Fizzy Reading
This is one of those activities that the boys and I LOVED and I am SO EXCITED to share with you! It is the perfect union of reading/decoding and science. And it was definitely a huge hit at our…
50% off the I Can Teach My Child to Read eBook!!!
Two years ago I wrote my first eBook, I Can Teach My Child to Read. It is the culmination of the years of experience as both a teacher and a parent. Big Brother had just started to read when I first launched…
Personalized Character Alphabet Book
Little Brother is slightly character-obsessed. He loves characters from various cartoons/movies, so I wanted to put that “passion” to good use by helping to reinforce letter names and sounds by creating a character alphabet book for him. We don’t…
Ping Pong Alphabet Bounce
This is a super-simple activity that Little Brother loved! I used leftover ping pong balls from our hands-on blood demonstration and the plastic inserts that hold frozen quiche bites from a baby shower I helped with several months ago. To…
Books about Grandparents
Our children are truly blessed with the world’s greatest grandparents. Both my parents and my husband’s parents are simply crazy about their grandkids. It brings us so much joy to see our parents love our children so intensely. Since we…
Feed the Alphabet Monster
  I love being able to repurpose things that would otherwise end up in the trash. And if you have children in your house, chances are the two items needed for this activity are plentiful:  bottle caps (from milk and…
X-Ray Playdough
We are having a blast learning about the human body! As we have been learning about the various systems, the boys were especially intrigued with the skeletal system. We came up with this fun and interactive way to learn…
Books about the Human Body
We are diving headfirst into learning about the human body this summer (just for fun)! After our blood demonstration, the boys are especially intrigued! Here are some of our favorite books about the human body as well as some that…
Alphabet Craft: B is for Body
A few weeks ago, I asked each of the boys to tell me three things that they want to learn more about this summer. The first thing on Big Brother’s list was to learn about the human body. We decided…
Beginning Sound Letter Hunt
Little Brother and I are working on learning (and reinforcing) letter sounds. I am also in the throes of learning how to juggle 3 kids…while nursing a newborn about 7-8 times each day. Needless to say, activities these days…
20 Tips for Creating a Language Rich Environment for Your Toddler
Guest Post by Katie of Playing With Words 365 We know that exposure to print and letters/letter sounds is imperative for literacy development. A quick Google or Pinterest search for terms like “preschool literacy” or “toddler literacy” will provide you with…
Can Watching Television Improve Your Child’s Reading Ability?
Guest Post by Kristen of Busy Kids = Happy Mom Hello I Can Teach My Child friends! It’s so good to be back! I’m an elementary Reading Specialist and blogger over at Busy Kids = Happy Mom. So,…
Sound It Out Parking Lot
 Guest Post by Malia of Playdough to Plato When my four year old learned the last few alphabet sounds, I knew that it was time to show him how to blend those sounds together and make words. Learning this…
Word Family Lego Buildings
These Word Family Lego Buildings are a great way to encourage your child to hear/see patterns in reading. This is an important skill because it allows children to begin “reading” by grouping sets of letters within a word. To…
Ski Matching
The Winter Olympics begin in exactly one week! Even though I tend to enjoy watching the summer Olympics more than the Winter Olympics, I LOVE to snow ski…so this ski matching activity is right up my alley! The great…
Hanging Alphabet Christmas Lights
This Alphabet Christmas Lights activity was lots of fun and extremely versatile. Plus, it was excellent practice for matching capital and lowercase letters! We used it as a bathtub activity (and my boys absolutely loved it)…but it could just…
Sight Word Shake
Learning sight words is an important component of a balanced approach to literacy. Although recognizing sight words alone does not necessarily mean a child is “reading”, it certainly helps with his/her reading fluency (the speed, accuracy, and proper inflection…
Making Letters in Cranberry Sauce
Are you a fan of cranberry sauce with your Thanksgiving meal? I’m not…but that doesn’t mean we can’t put this seasonal favorite to good use. Lots of people have tried making letters in shaving cream, but have you tried…