Education resources for parents and teachers
I remember a first grade student of mine who could count by tens just like her classmates. But if I gave her a pile of counters and asked her to group them and count by 10's, she would take three little counters and count as she moved each piece: "10, 20, 30." I looked at her tiny pile of three and asked, "How many do you have?" "Thirty," was her reply. We did a lot of this kind of thing until it finally ... Read More
Looking for a fun winter themed math activity? Try hot chocolate math! (This post contains affiliate links.) Hot Chocolate Math Activity Print these twenty colorful hot chocolate cups and get out some mini-marshmallows. Yes, the mini-marshmallows will be a real motivator. You can also use white pom poms, which are much more expensive than mini-marshmallows but are also much less tempting. This printable has ... Read More
It was the week of Valentine's Day, and we were learning about the letter H. It was the perfect time to do an "H is for heart" colored rice sensory bin. Here's how I dyed the rice: 1) I bought a giant bag of 25 lbs of white rice from Sam's Club. It cost about $10. 2) I put 4 cups of rice into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. I added 2 tbsp of rubbing alcohol and a lot of red food coloring (about a third ... Read More
I’ve just started doing sensory bins with my big boys (2 & 4), but until today the baby’s been left out – because he puts everything into his mouth. Until last week, he didn’t notice he was missing the fun. He played with his own toys or crawled around under the table. Today – he noticed. I don’t want to leave him out. It makes him sad. Then all his screaming makes me sad. But more important – he’s missing ... Read More
When I started hunting for letter F math activities, I couldn't stop! There were so many fun ideas, and I didn't even list all of them here. I guess I figured that twelve ideas in a post was pushing it. :) 1 - Counting & Recognizing Numbers 1-20: Numbered Frogs I printed a set of counting frogs, labeled 1-20, for my Four to practice with. The first time through was a challenge. He wanted to quit at 10. ... Read More
Read on for nine ways to make an F! I began by pulling out my color tiles, which work very well for a straight letter like F. Color tiles are a great investment for teaching your little one. I've used them as counters, for building patterns, for measuring, making letters, and more. You can make your own giant letter F on your own or use mine. I created this page so my kids could use dot ... Read More
Here is another printable letter book of rhymes and songs for you to to enjoy with your little one! Printable Letter Book: Rhymes & Songs for Letter F You will find these songs and rhymes in the Little Letter “F” Book: F is for Flower sung to the tune of London Bridge Flower starts with letter F, Letter F, Letter F, Flower starts with letter F, /f/, /f/, /f/, f/! F is for Frog Sung to the tune of Farmer in the ... Read More
Letter F Crafts We've been busy! Since my Two already knew "F" when we began this exploration, I focused less on reinforcing the letter and more on giving him and his older siblings the chance to work with a variety of media. We used construction paper, feathers, dried beans, real food, foam, fingerpaint, foil, tissue paper, and old magazines to create these letter F crafts. F is for fun! F is for Fire I always ... Read More
I always appreciate a craft that I can do with all my kids at once. Here's a simple F is for Fire craft. All three of my big kids (2,4,5) enjoyed it. The tricky part was rolling the logs and gluing them down. As this was frustrating for all of them, I did most of it. Then the kids took their watered down glue and a paint brush and applied glue to the paper. They ripped construction paper and glued it ... Read More
This is one of those things that's so easy, and so great, you just have to do it. It's extremely rare for me to have just my two youngest at home during meal preparation, but that's what happened today. It was the perfect time to give my Two some one-on-one in the kitchen -- and to teach counting as well. After church we ran to the store (in 16°! Ack!) to get some strawberries and grapes so we'd have enough ... Read More
