Learning To Write My Name

Forming letters for the first time is no easy task. Kids are still trying to understand the concept of print generally at the same time they are expected to write their names. As with most things that are difficult concepts, experience helps our brains to understand at a quicker pace and then really hold on to what we have learned.  (Be sure to read “A Favor to  All KDG Teachers” for more handwriting instructions.) Here are a few ideas that you can use to give your child some solid name-writing fun experiences:

1.) Finger Paint or Watercolors: Use a sharpie on big, craft paper to form the letters of their name. Let them use yellow finger paint to trace over top of the letters. If they are ready for the next step, put a paint brush in their hands and let them use yellow watercolor paint.

2.) Yarn Art: Write your child’s name on a large piece of paper.  Use brightly colored yarn. Mix: 2 T of white glue and 2 T of water. Soak the yarn. Squeeze out excess liquid. Allow your child to place the yarn over top of the letters you wrote to form their name. Let dry thoroughly and hang where it can be admired. (Yarn Art recipe taken from Let’s Make Memories by Gloria Gaither and Shirley Dobson.)

3.) Playdough: What’s better than Playdough? You can buy it or make your own. It’s so much fun and yet exercises fine motor skills. First you demonstrate how to make the letter. Be sure to make the sound as you are forming the letter.  Then allow them to follow. Before long they will have spelled their whole name.

4.) Sand: Now, if you live by the beach this can be a field trip, otherwise a flat box of sand will do the trick. Make the sand a little moist so the letters will form easily be easily read. Give them the letter verbally and let them practice drawing each letter. If you notice they are forming the letter incorrectly, take the time to show it correctly. It’s important to catch it right away. It’s hard to re-teach when there’s a learned bad habit.

4.) Legumes: Use good white glue (glue sticks won’t hold)  to form one letter at a time. Allow your child to use beans to form each letter. Use a different color bean for each new letter. You could even practice patterns using red and green beans. This takes time so you may want to break this project up depending on the length of the name. The name Jennifer could take quite a bit of time as opposed to Bob. Just remember that this is supposed to be fun. Better to make it into segments, like a letter a day, than to try to push through in one session.

5.) Sugar Cookies: Now, I know what most of you are thinking. The cookies will be distorted  and not really look like it should anyway. (Well, maybe most of you are smarter than me but I just figured this trick out two years ago.) My new way of cutting cookies is to roll out all the dough on the cookie sheet and bake. It’s one big cookie. When you pull the cookie out of the oven, cut your cookies out with the shaped cookie cutters. Press down and shake the cutter just a tad. Leave on the cookie sheet until it has completely cooled. The cookie is the exact shape of the cutter with  no distortion. Just be sure to cut immediately after removing from the oven. If you wait too long, it will just break and crack.

6.) Bath Tub Crayons: Some people may hate these, but I loved them and so did my kids. I wouldn’t just use them at any time but if I knew I was going to  be cleaning the tub the next day anyway, I would break out the crayons and let them practice while in the tub. Have them write a few letters and then let them “paint the tub red”.

Learning can be good quality fun, great for Mommy, Daddy or Grandparent activities. Take lots of pictures because these days are fleeting. Let me know if you had fun doing them. I would love to hear your stories.

Scrambled Egg Spelling Game

Need a new trick to get your kids to practice their spelling words. This is quick, easy and fun! You need a giant plastic egg, your list of word of course and letter tiles. There are several sources for this. The obvious one is Scrabble tiles but you can also use Hangman tiles (board game). If all else fails, print out the letters and cut them up.

Here’s how you play. You spell out the word with the tiles. Let your child study it. Throw all the tiles in the egg and shake. Time them and let them put the word together as fast as they can. If you want to make it more fun, make it more official. Add a bell. As soon as they are finished, they ring the bell to stop the clock. Set up the game so they literally have to run to a table, spell the word, run back and ring the bell. How much fun would this game be in a classroom?  Set up four teams. Use the children who don’t enjoy the drama of the game to be the “spelling checkers”. They are now feeling important and yet still learning. This is a great way for kinesthetic children (see Learning Style post)  to learn their words.  They are moving and touching and paying attention. Make learning fun!

