-Toe: There are a ton of cool ways to play with this old game! Create a larger-sized board and play tic-tac-toe where each player uses a spelling word.OR, have each player use an ‘X’ or ‘O’ but in order to place a mark on the board, she has to spell a word correctly.
  • Window Writing: All you need is special wind0w-safe crayons to use, and Window-Writing makes learning spelling words totally crazy and so much fun!
  • WORDO!: Kind of like Bingo but with letters, words, or numbers! (Or just stick with a build-your-own bingo— but doesn’t WORDO! sound more fun?)
  • Flip and Rainbow Write: Flip a word card and have your child go through the rainbow, painting or writing each word flipped in rainbow colors.Make the first word red, second orange, third yellow, etc. OR write each letter in a colorof the rainbow.
  • Water Paint: Use water and a paintbrush to water paint the spelling words.On a hot, sunny day, words disappear quickly—so spellers have to move fast!

With a computer and other fun electronics:

  • Type it Out: Open up a Word document and have your child type the spelling words on the screen as you call them out.Enlarge the font, make it a cool color, and he’ll have a ball.
  • Spell on Tape: Have your child spell the words into a tape recorder or using the voice recorder on your phone or computer.
  • Video Record: Pull out the ole video camera or flip cam and take a video of your child spelling the words. Have him put on a funny hat, dress-up, or use a silly prop to add to the fun.

fun ways to learn spelling words | teachmama

  • Karaoke: That karaoke machine can double as a super-fun spelling machine if you turn it on and allow your child to spell her words into it!
  • Use Puzzlemaker: Have your child type in all of the week’s spelling words and then let her search for them using this cool resource from Discovery!
  • Use Let them Sing it: Type in a spelling word on this site, and the word is sung back to your student.(This one is bound to get giggles!)
  • Use Spelling City: Head over to Spelling City, have your child type in the spelling words, and then he can learn the words, play games with them, and be tested. This site is a gem!

With space to run, jump, and play:

  • Chalkboard Race: Form two teams, with one player from each team holding a piece of chalk and standing at a designated spot about 10 feet from a chalkboard.Teacher calls out a word, and players run to the board and write the word correctly as quickly as possible. The winner finishes the word first and spells it correctly.
  • Ball Toss: Players stand in a circle with a Nerf ball or something else safe to toss.Teacher calls out a word, tosses the ball to a student, and that student spells the word.If the word isn’t spelled correctly, the student tosses the ball to another person who will try to spell it; if it is spelled correctly, the player tosses object to another student and teacher gives her a new word to spell.
  • Swing and Spell: Teacher gives the student a word to spell, and the student says a letter of the word with each back and forth movement of the swing, much like you can do when teaching syllables.
  • Run the Bases: Student starts at home plate, gets a word to spell and for every word correctly spelled gets to make a move around the bases, beginning with hitting the ball, then running from first base, second, third, and home.

With anything and everything else:

  • Spelling Word Hunt: Look for those spelling list words in the newspaper or in another book, magazine, or text!Circle them or use a highlighter to highlight them.
  • Scrabble, Boggle: Use these cool game pieces to ‘build’ spelling words on the on a cookie tray, on the table, or on the floor.
  • Crazy Words: Put something ‘crazy’ (like jell-o mix, shaving cream, sand, or rice) on a cookie sheet, and have your child use his finger to ‘write’ spelling words on the tray.
  • Paint bag Writing: Put poster paint in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and seal it tightly! Then have your child use her fingertip to write the letters of each word on the paint bag.
  • Stamp It: Use alphabet letter stamps to ‘stamp’ the spelling words, first by looking at the words and then on your own!

fun ways to learn spelling words | teachmama

With magnetic letters or letter cards:

  • Word Scramble: Scramble up the letters of each word and have student put them in the correct order.(Don’t forget to point out patterns and families!)
  • Word Train: Use the letters to have your child create a ‘word train’ by using the last letter of the first word to begin the second word and so on:cat / tap / pan

fun ways to learn spelling words | teachmama

No prep, no materials:

  • Spell and Eat: While making breakfast, lunch, or dinner, have your child spell a word, and after each word is spelled correctly, reward her with a small, healthy “treat” from your meal prep.
  • Examine the Word: Really look at the words, talking about the tough parts and analyzing patterns.Make up silly ways of remembering the ‘tough’ parts: ‘president’ has an ‘I’ in the middle because one day I’ll be president, OR ‘setting’ has two t’s in the middle just like two tall trees in a fairyland forest.

I’ve put all of our ideas on fun spelling games — cards to cut into a Spelling Fun Box for days when we’re stuck, bored, in a rut, or want to leave that day’s spelling excitement up to a little at-home lottery.

If you’d like to download fun spelling games — cards to cut as a pdf, please feel free and make your own Spelling Fun Box at home. Just sign up below, and you’ll get both downloads–free!

And that’s it–that’s our spelling fun. If you choose to fun ways of learning spelling words–awesome! Just kindly let me know and link back if you would!

fun ways to learn spelling words | teachmama.com

fun ways of learning spelling words

fyi: I certainly didn’t do this on my own! Many thanks to these folks for inspiration and ideas–

  • A very, very big thanks to the incredible folks at MCPS–in our particular cluster of schools–for creating their own ‘spelling ideas’ document and for handing it to students this fall.It is a HUGE help, and it’s much appreciated.
  • Elrod School: Spelling Ideas http://www.sd5.k12.mt.us/elrod/multiage/Spelling.html
  • Resource Room: http://www.resourceroom.net/readspell/6waysspelling.pdf
  • Many other sites, pamphlets, books, articles, and resources I have here at home!

Cheers, and happy reading during this incredibly exciting journey!

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