Education resources for parents and teachers
Are you making these common mistakes when teaching reading in K-2? Let's make sure we're avoiding these ten common mistakes! Mistake #1 - Neglecting phonemic awareness instruction For years I thought a "hit or miss" approach to phonological and phonemic awareness was sufficient. Throw in some songs throughout the day, clap the syllables in our names, rhyme a bit, and play beginning sound games ... that ... Read More
What is independent reading? It's an essential part of your school day! Learn more in today's post. This summer, This Reading Mama and I have shared six posts about balanced literacy. We've given you essential information about each element of balanced literacy - with printable charts and lists to make your teaching easier. We've talked about The definition of balanced literacy - with a printable chart Interactive ... Read More
Today I'm sharing a set of free alphabet action cards - in two different versions! A few months ago, I finished teaching my Three the alphabet through our simple letter of the week activities. She loved it, and is busy writing letters wherever she goes - as you can see in the above story about a "cweepy monster." :) One thing she hasn't picked up on is letter sounds; she knows just a few of them. Her older siblings ... Read More
Do you have questions about guided reading? Today we're sharing an overview of the practice - with answers to your most frequently asked questions! This post contains affiliate links. Have you been following along with our balanced literacy series? This Reading Mama and I are talking about each element of a balanced reading program. So far we've answered these questions ... What is balanced literacy? What are ... Read More
Are you interested in teaching handwriting to your preschooler? Avoid these common mistakes! (Disclosure: I received compensation and free product from Go Teach! Handwriting for this post. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.) I receive many emails from parents asking me for help when teaching their young children to form letters. When should they start? What should they use? What letters ... Read More
Today I'm sharing a fun, simple game for teaching your child to read color words. I created this colorful game to help my Five practice reading the color words: red, blue, black, green, purple, pink, orange, yellow, black, white, and gray. (Note: If you don't have a color printer, there's another option! Just zoom down to the P.S. at the end of this post.) To play, print the game board and the stack of cards. Cut ... Read More
Today I'm sharing tips and tricks for doing interactive read alouds in your classroom. I remember the day my entire class was engaged. We were sitting in our chairs, hanging on every word as our teacher read Letters from Rifka. What would happen in Ellis Island? After everything she'd endured, would Rifka finally join her family in America? Or would she be sent back to Poland? There's nothing like a ... Read More
Looking for some simple count to 10 games? You can download four of them at the end of this post! This post contains affiliate links. Today I'm going to share a set of simple number games for preschoolers. These are ideal for helping young children learn to recognize the numbers 1-10. This is the last in our series of counting bin printables. They're all easy to print, prep, and play. Let's check it out! First, ... Read More
In today's post I'll share simple ways to use five and ten frames to teaching counting. Grab your free printables at the end! This post contains affiliate links. Have you been following along with our counting bin series? I've been sharing simple, low prep (and low ink!) activities that you can use to teach your preschooler to count to ten. Today we're using five and ten frames. To begin, I placed a five frame in ... Read More
This post contains affiliate links. Today I'm sharing another free printable for counting to ten: number cards! And I'll also show you five quick ways to use them with your learners. Activity 1: Match the numbers First, I placed a row of cards on the table. Together, my three-year-old and I named the numbers one by one. Then I gave my her a stack of matching cards and showed her how to place each card ... Read More
