All About Compound Words

We had so much fun learning all about compound words and I hope your child enjoys these activities and projects as much as Savanna has!

One of the neat things I love about compound words (other than the fact that it's usually two totally random words that you put together to make another word! I mean, who would've thought to create the word butterfly?) is that you'll continue to teach them throughout your child's education. It's something they start learning in early elementary and just keep adding to their vocabulary as the years go by. So check out these activities that are great for elementary students 1st-5th grade...

Seek & Find


Simple, yet effective. Print a list of compound words, cut them between the words, separate and place them in random order, and have your child find the matches. Easy peasy. I have a List of Compound Words that you can use for this activity and for others listed.




Picture Flap Diagrams

Savanna loved this activity and it takes very little prep work. Take a sheet of white construction paper cut it in half (length-wise). Then fold in each side to the middle so you are left with 2 front flaps that open to reveal a center square. I did this with about 8 sheets of paper so she had 16 picture flap diagrams to do.
Using the compound words that you already printed and cut for the Seek & Find activity, have your child pick their favorite compound words. Savanna chose words like butterfly, cupcake, daylight, fireman, football, snowman, etc. She enjoyed picking which ones she wanted to do because we posted them on our bulletin board :) 

Have your child glue the first word on the left front flap (ie. "foot"), and the second word on the right front flap (ie. "ball"). Then have her illustrate each word. On the inside, have her illustrate the compound word. For example, Savanna drew a foot and a ball on the front two flaps shown here, and then football players on the inside center square shown.

Front of Picture Flap Diagram
for "football"

Inside of Picture Flap Diagram
for "football"

Her cupcake :)

 

Compound Word Mix-Up with Plastic Eggs

 

This is FUN! See my blog Egg-Citing Activities for greater details on how to make these eggs. In short, write the first word on the top half of the egg and the second word on the bottom half of the egg, separate them, mix them up, and have her find the matches. It's easy, fun, and a great way to practice those wonderful compound words :) 

 

 

Compound Clothes Pins

You can buy a bag of 100 clothes pins at Wal-Mart for about $2 and it will be well worth it (I will be posting another blog soon about the fun learning activities you can do with clothes pins). For now, I took 24 clothes pins to write 12 compound words on. I wrote the first part of each word on a pin with the opening facing the right and the second part of each word on another pin with the opening facing the left. Do this for all 12 words (or however many you choose to do). Set the first words in random order on the left side of a ruler and the second words in random order the right. Have your child match up the words and clip them to the ruler as shown below. This is VERY simple and a fun way to practice!



Here is a Compound Word Addition worksheet I created where your child can add two words together to create a new word. I left this in a word document form so you can change out the words and reuse this as often as you'd like.

We also try to notice whenever we hear a compound word in conversations and we make note of it. Savanna has really enjoyed this study and I hope your children do as well :)

Bye for now,
Kristina

Egg-citing Activities for PK - 5th Grade

I am so egg-cited to share these quick, easy, and inexpensive activities with you using... you guessed it... plastic eggs! I saw an idea on Pinterest (thanks Pinterst!) and I just rolled with it :) And what a great time of year to try these ideas, as there is ample supply of plastic eggs in stores right now! Here is what we are using our plastic eggs for:

Letter Matching (Pk & K)

1) You will need 26 plastic eggs with the connector cut off each egg (so you can pull them apart and mix them up) and a gallon size Ziploc bag.
2) Using a permanent marker, write an uppercase letter on the top half of the egg and its corresponding lower case letter on the bottom half of the egg.
3) Disconnect the eggs and mix them up using a Ziploc bag (this will be your storage for the eggs as well).
4) Dump out the eggs and have your child match up the uppercase letters with their corresponding lowercase letters by putting the eggs back together.

Twist on Phonics (K & 1st)

Each egg should be able to
twist freely to each letter,
creating a new phonics word

1) You will need several plastic eggs with the connector cut off each egg (so you can twist them freely while still keeping the egg closed) and a gallon size Ziploc bag.
2) Using a permanent marker, write the ending phonic sound on the top half of the egg. For example, you could make an egg for each of the following sounds: an, at, it, ig, et, en, ox, op, ug, ut.
3) On the bottom half of the egg, write single letters or double letters to spell a word corresponding to your phonic sound. For example, for the "an" sound you could write letters m, p, f, and c. This would give you the words man, pan, fan, and can on this egg.
4) Give you child an egg and let him twist the egg to create new words and have fun while learning phonics. You can do this as a free activity using all the eggs, or you can use specific eggs during specific studies, ie. ig and it eggs on short i day.
5) This can also be a good review for 1st graders to just practice speed reading without having to sound out the letters.



