The Moffatt Girls

Choosing the Right Chapter Book

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:32:00 +0000

Reading to my girls is my FAVORITE thing to do with them. We usually snuggle up on my bed and read book after book. I treasure our reading time and I try to fill that time with quality books that my girls love. I am picky when it comes to what we read and sometimes I find that the "popular" series of chapter books are not for us. I am not a big fan of the magic spells books, but that is just me :)

Reading to a child has so many benefits. Reading aloud to a child will help to build comprehension skills, vocabulary development, language skills, increase imagination and creativity and so much more! For a parent and a child, it is definitely a time to bond.

There are many great chapter books on market, but here are just a few that we are enjoying right now...

1) Frog and Toad- (ages 4-8) This quick, simple read aloud is perfect for children who are in between picture books and chapter books. The pictures on each page will keep every child happy and it doesn't take too long to read each book. If you have a more advanced reader, this set is perfect for beginning chapter books since it is still considered an easy reader.

2) Mercy Watson- (ages 6-8) Although the ages say 6-8, my 5 year old loves to read this independently and both girls (3 and 5) love to listen to me read these books aloud. This is another great series of chapter books that have pictures on each page. The story are really cute and help keep kids attention.

3) Little Bear- (ages 4-8) The stories about Little Bear and his friend Emily are a great introduction to for beginning readers to read independently. This would fall into the same reading category as Frog and Toad. There are a lot of pictures, simple sentences and a quick read. Audrey, the 5 year old, loves to read these books independently and the 3 year old will sit and listen to story after story of Little Bear.

4) Amelia Bedelia (Easy Reader Ages 4-8) - Although the 3 year old loves to listen to me read Amelia Bedelia books, she doesn't always understand the humor of Amelia Bedelia. However, the 5 year old laughs and laughs at these books. She will sit and read book after book of Amelia Bedelia. This would be in the same category as Little Bear and Frog and Toad.

5) Henry and Mudge (5 and up) This is also a great series for independent reading or read alouds.

The above list of chapter books are books that can be read quickly and are also perfect for children who are ready to read short, simple and easy chapter books. Since starting our Ready2Read program, my daughter's reading has grown so much and it is so exciting to see her read many of the books independently. The following list of books are great for longer read alouds or for children who are reading more fluently and ready for more advanced chapter books.

5) The Puppy Place- (ages 7-10) Although the age recommendation for this book is 7-10, my 5 year old LOVES these books! She is devouring them like crazy! She CAN read them independently, but she prefers that I read them to her. There are no pictures in this book, which make it a bit difficult to maintain a 3 year olds attention for very long. Since most children love dogs and puppies, these sweet and simple books are GREAT read alouds! Each book is only about 75 pages, which is a perfect length. I love the fact that this series has a lot of books in it and will keep us reading for quite some time. I can't say enough about how much we are enjoying this series!

6) Kitty Corner (ages 7-10) This adorable series is from the same author of The Puppy Place. My 5 year old is obsessed with kittens and she LOVES reading these books! We are very excited to read every book in this series! As soon as we finish one book, she is jumping up and down for the next! Another AWESOME series!

7) Nancy Clancy Super Sleuth (ages 6-10) If you like the Fancy Nancy pictures books, this is a great step up to chapter books. There are a few black and white pictures and there are about 120+ pages in each book. This will definitely make Nancy Drew fans happy!

8) Amelia Bedelia (chapter books Ages 6-10) If you like the humor in the easy reader series, this is also a great step up to chapter books. I find that the Amelia Bedelia stories are funny and such a great read aloud! There is so much to talk about as you read these books.

9) Berenstain Bear We really like the Berenstain Bear series. The stories are sweet and have some great morals. I think many kids can relate to the stories of Brother and Sister Bear.

10) Little House in the Big Woods (ages 8 and up)- This is the beginning of the Laura Ingalls Wilder's story of a pioneer girl and her family. I love this version of the book because it has enough colorful pictures to maintain a child's attention. This particular book is over 200 pages and is great for longer read alouds and perfect for increasing vocabulary and reading comprehension. We are planning to read all of the books in this series as well.

Please feel free to share your favorite beginning reader chapter books and read alouds in the comments!

Shelby's Snack Shack Game GIVEAWAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:57:00 +0000

It is no secret that I absolutely LOVE Educational Insights and their FUN products! Educational Insights has a lot of great resources that make learning so much fun! I am super excited to be able to review and giveaway one of their new products, Shelby's Snack Shack Game!

Shelby's Snack Shack Game is a fun resource that allows children to work on skills like number concepts, counting, fine motor skills, one-to-one correspondence, beginning addition and subtraction, social skills (such as taking turns and following directions), and simple strategic thinking! As soon as I opened the package with our Shelby's Snack Shack Game the Moffatt Girls went nuts! I always find that kids learn best when they are having FUN and games like this are just PERFECT!

How do you play?
Shelby the rescue dog is at the beach playing. Each player needs to collect bones to feed Shelby. The player with the most bones wins the game!
1. Begin by scattering all of the bones on the beach in the bottom of the box.
2. Spin the spinner to determine your play. Watch out for those sneaky seagulls!
3. Use the Shelby squeezer to pick up the bones and put them in your bowl. This is great for developing fine motor skills needed for handwriting!
4. Collect the most bones in your bowl and win!

What do we think of the game?
We LOVE this game! Hands down, this is the littlest Moffatt Girls FAVORITE game! We had so much fun playing together. In fact, when it was bedtime the other night, she started to cry because we had to stop playing, but Daddy saved the day and played one more game with her :) It's educational and it's FUN!

Not only did the littlest Moffatt Girl love this game, but so did the soon to be 1st Grader! I loved watching her thinking skills at work when playing! She would say, "I already have 6 bones and I got 3 more bones...that makes 9!" When she lost some bones, she did the same thinking process with subtraction. Learning just doesn't get better than that!

Now for your chance to win your own

Shelby's Snack Shack Game!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sentence Shuffle!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:28:00 +0000

I wanted to make a fun, hands-on printable that helped practice penmanship and other skills. The last thing we need is BORING handwriting practice! I created our Sentence Shuffle packet that is 100 pages long! I know that this packet will be a big hit because it is full of hands-on FUN! There is NO PREP needed and all of the pages are black and white! Just PRINT and GO!

