Showing posts with label alphabet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alphabet. Show all posts

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Junk Drawer Learning

If there is one thing I love doing the most, it's making art from items that would normally be thrown away, something else I love to do, is to make learning manipulatives! A few simple ingredients that we had around the house and 1 hour of Criminal Minds and I had a Color Spelling Game!
This game is perfect for a literacy center for kids to work on quietly alone or in a group. All you need are:
1. Used File Folder
2. Water Bottle Caps
3. Circle Labels (But you can use a sharpie right on the labels if you want!)
4. Dark Marker
5. Crayons
Once you have gathered all your items, just make up the alphabet on labels or righto on the caps and then add in the extra letters you will need for colors that double letters in their spelling. My game is for color spelling, but once you have the caps made, you can just make multiple file folder games using the same caps! Use your folder as your game mat and add on whatever you need to do and then draw circles or lines, so they know how many letters are in each word!
The caps can be used with the game or alone as an alphabet game or even for use with some spelling list words, to spell names and numbers as well!
Use cardstock or cut down an old file folder to make self checking cards with the correct spelling and the same picture that you used on the game mat. These cards can be used alone or with the game mat.
Pop everything loose into a baggie and staple it to the back of the file folder, now it all stores neatly and together.
Enjoy every minute my friends!



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Monday, November 3, 2014

Learning Games

Oh Happy Day! How are you doing today? The weekend was wonderful and the weather is right as it should be for Autumn. As I organize the classroom for a new tour post coming soon, I am finding so many things that I have yet to blog about but are already ready to move on to a new home. I have a small online resale shop that I sell items to locals and I know they are going to homes that will treasure them for the time being and then they too will pass them on. Even though most of the stuff I make is upcycled in some way, it still pains me to just toss it in the trash. Are you like that? Anyway, this was supposed to be Friday's post, but I got distracted by something else in the blogosphere, you know when you wish you could spin your own yarn like SouleMama or be as fashionable as TwoBirds or have the eye that the Goodwillista has or of course the shoe collection over at the Tote Trove...then you combine that with the emails that come to me wishing for similar traits...well I knew it was time to set people straight on the world of Bloggers, so that was FRIDAY and this is now Monday and my schedule is a mess as it should be Menu Plan Monday...which I will just have to reschedule for later today! Anyway...Above you will see the easiest playroom storage EVER that also looks so cute! Clear glass jars are perfect for small odds and ends that seem to always end up in the corners of the room!
Colors, Colors, Colors! This game was a simple one that the kids and I made up together with an old palette. I had them paint the palette in rainbow order, gather up some random color pegs and we raided our dice collection for one that was all about colors. Then I had them color blobs of color on cardstock flashcards and they were labeled. This can be played so many ways, that I hope it's a reminder of just what you can do when you look around your home! Learning toys do NOT have to be expensive and should not be limited to just 1 thing. I teach each subject to mastery and DO NOT only have 1 way of doing that. I figure if I change it up often, it will eventually catch on and be fun along the way!

Vacation is ALWAYS learning time, no matter where we go! My older 2 always have notebooks on them and are able to take notes on what is important or things that caught their eye. I hope that this is teaching them to keep their eyes always open and is giving them an eye for detail. My youngest is still in the wandering stage, which is quite alright and why I help him out with this worksheet. He knows what is on it and what to prepare for as we explore new places, but it does not require him to take notes. Get your own copy HERE! 
Clothespins! What can't you do with them? I always have several hundreds of these on hand, just like popsicle sticks, they are one of my go-to game makers. When flashcards lose their mates or their box begins to get warped, I know they need a new life NOT to see the end of their life. This simple game is a matching one that can be tossed in a pencil pouch and taken on the road. We are always waiting somewhere, are we not? Pulling out pouch games was how the children kept entertained!
Alphabet Soup was a longtime favorite and one the kids recently began playing again when I took it out to sell. They love the fun there is to the games, even if they already know and understand the material. This is all I ever want for my homeschool, to know that learning is fun. A bowl of magnetic alphabet uppercase letters and spoon are what draw the eye into the game. Use a dry erase marker on the recipe card and the kids are all set. The teacher/parent calls out a letter and the student/child must first circle it on the recipe card and then take a spoon full of soup out. They hunt for the matching uppercase letter through the soup and then continue on to the next letter and the next. This is great for learning letters and fine motor skills. Being as the letters are magnetic, they can also be used in many other ways! 
Isn't ^that the truth ^my friends? Remember to take the time to enjoy every minute!! We are off on a field trip of a firehouse!

