Everyday Teachable Moments - The Mommy Teacher

Reading To A Pumpkin

So, as you might know, I am a Kindergarten Teacher AND a Mommy Teacher. I like to share classroom ideas that are practical for Mommy (and Daddy) Teachers that WANT to have some supplemental learning fun with their kids at home…..

Or, maybe you are a homeschooler and you tie these fun activities into what you are already doing…..either way, don’t stop! You are making such a difference!

So, you might find this interesting…

We have a pumpkin in our class that a Reading Friend gave us. We call him Frank (short for Frankenstein) and we read to him, write to him, and teach him his ABC’s and numbers.

He has kind of become a member of our class…the kids tell him “goodbye” when they walk out the door at the end of the day. He has also given our class a sense of responsibility because he takes the role of class keeper who keeps an eye out for hard-workers and good friends.

I recommend painting a face on your family pumpkin and give him a role or two that might encourage your little ones to take ownership of their chores or homework. 🙂 Enjoy!

October 19, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Napkin Book

This is just so fun and so versatile!

A friend of mine and retired Kindergarten teacher named Joy helps me in my classroom and has introduced me to one of many of my new favorite things!

A NAPKIN BOOK…. I mean, how many fun seasonal and themed napkins can you find at dollar tree or even leftover from birthday parties of ages past?!?

All you need to do is make labels with a chosen title and a space for your little “author” like “By ___________” and stick it on the front….. Unless you find an awesome napkin like Joy found that says “Boo!” which is the title of our frist napkin book.

Then print a fun sentence that coordinates with the book like “Boo said the __________.” multiple times on a single page, Cut it out, and staple it inside the napkin.

To make it that much more fun, Joy found Halloween themed stickers and that is going to be the illustration of each page of the book.

She even made a legend so the kids will know how to write the words in the free space of their sentence.

I love love this activity and will be making lots of books like it 🙂

October 18, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

Playdoh Numbers

My kids are having a blast with this SIMPLE and CHEAP number activity. They close their eyes and pick a number (this is a magnetic number from the walmart toy aisle where the playdoh is).
Then they pinch that number of dots (which is great for teaching one-to-0ne correspondence) and roll a chunk of playdoh into a “snake” before forming it into the numeral to match the number they selected. I actually let them do this on a laminated sorting mat in my classroom. My sorting mat is one piece of white construction paper and another piece glued together at the end and then laminated. That way they can place the quantity on one side and the formed number on the other.

EASY, CHEAP, DOABLE, and you probably have everything you need at home!

October 4, 2012 by Jessica | 1 Comment

Makeshift Chalkboard

One of my co-workers used this as one of her writing activities and I just loved it! It is simply black construction paper and colorful chalk.

It is so fun because the letters really pop on the black paper and it will spice up your little one’s color / writing time.

I model the way to do it first : making the letters, writing neatly and carefully so chalk doesn’t smear, and switching colors to make the art more vibrant.

Then, I leave the example on display while my little one has a chance to practice whatever skills he/she is learning at the time.

Here is one example of the rebus sentence one of my Kindergarteners created with the words he knew:

makeshift chalkboard — Kindergarten Writing Sample “I can play” 🙂

September 20, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments

SO much to share….SO little time!

I have so many updates to share, but most require pictures that I haven’t had time to take yet. BUT, as I plan weekly activities for my kindergarteners I will be sharing them here…. which means more resources for you at home.

Here is one simple writing activity idea and “I can” printable:

I CAN writing activity

I am teaching the sight words “I can” in my classroom right now, but you can adapt this to whatever you are practicing at home because it is such a simple template.

When your little one is ready to learn words by sight, you will use activities like this to encourage your little one to have fun practicing writing the formation of the letters in the word. Here your little one would write it in each color and then draw a picture of something he/she can do.

If you have a preschooler, you might work on one simple shape like a circle, letter or number. If you have a Pre-Kinder you might work on your little one’s name. If you have a Kinder, you might start working on their sight words when the list comes home from school or work on their middle/last name. You don’t have to put it in a word document either….freehand the color words and model the first row for your little one.

September 9, 2012 by Jessica | 0 comments