Teaching Your Child Fact Families

What are Fact Families? If you have children that are in Elementary school then you already have some experience with this concept. According to Math Glossary,  Fact Families are a set of facts, each of which relates the same three numbers through addition or subtraction. I have heard many parents share their negative opinions on Fact Families but I think it’s because it’s a new term and a new strategy. It really does help the kids learn math facts at a quicker rate  and isn’t that complicated to understand. However, it takes time to teach. Aren’t many recipes like this. It calls for only 5 ingredients but takes an investment of time to complete it. It’s important to note that teaching Fact Families isn’t  teaching the concepts of addition or subtraction, hopefully your child already understands that. It is to help them relate numbers and how they are associated at a more rapid pace. I hope to help you understand Fact Families and  provide a strategy to teach it.  Keep in mind, a great rule in teaching is adapt, adapt, adapt! Adapt to your child.

Here is where a Fact Family lives. If you search the internet you will find multiple versions of this. The basic concept is that there are 3 numbers that are family members and live here. I have three windows in my home. One window is larger. This is where the largest number of the three is placed. Here is an example:

The number family 2, 3 and 5 live together here. Notice the 5 is in the larger window because of the three it is the largest.  There are many variations to this. I have seen where there are two small windows and a door. The largest number is placed in the door.  I prefer the example to the left because I feel the visual information  is easily transferred into an addition sentence. It’s just your preference. I would just suggest that you try to  pick  a graphic organizer that identifies the largest number in a way that it sets it apart.

Let’s note a few facts to get you started. First of all, you will be able to create a total of four math sentences using these numbers: two addition and two subtraction. Be sure to stress the following rules over and over to your child. In an addition sentence, the largest number always goes at the end. In a subtraction sentence, the largest number is always placed at the beginning. Quiz your child regularly on these two math rules, in the car, brushing their hair,  anytime you can remember to do it. This will benefit them as they build and strengthen their math skills.

Underneath the house I would write something like this:

This is where all the numbers will come together and make two addition sentences and then two subtraction sentences. (Understanding that these number sentences are written horizontally.)  Next, verbally identify the biggest number  in the house while pointing to the largest window in the graphic organizer. Ask “Where does the largest number always go in addition… in subtraction?” Physically identify those locations as they answer.  You can use rectangles (see example below), highlighters, crayons, circles, etc. Whatever you prefer.

On the first few run throughs, model exactly where the biggest number goes and fill them in. When you feel they have paid attention, have them do it with you (guided math). Once the biggest number is in its position, you are ready to fill the other two numbers to complete your math sentences.

Take a look at these examples. You will see lines drawn that will resemble an “x”. When I describe this next step to the learner, I tell how the number easily “slides” down to the next (blank) position. A slide is something a child can relate to. In my experience this analogy has done  well. Start at the top and start plugging in the numbers of both the addition and subtraction sentences.

In the following examples, I am demonstrating to you how to draw the “slides” step by step. I went ahead and placed the numbers in their spots but you should add them while explaining the process to your child.

The conversation would sound something like this…”Now that we placed 5 at the end of the addition sentence and filled in the other two numbers, we need to figure out the second addition sentence. Let’s put in the first slide. The 3 will slide down into its new spot and then we can add our second slide. The 2 slides into its new spot. Of course, the 5, which is the biggest number will stay at the end of an addition sentence. There you go! We now have two addition sentences. (etc…)”

Start with just a few sets of numbers and take it slow. Practice is key. Start with complete modeling and just have them watch. Once you see they are getting it, have them help you. Then allow some independent work to solidify their learns.

***OTT: What about the different Learning Styles???

If you have an auditory learning turn Math Facts into a story. Tell how a Mommy  (the largest Number) and two bear cubs (the other two numbers by default) live in the house. Here’s the premise: The Mommy Bear always stands in the same spot  every addition or subtraction sentence but the cubs are on the move. They have so much energy that they slide down the slides to change positions. Because they have

a love for math,  they always want to make  more than one math sentence.

For the Tactile or Kinesthetic Learners you can add to this idea. When teaching my son, I literally printed out bear characters and placed numbers on their bellies. I used a sentence strip holder (bought at Wal-Mart) and told the story. I let him move the bears around as I told and retold the story. He loved it but more importantly, it stuck.