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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Playing Catch Up ABC's

Another month has flown, but we've been on field trips, road trips, bike trips, city trips, ocean trips and even to DISNEY! I will keep you all posted on each of those trips very soon, for now let's catch up with a round of  ABC's:

Adventure: A true adventure is what we set out for and it is what we got in return.
Blessed: Being able to spend this time together was a true blessing.
Car: Our VERRRRRY old minivan was our transport across the country and to places in between!
Disney: We spent an amazing 14 days in Disney that could not have been any more magical.
Escape: Our family needed to get away from it all and just connect with one another.

Florida: Our favorite go-to spot never let us down!
Georgia: The LONGEST state to drive through when you just want to get to Florida!!!
Homeschool: Yes, my children still did work on the drive to & from Florida & some while in Disney!
International: The International Food & Wine Festival in Epcot ~ the food & drinks were delicious!!
Jealous: As we left Disney World at 2am, I was jealous of everyone pulling in and just starting...
A chip holder is perfect for holding playing cards in little hands! The car ride was electronics free!

Kentucky: The cheapest gas came from here and some of the friendliest people!!
Love: I loved taking my kids to the spot we were married and showing them where it all began.
Moms: I met so many mothers at our co-op field trips, it's great to make new friends.
Nashville: We spent some time at Opryland resort and it was amazing as always!
Ocean: Taking breakfast to the ocean at 4am and watching the sunrise from the beach...wow.
Ponce de Leon: We visited the fountain of youth and learned so much!
Quick: It went by far too quickly...
Redo: Can we do it all over again! I would change so much and then again nothing at all!

St. Augstine: The most beautiful coastal town EVER! We fell in LOVE!
Ten: It was our 10 year anniversary in September & that was what we celebrated on vacation!
Universal Studios: Harry Potter was great, but the lines were so long, we did not get to do much else.
Volunteer: Our year of volunteering came to a close and it left me feeling confused...more to come.

Wisconsin: We just biked 14 miles in Wisconsin with a 7,8 & 9 year old! They were awesome!
eXhausted: The past month has been a whirlwind and I feel like I need down time...but when?!
Year: 1 year until we return to Disney World with our kids! We booked before we left!!
Zoo: We trick-or-treated at the zoo this past weekend and had so much fun counting Elsa's!
Enjoy every single minute my friends, it goes by in a flash...

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Thrifty Thursday!

Time for my favorite post of the week! Thrifty Thursday is where I like to post my thrifty finds for the past week. now that the weather is warmer, I tend to find goodies at garage sales and thrift shoppes combined! The total spent last week was 3.10!

First up a vintage word game called JITTERS. This game is so fun, that my 6 year old has already asked to play it about 4 times! The best part? The letter dice are perfect for using in other things too!! You have a limited amount of time to make words in the shape shown on the card AND with the letters that are facing up when you tip the cup! The timer has attracted the boys and my older son loves to play so much too!!
I adapted this game to help my 3 year old play too, He doesn't use the timer and after he tips the cup, I write down the words that can be made on a piece of paper. THEN he finds the dice to create those words 1 at a time. It helps him learn new words AND identify letters too, the best part? He gets to play with the big kids too!

Alphabet Squiggle is a super fun game that all can play!! You roll your die (how fun and colorful it is!) and move your token that many paces until you land on a letter. When you arrive at that letter you can either write a word that starts with that letter OR draw a picture where that letter is visible in a word that begins with that letter!! My little guy only has to write the letter and say what letter it is to get the points! If you are able to do both you get 2 points! Learning has never been so fun!

There are 3 books that I got and they are spectacular! The vintage reader is my daughters favorite and she has already laid claim to it! The Thematic kindergarten Units book is my best buy at .25 and it's in MINT condition! The Geography book is fitting in spectacularly with our Around the World vacation we have coming up!!!