This packet will help kids master the following skills:

*Sentence Structure- Helps students recognize capitals at the beginning of a sentence and proper punctuation at the end of the sentence. You can also address the structure of a sentence and the components needed to make a complete sentence. You can have older students identify the predicate, noun, verb and adjective in each sentence.

*Fine Motor Skills- Cutting and Coloring. Since kids LOVE to color...this is a huge bonus!

*Perfect Penmanship- After cutting out the pieces of the sentence, shuffling them and pasting them in order, students will need to rewrite the sentence in their best handwriting.

Directions:

1. Cut out the sentence pieces at the bottom of the page.

2. Shuffle the pieces to make a complete sentence.

3. Paste the sentence in the box.

4. Write the sentence.

5. Color the picture.

This 100 page packet covers just about every topic and is perfect to pull out anytime of the year!

Here are the topics/titles included in this packet:

*Doctors

*Firefighters

*Driving the Car

*Up and Down

*The Hospital

*Fun at the Park

*The Library

*Mail Delivery

*The Post Office

*The Police

*Time for School

*My House

*Snack Time

*Breakfast

*The Food Pyramid

*Time to Wake Up!

*Eat Your Vegetables

*A Cherry on Top

*Broken Bones

*Watch Me

*Our Family

*Hoot Hoot

*Planting Flowers

*Jump Rope

*Bike Riding

*Exercise

*Hula Hoop

*Helmet Safety

*Buzzing Around

*Hungry Bear

*Juggling Bear

*Rainy Days

*Boom!

*Hop Hop

*Cluck Cluck

*Funny Clowns

*Mooo!

*Clowning Around

*Dinosaurs

*Hungry Puppy

*Playful Friends

*Where's the Peanut

*Fish in the Sea

*Flamingos

*Long Neck

*Maahaa

*Quack Quack

*My Shadow

*Hungry Hippo

*Neigh

*Wiggly Jellyfish

*Polly Want a Cracker?

*Baby Joey

*Three Little Kittens

*Roar Like a Lion

*No More Jumping!

*Wiggle Your Arms

*Kite Flying

*Fast Birds

*Sammy the Seal

*Rhonda the Raccoon

Ssssneaky Snake

*Itsy Bitsy Spider

*Sally the Squirrel

*Timmy the Tiger

*Sea Turtles

*Whale of a Good Time

*Flower Bear

*Summer in the Pool

*Cute Koalas

*Scarecrows

*Slow as a Snail

*Gobble Gobble

*Snow Play

*Abraham Lincoln

*Storing Acorns

*Light the Way

*Hidden Treasures

*Teepees

*Giddy Up!

*Apple Picking

*Mouse Trap

*United States

*Beautiful Butterfly

*Be Good to the Earth

*Let's Recycle

*Our Skeleton

*Add it UP!

*Piece of Pizza

*Writing is FUN!

*Big and Small

*Dinosaur Roar

*Eruption

*Science Fun!

*Planet Earth

*Landing on the Moon

*Tic Toc

*Hit the Piñata

*Cheese!

*Let's go Sledding

As you can see...there are a LOT of pages! A lot of FUN learning!

All About Easy Readers!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:48:00 +0000

Choosing the Right Type of Easy Reader
Let me first begin my saying that choosing the right type of easy reader can be a challenge! As children begin to progress in their reading, easy readers become an important aspect to the reading journey. Easy readers are great for children who are just learning how to read because the text is simple and the stories are short. Easy readers also allow children to practice there newly learned phonics skills and sight word recognition.

Incorporating Reading Strategies

When using easy readers I like to incorporate some of the following reading strategies to help children learn how to read:

1) Echo Reading- where the child/student echos the words after the teacher. I usually point to the words as I slowly read them and then have the child read them. Pointing and focusing on the words is very important.

2) Choral Reading- where the child/students read at the same time as the teacher. This is great for helping a child build fluency with simple texts.

3) Fill in the Gap- Since I know that my 3 year old is able to sound out simple CVC words and has memorized about 30 sight words, I am able to use the fill in the gap strategy when reading with her. I will read the words in a sentence that she doesn't know and stop to let her fill in the words that she does know. This also helps build confidence when decoding simple CVC words and lets her track the words with me as I read.

4) Circle the sight word- Learning to read sight words is an important component to any reading program since sight words make up a fairly large portion of what kids read and write. Sight words may or may not be decodable, but they should be read automatically, without decoding.

There are so many different types of easy readers on the market today and a huge variety to choose from. Here are some easy reader sets that we have found useful, especially while working through Ready2Read Level 1.

Bob Books- Bob Books provide short, simple sentences with CVC words. These beginning readers are great for practicing simple phonics skills and building confidence. Here is a sample of Collection 1 Book 2, Sam:

Sam and Cat.

Mat and Cat.

Sam, Mat and Cat.

Cat sat on Sam.

Dick and Jane- The Dick and Jane books are perfect for practicing pre-primer sight words. The pictures are adorable and the words are simple.

Here is an example from the book We Look:

I see the big mother.

I see the little baby.

Look, Jane.

See the big father.

The simple pre-primer sight words make it easy for a beginning reader to feel successful.

Level 1 Easy Readers for Beginning Readers

Let's take a look at five different types of easy readers series:

Scat, Cat! (I Can Read) is an easy reader and it actually labeled as "My First Shared Reading". I would consider this book a perfect easy reader because it does provide a predictable text, decodable words and sight words. You can easily incorporate some of the above reading strategies when using this type of book. In this particular book, an early reader would probably be able to decode the words scat, cat and dog. In addition, the child will most likely be familiar with some simple sight words such as the, go and said.

Here is a sample from the book:

"Scat, cat!" said the dog.

"Scat, cat!" said the bird.

"Scat, cat!" said the other cats. "Go home."

Since this book provides a lot of repetition, a child will easily become familiar with the text and more confident as they reread it over and over again.

The Ball Game (Hello Reader) This is about the same level as Scat Cat and is perfect Ready2Read Level 1 readers. There are pre-primer sight words and simple cvc words to decode.

Here is a sample from the book:

I grab my hat.

I'm at the plate.

I swing my bat.

I hit the ball.

