We're working our way through the alphabet, and we include a sensory bin idea for each letter. This week we took advantage of the (finally!) beautiful spring weather and made a volcanic sensory bin outdoors. Do you know how to make your own volcano? It's a fairly common science activity -- but throw in some mud and it's extra fun. Here's what we used to create a volcanic sensory ... Read More
Grocery Store Math for kids ages 2-6
Does bringing your kids to the grocery store feel like a chore? Believe me, I get it. It would be so much faster to get my shopping done alone than to bring along the crew and deal with four car seats, getting in and out of the van, and refereeing shopping cart squabbles. But using up my precious "me" time by going to the grocery store is just not something I want to do. Thankfully, my kids really like going to ... Read More
8 Crafts for Letter V
8 Crafts for Letter V Mixed Media Volcanoes I am starting with my favorite craft, which I found at Cindy DeRosier: My Creative Life. I love it because not only does it reinforce the letter, but it is truly an art project which allowed the kids to bring their own creativity and style. First they painted the background with watercolors. The next day they added their volcanoes (I cut them for my Two and Four). Then ... Read More
Printable word family houses: Short A
Grab some printable word family houses! (This post contains affiliate links.) Printable Word Family Houses Recently I posted about the importance of learning to read with word families (see the beginning of this post). Today I'm sharing these printable word family houses that I use with my 4 1/2 year old. I find that while he's resistant to flash cards, he likes to do these hands-on reading activities. These ... Read More
Free Letter V Printable: V is for Volcano
(This post contains affiliate links.) Here's another dot sticker page for your toddler or preschooler! Give your child a page of dot stickers to get fine motor practice and learn the name and sound of "V." You can also put this on a baking sheet and use power magnets or pom-poms with magnets glued underneath. Another option is to fill in the circles with Do-a-Dot markers. Free Letter V Printable: V is for ... Read More
Rhymes for Letter V: Little Letter V Book
It was pretty tough to find rhymes for letter V, so I made up some of my own. Thankfully I had a burst of creative energy during nap time one afternoon. :) You are welcome to use any of my original rhymes in any way, as long as you credit themeasuredmom.com right next to the rhyme. Thanks! Rhymes for Letter V: Little Letter V Book (This post contains affiliate links.) Here are the songs and ... Read More
Learning to write the alphabet: 11 ways to make an “L”
My Two and Four are both learning to write the alphabet. We love to find new and interesting ways to make letters -- and we always throw in some old favorites. Here are eleven ways to make the letter L! We made an L with legos. We put letter stickers on a giant L. We used letter refrigerator magnets to make the shape of an L on a baking sheet. Here's an L made from mailing labels. These are ... Read More
Outdoor Math Game for Preschoolers: Exploring Size (with printable action cards)
The predicted rain held off this week, and we're finally getting outdoors! Instead of doing math at the table we played an active outdoor math game for preschoolers. The other day as the kids played outside I told them to point out things that were large, small, or their same size. I noticed that my Two (almost three) didn't have a great concept of "very big" and "very small." To him, the bicycle was very big. ... Read More
Ladybug Math for Preschool, Kindergarten & 1st Grade
(This post contains affiliate links.) Ladybug Math Ideas & Printables 1) Number Recognition - Ladybugs on a leaf To practice number recognition, I decorated red office stickers and told my Two (pictured) which number the ladybug wanted to eat. He covered that number with a sticker. Because I have three kids learning to recognize numbers, I created one with the numbers 1-10, one with the numbers 10-20, and ... Read More
11 Crafts for Preschool: The Letter L
11 Crafts for Preschool: The Letter L 1- Hand & Footprint Lobster This was my favorite, and the kids' too. They loved stepping into the red paint and making a footprint. Then they carefully made two handprints for the lobster claws. The next day they took out their black markers and decorated. This idea was from Crafty-Crafted. 2- L is for Ladder Sometimes the best letter craft is short and sweet. The kids ... Read More