The Moffatt Girls

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}

I am putting the 1st Grade packet on SALE for 20% off for the next few days!

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!

First Grade coming soon!

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:

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, what, white, who, will, with, and yes.

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

CVC Scoops!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:05:00 +0000

I LOVE our new CVC Scoops because they are so hands-on and interactive or maybe it's because we LOVE ice cream!! Besides who doesn't love ice-cream? When you give a kid ice-cream scoops, it makes learning CVC words a little sweeter :)

These CVC Scoops work with 165 different CVC words and 25 word families! Now that is a lot of CVC practice! Students get to color, cut and paste the correct CVC ice-cream scoop onto the correct ice-cream cone. Very interactive...very hands-on!

CVC Scoops

CVC Scoops meets the following Common Core Standards:

K.RFS.2- Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

a. Recognize and produce rhyming words.

b. Count, pronounce blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.

c. Blend and segment onsets and rimes of single-syllables in spoken words.

d. Isolate and pronounce the initial, medial vowel and final sounds (phonemes) in three-phoneme (consonant-vowel-consonant or CVC words.

e. Add or substitute individual sounds 9phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new words.

It's simple, fun and effective and still meeting Common Core Standards!

Birthday FREEBIE and a GIVEAWAY!

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

I LOVE St. Patricks day!

It's my birthday!!

I feel so LUCKY to be able to celebrate my birthday with my very good blogging friend, Traci from Dragonflies in First! To help us celebrate, we have FREEBIES for everyone and a super sweet GIVEAWAY!

(cute cake graphic from Traci!)

Are you ready for the celebration?

**Let's start with the FREEBIES!**

Here are some Spring Color by Sight Word Sentences!

**Now for the GIVEAWAY!**

1) The winner will choose 2 items from The Moffatt Girls Shop! Be sure to follow our shops and complete the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win these goodies!

2) The winner will also choose 2 items from Dragonflies in First Shop!

3)The birthday celebration continues with a Starbucks Gift Card! I LOVE coffee! I can get a lot of blogging done with a skinny vanilla latte:)

Thank you so much for helping us celebrate our birthdays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to head on over to Dragonflies in First to grab your FREEBIE from Traci!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Plant and Grow Set GIVEAWAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:34:00 +0000

Spring is just around the corner and I have a WONDERFUL product to GIVEAWAY! We were super excited to be able to review one of Learning Resources new products, Plant & Grow Set!

What is the Plant and Grow Set?

This Primary Science Plant and Grow Set allows children to explore complex horticultural concepts through simple play!

The set includes the following:

-1 watering can

-1 rooting tray

-1 observation jar

-2 solid and screed lids

-3 mini pots

-3 plant markers

-10 activity cards. Additional activity cards can be downloaded.

Recommended age: 3-9

We LOVE conducting little science experiments and this set really makes it easy to implement some fun lessons! One of the issues that I run across when wanting to perform our science experiments is that I have to search all over the house for the "tools" needed to get our experiment underway. This set is perfect to have on hand because you have all the kid friendly materials and tools needed to start your science experiments. The girls LOVED the fact that all the little pieces were a perfect fit for their little hands!

The first experiment we tried was the Colorful Carrot experiment. All we needed to provide was a carrot and some blue food coloring. We let our carrot sit in the blue water for two days.

After 2 days, we removed the carrot and cut it in half. The girls learned so much and we were able to talk about how water travels up from the roots. The experiments are so easy to perform, but so much can learned through hands-on and interactive activities!

This is just one of many simple science experiments that you can do with the Plant and Grow Set!

Here is YOUR chance to win a set for your classroom or homeschool!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Beginning Sound Scoops!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:20:00 +0000

Teaching Beginning Sounds is one of the very first steps in learning how to read. I take this task very seriously and try my best to make it FUN! When a child can master beginning sounds, it really builds confidence in the journey to learning how to read.

At the Moffatt house we are gearing up for our Ready2Read program this coming Fall by reviewing, reinforcing and mastering our beginning sounds. Since we LOVE ice cream, I decided to make some Beginning Sounds Scoops!

This is such an engaging activity since it allows children to color, cut and paste! The more hands-on and interactive, the better.

