speaking

how to support your child through difficult texts | amy mascott | teachmama.com

  Oh, friends. How things change as our kids get older, right? After years of doing what we can to give our kids choices, listening to them, doing all we can but ultimately having the final say–our kids have expressed to …

I have been as sick as a dog–sick as a dawwwwg— for the past few days, but today I had a little spring in my step because it was National Grammar Day. And this old gal, though she may have …

While the kids are busy shakin’ their party shakers or rockin’ out to some Bingo Bonanza, the adults can have their New Year’s Eve fun, too. Actually, everyone can have fun with this homemade game of 20 Questions.     No …

how to help kids with articulation | early literacy | speech sounds | speech language | teachmama.com | amy mascott

Sometimes, simple is better.  Sometimes, more choices make us more confused. If Maddy, Owen, and Cora were shown an amazing pallet of face paints and were able to choose anything in the world they wanted designed on their cheeks or …

Maddy, Owen, and Cora have loved the Word a Day we’ve been doing for the past two weeks–more than I anticipated and much to my surprise.  It’s been funny to see which kiddo is the first to remember to flip …

Our very first day of the Smart Summer Challenge found us lazying around at home because Owen returned from swim and dive feeling really under the weather. So while he caught up on some telly and gave his body a …

Sometimes it’s very easy for teachers and parents to feel impatient with emerging readers. It’s hard to listen to kids sound out every word on a page and get through only five words a minute. It’s hard to know what …

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 …

  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 …

20 fun ways to learn spelling words | sight word games | spelling word games | best ways to learn sight words | teachmama.com

    As I’ve said very recently, letter reversals are quite normal for emerging readers and writers. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with helping our kiddos remember the tough ones. Back in January, I saved a Word World episode because …

As a Reading Specialist and English teacher, I am always looking for ways to make learning to read fun for the students I tutor and my own little emerging readers. While I was organizing my desk today, trying to file my …

    The Gardener, by Sarah Stewart and illustrations by David Small, is honestly one of the most beautiful children’s books I have ever read. The story takes place during the Depression and is told through letters that Lydia Grace …