Read & Write

Create a Letter-Writing Kit for Kids

Thumbnail image for Create a Letter-Writing Kit for Kids

Every day, my daughters excitedly walk to the mailbox and check to see if they received any letters. There is just something special about receiving a hand-written note in the mail. I love it, too! Writing letters is a wonderful way to maintain connections with family and friends. And, letter-writing provides meaningful reading and writing [...]

Continue reading →

Read & Play: It Looked Like Spilt Milk

Thumbnail image for Read & Play: It Looked Like Spilt Milk

My girls get so excited when we have a “puffy-cloud” day, because those are the best days for finding cool shapes in the clouds. One of our favorite cloud stories is It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw. This book is simple, but engaging and was always a favorite in my classroom. When [...]

Continue reading →

4 Simple Skills to Practice During Read-Alouds

{Originally published March 2010} A bit of thinking-aloud, conversation, and encouragement are all you need to add a little extra learning to your snuggly read-aloud time! Boost your child’s reading comprehension skills by incorporating these simple activities into your existing read-aloud time: 1. Predict Look at the cover and read the title. Ask, “What do [...]

Continue reading →

Horse Catalog

Thumbnail image for Horse Catalog

One day (last summer), the girls were busy playing and thinking-up imaginary horses. Their herds of horses were getting quite large, apparently, and they were having trouble remembering all their names. They both brought out little notebooks, and I acted as secretary as they dictated their horses’ names to me. This was a good start, [...]

Continue reading →

Mini Clipboard Gifts

Thumbnail image for Mini Clipboard Gifts

Both of my girls wanted to make a handmade Christmas gift for their cousins and a few friends. Delaney settled on decorating mini clipboards with scrapbook paper, letter stickers, felt, and buttons. I’m sure you have seen decoupaged clipboards, journals, etc. before – so simple, with endless ways to personalize! I made a template of [...]

Continue reading →

Gift Idea: Book Series Sampler

Thumbnail image for Gift Idea: Book Series Sampler

Natalie loves reading book series – she’s just like me! I am always looking for new series that will interest her and thought a book series sampler would be a great gift idea for many kids (and even adults) on my list. To make a book series sampler, just gather the first book of 3-5 [...]

Continue reading →

Author Websites We Love

Whenever we fall in love with a book (or a series), I like to see if the author or illustrator has a kid-friendly website. The girls love learning about an author’s childhood and playing games featuring their favorite book characters. Here are a few sites we frequent, as well as new ones we are getting [...]

Continue reading →

Our Favorite Board Books

Wanna take a trip down memory lane with me? During the long (and apparently never-ending) unpacking process at our new house, I came across a bin of board books that I had saved. Even though my girls have mostly outgrown these little treasures, I couldn’t bear to part with our favorite board books. These books [...]

Continue reading →

Interesting Books for Beginning Readers

We have been doing lots and lots of reading this summer. I’m reading aloud to the girls as usual, but now they are both reading on their own, too. So exciting! Delaney is a beginning reader – she can “sound-out” many words, she knows about 25 sight words, and she is good at using picture [...]

Continue reading →

Our Summer List

Are you ready for summer?  It’s another unusually chilly morning here, but supposedly summer is on its way.  This Friday is our “official” last day of homeschool and then it’s Hello, Summer Vacation!  Our Summer List was such fun last year that we’ll be making another one this year – how about you? {Originally posted [...]

Continue reading →