Please share your thrifty finds!!
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Fun with Words!

My kids love to read and write! We even journaled about Spring Break and write small entries daily. I think this is something that the kids will enjoy looking at in the future. I'm always looking for fun and new ways to learn words and such, but I also like to include my little guy! I recently came across a fun word game What's Gnu and it's a great game for the big kids, but I wanted to adapt it for the youngest. I printed out some alphabet sheets and grabbed my magnet set from TARGET. His favorite part is sliding the letters out on the What's Gnu game, so he slides and then puts a magnet on the matching lower case letter. It's a great way for him to keep the Upper Case and Lower Case letters fresh in his mind! I love it!
I love to use games in ways other than what they were intended for, it's a way of getting more bang for your buck! Here we are using classic Boggle in a fun way. I shake it up and make a list of words that they can then find. It's like a big word search, since they have the list. Once they have familiarized themselves with the grid in that way, they then can move the letters around 1 at a time to create new words! It's basic, but they are learning and best of all, we are all doing it together!!

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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Busy Bag!

 We are on the road A LOT! We rarely if ever spend a weekend at home and with 3 kids in 3 different schools, activities, meetings etc. there is always something going on somewhere! Being constantly on the go means a lot of offices, restaurants, waiting and quiet time, so I developed a small bag that would keep them quietly busy while we are on the go!
While everything you see here really does all fit well into this bag, I only like to keep 6 things at most in here at a time and usually not all that much. It makes them appreciate each and every game and get really into it too!
 My 3 year old likes to now carry his own treat bags and backpacks, so I knew the new busy bag had to be his size! This is an old Fisher Price toy bag that we used to keep in the van when our daughter was a baby! It's finally found a new home. The following items, I don't discuss in detail, so I will just touch on them now. Clothespins are ALWAYS a fun activity no matter where they are, so I threw a couple of those in, along with some Ziploc baggies (always needed for something or other!), wipes and a reusable juice box round up the random bits that are in here!
 1. Our Felt Easter Eggs Counting game. This is a fun game that I will go into more detail in tomorrow's post! I added baby chick and rhinestone counters too! These are fun alone or with the game, as I also included a sorting tray to turn 1 game into many more.
 2. Our craft in a minute coming this Friday is another must have in our busy bag! This is just cardboard pieces of 'road' that the kids piece together in multiple ways that always seems to make play last forever! There are 3 cars that we keep in here that I change out periodically, to make it more new and fun each time! Once in awhile I will add a new piece of road too.
 3.Button Snakes kit!These fun kits are such a blast to work with that all 3 kids often want to start with this! The buttons serve multiple purposes in this bag too!
4. A fun notebook, pencil, crayons and drawing direction die! I will touch on the die in a future craft in a minute post, but for now, I will tell you that this is definitely one of their favorite games to play while waiting in a restaurant. The person whose turn it is throws the die and then has to draw whatever comes up on top, the next person has to start where that person left off, drawing what they in turn roll. It's a super easy game, that gets crazier when the page starts getting really full! We like that even the youngest one in the family can get really into it.
 5. Caps Caps Caps! These fun caps are fun for word play! We like to spell out easy words and then pass the word to the next person where they can then add a letter or subtract a letter to form a new word! This one gets really entertaining!
6. Wrap Up Games. I found these awesome Wrap Up games on clearance at our local teacher store! There are 12 of them for only 3.00!! I couldn't believe it, I wish there had been more than 1 as these would have made an awesome giveaway or even gift in an educational basket. They start out very easy and get more difficult as you get to the 12th card. They are a very sturdy plastic and hold up well to play.
7. Memory, Story Dice and Hourglass. These are fun things that are so tiny, they can fit in a pocket if need be! The Memory Game was something we all had a blast making on a crafty afternoon and when the big kids play, because it's so easy, we add in an hourglass! The hourglass alone is also fun for watching and thinking of other games to play with it! We also love our story die, you roll it and start the story with what lands on top! Another craft-in-a-minute activity that was too fun for words that it instantly went onto our list of DIY gifts! We plan on making up one big basket full of our DIY activities very soon for 1 lucky winner! That will be coming up in the future! For now snag yourself a memory game!! 
8. Did you know that 3ft of yarn can be a blast for 3 kids? Neither did I, I put these 2 spools in here with 1 full of yarn for my son to unravel as he raveled it back up on the empty one. While that is a good game, they discovered that they could make 'bridges' for the clothespins, make shapes from tying one end to something and then wrapping it around somewhere else and on and on it goes!

