Teaching Tools

Weekend Project

Reading phones are one of the new(er) classroom trends, but for good reason:

Children can practice reading (or reading strategies) independently when you give them a tool that allows them to hear themselves more clearly.  When I teach little ones to read they LOVE to use these phones.  I usually incorporate them when I have already introduced the book, walked through it once with them, and then allow them to read it by themselves.

This is the best time for the little one to practice his/her fluency, articulation, and reading strategies using the phones.

Maybe your little one isn’t “reading” yet….then use this phone to help them practice their sounds, rhyming, or alphabet.  This phone can also be great for tackling speech issues…. http://www.mommyspeechtherapy.com has great ideas and tools to help if that is the case.

You can make these reading phones for cheap!  This can be your weekend project.  Get a Daddy Teacher, neighbor, or your handy tools to help you cut one piece of PVC Pipe just two inches long and attach two 90 degree PVC elbows to make a child-size phone 🙂

Or, you can cut corners and buy one:

Chalkboard Placemats

I have been patiently waiting to write about these mats ever since I saw them 2 weeks ago on the pioneer woman’s site.  I contacted Leslie who has a super cute blog and asked if I could help spread the word about these awesome placemats because well, they are awesome!  I mean, what better way for your little one to practice writing their name, family members names, practice sounding out the names of the menu items, draw the shapes or other observations they see, etc. 

If you are grossed out by chalk at the dinner table, SET a kid’s table and let the adults finish enjoying their food and the kids can retreat to the kid’s table to develop their fine motor skills and enjoy their creativity.  I love the thought of turning the dinner table into a learning table.  The possibilities are endless really. Order them HERE!!!

(Pictures from the bafriend site)

This one says it all!

Can you picture it yet?

Picture Book

I know you must have so many pictures on your computer that get stored over time into various files.  Well today, I am going to ask you to open the files and print the pictures.  I know I know, crazy thought that you might put your pictures to use, but hey, your kids will thank you later.

For the sake of this activity, print a handful of pictures, individually, into a word document.  After you print each image out (one image per page), you are going to ask your little one to help you put the events in order.

Let’s say you choose your Easter Day File.  You will ask your little one to remember Easter day.  What did we do FIRST on Easter?  And then?  Etc.  until all the events follow some kind of sequence.  After sequencing the images, you will assemble the pages into a little “booklet” by stapling it on the left side a few times, or hole punch, fastening with ties (however you want to do it as long as it opens “like a book”).

Then, you will ask your little one to help you write a story about your Easter Day, a sentence for each picture.  You will practically just write verbatim what he/she tells you, unless you would like to take the opportunity to “re-phrase” it to make it “sound more like a book,” but re-reading it later using your child’s words is a really special keepsake.

I am going to use my neice’s pictures from Easter from four years ago using my words to give you an example of what I mean:

Mmmm….The Easter Bunny filled my basket with candy.

I got ready for church in my new Easter dress!

When we got back from church, Mommy and Daddy let me dye Easter eggs!

Before I went to bed, I dressed up like the Easter bunny and ate my bunny snack.

*This activity of book-making is a great way to teach sequencing, model writing, and introduce print concepts.  Book-making using your child’s pictures in place of illustrations also makes print more meaningful to your little reader.

Growth Charts

My good friend Casey specializes in making creative decor and one of my favorite things she makes is growth charts because there are so many opportunities to teach math and science skills. Once you are aware of the skills you can teach it makes “talking it out” with your child so much more of a natural learning experience.

Here are the math skills that are my summaries of kindergarten grade level expectations:

1) Treat the growth chart like a number line: identify the numbers that come before or after a given number or between two numbers.

2) Count forward from a number or backward from a number.

3) Use measurement vocabulary: “feet,” “inches,” “taller,” “shorter,” etc.

And the science skills:

1) Use the chart as a “tool” to measure, observe, and keep information (talk about what you have learned from the tool from previous measurements).

2) Compare the human body at various stages of development with language like “You were shorter 3 months ago when you were younger.”

3) Predict and anticipate possible outcomes “How tall do you think you will be in 3 more months?”

Now, make your own growth chart or order one from Casey! She makes everything customized and personalized!

Check out some of her work:

 

Her latest….butterflies!

Coordinating charts for sisters.

How cool does this kid feel?

LSU theme for two….LOVE!

Premeditated Snack Time

I love snack time.  Yes, because I love to snack, but more so because I love watching little kids munch on their snacks, make a mess, and try to practice table manners.
Teaching table manners is important, but today I want to talk about ways to incorporate cognitive learning into this enjoyable time.

I think about lunch time with one my co-workers in the school where I taught Kindergarten. She was so intentional during this time – even though the school rule was that the lunch room was a “quiet zone.” She still found a way to teach them about the shapes that their food resembled, the sounds their food started with, and how many tater tots they had on their plate.
There are so many skills you can teach when you put your mind to it. But the great thing about snack time at home is that there aren’t necessarily time restrictions you have to follow or mandated food choices; you can “design” snack time to fit your personal preference and “lesson plan”.
Not that you want your children to play with their food, but you want them to make learning connections in everything they do. You want them to realize “Mom! My cracker looks like a square!” And to respond, “Great discovery! Oooh, I wonder what shape it would be if you break it in half?”

Here are some other ideas:
Counting – how many goldfish are there?
More or less – how many more goldfish do you have than pieces of fruit?
Adding on- how many goldfish will you have if I give you 3 more?
Shapes – how many triangle shaped crackers make a square?
Sound discovery – what sound do you hear in the word /g//g//g/ goldfish?
Patterns- how can we make a pattern out of our cheese and crackers?


Casey chose deli meat and cheese for a mini lesson on patterns during her son’s snack time.
These are just a few ways to teach in your child’s daily routine!

If you have pictures or other ways that you incorporate learning into your child’s snack time, please share with other Mommy Teachers by clicking on the link below!

 

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