Although Sophia already knows her Beginning Sounds, this has really been a good confidence builder. I am a firm believer in reinforcing and mastering skills before moving forward. Needless to say...she LOVED her printable! Who doesn't love ice cream? With each ice cream scoop, she practiced sounding out the word. For example, she would say "/b/../b/...bird goes on the B ice cream cone!"

I am not sure if you can tell or not, but this little honey is VERY serious about her cutting and coloring!

You can check out this product on our Teachers Notebook Shop...

I LOVE the fact that learning can be FUN and still meet Common Core Standards! This packet meets the following Common Core Standards:

K.RFS.1-Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.

KRFS.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.

We are also using our Beginning Sounds (Color, Cut and Paste) Packet to reinforce beginning sounds.

Coloring, cutting, pasting AND ice cream...it can't get better than that!

Easy Art: Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:12:00 +0000

I LOVE art crafts that are easy and successful! Parents website recently shared some easy Masterpiece Paintings. We decided to give Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh a try. So EASY...So FUN!

Begin by gathering the following supplies, which you probably already have at home:
-white paper
-crayons (yellow, gray, black, and white)
-star stickers
-water colors

Next, have students draw a moon and several curling and swirling lines using the crayons. We found that if you used pressed hard with the crayon, it worked better when adding the watercolors.

After adding the swirling lines, have students add yellow star stickers to their paper.

Finally, add watercolors to create a dramatic effect! I encouraged the girls to create their own interpretation of the painting.

This was really easy and quick!

Be sure to check out Parents website to see the other 4 masterpieces! I think we will give them all a try!

Spring Math Word Problems with a FREEBIE!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:31:00 +0000

I just finished our Spring set of Math Word Problems (Color, Cut and Paste)! You can download an addition and subtraction FREEBIE from this pack by clicking the "Download Preview" button in our shop!

When teaching in the classroom, kids ALWAYS seemed to struggle with word problems. It was an area of math that they just couldn't master and the test scores inevitably showed a lack of understanding. This is exactly why I wanted to create a set of word problems that helped students understand the math concepts AND master them!

Often times we ask kids to draw pictures for their word problems to show their work. After about 2 word problems, that gets a bit boring and tiresome. I certainly don't want kids to feel frustrated when doing word problems, which is why I created the color, cut and paste option. This pack has built in mantipulative for every problem! There are 2 months worth of math problems in this pack (addition and subtraction).

Spring Math Word Problems!

Student read the word problem, cut and paste the appropriate number of items onto their sheet to show their work! Key addition and subtraction problems are included so kids learn to recognize the wording needed to solve the word problem. Easy, fun and effective!

Head on over to our shop and click the Download Preview button to grab these FREEBIES!

Yay for Spring!

Daily Journal Prompts for March!

noreply@blogger.com (Annie Moffatt) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 03:04:00 +0000

A writer has been born in our house and I contribute it to the fact that we have been writing every single day in our Daily Journals! I recently finished our Daily Journal Prompt for March and we are ready for the month of March!

Writing on a daily basis is so important for kids! It is also super important that the journal prompts are of high interest and engage children in the writing process. These prompts are so versatile and can be used as a structured writing piece or just a free write for K-2 students.

Daily Journal Prompts for March...

I LOVE the fact that Audrey is so eager to write and she usually wants to complete 2 journal prompts a day. My favorite part about these daily journal prompts is that I had them spiral bound for a couple of dollars and now I have a keepsake for all of her writing. We will be able to look back and see how much her writing has developed.

The journal prompts come in both handwriting paper and lined paper...

Here is a sample of one of the prompts...

Audrey recently wrote this a cute story about The Mad Blue Bird. Although it may have grammatical error and no periods, her love for writing is there and I can easily address the other "issues" later. Her writing has taken off since I started her on our Daily Journal Prompts. Since Audrey is "technically" only in Kindergarten, I am holding off on a more structured writing program until next year.

Translation...

One day there was a big red juicy apple in the tree and a little bird down in the grass, but that was the Mad Blue Bird. The Mad Blue Bird wanted to eat the apple so Mad Blue Bird flew up and up until he was up in the tree. Mad Blue Bird ate a bite and another until he ate it all!

She may have a few run-on sentences and no periods...but I LOVE this story!!

You can grab our Daily Journal Prompts for March {HERE}.