Education resources for parents and teachers
When we think about how to teach fractions, we should start at the beginning. What are the first concepts children need when learning about fractions, and how can we teach them in a meaningful, hands-on way? Follow along with my kindergartner's introduction to fractions! To begin our fractions lesson, I started with a story. "Imagine that you and your brother finished breakfast and played outside all ... Read More
Want to help your child brush up on number sense? Try this fun activity! What is number sense? In her book, About Teaching Mathematics, Marilyn Burns defines it this way: Number sense. [Children have number sense when they] can think and reason flexibly with numbers, use numbers to solve problems, spot unreasonable answers, understand how numbers can be taken apart and put together in different ways, see ... Read More
It's time for another guest post! I'm thrilled to welcome the talented Jamie of Play to Learn Preschool. When I first visited her site, I was blown away by her amazing home preschool! If you teach preschool or simply want ideas for teaching your little ones at home, her site is a must-see. Here's Jamie... Parents often ask how to begin to teach letters to their preschoolers. My answer is always the same -- always ... Read More
Read on for addition fact strategies and nine no prep addition games! Do you remember how you learned your addition facts? My memory is a little fuzzy when I think back (over thirty years -ago - agh!) to first grade. But I remember flash cards. And as a new teacher, that was all I knew. In fact, our math series came with a giant set of colorful punch-out flash cards - one set for each student. Can you guess where ... Read More
It's time for more free reading games! I've been creating a huge variety of games and activities as I help my Five master common phonics patterns. Today I'm sharing his favorite game - Four in a Row. This time we're working on "ee" words. As far as phonics patterns go, "ee" is one of the easier ones to remember. For the first game board, we took turns reading "ee" words and dotting them with a marker. The goal ... Read More
Welcome the season with these beautiful books about spring! Each of my seasonal theme packs comes with a list of recommended books to read aloud. We love putting together our book lists! I check out stacks of books from the library, and my Four gets a lot of read aloud time. Only our favorites make the final list! ... Read More
These free color books are wonderful for helping toddlers learn their colors. (This post contains affiliate links.) I have an adorable little toddler who loves to look at books with real images. In fact, for her birthday I printed and assembled my letter books with photographs and put them in a little tin lunchbox. She often asks me to read the books from her "oot-case." For quite some time, I've been wanting to ... Read More
Check out this collection of ten unique fine motor activities for kids! Today I'm pleased to welcome Ellen of What Can We Do With Paper and Glue, where she shares book reviews, preschool theme ideas, and even delicious family recipes. It's a truly impressive blog that will inspire you to do more with your little ones at home or in the classroom! Here's Ellen... Long before your children start learning to ... Read More
Looking for seasonal science experiments and STEM activities? You'll find what you're looking for in this post! As we adjust to life as a family of eight, my blogging friends have been sharing fabulous guest posts! This week we welcome the talented Jacquie of KC Edventures, where she features hands-on fun and learning activities for kids of all ages. Here's Jacquie... Whether you know it or not, we are all ... Read More
These sorting mats are wonderful for practice with rhyming words! When I asked my readers what they wanted to see next, a number of them asked for rhyming activities. And one reader in particular asked for a rhyming activity in the same format as my consonant sound sorting mats. Originally I hesitated to share those consonant sound sorting mats because they aren't exactly low-prep. But I've received lots of ... Read More
