Hammer Home Short Vowel Sounds

Here's a fun activity to hammer home short vowel sounds! Savanna loved it and I'm sure your child will too!

Materials:

• Pouch Printables
• Manilla folder
• Stapler
• Scissors
• Glue
• Crayons/Coloring Pencils

Step 1: Print out pouch printables using the link above. Separate the pages with words/letters from the pages with pictures.

Step 2: Trim the top of a manilla folder (the tab) to make it flat on the top. Use the stapler to staple the sides of the folder, leaving the top open to form the pouch. Trim off the bottom 1/4 of the pages with words/letters. Place the papers inside the pouch and have them ready for your student.
 


Step 3: Have your child cut out the pictures. Note: There are quite a few pictures so you can have her do one sheet while you cut out the other. This is what Savanna and I did, and it was just the right amount of scissors practice.

Step 4: Have your child color the pouch cover and all the vowel pages. Have her glue the cover to the pouch and decorate it as she likes.






Step 5: Spread out all the pictures in random order and have her identify the pictures that go with each vowel. Some pictures begin with the vowel, some have the vowel in the middle (ie. APPLE starts with a short A, CAT has a short A in the middle). Each vowel has 5 corresponding pictures. Glue the correct pictures to each vowel page.

Short A

Short E

Short I

Short O

Short U

Step 6: Insert the vowel sheets into the pouch and use them again and again for practice!

Insert the vowels sheets into pouch

Finished pouch :)

Bye for now,
Kristina

More Free Phonics Booklets

If your child liked reading and illustrating our Tig the Pig booklet, she will love our newest additions!

Tom the Kid is about a boy who has a lot of pets and a house that's too small. I know she will enjoy drawing the animals just as much as Savanna did!

Pam the Dog is about a dog that loves doing tricks but isn't too busy to stop and help out her mother. (Hint: Savanna made Pam and her mother sheep dogs.)

I hope your child is having a blast learning to read!! I know Savanna is enjoying it and very excited with each new word. What a blessing to be a part of her reading experience!

Bye for now,
Kristina

Superhero Shapes

My son loves superheroes! What 3yr old boy doesn't!? His favorite are the Marvel characters Spiderman and The Avengers. I decided to incorporate his love for superheroes with his love of learning and created some very simple shapes for him. Each shape has a character or symbol on it from the Marvel comics. With the help of superheroes, he has learned all the major shapes: circle, triangle, square, rectangle, star, heart, oval, and diamond.

You can look online and find clipart or black & white images of your child's favorite characters, (ie. Spiderman, My Little Pony, Chuck & Friends, Strawberry Shortcakes etc.) and cut & paste them onto cardstock. If you have laminating capabilities, that would help! If not, (I do not) you can use clear  packing tape and it will make a similar effect. This can be something you do together as a project (if you print black & white images he can help color them) or you can do it on your own.  Either way, he will love it and learn his shapes quickly!

My son liked the black & white look so ours are not colored.

Here's Samuel naming all his shapes!

Bye for now,
Kristina

Project: Stars & Stripes

Since today is America's birthday, I thought I'd share a recent project we did on the Pledge of Allegiance and the American flag. We started Project: Stars & Stripes on Memorial Day, continued through Flag Day, and completed it today on Independence Day. It's a wonderful summer project for those of you who stick to the traditional school year, or a great way to start the year for you year-arounders. Patriotism in the hearts of young children is a beautiful thing and I have enjoyed watching my children come to love America and what we once stood for. Here are the things we did:

1) BOOKS: The local library has a TON of books on the flag and that's the best (free) place to start! I checked out as many age-appropriate books as I could to help my kids gain interest in the flag.  Our favorite was I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson. This book teaches the meaning of each part of the Pledge in a simple way for children to grasp.

2) SCAVENGER HUNT: We did a photo scavenger hunt for 50 flags. The kids LOVED this! Everywhere we went (and even in our own house) if they found a flag we took their picture with it or in front of it. It didn't take long at all for us to find 50 flags. In fact, they still do this even though we have finished this part of the project. The other day in the car on the way home from the park they found 93 flags! Here's a few of my favorite pictures...

Samuel realized he had a flag
on his PJ's

The kids in the train museum after
a long day outside in the sun

This is the flag at the front of our
Sanctuary at chruch

Savanna drew her first flag

      The kids saw flag stamps on

a letter from their best friends

This is a car lot down the
street from us. Jackpot!