I Am Brave (Scholastic Reader): Again, as you use the above strategies along with decoding skills, kids can begin to read this type of book. At the early stages of reading, a lot of support is required, but it is amazing at how quickly kids begin to use those decoding skills and recognize sight words!

Here is a sample from the book:

Look at these clouds! It's a thunderstorm.

I have to get inside.

Oh, no. The door is locked.

I am scared.

Little Bears Friend (An I Can Read Book): This series is super cute, but it is not for a brand new reader. If your child is working through Level 2 of the Ready2Read program, this may be a good fit. In this book, there are many sight words and decodable words in the text, but the story and words are a little more complex.

Here is a sample from the book:

He could hear the wind sing.

And he could feel the wind on his fur, on his eyes, on his little black nose.

He shut his eyes, and let the wind brush him.

He opened his eyes, and saw two little squirrels.

"Play with us," they said.

"No time," said Little Bear.

"I have to go home for lunch."

Look for the Lorax (Step into Reading): This book is slightly shorter and simpler than the Little Bear series but also a good fit for both Ready2Read Level 1 and 2 readers, depending on how well they are progressing.

Here is a sample from the book:

Cute suits!

Bar-ba-loots

play, play, play.

Bump, jump.

Jump, bump.

Run, run, run.

As you can see, there are many different Level 1 books you can use for a beginning reader. The most important thing is to have a variety of books on hand and to spend time working on strategies as a child reads. Beginning readers need a lot of patience and support.

Even as kids progress in their reading levels, easy readers are still a good choice, especially when they can read them independently! My 5 year old is currently working on Level 3 of our Ready2Read program, but she still LOVES to read easy readers! Rereading easy readers helps to build fluency and comprehension skills.

Is your child ready to learn how to read? Be sure to check out our Ready2Read program {HERE}.

Color by Number Sight Words UPDATED!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:23:00 +0000

I have been busy, busy, busy updating ALL of our Color by Number Sight Word packets! It has been almost 2 years since I first created these packets and I KNEW they needed an update! I LOVE our NEW and IMPROVED version! The new and improved version will allow students to make a sight word mini booklet with each set of sight words! Each packet also has a list of the sight words for the mini-book so kids can refer back to the list and practice. Since kids LOVE to color...this is a PERFECT way to make learning FUN!!

If you purchased any of our Color by Number Packets in the past, you can re-download them in your Teachers Notebook account for FREE!

Here are the updated packets...

Color by Number Sight Words (Pre-Primer)

This packet includes the following words:

a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow and you.

Color by Number Sight Words (Primer)

This packet includes the following words:

all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, white, who, will, with and yes.

Color by Number Sight Words (1st Grade)

This packet includes the following words:

after, again, an, any, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were and when.

Color by Number Sight Words (The Bundle)

The Bundle packet includes all of the words from the pre-primer, primer and 1st grade lists.

Pre-Primer: a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow and you.

Primer: all, am, are, at, ate, be, black, brown, but, came, did, do, eat, four, get, good, have, he, into, like, must, new, no, now, on, our, out, please, pretty, ran, ride, saw, say, she, so, soon, that, there, they, this, too, under, want, was, well, went, white, who, will, with and yes.

1st Grade: after, again, an, any, ask, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has, her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, over, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were and when.

Color by Number Sight Words (2nd Grade)

This packet includes the following words:

Color by Number (3rd Grade)

This packet includes the following words:

about, better, bring, carry, clean, cut, done, draw, drink, eight, fall, far, full, got, grow, hold, hot, hurt, if, keep, kind, laugh, light, long, much, myself, never, only, own, pick, seven, shall, show, six, small, start, ten, today, together, try and warm.

Here is a snapshot of the changes...

Even the littlest Moffatt Girl started on the Pre-Primer set! This little girl LOVES to color ... so this is just PERFECT for her :) Each set of sight word packets make a little mini-book that can be stapled together. I think she likes the NEW version :)

It is all about making learning FUN and coloring...of course :)

Ready2Read Level 3 Unit 2

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 28 May 2013 20:10:00 +0000

We have just finished up Unit 2 of our Ready2Read program and we are fully enjoying it! There are so many different activities in this unit and it really makes learning so much fun! I captured a lot of the activities from this unit, but not all of them. This little Moffatt Girls loves to learn how to read and I know it is because her reading is hands-on and FUN!

*If you are new to the Ready2Read program, you can see the information page for Level 1 {HERE}. This is a sequential reading program and it is recommended that children start with Level 1.

Level 3 Theme: Ocean Theme

Unit 2 Sight Words: her, him, put, an

Unit 2 Word Families: -eep and -eat

Long Vowels: ee and ea

Download Unit 2 {HERE}

Who doesn't love to stamp a word family? This definitely takes the boring out of learning! As children look for the letters that make up each word, they are practicing spelling patterns and seeing how vowel teams, digraphs and blends work together. It is a whole brain activity.

The game board is a fast paced activity that helps to make fluency fun.

The sight word word search not only focuses on sight words from unit 3, but also revisits sight words from both Level 1 and Level 2. I strongly believe that reviewing concepts is a key component to confidence and success, so why not make it FUN

For the Sight Word Match and Sight Word Spelling, I always have Audrey fold the paper in half so that she can't see what is on the other side. This is simple and a quick assessment of her progress.

The Word Family Detective takes place on two different days and this one is a lot of fun! There are 10 very tiny word family words hidden in the picture and you use a magnifying glass to find the words. You can imagine how much fin this is for kids! After finding the word family word, they write it on their recording sheet. Another way to practice and see patterns in word families.

This activity is completely hands-on and requires reading the 1st grade sight word, tracing it, stamping it and cutting and pasting it. So much hands-on learning in one page!

Read and Write the Room is an absolute FAVORITE! This activity actually lasts 2 days for each word family and we still can't get enough! I hide the words around the room and Audrey is required to search for them and match the picture to the correct word and write it on the line. SO. MUCH. FUN!!

Build a Lunch was a BLAST! In fact, we did this activity several times because it is so cute!

Adorable and fun -eep word family word slides. Slide, read and write.

-eat Word Family Word Slides

Tic-Tac-Toe Sight Words! We play this game several times and this little girl LOVES to win!

So cute and so fun! Sight Word headbands!

Sight Word Make-a-Match

A fun fast paced game of Roll, Read and Color!

