If your beginning reader needs help with those tricky beginning blends, try this game! My Five reads CVC (cat, pit, etc.) words pretty easily now, but those beginning blends still trip him up. He can read "fish," but if sees "swish" he's easily confused. When faced with a blend (sw, tr, fl, etc.) he does one of three things: a. reads the word correctly (yay!) b. reads the blend correctly but ... Read More
35 Hands-on short vowel mats
Looking for an activity to help your child practice reading those short vowel words? Try these! Our middle son just turned five and recently mastered short vowel words. These reading mats have been a big help! During my first year of blogging, I shared a total of 35 picture and word mats for the short vowel word families. Why we love our short vowel picture mats and word cards 1. They build vocabulary. ... Read More
Letter N activities for preschool
Looking for letter N activities? Take a peek at our week! Now that our third son is three years old, I've been doing Letter of the Week with him. Our goal is to have some fun, help him recognize the alphabet and learn some sounds, and strengthen his fine motor skills. We do a lot of whole alphabet activities along the way. Here's our week! (Update: I published this post years ago when my children were young. Now ... Read More
25+ sets of count and clip cards
Looking for count and clip cards for preschoolers? We've got over 25 sets! My preschoolers really enjoy count and clip cards. I love them too - because not only do my kids get to practice rote counting and one-to-one correspondence, they also get some fine motor practice when clipping those clothespins! Another great thing about these counting cards is that you can customize them for the season. This makes them a ... Read More
10 Letter recognition activities
These alphabet activities are perfect for helping your toddler or preschooler recognize the alphabet. Use these hands on letter recognition ideas at home or in the classroom! (This post contains affiliate links.) Today I'm excited to welcome Amy of Wildflower Ramblings! Be sure to visit her blog for many hands-on activities for young learners. Today she's sharing a variety of letter recognition ideas for toddlers ... Read More
Books about the farm
Looking for farm books to read with your preschool farm theme? We've got over forty of them! I'm on a mission to create a giant set of themed book lists for preschool parents and teachers. My two preschool boys and I loved finding our favorites from our library visits! We hope you find some new titles here and perhaps a few classic books you've ... Read More
Summer Reading Challenge printable checklist (English & Spanish!)
When we were kids, our mom had a summer reading challenge for us each year: read 100 books. They could be whatever kind of book we wanted - picture books, comic books, chapter books - you name it. We kept a running list. I pulled out my favorites (Little Women was a favorite summer read) and was sure to find the newest chapter book in my favorite series (confession: I read ... Read More
R-controlled vowel games
Looking for games to teach words with bossy r? We've got five of them! (This post contains affiliate links.) Those bossy r words are tricky. Sometimes we call them words with "r controlled vowels." Because when you stick an "r" after the vowel, it changes the sound. Hen... her. Sit...sir. Hug...hurt. Fox...for. Bat...barn. Here's my newest game! How to play 1. Give each player ten counters. We used these ... Read More
100 Would you rather questions for kids
In anticipation of a veeeery long family car ride, I created this set of conversation cards ... would you rather questions for kids. Have you ever played "Would you rather?" I love that game. Back in our single days, my sister and I took a few cross country road trips, and we played Would You Rather to pass the time. Would you rather drive a beautiful, sleek sports car that was unreliable OR an ugly, dented, ... Read More
Letter M activities for preschool
We've got a big variety of letter M activities for preschool! (Update: I published this post years ago when my children were young. Now that I have more time, I've created a done-for-you alphabet curriculum perfect for preschool!) Letter M Activities I love to start off with my little letter books of rhymes and songs. These free books have six rhymes and songs for every letter of the alphabet! The Letter M book was ... Read More