3) FLAG LAPBOOK: We love lapbooks! They're so much fun, informative, and easy to make. I couldn't find a template with the info I liked so I made my own. Here's the Flag Lapbook for you to download. You will also need: manilla folder, blue and red construction paper, scissors, glue, pencil, blue and red crayons or markers. My kids loved making these and the info provided would be good for PK - 5th grade. (NOTE: You can adjust the level of difficulty. For example, I cut out most of the booklets and filled in all the words for Samuel (3yrs) and just let him cut out a couple of the squares since he's learning to use scissors and doesn't know how to write. But for Savanna I allowed her to cut out more and to copy my writing. For an older child you may let them cut out all the materials and try to fill in the blanks on their own. However you do it, this is a fun part of the flag project.)

Ready to start our Lapbook

Savanna coloring the cover
for her lapbook

Samuel coloring the cover
for his lapbook

Samuel's finished lapbook
(Front Cover)

Samuel's finished lapbook
(Inside)

Savanna's finished lapbook
(Inside)

Savanna's finished lapbook
(Front Cover)

Savanna's Pledge of Allegiance

My completed lapbook

Fold down booklet about the stars & stripes

Fold open booklet about the flag colors

Fold over booklet about the Flag Code

Hope you enjoy this project and have a wonderful Independence Day!

Bye for now,

Kristina

Tig the Pig

My daughter has an incredible memory. This is a wonderful thing except she tends to memorize the pages of her books based on the picture. Instead of reading the words. This is obviously frustrating when she zooms through a book like she’s "reading" it but she’s missing words or saying words that aren’t correct. So I decided to have her illustrate her own book. This was my first attempt and she did GREAT with it! She had a lot of fun illustrating each page and the best part… she was ACTUALLY READING!  I will definitely be making more of these.

Tig the Pig is the book we made. Each page has a sentence and a picture of Tig. Just Tig. Once Savanna read the sentence correctly, she was allowed to decorate Tig accordingly.

ie. “Tig can wear a pink wig.”

Then once each page is decorated, you can cut them in half (printed landscape in two columns) and staple the book together. Your child will be so excited to share this book with everyone because she REALLY CAN READ IT all by herself!

Check out Savanna reading Tig the Pig J

Bye for now,

Kristina

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

Fun with Phonics

My 5 year old is learning to read (fun, fun, fun...and a little frustrating) and we have been using a combination of online tools, phonics worksheets, books, and flashcards. Here's some of the resources we have used:

Starfall has some GREAT phonics games and books for free and they also have a $35/yr membership that is really worth the price. They have printables as well that are really helpful. Savanna likes to print the booklets and put them together.

Phonics Word Graphing- These graphing activities combine reading, math, and thinking skills and Savanna really enjoys it!  

Phonics Graph -an
Phonics Graph -et
Phonics Graph -ig
Phonics Graph -at








Color by Phonics - This is a fun way to learn phonics words! Savanna loves to color and it combines her passion with learning. I made these and it's so simple, anyone can do it. Even if you're not handy with a computer, you can take your child's favorite coloring book characters and write the words in on your own. If she likes Hello Kitty, use Hello Kitty! If he likes The Avengers, use The Avengers! Make it something they will enjoy (just don't forget to give her a color key).

Color by Phonics- Butterfly
Color by Phonics- Beach
Color by Phonics- Safari







  
Phonics Word Search - These are just fun little word searches that you can use to help your child not only practice phonics but also sharpen her problem solving skills.

• Phonics Word Search- at, -an
• Phonics Word Search- et, ig

Phonics Hidden Messages- This was a little difficult for Savanna to grasp at first but these can be a very neat resource and can be increased in the level of difficulty as your child matures.

• Set 1
• Set 2
• Set 3

Flashcards- Flashcards are a must!! Repitition is key :) I took blank business cards and wrote on them the phonics words my daughter is currently learning. We go through them daily and we also make a game of it. We plan "Seek & Find" with her words and she loves it. Place the cards in 3x3 rows. Call out a random word on the cards and encourage her to find it. Once she finds it, she keeps the card and replace it with a new one. Keep going until she has all the cards in her possession. Fun :)

(We have since added MANY more words!)

Well, I have more resources but I'm tired right now. More later :)


Bye for now,
Kristina