This is perfect for "seeing" the letter patterns and it does require a little brain power.

I LOVE our Word Family Graphing because it incorporates so many different skills. It allows for graphing skills, word identification in various fonts and of course writing the word.

Roll, Trace and Check it Off! Just another way to master those sight words!

Sight Word Decorating! This time we used glitter glue dots and cupcake decorations.

Missing Letters

Spin and Graph a Word Family. Instead of coloring the boxes, I had Audrey write the word. This activity/game is so fast paced and fun, that it takes the drudgery out of simply writing the words. Learning becomes a game!

Color by Sight Word...always a favorite!

Sight Word Success

Working on a quick ABC order and Perfect Printing Practice!

Clap the Syllables

Another Common Core Foundational Skills Requirement

Sight Word Stars

These cute little color by number sight word stars will be part of our Ocean Theme Wall!

The Sight Word Stars have been laminated, cut out and added to our wall! GREAT for reinforcement and a FUN word wall!

Sight Word Mini Books!

Reading and reinforcing sight words in context.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our Word Family Word Octopus! Our Ocean Themed Word Wall is turning out SO cute and it really makes learning FUN!

Vowel Team Posters!

LOVE these! We just added the ea and ee teams!

The lesson plans are ready to go for each unit!

Our Ocean Wall is growing with sight word starfish, word family octopus and word family turtles!

Ready2Read Certificate!

Here are a few supplemental resources that we used for unit 2. These are NOT included in Ready2Read Level 3.

We are LOVING our Sight Word Texting Codes for 1st Grade! I used the blank recording sheet included in the pack and all of the sight words for unit 2 and a couple of other sight words from Level 2.

We also added our Sight Word Money to our sight word wallet!

That wraps it up for Level 3 Unit 2!
Click {HERE} to download Level 3 Unit 2

Easy Salt Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:05:00 +0000

I love doing art projects with my girls, especially when they are super easy and fun! The other day we did a very easy salt painting. Although it is a fun art project, it is not one that you can hang up on the walls and keep around. When the salt dries, it all falls off and makes a bit of a mess. In fact, this beauty will eventually find itself in the "round file". It gets a little messy, but kids LOVE it! This art project is all about the process.

Supplies Needed:
*white glue
*table salt
*different colored paper
*paintbrushes
*food coloring or other liquid paints

Directions:
1) Begin by making a glue design on your colored construction paper.
2) Pour salt over the glue....this part was a little messy so make sure you use a try. Just like glitter, we sprinkled and then shook the salt around to cover all parts of the glue.
3) Squeeze drops of food coloring and a few drops of water into some sort of container. Here is the FUN part... use a paint brush to drip little drops of food coloring onto the glue. It's magical! Watch the color spread through your salt line.

I did this with both of my girls and they LOVED it! The 3 year old said, "Oh Mommy! My painting is so beautiful!" Both girls wanted to make several copies of their artwork. I LOVE easy and fun crafts!

So fun, so easy!

Summer Review Packet for 1st Grade!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:39:00 +0000

I am SO EXCITED about our new Summer Review Packet for 1st Grade! I have never worked so hard on a single packet in my life and I am loving every single printable in this packet! The Kindergarten Summer Review Packet took SO LONG to make that I wasn't planning on doing a 1st Grade packet. BUT....I received so many emails asking if I was going to do it and decided to go for it! I am so glad I did, because I have a fun, hands-on packet ready for my little Moffatt Girl who is going into 1st Grade.

This 93 page Summer Review Packet for 1st Grade will make learning FUN for the kids and EASY for you! Just like our Kindergarten Packet, there is NO PREP needed and ALL of the pages are in black and white! This packet will help kids maintain what they have already learned and reinforce many Common Core Standards!

Here is what is included in this MASSIVE 93 page packet:

*Buckets of Rhymes

*Missing Letters (uppercase)

*Missing Letter (lowercase)

*Rhyming Monkeys

*Short a Words

*Mixed Up Animals (unscramble the words)

*Number Word Match

*Sunshine Verbs

*Fun at the Beach (abc order)

*Fun at the Pond (abc order)

*CVCC Words

*Spish Splash Synonyms

*Campout Contractions

*Nouns at the Pond

*Colorful Balloons

*Roll, Read and Color a Blend

*Camping Sentences

*Purrrrfect Handwriting

*Safari Addition

*Safari Subtraction

*Bugs in a Jar (Graphing and Adding)

*Count Your Money

*ABC Foods

*Buzzing Addition and Subtraction (2 pages)

Blooming ABC Order

*Contraction Bubbles

*Candy Measurement

*Greater Than Less Than

*Pond Problems

*Missing Insects (fill in the missing number)

*Blend and Digraph Make-a-Match

*Long and Short A Photos (cut and paste)

*Long and Short E Photos (cut and paste)

*Long and Short I Photos (cut and paste)

*Long and Short O Photos (cut and paste)

*Long and Short U Photos (cut and paste)

*Popcorn Subtraction

*Popcorn Addition

*Silly Sisters Mystery Problems

*Big Brothers Mystery Problems

*Safari Nouns

*Missing Numbers 1-100

Color by Sight Word with 1st Grade Sight Words (2 pages)

*Bubble Gum Short A Words (cut and paste)

*Bubble Gum Long E Words (cut and paste)

*Bubble Gum Short I Words (cut and paste)

*Bubble Gum Long O Words (cut and paste)

*Bubble Gum Short U Words (cut and paste)

*Silent E Words

*Missing Vowels (2 pages)

*1st Grade Sight Word Flashcards (3 pages)

*Compound Frogs

*Fishing for Syllables

*Caterific Drawings and Writings

*Dogerific Drawings and Writings

*I Can Read Bookmarks

*Posting Pronouns

*Fact Family Houses

*Time for a Bar-B-Que (time by the hour and 1/2 hour)

*Half Time (show the time)

*Medical Measurement

*Sammy the Seal (cut, paste and write a sentence)

*Funny Clowns (cut, paste and write a sentence)

*Helping Dogs (cut, paste and write a sentence)

*Feeling Bears (cut and paste)

*Bar-B-Que Verbs

*Sandwich Subtraction

*Apple Addition

*Puppy Place Value

*Treat Time Graphing

*Summer Journal Prompts (2 prompts 4 sheets)

*Fantastic Fractions

*Weigh the Critters

*Number Ice Cream Scoops

*Beach Items for SALE! (counting coins)

*Even Steven and Odd Todd (cut and Paste)

*Days of the Week

*Healthy Lunch Sorting

*Number Fun

You can check out the Kindergarten packet {HERE}

Summer Review Packet for Kindergarten!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:12:00 +0000

Summer is almost here but that doesn't mean that kids need to stop learning. In efforts to avoid the "summer slide" I have created this massive 90+ page Summer Review Packet for Kindergarten that is going to make learning FUN and easy! I have loaded this packet with tons of hands-on resources that will help kids maintain what they have already learned and reinforce many Common Core Standards!