Compound Word Mix-Up (2nd - 5th)

1) You will need several plastic eggs with the connector cut off each egg (so you can pull them apart and mix them up) and a gallon size Ziploc bag.
2) Using a permanent marker, write the first word of the compound word on the top half of the egg. Then write the second word of the compound word on the bottom half of the egg. For example, you might write "pea" on the top and "nut" on the bottom, creating the word "peanut" on the egg.
3) You can make as many or as little eggs as you'd like. The neat thing about this activity is kids are learning new compound words all the way through 12th grade so this is something you can do for several years. I put 2nd-5th grade because I assume older children may not find this as amusing as younger ones. (Note: I will be posting another blog all about compound words for 2nd grade which will include a large word list. Keep an eye out for it!)
4) Disconnect the eggs and mix them up using a Ziploc bag (this will be your storage for the eggs as well).
5) Dump out the eggs and have your child match up first word with its corresponding second word to create compound words and putting the eggs back together.

Other uses for plastic eggs (I am planning to do these but didn't get to it last night):

• Capitals Game (2nd): Top half of the egg has the state capital (Lincoln), bottom half has the state (Nebraska).
• Multiplication Mix-up (2nd-5th): Top half of the egg has the problem (3x5), bottom half of the egg has the solution (15).
• Addition/Subtraction Matching (K-2nd): Top half of the egg has the problem (10-8), bottom half of the egg has the solution (2).
• Twist on Blends (1st & 2nd): Bottom half of the egg has the blend (TH), top half of the egg has several endings (ink, at, is).
• Twist on Long Vowel Practice (1st & 2nd): Top half of the egg has a long vowel ending (ike), bottom half of the egg has several beginning letters (b, h, str, l).
• Twist on Rhyming (PK-1st): Top half of the egg has an ending sound (ook), bottom half of the egg has several beginning letters (b, l, h, sh).

And don't forget you can use any of these egg ideas to have egg hunts as an added bonus to your lessons!

There's just so many neat ways to use plastic eggs in your classroom and the great news is they are cheap!! I bought 100 eggs for about $5 at Wal-Mart. I'm planning to go back after Easter and stock up on some more (they do break easily but are also easy to replace)!

Have fun with it!
Bye for now,
Kristina 

Au Naturel

"Au naturel" is a phrase most commonly used to refer to nudity; but by definition it also refers to anything that is in a natural style or condition. For example, when a Momma leaves the house without make-up, she is "au naturel"... her face is in a natural style or condition.

And sometimes I think it's good to learn "au naturel." No, I don't mean to teach in the buff. I mean sometimes it's good to get out of the house and learn about things in nature; in their natural condition! No worksheets or computers or books (that comes later). But rather discover God's beautiful creation and learn about amazing creatures that glorify Him just by their very existence! It doesn't have to be expensive either...

Over the weekend we took a family trip to a nearby Manatee Park ($5 per car for the entire day). I gave Savanna a very simple assignment: learn 3 facts about manatees. Very simple. Other than that, she was to enjoy spending time with family and friends as we watched the manatees in their natural condition, poking their noses in and out of the water for air. Watching as the mommy manatees swam so closely to their little ones; it was truly an incredible sight to see! Not only did we see a lot of manatees, but we also saw plenty of plant life, fish, butterflies, and more. The next day, we used the 3 facts Savanna learned about Manatees to make an "All About Manatees" lapbook.

If I've said it once, I'll say it a hundred times... NEVER UNDERESTIMATE LAPBOOKS! Lapbooks are so much fun and they're jam-packed with information! They're great for kids from preschool to high school and every grade in between. You can make them as simple or as in-depth as you'd like and they're relatively cost-efficient. They can be used for any subject AND even the least crafty kids can complete them! For the manatee lapbook, I had Savanna write a mini-report. We're working on reading and writing, so incorporating that into every lesson is important for us. Her report said, "Manatees are mammals. They have live babies that drink milk, they breathe air, and they have warm blood. Manatees need warm water above 68*. Boats are a danger to manatees." See, simple. We attached her report to the lapbook, along with her Manatee Park bingo card and a picture she drew of a manatee that said, "Manatees began the legend of mermaids." On the back of the lapbook we printed a picture of her standing near the manatee skeleton. It was easy-peasy, fun, and she learned so much!

There are so many great places to visit, just like Manatee Park, where you can take your children to learn "au naturel." Most State Parks only charge for parking, and you can bring a picnic lunch. You can even check out what's going on in your own backyard. You can make lapbooks, go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt, play Nature BINGO, and more! Whatever you do, get out and learn "au naturel!" What a great way to spend the school day!

Bye for now,
Kristina







Plans, Glorious Plans!

If you're anything like me, when you decided you were going to be a homeschooling momma you had great ambitions of planning amazing lessons, crafts, and fun projects... only to see your plans crumble into a pile of unfulfilled ideas! You bought a wonderful little lesson planner and you filled it with all your grand plans because you just knew that you could stay on top of everything and that your sweet, little angel would be able to complete all the tasks you were going to assign because... well... she's a genius! And nothing could possibly come up that would interrupt your plans, right!? Or maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm the only mom who had all these plans, glorious plans, only to fail at implementing them! But I think, or at least I hope, I am not alone in this and that you may be in need of some encouragement. If so, this blog is for you :)

 

There's a verse in Scripture that I find very interesting. Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." If I could rewrite this verse, it'd say Many are the lesson plans in the mind of a homeschooling momma, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. It's not just BIG plans that fall to the wayside, but little plans too. Even lesson plans. But do not be dismayed. There is hope.