How to Inspire Good Behavior In Your Classroom

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Learning how to discipline a classroom is no small thing. Whether it’s elementary, preschool or Sunday School, order and control are essential if you expect learning to occur. I have been in some horrible situations. My very first day of substitute teaching in elementary will go down in my history bank as one of the worst days ever on the job. It was a “special” class. This was back in the days before the internet and yet this classroom had their own phone and children of all ages. That was unheard of. That should have been my first clue. I had no idea what I was doing and it took these kids all of 5 seconds to figure that out. Let’s just say… it wasn’t pretty. Kids standing on the desk. Took 15 minutes to get back from lunch alone. I was ready to use the phone alright, to call the office and quit. Well, I stuck it out that day and have had my fair share of incidents with discipline in the classroom since. I worked at some tough schools and it was on the job training for sure. Through all of my experiences I have had many learns and feel pretty confident in my ability to bridle kids when necessary. I discovered I needed a philosophy and that classroom management is crucial in the learning process. What is my philosophy? I absolutely believe that every child is an individual and no one method works on all kids. However, one size may not fit all but it does fit most. Typically, I incorporated two plans, based on Skinner’s Operant Conditioning. One for positive and one for negative consequences. Some kids are highly motivated by a rewards system which is my preference by far but some are only motivated by what they want to avoid. Putting that in adult terms we can relate to, why do you drive the speed limit on the interstate? 1.) You want to optimize your fuel (positive consequence).    2.) The thought of spending $120 of your hard-earned money on a ticket sickens you, not to mention those terrible classes you have to take or a potential accident (Negative consequence).   Children are the same. Some don’t care if they get “rewarded” but they don’t want to take a note home for poor behavior either or worse lose recess time.

Kids want to be rewarded. They love to hear their name being praised. It’s highly motivating. Getting to go in the treasure box is just huge. I spotlighted this positive management system everyday but also had a plan if things went awry. The children knew both systems and were accustomed to both. My expectations for their behavior and mine has always been set high. Utilizing positive peer pressure has an amazing effect as well. It makes for a smoother day at work which benefits all involved. Surprisingly,  teaching Sunday School can sometimes be the most difficult class to have control of.  We attend a fairly large church and have a system of rotation. I say “Sunday School” because it’s what is familiar to most but it’s really worship hour. Because we, the parents,  only serve once every six weeks, the kids don’t know our names and barely know our faces. There is a well written lesson, a schedule and a snack, but I have found through conversations with many, that it’s just not enough. Class should be fun and interesting. It’s no fun for anyone to have a few children who challenge authority at every turn. What can be done? A system of management that is simple to use and understand, but most of all, unilaterally implemented. This, of course, requires a parent meeting but in the end you would have more volunteers if it worked and probably fewer to bail at the last-minute. Not to mention the kids would actually enjoy coming and learning. If there is a basis of understanding as to what is expected and what is not tolerated, everyone involved will feel more at ease.

The ideal environment for learning should always be strived for by teachers, parents and directors. Moreover, don’t underestimate what “having a love for teaching” can do for your outlook. In the end you spend less time on negative thinking and more time enhancing your teaching.

Have Fun Teaching Sight Words

There are several ways to teach your child Sight Words. The trick is to have more than one trick. There are many, many kids who learn easily with flash cards. You can buy them in most stores. It takes little to no prep time and it's not hard to figure out how to implement them. However, not every child learns that easily. Learning should be fun at this age. There are so many things you can do. I hope to share a few ideas with you that might inspire even more creative activities that are perfect for your child.

Matching Game: Buy two decks of flash cards, print them out on your computer or better yet have your child write them but only if it isn't a chore. Bringing fun to Sight Words is hard enough without fighting a battle before they even begin. :-) Just select whatever method makes sense for the style of game your child would most enjoy. Turn the cards over. Take turns finding matches, BUT the word has to be read to complete the match. Depending on where your child is you may want to scale it down. You may only want to use 2-3 Sight Words but make them individual cards that have only one match (see illustration). The repetitiveness of verbally identifying the word is what you are looking for. If you are having a hard time motivating, incorporate something they love. Here are a few examples. 1) When you find a match you get to pick one item of clothing to dress a Barbie. At the end of the game the best dress Barbie wins. 2.) For the Lego Lovers: Upon securing a match and verbally identifying the word, you get to pick two legos. At the end of the game, set the timer for 3 minutes. You both get to create anything you want from the legos you won. 3.) You get an M&M for every correct match.