The best part about this packet is that there is absolutely NO PREP needed! Just print the pages and go! The pages are all black and white, which helps save money on all that colored ink!

Here is what is included in this MASSIVE 92 page packet:

* Complete the pattern

*Upper and lowercase tracing pages

*Splashes of Color (color words)

*Buckets of Sight Words

*Bubble Gum Addition

*Bubble Gum Subtraction

*Water Balloon Beginning Sounds

*Water Balloon Ending Sounds

*Shovels and Buckets

* Write the Beginning Sounds

*Write the Beginning and Ending Sounds

*Write the Ending Letter Sound

*Color the Beginning Sound

*Match the Ending Letter and Picture

*Sunny Number Tracing 1-30

*Counting Spots

*Summer Reading Fun Punctuation

*Summer Reading Bookmarks

*Pool Time by the Hour

*Time to Swim by the 1/2 hour

*Show Me the Time

*Summer Word Problems

*Base Ten Blocks (cut and paste)

*Buggy Addition Sentences

*Grilling Up Math

*Colorful Gumballs

*Ants on Parade

*Adding up Lemons

*Bug/ Math (addition and subtraction sheets)

*Dribbles by 10

*Marching 5 by 5's

*Inchworm Measurement

*Colorful Crayons

*Let's Rhyme

*Handwriting Practice A-Z sheets

*Ordinal Numbers

*-at Family Practice

*Missing Numbers

*Ants with More!

*Color by Sight Word

*Complete a Sentence

*Bar-B-Que Words

*Summer Fun Words

*Count, Cut and Paste Numbers

*Number Words (cut and paste)

*Sweet Treat Counting

*Coins in the Bank (pennies and nickels)

*Coins in the Bank (dimes and quarters)

*Color, Count and Graph

*Pre-Primer Sight Word Flashcards

*Primer Sight Word Flashcards

*All About Me Book

*Roll, Read and Color a Word Family (2 sheets)

*Roll, Read and Color a Sight Word (pre-primer 2 pages)

*Roll, Read and Color a Sight Word (primer 3 pages)

*Roll, Read and Color a Math Problem (Addition up to 10)

*Roll, Read and Color a Math Problem (Finding the Missing Addend 2 pages)

*Equal and Unequal Shapes

*Sunny CVC Words (2pages)

That should keep your kids/students busy with some meaningful reinforcement and learning this summer!

You can see our 1st Grade packet {HERE}

iTrax GIVEAWAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:00:00 +0000

I absolutely LOVE reviewing products from Learning Resource because they are both FUN and educational! One of the best part about our reviews is that Learning Resources also lets us giveaway awesome products to some Moffatt Girl readers, too!

Today I was able to review a product called iTrax and we LOVE it!

What is iTrax ?

iTrax is a fun eye-tracking game that makes you think and problem solve. Players begin by choosing a card, finding the path that connects two cubes and then building what they see. There are 25 double-sided cards with various degrees of difficulty and 3 different levels, which makes it great for beginners and more advanced players. Each player finds the path that connects 2 cubes and begins to build. The rules are simple and the game is FUN!

Audrey LOVED this game and she was caught in complete concentration!

Although the littlest Moffatt Girl is not ready to "officially" play this game, she did enjoy one-to-one correspondence and matching of the pieces.

Want to win iTrax for your family or classroom?

Simply use the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Mother's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:48:00 +0000

Wishing all the mother's a very happy Mother's Day!

Love,

The Moffatt Girls

Draw and Tell with a FREEBIE!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:36:00 +0000

I have a little Moffatt Girl who LOVES to draw! She will doodle on everything and she draws every single day! I knew I had to make her something that would feed that need to draw. So I decided to make a 100 page packet called Draw and Tell! This has been a HUGE hit in our home, so much that Audrey has even done up to 5 in a day!

This is why I LOVE our new Draw and Tell:

1) It teaches children how to observe and make comparisons.
By looking at each individual square, children learn to duplicate by comparing spaces and proportions. I must say that this activity took a few guided examples for Audrey to understand how the process worked, but once she grasped the spacing concept she did great!

2) Children also learn that their ability to draw improves with practice.
This is such an important confidence builder for children! As children they take their time to complete the drawing they see a picture that they created by following directions!

3) It includes writing!
This is a HUGE bonus! When kids create ownership of their drawings, they also create ownership of their writing. They can work on creating a descriptive sentence for their drawing at the bottom of the page. You could even extend this activity by writing an entire story from the drawing!

Here is a FREEBIE for you which includes a dog and a butterfly! I hope your kids LOVE it!

Draw and Tell (FREEBIE)

We have had so much fun with this packet! It is a great way to take a break from the daily school work and give kids a chance to just draw. It's fun, it's simple and it's a brain break!

Here was our simple sentence that included a capital letter a the beginning of the sentence and a capital letter with a proper noun , an apostrophe showing ownership and the proper punctuation mark at the end of the sentence.

My puppy's name is Spot.

So simple, so effective!

I hope your kids LOVE this!!

BIG Sale and BIG Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sat, 04 May 2013 14:50:00 +0000

Are you ready for a SALE and a GIVEAWAY?

Let's start with the SALE!

It is Teacher Appreciation week and we are having a sale on ALL of the Moffatt Girl products!
But it gets better...

Teachers Notebook will be kicking in an extra 10% off of all sale prices! WOW! Thank you Teachers Notebook!

Here are a few examples...

Now...About the GIVEAWAY...

Hold onto your seats because this is AWESOME! Teachers Notebook will be giving away a $100 gift certificate to Oriental Trading Company EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!

