The Busy Box

 

When I saw this post over on Happy Hooligans http://happyhooligans.ca/drop-box/  I knew I had to make one!

 You really can use anything to make this busy box! I used a cardboard box, popsicle sticks, coloured stones, beads, wooden pegs & paint swatches.

 

This busy box kept her busy for over 30 minutes!  She then showed her 2 year old friend how to do it for another 20 minutes! She LOVES it!

 

Here are some more pictures:

 

 

 So proud of herself!

 

Learning Letters With Rocks!

 

Little M is 2.5 & has been so interested in letters lately that I thought I would make a fun game for her to play!

 

I took some rocks that we had collected yesterday while at the park and wrote some letters on them. I chose A, B & C for the letters because M is really just beginning to recognize them.

 

I bought the little containers from Dollarama (I looked for the kind that had the snapping lids) and then I added a strip of masking tape on each container and wrote a letter on each one.

 

 

 

Little M right away dumped all the rocks into one container.

 

 With the first couple of rocks I showed her how to sort them into separate containers and then she took it from there!

During this activity I kept mentioning the letters to her and coaching her on 1-2 words that go with each letter just to introduce her to the connection of letter & words. She has a great memory and she really enjoyed playing with this activity! 

 

Here are the words we used:

 

A is for apple/alligator

B is for Bro Bro & Brother

C is for cat

 

 

If you look closely at the labels you will see I drew little pictures after a few minutes to help sort them a little easier...she really liked that ;)

 

She then asked me if it was OK to take off the labels & play around with them, switching them to different containers.

This activity lasted about 30 mins. which is great for her age/attention span & she also played with it the next day as well for another 30 mins or so....I call that a success!

28 FUN WAYS TO PRACTICE SPELLING WORDS! Our Spellling Activity Pack

I created a Spelling Activity Pack last week for K to start using with his spelling words. It is a really great pack and we have been having lots of fun with the activities!

Here is a picture of us playing a game of Spelling Tic Tac Toe!

If you want to see more about the pack it is here in my TPT shop:
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spelling-Activity-Pack-925853

There are 18 different fun printable activities for kids to practice their spelling words. I have also included 10 extra hands-on activity ideas for kids to use! to practice.

I have made the activities with room for up to 6 spelling words.
For K I printed the pack out & put it into a duo-tang and then I have K pick out 1 activity at a time. The plan is to do a spelling activity 2-3 days per week and then try to fit a spelling test in at some point during the week as well.

This free printable is also in K's booklet and it is the 1st set of spelling words we used. K really loves using these dabbing sheets!

Here are some more pictures of K & I playing Spelling word Tic Tac Toe. We had so much fun with this game!

Here he is doing the word scramble sheet:

 

This is 1 of the 2 pages with extra "hands-on" activities that we often use to review our spelling words from the week.

I hope you will check out our Spelling Activity Pack. I know you won't be disappointed!

 

THE LETTER A HOUSE PRINTABLE

 

Little M had lots of fun working on her "Letter A House" printable!

She needed lots of help with the cutting because she isn't very good with the scissors yet ;)  She is able to hold the paper & cut little slits into the edges but she is not able to cut circles out yet. She did an excellent job with her gluing though!

During this craft we talked about the Letter A & what sound it makes. We also sang "the letter A says A (making the sound loudly) the letter A says A, Hi Ho the Derry-O the letter A says A!" We have sang this song before & it always seems to stick ;)

Here she is with the finished product....so proud!

If you'd like to do this fun printable with your little one feel free to download it  for FREE here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/THE-LETTER-HOUSE-PRINTABLE-914517

Don't forget to leave some feedback in my store!! Thanks :)

Using "mom bucks" with our daily homeschooling checklist

I posted a checklist a few days ago that I have been using with K. You can find it here:

http://anniesadventuresinhomeschooling.blogspot.ca/2013/09/our-daily-checklist.html

I just wanted to update that things have been going really well with it & it has been a huge motivator for K to get things done in his homeschool day. It is so nice to find something that works!!

He is so excited to check things off the list at the end of the day so that he can collect his "mom bucks"!  He has even been asking me if he can do some things on the weekend so that he can collect more ;)

Here are some pictures I took of our "mom bucks" & of our prize bin.

I hope this post inspires you!

Our Daily Checklist

We have started using a Daily Checklist to help keep us on task & so far it has been working really well!

I know all kids are different...for K I have found that he really thrives on things being "the same".  This sometimes drives me a little crazy because I am not a very good planner...but I have been really making an effort to take every Sunday to plan ahead for my homeschooling & daycare week because things run a lot smoother when you have a plan!

K & I decided today that we would also incorporate an incentive to make the checklist fun! We are going to total his checks up at the end of the day & give him "mom bucks". This way when he collects enough "mom bucks" he can shop at the "mom store" (A Rubbermaid I have that will soon be stocked up with a few items like new markers, books, treats, small toys, puzzles etc.)

Here are some pictures of the prize bin & "mom bucks":
http://anniesadventuresinhomeschooling.blogspot.ca/2013/10/using-mom-bucks-with-our-daily.html

We also decided today that we will declare every Friday "Fun Friday".  We will still be homeschooling Fridays of course but we will try to incorporate as many games & fun activities as possible to make the day more fun (this is more for me because sometimes I tend to be way too serious ;)

This checklist is separate from our "chore list". Our chore list is a calendar with items listed for them to complete (2 chores) everyday. For these chores they collect .25 cents per chore they finish.

This list is meant as an extra incentive for school work completed.

Here is our checklist:

Feel free to download it here for FREE if you are interested:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/HOMESCHOOLING-DAILY-CHECKLIST-900452

ETA:  If you want to see our actual list filled in it is included in the download. I uploaded both a blank copy and a filled in copy in the download :)

Also, we now use this with my 12 yr. old step son as well!  We have been struggling lately with him helping out with his siblings & playing the "big brother" role...this list has been great encouragement & motivation for him.
His list has the following on it:

Brush teeth in the AM
Brush teeth before bed
Read with your sister
Read with your brother
Help your brother with homework
Play a game with your brother (board/learning game)
Finish homework
Feed the geckos

Counting Candy

I thought it would be fun to make a candy counting sheet for Halloween.  K is so excited to use it!

It's free to download here if you want it:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/COUNTING-CANDY-SHEET-873102



Hope you enjoy :)

"Find -A -Letter" Printable sheets!

Little M has started to really take an interest in the letters of the alphabet and daily she says to me "mommy can I do my homework?". I think it is because she sees her big brother doing his daily school work. 

Whatever the reason, I am going to enjoy the enthusiasm while it lasts!

I made these sheets up for her to go over letters and she LOVES them!! She loves the pictures and she loves using dabbers. She usually needs me to show her which letter to dab the first 2 times and then she finds them on her own after that.  She also asks me about  the other letters on the page :)

Hope your little one likes them too!!

 

After  she was finished this page she enjoyed giving herself stickers for all her hard work :)

 

Here is the pumpkin themed sheet:

 

 

 

 

 

I have made 6 of these printable sheets so far. Feel free to download them all here:

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FIND-A-LETTER-SHEETS-874158