Sentence of the Day: Be sure to select an appropriate Sight Word List for your child, you child's teacher is a great place to start. Place all the Sight Words and Word Family words on index cards, being sure to cut the card to the exact size of the word itself. Word Family words are all the -at words (hat, cat, sat, bat, etc.) or the -it words (hit, bit, sit, fit, etc...). You get the idea. You should always include high interest words like dump truck, legos, Barbie, and Silly Bandz. Make a spotlight wall for the "Sentence of the Day". You can use the refrigerator with magnets on the back or any blank wall with painter's tape. Everyday your child gets to create a sentence for everyone to read. BE SURE to actually read the sentence aloud as you pass by so they can hear you. Have all family members, relatives, and guests do the same. You are creating a love of writing and learning Sight Words is just an aside. Depending on you spot light area, you may choose to keep a number of sentences up on the wall created throughout the week. Every child wants to read what they write. It gives them such a sense of pride and an amazing amount of confidence. Learning Sight Words is always repetitive by nature but this way it becomes "shared moments and memories" and not tears and gnashing of teeth (as we say in my home).

Relay Race This is especially great if you have more than one child. Use those same flash cards and put painter's tape on the back. Put 12 up on the wall. Have you child stand behind a line, call out a Sight Word and let them run to find it. Help them if they need it. This should be a no stress game. Let them pull the Sight Word off the wall and return to the back of the line. If you have only one child set the timer and see if they can beat their own time. Visually identifying the word is a huge step towards being able to read it. When they get tired of this reverse it. Put all the cards on the floor by their feet. You call out the word and they have to run up and place it on the wall.
Once you feel they have mastered these 12 words, test them. Have them read the word to you and you do the running around. They won't even realize it's a test. You will know if they are able to read the Sight Words or still need practice.

Here are a few links to help you out:

Fry's 300 Instant Sight Words
Dolch's Sight Word List

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Cheerios Are More Than Just Food

One of the most fascinating things to a baby learning to eat are Cheerios. Of course, there are all kinds of other things down the baby aisle these days but Cheerios are the classic. Mommies quickly figure out that if they put 3 Cheerios on the baby’s tray, they can cook dinner for the rest of the family. Your baby works and works and works until the final pay off of eating the Cheerio pays off. This is called Fine Motor Skills. This is just the beginning. At first, it takes them 15 minutes to eat those three Cheerios but before you know they are eating them by the fists full. As your child progresses through stages, the fine motor skills will become more and more valuable. Learning how to tie shoes, holding a pencil, zipping a jacket and using scissors are all Fine Motor Skills and all relevant to your child’s development. The better their ability to do these types of things the more apt they are to becoming independent. Introducing fun activities or games such as Mr. Potato Head, stringing beads or Lace Cards can only benefit your child. Just be sure they are age appropriate so there are no choking hazards.

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Great Ways to Practice Number Identification for Preschoolers

1. Hopscotch: This is more than fun. This is a memory! Your child will laugh and giggle with you and learn every number you write down.

(Hopscotch Rules)

2. Write a number on the outside of  a cup or brown paper bag. Have you child drop the corresponding number of dry beans into the bag. Count them together to see if they were accurate. (No dry beans? Use blocks, Q-tips, raisins, bingo markers, whatever is on hand.)

OTT: If you happen to work at a preschool, assign half the kids as the counters and the other half as teacher helpers. Buddy them up. The “Counters” should count first, then the “Helpers” double check. Make hat bands out of construction paper. Round two: switch roles, switch hats and keep counting. The kids are so excited about being a “Helper” they don’t even realize they are learning.

3. Write a number word on one side. Using a stamp pad with washable ink and his thumb. Place the corresponding number of thumb prints on the back. Is your child like mine??? He hates to get his hands dirty? Just modify… use bingo markers (find at Walmart), stamps, or stickers.

4. Everyday spend 1 minute practicing number identification. You hold up a number on your hand and your child must yell out what the number is. See how fast they can get it right. Offer rewards for getting 1 – 10 correct.  Once this is too easy, ramp it up! Give them a number verbally and they show you their hands.

5. Snack time??? Make them work for it. Don’t just give them what they ask for. Dictate a number and let them do the counting. “You can have 3 cookies” or  “…five carrots and two pieces of cheese”.   Use visual clues instead of verbal cues. Simply hold up your hand and say, “You can have this many”.  I noticed in my kids that this gave a sense of pride. They felt so “big”. Once they have counted, you can double check or let them check each other.