 

I believe God gave me a little epiphany about all my failed attempts to keep up with my lesson plans. STOP WRITING THEM. OK, say what now? That's right. Stop writing all those expectations only to see them scratched out or incomplete. There's something a little more practical that we can do. I'm not saying don't ever plan. That would be total chaos. But I am saying that this hyper-planning, guilt-driven, failing way of homeschooling just doesn't work for me and all it does is frustrate me. So here's the compromise the Lord showed me...

 

I took a large poster board and split it into a 6-square grid. On one square I wrote "Daily" and on the other 5 squares I wrote Monday through Friday. On the "Daily" square I wrote the things that I want to do with my children everyday, without fail; those things include prayer, Bible study, exercise or physical activity, and reading. Notice I did not write anything about math, English, science, or history :) In the remaining five squares I wrote nothing. They are blank. Here's where the compromise comes in. On Saturdays I am going to sit down and write out assignments or points of study on sticky notes that I hope to do with the children, and place them on my chart. For example, I may write, "Savanna: write a letter to pen pal..." and place it on Monday's square. And "Samuel: practice ABC's using flashcards..." and place it on Thursday's square. The nice thing about writing it on a sticky note is that I can move it to another square if a certain assignment takes longer than planned or if something unexpected comes up. I can also add sticky notes at the end of the day for anything that we may have done that was not listed on the board, ie. a spontaneous game of "Speed Letters" at the dinner table. At the end of the week, I print out my Blank Lesson Plan Sheets for each child and fill in what's written on my sticky notes. This way each week I have an accurate portrayal of what we did that I can keep in each child's portfolio along with any completed work! It also really boosts your confidence if you see a lesson plan that was actually fulfilled :)

 

At the end of the day, I may not complete all my glorious plans, but I can rest assured knowing that the Lord's purposes will stand. The Lord has purposed in our hearts to homeschool our children and that will stand. So I'm trying out a new style of homeschooling; one that I should've been doing all along... rely more on the Lord's purposes and less on my own plans! This might actually work.

 

Bye for now,

Kristina

Fabulous Find!!

 

LANTERNFISH

Wow! This website is a fabulous find! It is meant to be used for ESL teachers (English as a second language) or TEFL teachers (teaching English as a foreign language); however, the worksheets, flashcards, games, and teaching resources are great and can work for any child learning to read!

Today I printed out all the Long Vowel Silent E flashcards for Savanna. There are 8 sets with color illustrations. I also printed several Long Vowel Spelling Sheets to introduce Savanna to the long vowel sounds. She loved it and it was so easy! They also have word searches, rhymes, bingo, text only flashcards (for assessment and review), and much more. I will be using this site often and I highly recommend it!

Bye for now,

Kristina

Ps. If you have trouble printing from their site as I did, just open a blank word doc, copy their page to your word doc, and print from there. No biggie!

Shameless Plug

Ok if I've said it once, I've said it a dozen times. Investing $35/year for a membership to Starfall is a wise choice for any mom who has toddlers, preschoolers, K-2nd graders, or even older children who may struggle with reading or math skills.

Toddlers who are capable of using a mouse can learn colors, shapes, the alphabet, simple addition and subtraction, and more.  Samuel (3yrs) loves the interactive games and songs that this site offers. Since Samuel already knows his colors and shapes, he has moved on to the alphabet, letter sounds, and math skills. I am impressed with the amount of games the membership offers for everything from patterns to puzzles, from addition and subtraction, to multiplication and division and so much more. Just yesterday my son was playing a matching game that was teaching him multiplication! His favorite ditty was "8x5 is 40... I am feeling sporty." It's never too early to begin teaching children to love math and reading, and Starfall is a great tool to do just that!

Yes, they have some great FREE resources, but the membership gives you full access to their entire site and to my favorite: The Teacher's Lounge. The Teacher's Lounge is only accessible with the membership and it offers you Reading & Language Arts generators, and Math generators to create printables for your child. I use these for both Samuel and Savanna. It also offers projectibles and a kindergarten teaching guide. Each generator has pre-made worksheets for up to 13wks and also have an option for you to fill in your own words.

The Reading & Language Arts generators offer:

Letter Formation

• ABC Rhymes
• Letter Searches
• Pictures Sounds
• Find the Letter
• Writing Practice
• Multi-Letter Practice

Blending Practice

• Word Families
• Puzzle Searches

High Frequency Word Practice

• Word Shapes
• Writing Practice
• Color by Words
• Word Searches

Vocabulary Cards
Word Cards
ABC Cards
Number Cards
Picture Cards
Graphing
Blank Writing Pages

The Math generators offer:

• Calendar Practice (which includes number tracing)
• Numbers
• Counting

Projectables including:

• Writing Rubric
• Animal Kingdom Posters
• Historical Figures
• Decodable Books
• 64-page printable curriculum book for Listening & Writing
• 64-page printable curriculum book for Reading & Writing

Kindergarten Teacher's Guide

So again, I give this shameless plug for Starfall and highly recommend it to all homeschooling families with early learners! A $35/yr membership is definitely homeschooling on a dime!

Bye for now,
Kristina