Custom Flashcards!

Happy Sunday! A quick post with something I do often around here. Flashcards tend to get pretty boring over here with the kids studying them daily. When kids outgrow certain games (go fish, memory, matching games, etc.) I go save them in a small shoe box type bin. When the time comes, I take a game and add mailing labels to create something new! I create a new matching game, using Sight Words, Math Problems, Words in Books that are difficult to read, Spelling Words, Vocab Words...anything at all that I feel needs additional practice that isn't a flashcard. NOW its a GAME! The kids love seeing their old games used in a new way and I feel like I am saving a game that may be missing a pair or may be a bit warped, from the trash a little longer.

And play we do! We certainly love homeschooling!! Enjoy every minute of our ever fading weekend my friends!

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Lesson in Literacy!

Happy Tuesday! Today was one of those days that I woke up excited for it to be Wednesday and then BAM, I was rapidly stuck with reality of it being only Tuesday. I blame the long night out in the wonderful weather at the ballpark! Oh well, just 1 more day to enjoy, right?? Right???

Last week my neighbor surprised me with this AWESOMELY huge bin of foam shapes. It was going to take FOREVER to sort but well worth the fun in the end. I knew if we didn't sort it, it would hardly get used. We broke it down into Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Letters, Numbers, Shapes. Each category is safely stored in a clear shoe box that allows the kids to see which one they would like.

I knew instantly that the letters would see overtime use. Our first lesson was in spelling. My youngest had to READ his spelling words, then search for each letter to spell that word with. 

As he found a letter he used a paintbrush and dipped it into a cup of water to 'paint' the letter. He then stuck to to the wall of a clear bin! (The now empty foam bin!) This is a great way for him to work on letter recognition, blending sounds as he spells the words slowly and spelling of course!

Enjoy every minute of this TUESDAY my friends!

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Literacy & Learning Fun!

Tuesday came rather quickly! When that alarm went off this morning, I certainly wanted to curl back up and keep sleeping comfortably. Sometimes I often wonder what would happen if I decided to spend the day in bed? They could fend for themselves for a day, right? Hahaha...ahhhh, the dreams of a mother that is on the job 24 hours a day. Today is a post on what we have going on in the classroom in regards to literacy and learning!

I have a beginning reader that makes me prouder than words can say, as he begins his launch into the reading world, I like to build his confidence. He often time wants to give up when he opens a book and identifies just ONE word he does not know. To prevent that, I slip the book into a page protector and hand him a marker. I have him circle the words that he knows by sight alone and then sound out the others. If he still does not know it, he just crosses it out. Seeing everything he knows, makes him realize that there is more that he does know than does NOT know. This is one of his favorite things to do!

My baby reading his first book all the way through! You know those moments right? They bring tears to your eyes, you can even hear me sniffling in the background. I have each child reading their first book on video and it's amazing to see them all then and compare it to now.

One tip I can share with you, is when you get workbooks super cheap like these from TARGET's Dollar SPOT, pick up multiples. They allow you to use any good pictures for cutting out and using in poster boards when the kids have to do a report. They are also great for fact sheets if you are making a subject notebook, instead of the kids using their own handwriting in every single page.  

Reusing games is huge in my book. I get so much more out of them when they can be used for multiple things. These frogs come from a Cranium Game that we have and I just pulled them out and placed them on the floor with some sight word cards. This way he would flick the frogs and whatever card they landed on, if he could read it, he could keep it! He loved this game and wanted to play it all the time. It's amazing how kids will be drawn to learning if you just keep it fun! If you don't have that Cranium Game, head on over to Oriental Trading for a total STEAL on these frogs! 

What's Gnu is a FABULOUS game that my children LOVE! When I had the opportunity to purchase just the slider and 72 letter tiles for .25, I knew exactly what to do with it! This became our new writing center for my youngest. He slides a word and then he sounds them out. Next, he says the word and then writes it out as he spells it! Fun for him and perfect for me!

My children also love working with Geoboards. Something fun that they enjoy doing is making their own cards for their siblings to be challenged by. These are some designs that they started making on the computer. I also just keep the plain paper printed out at the center, for them create their own as they play.

Everything can change in an instant. Enjoy every minute that we have!

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5 a Day Book Project! Week 1

Happy Day! I am finally taking a minute to sit down today and I am just smiling with how wonderful it all went! Every morning, I wake up before my husband and kids, to have that moment where everything is still and quiet and perfect. You know, when the air holds a small chill and the sun has yet to appear over the horizon. Everything seems so new and fresh and forgiving. This moment is all my own, I take a glass of orange juice (fresh squeezed the night before) and usually have a seat on the deck. The air just invigorates me and tells me that it's a new day. Next, I sit quietly and check e-mails and all other Social Media that I have going on. Finally, my favorite part of the morning is taking in some blogs. I usually check about 10, but if I have time, I can do as many as 20! This morning I came across The Imagination Tree's post about the 5 a day Book Project. This seemed absolutely spectacular and right up our alley! We are a huge reading family! I've mentioned it before that we love to do anything that has to do with books! To read more about the project, please click on the link and go to Imagination Tree's blog!

I knew straight away that in addition to reading Charlotte's Web (1 chapter every night) and whatever the kids brought to me, we would go a more structured route. I went straight to our handy book display and emptied it out (today was our day to replace the books anyway!) to get it ready for our 5 books.
I meant to do this earlier today, but it got busy with one thing after another! I finally now had some time to put some things together and here they are! As soon as the new books hit the display, little hands were grabbing and ready to turn the pages!

First up, is Goodnight Moon, an old favorite that has been retired from our shelves for too long. This was a large lap book that we recently found at a tag sale! The kids love the brightness of the photos and with the size of the book, there is no arguing that someones head is in the way!

Next up, is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Without a doubt, a hands down Pre-School favorite! This one always gets all the kids answering and reading along with me, I knew this would be perfect for this project, to start us off!

Purplicious is a new book that we have yet to delve into! We bought it over the weekend and have waited for just the right moment! Isn't this perfect?! We can't wait to see what happens here!!

Busy Boats is a book we picked up on a treasure hunt recently and we have yet to read, I figure it was perfect book to read, after our Sailing Adventures!

Finally, we have Let's Measure it. This book goes well with my little guy's daily lessons this week with measuring things. We are using household goodies to measure things, in addition to a measuring tape! 

We are starting our reading tonight! Hope they love it as much as I already do!!

This 5 a day project, has definitely made it onto our Summer Bucket List! 

Are you doing this? What are your 5 books for this week?

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