6. Any board game that uses numbers is great practice:

* Hi Ho Cherry-O! is a personal favorite and great for learning numbers 0-4.

* Chutes and Ladders is more complicated but great for identifying numbers 1-100.

* Trouble is a wonderful game for learning 1-6 and how to take turns. This is a great game for learning how to be a good sport. That’s probably the hardest concept to learn 😉

7.  If you have a bunch of cards in the house, play War. Just edit the cards to make it appropriate for your child. For example, pull out all the cards that are numbered 2-7. Play just using those cards. Obviously, you will have to utilize more than a single deck to make this fun. Not only will they learn how to identify the number visually but they will also start to figure out greater than and less than. Every time you play include the next number.

If you are a preschool teacher, turn this into a group game. Divide into teams. Each team stands in a line.  Their team’s deck of cards is at the front of the line. Let each team flip a card at the same time. Each player gets to announce what number they pulled. Determine who had the highest card. The team with the highest card gets a point. The most points win. Round 2: Make it the lowest card wins.

8. OTT: This is fun for a family of kids or just one plus mommy. Blow up multiple balloons. Put a different number in each balloon before you tie them. Call out a number. Your child has to sit on a balloon until it pops then check the number that was inside. Keep popping until he finds the right number. Then, switch sides. Let them call a number and giggle themselves silly as they watch you pop balloons. (You may want to write out all the numbers placed in the balloons and keep track of them as you find them. This way your child will call an appropriate number for you to find.)

Teaching Your Child Numbers

Teaching your child about numbers is an exciting time. Counting, of course, is one of the first things that parents instinctively do. Kids love to begin to count. The more you practice the better they get. Verbally, knowing numbers in chronological order is key. Once your child knows 0-10, you can begin to have them visually identify  numbers. This can be done every where you go. Numbers are plentiful. It makes for a fun car game to have a “Number of the Day”. What is also great about looking for numbers out in the world is that every number is in a different font. Learning this as they begin to be introduced to numbers will help them to make sense of it all. Other than digits, a child should also learn to visually identify numbers on their hands.  A three year old can hold up three fingers on their birthday. Practice 0-10. Have them take turns. First, have them give you the number and you hold your hands up. They should the count your fingers to be sure you got it “right”. Next, you give them the number and you count their fingers.

A Favor to All the KDG Teachers

Isn’t it cute when your child begins to write their name for the first time? I scanned in my son’s first letter “K” so I could always remember that moment in time. I cannot tell you how proud I was. I do believe I even emailed that little scan to all who know and love me. I still look at it now and again and he’s 8. For those of you who have their first child working on this milestone, here are some words of wisdom. When you do take the time to work with your child be sure to teach them properly. First of all, be sure they hold their pencil correctly. This is so important.  If they get into a bad habit, they may never break it.  Also,  remember the first letter of their name is capitalized, the rest are lowercase. Parents tend to just roll with whatever is easiest at the time. Learning the capital  “A” is much easier than the lowercase “a”. This may not sound like a big deal, but trust me the Kindergarten teachers currently have to spend quite a bit of time retraining them. I promise if you can master those two things prior to KDG, your future teacher will thank you and you just might save your precious little one a few tears later on.

*** OTT: How sweet would it be to have your child’s first signature matted and framed. If it is too small, or too big for that matter, just scan and resize.  You could even have it framed with their picture at that age right above it. What a sweet Father’s Day or Grandparent’s Day gift.

The Sky is the Limit

Babies, toddlers and preschoolers learn at an incredible rate. They soak up everything in their environment. I just love that. If that’s the case why not shoot for the stars. Don’t let what “should” and “should not” be taught at their age trip you up. Maybe your child is a math genius and he can perform second grade math in preschool. Why not give him the opportunity? If they are drawn to books, cultivate that. I am not one that things you should pressure a child to perform at a level higher than they can achieve. Undue stress on a child is just not a good thing. However, I shudder at  the mere notion of not pushing a child to achieve if you KNOW they can. How will you as a parent know their academic strengths and weaknesses? Merely, open the doors for them. Expose them to the next level and see what they do with it. Never ever settle for just an average child because the truth is there is greatness in all of us. What a shame that a person could live there whole life and never find what they were really good at. In my opinion, allowing your child to take academic or artistic risks is a great way to help build confidence. They will fail at many, many things but what if they succeed at the one thing that God placed in them to be great at? How amazing would that be for them to find that at a young age?