9. Nuts and Bolts! I touch this later on this week, but a simple activity is so fun for everyone! (yup, even mom gets in on this one!!) they love to see who can screw on the most nuts onto 1 bolt the fastest, or  how many they can put onto all the bolts before the hourglass is up. These are just perfect everywhere and for all! (You can buy larger bolts and nuts if you worry about the size, but this is just right for my 3).

10. Topple Pieces. Our Topple game has loads of pieces (have you read my thrifty post?), so I knew I could snag away a bunch and they would go unnoticed. I have 30 of these that sit in their own little drawstring pouch and the kids try and see how many they can stack before they fall, who can stack 10 the fastest, how many they can stack before the hourglass time is up...etc. Fun in a pouch!
11. Number flashcards. Just a fun way to go through the numbers! Every other card has a chipboard number on it and the card following it has the matching amount of stickers. We take them off the ring, for a quick matching game sometimes.
12. Easter Alphabet Game! This fun game is very versatile and can be played so many ways too!!

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Hope you liked your journey into our busy bag!!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

My Spin and Spell!

 I wanted to make my kids some fun spellers that they could build their word vocabulary with and went through many ideas. I wanted a more industrial chic look that could be modern and fun. I started at the hardware store with a rough idea of what I wanted in my head.

I rummaged through my craft supplies for rub on letters from Michaels .99 and my Mod Podge. 
I added these supplies to what I picked up from the hardware store (5 hex nuts, 1 carriage bolt and 1 lock nut). Make sure that your hex nuts are larger than your bolt so that they slide as opposed to screw up and down the bolt. This makes them easier to turn, the more nuts you add on.
I added the letters onto each side of the nuts and then put the mod podge on top of them to adhere them to the nut. Since my kids are at different vocabulary levels, I knew I needed to make it a game that they all could play! This was perfect! They could easily play the game with 2,3,4 and 5 letters (Just add or take away the nuts as needed) and when they think they've spelled them all, take them all out and mix around the order!!

For my youngest, I go down to 3 letters at times when he is learning new words and sometimes we just use 1 letter and  I have him find the letters that I ask for, that way he gets a better understanding of letters. This is a game that we have all gotten into and tucks away easily into a busy bag or even my purse!! I've made about 12 different nuts of letters and we have 5 bolts so that there can be multiple games going on at once and the letters can be switched up often.


LETTERS USED:
For beginning readers try
F, L, M, N, R, S on the first hex
A, E, I, O, U, R on the middle one
B, D, G, P, T, S on the last one
For 150 pronounceable combinations

For More advanced combinations:
4th: s,t,e,d,r,n
5th: t,h,d,e,y,n




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Monday, April 4, 2011

Easter Alphabet Game!

This fun Easter craft was an easy project for my 3 kids and I to do together in 1 afternoon! It's a fun game that can be used multiple ways!


You will need:
~Scissors
~Alphabet Stickers (or really neat handwriting!)
~Card Stock

First, I printed out eggs on card stock (3 different sheets) and handed the scissors to my 6 and 5 year olds so they could get to work cutting them out (great practice for cutting on the lines).

As they were being cut out, my 3 year old and I stuck the letter stickers on them in a pattern. First I had him create the pattern using the 3 different papers and then we played eye-spy in order to find the letters we needed (I spy a P) and stuck them on! All Done!!

Games We Can Play:
1. Pattern Practice! We can organize the eggs by patterns, ignoring the letters on them.


2. Alphabet order! We can put them in alphabetical order.

3. Word Play! We can spell easy sight words
4. Clothespin Match Up! We made these eggs with lower case letters, so that they could be matched up to our upper case letter clothespin game!


Enjoy and link to your Easter Crafts!


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