The last time that Teachers Notebook had a giveaway (Tablet for the Teacher), the winner came from The Moffatt Girls blog! The winner won an iPad and so did the little Moffatt Girls :) There were thousands of entries from our blog...let's do it AGAIN! If the winner comes from our blog, we win too! Head on over to enter! It only takes a minute! Who doesn't LOVE a gift cards?
Click below to enter...

Happy shopping! I have some shopping to do myself!

Graphic Organizers and Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:27:00 +0000

I LOVE using graphic organizers because they are such helpful tools! Many of the graphic organizers out there are so BORING! Plain and not pretty at all! Well, I decided to "cutsify" some graphic organizers and we LOVE them! These are perfect for helping kids get motivated to write and they can be used with so many different subjects! This set includes 42 different graphic organizers!

Here are my top 5 reasons to use graphic organizers:

1. Helps students visually sort information and organize thoughts

2. Allows students to review concepts and demonstrate understanding

3. Helps children in the areas of critical thinking, reading and writing

4. Helps students make connections

5. Promotes independent thinking

Graphic Organizers

We started using our graphic organizers this week and I know they will be something that we will use all of the time! There is no wrong or right way to use a graphic organizer, which makes it perfect for implementing into a variety of subjects.

Here is an example of how we used our Graphic Organizers this week. I started with one of our Daily Journal prompts for May. Audrey used the graphic organizer to write down different animals that may live in a barn.

As you can see, we just added a few more dog bones to the graphic organizer as needed. It is all about flexibility when using the graphic organizers to their fullest potential.

Next, we talked about how we can use some of these ideas to write a well written response in her journal. I think she did a great job! It is so exciting to see a child feel successful, especially in the area of writing. Sometimes all they really need are the right tools, some modeling and guidance.

Even though it took a bit longer than usual, our Daily Journal Prompts for May are also finished!

I am so happy that I started making our Daily Journal Prompt series, because it has helped provide an opportunity to write on a consistent basis. I have seen so much growth since we starting using them!

Here are a few examples of what is in the Daily Journal Prompts for May.

Easy Oil Pastel Art

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:48:00 +0000

I love doing art projects, especially when they are simple and successful! Today we created a very easy oil pastel drawing with a watercolor resist. This is a very easy art project and even a 5 year old can create a masterpiece, but I also think it is perfect for all ages! I just LOVE how our spring bunny turned out!

Here is how we made this very simple oil pastel drawings with a water color resist:

Step #1- Begin by sketching your drawing onto a piece of paper. It doesn't need to be perfect, but a basic outline of what you want your drawing to look like.

Step #2- Use the oil pastels to trace the lines of the sketch and then color the drawing. I love working with oil pastels because of their creamy texture and they are very easy to blend. They help create a dramatic effect on any picture.

As you can see in our picture, the oil pastel smear a little and their are white spaces. That is perfectly okay, because once you add the watercolors, everything will start to blend together to create a more evenly textured art piece.

Step #3- Use watercolors to paint over the entire picture. We made sure to match the watercolor to oil pastels. The results are amazing! So beautiful and so simple! The possibilities are endless and it is such a beautiful piece of artwork!

Our bunny Brownie was our inspiration for our artwork! For the record, our bunny thinks he is a dog! He chases the ball, lays in the grass with our shih-tzu and runs after the frisbee! We love Brownie!

Win $100 Worth of Teacher Resources!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:57:00 +0000

I have a FANTASTIC giveaway for you!
YOU can win in a Ticket to the May Teaching Tips Event!

I am so excited to be able to present at the May Teaching Tips Event for Teachers Notebook! May is a month that is filled with 3 important holidays: Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day and Memorial Day. Eight teachers will be presenting on these 3 holidays!

How does it work?
You can attend the event without leaving your home. The presentations will play right from the Teachers Notebook site and you can attend all of the events or just the ones that interest you. You don't need to attend the event at a specific time and you can watch it at your convenience!

How much does the ticket cost?
Each ticket is $10. The purchase of your ticket will give you access to $100 worth of teacher resources! YES....$100! Included in the packet will be my NEW Mother's Day Craft and Writing! This craft will help you meet Common Core Standards in the area of writing and allow your students to create an adorable watering can craft for Mother's Day! This is just one of several downloads you will receive with the purchase of your ticket. Click {HERE} to see the presenters and the FREE products they are offering!

How can I win a FREE ticket?
We are super excited to be able to GIVEAWAY 5 tickets to some Moffatt Girl readers! The ticket will allow you access to the event and of course....$100 worth of teacher resources! All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter below!

Enter below for your chance to win 1 of 5 tickets to this event!

I can't wait to "see" you at the event!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sight Word Texting Codes!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:44:00 +0000

Oh my...I think I just created one of our FAVORITE products.... Sight Word Texting Codes!! I am thrilled beyond words with how fun and educational this product turned out be! Cell phones are a very coveted item at our house and they always seem to disappear into the hands of the little Moffatt Girls :)

Therefore....we made some super FUN and effective Sight Word Texting Codes!

Here are ways that you can use this resource:

Print out these adorable glitter cell phones. Each cell phone has a sight word on them and use can use them to simply read the sight word on the phone. This is perfect for assessing students on their sight word identification. Such a great way to add some BLING to your learning :)

Each Sight Word Texting Code Packet contains a blank recording sheet so that you can target sight words that your students are having difficulty identifying or spelling. Use the cell phones to have students write the words and text the code onto their recording sheets.

This is the blank recording sheet where students can write the specific words onto the cell phone, input the texting code and write the word again. Each packet also includes the words in ABC order and in random order, which gives you a lot of options on how to use this resource.

Texting Code for WHERE = 94373

Sight Word Texting Codes are also perfect for helping children learn how to SPELL sight words. As they search for the code for each letter in the sight word they are saying the letters in their head and learning how to spell the word. For example, Audrey is working on how to spell the word where in the above picture. She begins by looking for the texting number for w. In her brain she says, "w....w....w... " and her finger searches to find where the w is on the cell phone. She locates the w and can see that the texting code is 9. As students continue to look for each letter and the texting code, they have practiced spelling the word! FUN!!

This was HUGE hit at our home!

We are working on 2nd, 3rd grade and the Fry list as well!

I think learning should be FUN and this definitely helps!!

