The rainforest is a great thematic unit topic! You can even do it year after year and still not run out of things to learn about and do. Depending on your child’s age you can focus more on learning fun facts about animals in the rainforest or you can dive into biodiversity and conservation. Here are some ideas to get…
1. Put Letters In Alphabetical Order. Dump out letters A-Z on the floor or a table and have your child line the letters up in the correct order. If they don’t know the whole alphabet yet they can practice with just the beginning half or the first few and add more letters later. 2. Match Uppercase and Lowercase Letters. Write…
Differentiating instruction isn’t just about giving students more or less work than others. Students who have mastered a topic or skill don’t need to be forced to do double the math problems than everyone else. They have already mastered the concept. Instead, higher level students should be directed to move beyond what the class is doing. To try something more…
Summer is such a great time to learn about the ocean, beach, or Hawaii! If your kids love the Moana movie you can even incorporate that into your theme. Here are some great Moana/beach activities to try out with your kids. Moana/Hawaiian books: The Mighty Maui Makes A Friend Maui describes his many accomplishments as a demigod. But there is…
Summer days are long and sunny. You may be tempted to hide inside in the air-conditioning but there are a lot of great experiments and learning opportunities you can do centered around the Sun. Here are a few of my favorites. Create a Sundial The Sun can be used to tell time, direction and seasons. For older students you can…
Once your child is able to recognize letters and their sounds the next step is to learn to read 3 letter words with the consonant, vowel, consonant pattern. These are words such as: man, fan, bat, cat, mop, fun. Here are some printable word lists. Teaching short vowels can be done in a variety of fun ways. Here are my…
Pirates are so much fun to learn about. I especially like doing this unit as the weather gets warmer in late Spring or Summer. Pirates are fun and interesting to children but they provide a lot of meaningful learning topics! Start by reading some pirate books from your local library. My Favorite Pirate Books There are soooo many awesome pirate…
You may be a classroom teacher, homeschooling mom or a parent who wants to give your child some meaningful activities at home. Mastering the basics of creating letters and being able to recognize them is key for ensuring reading success letter on! These ideas are fun, low-prep and great practice to help your child learn their letters. 8 Active Ways…
Kids are going to be spending a lot of time stuck at home over the next few weeks. The key to keeping them engaged and not driving you crazy is to provide a variety of different activities for them. Don’t sit them in front of technology all day (even if they are on educational websites). That much screen time is…
The word phonics can sometimes seem abstract or overwhelming. Parents and teachers alike often feel afraid they won’t teach reading in the “correct” order and then what they are doing won’t be effective. Here I will break down the basic steps to teach a child to read using phonics. When you teach phonics you are helping children understand the parts/sounds…
