Preschool Powol Packets

Happy December! As another year wraps up, I like to look ahead and make some goal-based plans to start in January.  One of my goals for next year is to create more early literacy opportunities. I have a four-year old who is extremely obsessed with letters and reading, and I want to make sure he has all the support he wants to enjoy language, reading, and writing as much as possible. As part of this preparation, I took these courses with ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI ): Lit100: Storytelling for Enrichment, Early Literacy, and Fun and Cur102: Environmental and Functional Print . These two courses are super well-organized and full of ideas that are easy-to-implement and will help me meet my literacy goals for next year. I will tell you more about these two courses, and CCEI in general, below.  First, I want to share my new, actionable, and measurable goals! I like goals that are super specific, so I have a very detailed little plan for what I want to try next semester. "Pl...

Tonight I am delighted to introduce you to Brooke Vitale, an author, editor, and mom, who recently founded Charge Mommy Books to feature playful books for new readers! She is sharing information here for us about learning to read! (You can scroll to the end to learn more about her in her bio!)   Brooke, take it away! Learning to Read Learning to read is no easy task, and these days our kids are being taught at a younger age than ever before. So how can we get our kids ready to read and help them along the way? By understanding the science behind reading. The science of reading is a research-based approach to literacy that focuses on five elements: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. For the youngest readers, two of these elements are key: phonemic awareness and phonics . What Is Phonemic Awareness? The English language consist of 44 unique sounds, or phonemes. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify these letter sounds and blend them tog...

The other day I was in a group, and we were talking about using things our preschoolers are excited about to teach them. I came up with this activity as an example of something you could do with a kid who gets excited about volcanoes to help him learn letters. I am a strong advocate for learning by play and learning with hands-on activities. You will recognize this popular preschool science activity, but I added a small change: mystery letter cups! Three cups are labeled with "B," "S," and "F" (or whatever letters you want to work on).  Inside the cups are a few tablespoons of baking soda (my "B"), salt (my "S), and flour (my "F"). I used the first letters of each word in this example, but it's really not necessary if you want to work on other letters. Inside the vase, let your preschooler pour about a cup of vinegar. He can add red or orange food coloring, too! (My kids are a little obsessed with food coloring! I should do ano...

This dinosaur activity happens to be one of my preschoolers favorites! To celebrate my new book,  A Dinosaur Made Me Sneeze , I am sharing loads of FREE dinosaur activities, and today it is a "Spot 3 Differences" activity!! This is the last day in my  10-day Preschool Dinosaur Activities series ! Check out the rest  HERE  (there's also a  gift card giveaway  in that post--scroll to the bottom for details)!! This printable activity includes three pages for a total of 12 count and clip cards! Each card has a different number (1-12) of dinosaurs on it. Well, two of the cards have pterosaurs on them...and even though they aren't dinosaurs, we still love them! My preschoolers love using clothespins! We use them for activities like these, to track their daily schedules, and sometimes just to play with! Obviously, this activity lets your children practice counting and number recognition. Less obviously, it helps them develop a concept of one-to-one relationships, ...

This dinosaur activity happens to be one of my preschoolers favorites! To celebrate my new book,  A Dinosaur Made Me Sneeze , I am sharing loads of FREE dinosaur activities, and today it is a "Spot 3 Differences" activity!! This is the ninth activity in my  10-day Preschool Dinosaur Activities series ! Check out the rest  HERE  (there's also a gift card giveaway in that post--scroll to the bottom for details)!! This printable activity includes one page with two pictures on it. You can cut the pictures apart or just leave them together. If your preschoolers have trouble spotting the 3 differences, give simple hints like, "Are there any differences in the trees?" or "Are there any differences on the dinosaur faces?" If they absolutely cannot find the differences, use another sheet of paper to cover up a portion of the picture to help them focus. I think my daughter could do these all day long...I'll probably make some more soon because she loves the...

I am super excited about this dinosaur activity because I think my preschoolers will love it! To celebrate my new book,  A Dinosaur Made Me Sneeze , I am sharing loads of FREE dinosaur activities, and today it is a "Find the Hidden Dinosaurs" activity!! This is the eighth activity in my  10-day Preschool Dinosaur Activities series ! Check out the rest  HERE  (there's also a  gift card giveaway  in that post--scroll to the bottom for details)!! This printable activity is kind of like playing hide-n-seek on paper! As your preschoolers find the number of each dinosaur, they can write it in the box at the bottom near the dinosaur. Or, if they aren't writing numbers yet, they can make tally marks or dots! I should probably make one quick note here--pterosaurs are technically not dinosaurs, but they lived during the same time and are such fun animals, that I tossed one in. Flying reptiles? Yes. Dinosaurs. No. :) But then, the trees aren't dinosaurs either. ;)...

Today's Dinosaur Alphabet Stomp game might be my favorite part of the celebration of my new book  A Dinosaur Made Me Sneeze  & the annual 10 Days of Tips for Homeschoolers! It's such a fun and engaging way to review or learn letters! This is the 5th activity in my  10-day Preschool Dinosaur Activities series ! Check out the rest  HERE  (there's also a gift card giveaway in that post--scroll to the bottom for details)!! Here are a few reasons why I love this game: * It is SUPER FUN!! (I know it sounds silly, but learning is SO much easier when kids are having fun!) * It uses your preschoolers' WHOLE BODY! This gross motor development activates more parts of their brain, which means they will remember the activity (and letters!) better! * It strengthens skills that are important for early reading AND early math! * And, of course, it has DINOSAURS! ;)  This printable activity includes 26 dinosaurs holding each capital letter and 26 dinosaurs holding each l...