1,500 Ladybugs and a FREEBIE!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:43:00 +0000

We just released 1,500 ladybugs into our garden! Yes...1,500!! Each spring we buy a container of ladybugs to release into our garden and the girls just LOVE it! It give us a chance to look closely at the ladybugs and it is so much fun!

Here are what the ladybugs look like when we open the container. They just keep coming and coming! It is amazing!

It is so fun to watch the girls look at the ladybugs and talk about them! They discover that some have spots and some do not. They talk about the sizes of the ladybugs and how many aphids they might eat. Such a simple and wonderful science discovery!

Here are some fun facts about ladybugs:

* There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs

* Ladybugs live for about 1 year

*Ladybugs release a bad smelling and tasting order to deter predators

* Ladybugs can play dead :)

*Ladybugs are actually beetles

Here is a FREE Color by Sight Word (Ladybug)

I LOVE spring!!

In case you want to pick up your own set of ladybugs, you can try your local hardware store! Mr. Moffatt picked up the ladybug container for $6.99. Last year he also brought home a container of Praying Mantis! It was NOT my favorite, but I will post about them if he decides to bring them home again.

Sight Word Scoops!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:41:00 +0000

I am so happy with our new Sight Word Scoops! I know....the ice-cream scoops are out of control :) We have CVC Scoops, Math Scoops, Beginning Sound Scoops and now Sight Word Scoops!

I LOVE our new Sight Word Scoops because they incorporate a variety of fonts which allows students to recognize and read words in different prints and published styles. I also believe that sight words are an important component to any successful reading program and the statistic prove it!

12 Sight Words make up 25% of those we read and write.

100 Sight Words make up 50% of those we read and write.

About 300 Sight Words account for about 75% of those we read and write.

The above statistics show the importance of sight words and therefore, I try to make learning sight words FUN! I think I hit a home run with these new Sight Word Scoops because they totally hands-on and allow kids to color, cut and paste!

Pre-Primer Edition

Includes the following words:

a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, and you.

Primer Edition

Includes the following words:

First Grade Edition

Includes the following words:

after again, an, any, ask, as, by, could, every, fly, from, give, going, had, has her, him, his, how, just, know, let, live, may, of, old, once, open, put, round, some, stop, take, thank, them, then, think, walk, were, and when.

The Bundle

Includes the pre-primer, primer and First Grade Sight Words

I am working on the 2nd, 3rd grade version and the Fry sets as well.

~~I would LOVE to give 2 sets of The Bundle Sight Word Scoops away! Just leave me a comment and I will pick 2 winners tonight!~~
Congratulations to Katelin and Michele!!

Ten-Frame Treasures GIVEAWAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:41:00 +0000

I have a FANTASTIC giveaway for you today! I am super excited to be able to giveaway the Ten-Frame Treasures from Learning Resources!

Both Moffatt Girls went crazy over this adorable treasure chest filled with 40 silver coins, 40 gold coins and 4 ten-frame trays! They immediately pulled out the coins and started "playing". When learning becomes a game, it is always a winner in our house!

Audrey LOVED doing some math with our new Ten-Frame Treasures! You can just see her thinking process at work and we even did some higher-level math by using 3 of the ten-frames to solve bigger problems!

Even the 3 year old was SUPER excited to play with some pirate money! In fact, that is exactly what I thought she would do...just play. However, she asked me to give her a mini-whiteboard and she attempted to solve some simple math problems, too! To my utter surprise, she actually solved the the problem 3+1=4. She wrote the numbers by herself and we counted them together. She was SO proud of herself! It really helps to have a big sister who leads the way :)

I absolutely LOVE any product that makes learning FUN and meets Common Core Standards! Learning Resources has hit a home run with Ten-Frame Treasures!

I wish I had 100 Ten-Frame Treasures to giveaway! Here is YOUR chance to win a set!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

April Journal Prompts and How We Use Them!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:36:00 +0000

Our Daily Journal Prompts for April are here and so is Spring! There are so many good topics to write about during the month of April and here are just a few that are included in our Journal Prompts:

Recycling

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Kites

Rain

Flowers

Rabbits

And much more!

These journal prompts have been super helpful in providing opportunities to write on a daily basis. I have received a few questions about our journal prompts and how we go about using them.

Question:
Do you have a structured writing plan for your daily journal prompts or do you just use the prompts as a free write?

Answer:
Very good question. Sometimes we use the prompts in more structured way and sometimes Audrey just using them as an opportunity to write about the topic she is excited about. For example, if there is a prompt about animals, Audrey has a ton of things to say and she really doesn't need or want my input. I encourage her to write freely. She is all over those topics!

Question:
What do you do about spelling. Does your daughter ask you how to spell every word or do you encourage the sounding it out method?

Answer:
Another great question! When we first started doing our Daily Journal Prompts, Audrey was a bit timid in her writing abilities. She would ask me how to write every other word and I would help her, but I also try encourage her to sound it out since her phonics skills are really good.

Thoughts to consider:
A word wall can really benefit beginning writers and provide the support and confidence they need. Over time and with enough practice, the words displayed on the word wall can be spelled and read automatically.

I would consider high frequency words (sight words) a very important component to a word wall, since they comprise of the most common words in the english language.

We also use graphic organizers for writing, which does help to create a more structured writing piece. Here is an example of a graphic organizer that we use for the main idea and some details about penguins. Since we recently read a lot about penguins, this was a perfect topic to write about.

I have been getting our journal prompts spiral bound so that I can have them as a keepsake :) As a mommy, these are precious, and they will also allow me to see her growth as a writer.

Daily Journal Prompts for April

The best part...you can meet so many K-2 writing standards with Daily Journal Prompts!

I hope you enjoy these :)

Break the Sight Word Code FREEBIE!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope you have a BLESSED Easter Sunday!

The Freebielicious authors have teamed up to fill your baskets with a bunch of goodies!

We LOVE our Break the Sight Word Code sheets and I wanted to make some Spring ones for you! I hope your kids LOVE them too:)

FREE Break the Sight Word Code!

Full versions of these packets are also available!

Break the Sight Word Code (Pre-Primer)

Break the Sight Word Code (Primer)

Your next stop is from A Teeny Tiny Teacher!

Alphabet Money!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:27:00 +0000

I am always looking for ways to making learning FUN and I think that I hit a home run with our Alphabet Money! We have been playing with our Alphabet Money for about 6 weeks now and we LOVE it!

