Learning to write is a journey that is different for every child. Some learn with speed and confidence, others struggle over many years, while most are somewhere in the middle. The speed is not important as long as a child is able to progress from one skill to another, growing in confidence as they […]
9 Healthier St. Patrick’s Day Treats
Looking around Pinterest (one of my favourite hobbies), we can find TONS of brilliant ideas for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. It’s still a few weeks off but it’s never too early to start planning! Readers found the post 10 Healthy Christmas Party Foods helpful in December so I thought I’d look around for healthier options for St. Patrick’s Day. […]
How to Make Awesomely Effective Literacy Bags
What is a literacy bag? A pack containing a terrific children’s book along with a combination of toys, games and activities that relate to the book and extend learning. Why use them? Teachers do use literacy bags in the classroom, but the most popular use is to send them home for a few days. Encouraging […]
Rhyming Words When You Only Have A Minute
This month’s when you only have a minute post is focused on rhyming words. Giving children the time and opportunity to practice rhyming can truly help their literacy skills; research has proven it. For information on why rhyming is important for little ones and for practical ideas, pop over to Fun-A-Day for a series of easy-to-read […]
Word Family Origami Pinwheel
A month ago I shared these free little math books with you. They came about because I was gathering ideas for a word family series and thought the little books were too cute not to share. Well… I’m still working on creating hands-on word family activities for kids and this week I decided that a […]
How to Choose Interactive e-Books for your Child
Why use interactive e-books with young children? They can be a highly engaging and enjoyable learning experience for both adult and child They introduce children to technology and encourage early computer skills through exploration and experimentation To learn new skills and literacies not present in printed books, such as interpreting audio and visual cues for […]
Australian Back to School Free eBook
Going back to school is a crazy-busy time, as well as being crazy-hot at the moment! So some Aussie teachers got together to make things just a little easier. If you want to find free activities you can use in your classroom (Foundation-6), plus tips and ideas that line up with the Australian curriculum, visit […]
2015 Free Monthly Calendar for Kids
Edit: January to December 2021 calendars are available HERE. I was looking around Pinterest this week and found some terrific printable calendars. I was intending to compile them together to show you all the different options, but instead I ended up making my own. I wanted children to be able to colour or trace the numbers and to […]
CVC Words When You Only Have A Minute
I’m really enjoying creating these monthly …when you only have a minute… posts. Student learning doesn’t have to happen only in our longer dedicated teaching blocks, there are plenty of opportunities to squeeze in reinforcement activities at other times – especially if they literally only take a minute. These make great hands-on activities for doing […]
DIY Tools to Create the Alphabet
I love learning stations that get little ones playing around with letter formation. This activity combines play dough (yay) and letter shapes or symbols. Instead of providing the full alphabet only the trickier letters have been added along with the shapes necessary to create the rest of the alphabet in lower case. This way children […]