Alphabet Money

Alphabet Money helps teach, reinforce and master upper and lowercase letters, letter sounds and beginning sounds! Kids can earn some Alphabet Dollars each time they learn a new letter and letter sound! How FUN is that?

Alphabet Money comes in black and white so kids can color and create ownership of their money. You can also print in on colored paper and laminate to make it visually fun!

This little Moffatt Girl loves playing with her Alphabet Money, which as really helped her master her beginning sounds! Here she is practicing the letter A and the A says, /a/!

The teacher heart in me jumps for joy since our Alphabet Money meets the following Common Core Standards:

Reading: Foundational Skills

Print Concept

1. Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Reading: Foundational Skills

Phonics and Word Recognition

3. Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

a. Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant.

Learning to read SHOULD be FUN, especially at this age!

Getting a Child Ready2Read!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 19:06:00 +0000

Is your child ready to read?

I receive a lot of emails about our Ready2Read program and one of the most common questions I get asked is, "At what age can I start my child on the Ready2Read program?" That is a great question and it really depends on the individual child. Many Kindergarten teachers use Ready2Read Level 1 because it meets Common Core Standards for that specific grade level. I even have 1st grade teachers who use Level 1 to help children who are struggling readers. However, many children may be ready to learn how to read at an earlier age. I certainly don't believe in forcing a child to learn how to read, but I also don't believe that we should hold them back. As we are sensitive to the needs of our children and students, we can pick up clues that let us know that they are ready to start the reading journey.

Audrey, my oldest, is currently working on Level 3 of Ready2Read. Audrey LOVES this program and has done very well in her reading journey. She is my little reader and can't seem to put her books down. Sophia, my 3 1/2 year old, has not started Ready2Read yet. I just don't feel like Sophia is ready at this time and that is fine:) In the meantime, there are many things that we are doing to get Sophia Ready2Read and to help her get excited about reading! I wanted to share a few things that have worked for us.

#1 Read, Read, Read!
I can't emphasize this point enough. I read to my children all the time and they LOVE it! We have hundreds of books at home and we are always visiting the library and bookstores. I started reading to my girls when they were about 3 months old. At a very early age, children learn that reading is special and children also learn to LOVE reading time. My favorite time of the day is when I snuggle up with my girls and read to them. It is definitely a time for bonding at our house! I think most children LOVE to be read to! In fact, when I taught 6th grade, sometimes I would read a chapter or two after lunch and those 6th grades LOVED it!

#2 Teaching the Alphabet and Letter Sounds Together
When children learn the names of a specific animal, we also teach them the sound that the animal makes. For example, we may have the following conversation with a child:

Parent/Teacher: "What animal is this?"
Child: "Lion"
Parent/Teacher: "Yes, this is a lion! What does a lion say?"
Child: "Roar!"
Parent/Teacher: Yes! The lion says Roar!"

I apply the same rule and conversation when teaching children letters and their sounds. I strongly believe that they should be taught together. I use and create a lot of different resources that help teach letters and their sounds because this is such an important component in learning how to read. There is also a FANTASTIC video called, Leapfrog Letter Factory and you can get it at Target, Walmart or just about anywhere. This video has really helped lay a strong foundation and has been fun for the girls! We love to sing the song in the car,

"The A says /a/, the A says /a/, every letter makes a sound, the A says /a/."

#3 Teaching Beginning Sounds
Once a child learns that letters make sounds, you can start teaching beginning sounds. It becomes a game and even a 2 or 3 year old can pick up on this very quickly! For example, we point to the dog and say, "What is that? What does it start with?" Sophia will see the dog and say, "Dog! /d/, /d/ dog!" We started "playing" this game when Sophia was about 2 1/2 years old. We have practiced this concept over and over for several months now and she is a professional! This simple activity will really help boost confidence when children start the reading journey. Mastery of this simple task will ensure that kids are not struggling to remember the sound that a letter makes when it comes time to reading simple CVC words.

#4 Segmenting Words (Phonics and Phonemic Awareness)
This is actually a skill that is specifically taught in preschool and/or kindergarten. Children can learn that words can be broken down into individual sounds. Practicing and mastering this skill helps with both reading and spelling. Another game that we play is breaking down words into individual sounds, but we only do it orally as this stage. We start by practicing and mastering beginning sounds and then move on to each sound we hear in a word. For example, the child may know that dog begins with the letter D, so now we are able to break that down further and teach that the word dog has 3 separate sounds /d/..../o/..../g/...dog! My 3 year old has also mastered this skill, which lets me know that she is getting very close to starting our Ready2Read program! I know that when she actually starts the program, she will be able to read with ease and confidence.

#5 Use Hands-on Resouces
There are so many great puzzles and games that make learning letters and sounds fun! We have a lot of different resources that we use and I will save that for another post:)

Teaching a child how to read should be a wonderful experience! It is time when lightbulbs go and a child discovers the joy of being able to read! It really is a magical experience that unlocks a new world! Every child's journey to learn how to read is going to look a little bit different, because every child is different.

Sadly, however for many children there are tears of frustration and struggles that can last a lifetime. It has been my desire to create a reading program that is FUN, hands-on and super effective! That is exactly why I created the Ready2Read program! You can read more about our Ready2Read program {HERE}.

Here are some of our resources that we have created to help get Ready2Read. These resources are not required to get ready to read, they just help make the journey a little bit more fun:)

Alphabet Money

Beginning Sound Scoops

Beginning Sounds Packet (Color, Cut and Paste)

Phonics Watches

Alphabet Phonics Headbands

Enjoy the journey...it goes by way too quickly!

Math Scoops!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 17:30:00 +0000

I had a few requests to make some math products so I made some Math Scoops! These Math Scoops are such a fun way to practice and master simple addition and subtraction up to 20!

I really try to make sure that our printables are as interactive as possible because kids learn best with a more hands-on approach. These Math Scoops allow kids to color, cut, paste and solve simple math problems. The nice thing about our Math Scoops is that they are ready to go and all in black and white, which saves on ink:) An added bonus: This pack meets Common Core Standards for Kindergarten and First Grade!

You can check out our Math Scoops {HERE}.
We also have Beginning Sound Scoops and
CVC Scoops