Perpetual Pinners April 30, 2012

I am thrilled to be joining in with Nykki over at Another Day in Paradise to bring you Perpetual Pinners. Do you get obsessed with pinning on Pinterest? Would you like to share some of your favorite pins? Well, create your blog post and then stop by and link up below.  Or, if you don't want to create a post, you can always link directly to a board or pin you want to share.

This week I would like to share some of the great early literacy ideas I have found recently. Ideas for letter recognition, spelling, sight words and even poetry.

Source: playdoughtoplato.com via Karen on Pinterest

Source: something-like-life.com via Karen on Pinterest

Source: makedoandfriend.com via Karen on Pinterest

Source: classifiedmom.com via Karen on Pinterest

This will go perfectly right now as the girls are learning about sight words from the Rock 'N Learn DVD I was reviewing called Sight Words.

Source: learnwithplay.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

Source: mrstsfirstgradeclass-jill.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

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Amelia is Reading!

Well, sort of. She is finally reading some short vowel words. She was playing with the letters on the refrigerator (what few are left) and suddenly she was sounding out "bat." We kept changing the first consonant and she would sound the word out and when I asked what it was she was able to explain the word. Just making sure she was comprehending. I am so proud of my big girl.
Edited to add:
She then started changing the last letter instead. Not that all the words she made were really words but she was sounding them out. And I would tell her when her letter combinations were not words. I was especially impressed when I found another vowel-e- and she started to put it at the beginning, but then quickly moved it to the middle of the word.
She was so excited and mommy was tearing up.

She credits Super Why!

Teach Me to Read Thursdays

I originally posted this on May 11th or thereabouts.  I have no idea why, when I went in to edit it switched the post date, I've never had that happen.  Because of all the problems I've had with these posts (see edit below) I am going to leave this as it is now.  All of the posts I had linked up had her button in them, and now none of them do, so I really don't know what happened.  I am going to be sharing a recent post shortly and I am hoping it doesn't get messed up.

I just found (May 11) a great new link up over at Shining Our Lights.  On Thursdays she posts a Teach me to Read Thursdays post which includes a link up.  I actually tried my own version of this last year called Getting Ready For Reading.  Unfortunately it didn't take off the way I had hoped.

Right now Tabitha is doing a great job with her reading, she is reading Level 1 Hello Reader Books, and books like The Cat in the Hat. And she is constantly finding things around the house to read (like cereal boxes and such).  So right now we are not focusing a lot on "getting ready to read."  From the experience with Tabitha I realize that Amelia is not quite ready to read.  She will repeat words after me or her dad, but she is not really paying attention to the words, she does not speak as clearly as Tabitha did and she doesn't understand blending the sounds.

After rereading my posts on "reading pointers" I decided I could start doing some simple activities with Amelia.  I plan on looking back over what I have done with Tabitha and implementing some of what I feel Amelia is ready for.  Stephanie over at Shining Our Lights has some great ideas too.

If you would like to look through my posts on some of the things I had done with Tabitha, lots of which were spur of the moment activities, I invite you to check out my Teach Me to Read Thursdays posts or my Reading Pointers posts.  I hope to have some new posts soon.

edited May 25, 2011
I am not sure what happened to my Teach Me to Read Thursdays links or my Reading Pointers links.  I know this is one of the posts that disappeared when Blogger was down earlier this month.  I almost couldn't find my posts until I went to the link up over at Shining Our Lights and followed them back.  I no longer have a Reading Pointers or Teach Me to Read Thursdays tag in my list.  So, until I can figure this out, you can find those posts by going to my new Reading Tips tag or Getting Ready For Reading.

School Time Week 29 (Some I lessons and Getting Ready for Resurrection Sunday)

This week we started off by having an I is for Italy Muffin Tin.  I am part Italian so I figured this was something I could share with the girls.  We looked up the Italian flag on Google and then I used the colors to arrange our muffin tin.

We did a couple of art projects based on the art lessons over at Dani's blog, Pineapple Paintbrush.  This was the last week for her preschool art lessons, but if you are interested she is still offering her pdf's for a small fee.  This PDF has the lessons from the last 4 weeks and bonus materials.  You can see the projects on her blog, but the instructions were only available for 48 hours.

This week we were learning about texture.  We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  Then we made texture paintings with objects from around the house.

Even Hannah got involved:

And big brother Steven:

On another evening we were unable to do the art lesson she shared because we didn't have the materials needed.  So we did another texture painting, but I had the girls decide on an Easter related shape to paint.

Amelia chose a cross:

Tabitha chose an egg:

I love the texture Amelia was able to achieve:

Another day we created tissue paper decorated crosses:

Tabitha started out with teeny rolled up tissue paper balls:

Tabitha's ended up with bigger pieces of tissue paper than she started with.  Even mommy decided to make one.

Lesson time varies each day.  Sometimes we have lesson before lunch and actually sit down and start with prayer, the pledges and calendar.  Other days meal times bring about spur of the moment lessons.  We also have lesson time after dinner.  This week we had art lessons two evenings and decided to work on letters/sounds one other evening.

I pulled out the sandpaper letters.  I have to admit I don't follow all the proper Montessori guidelines, but the girls know their letters and sounds.  Right now I am working on proper formation.  If you look carefully, Amelia is sounding out the f as she traces it.  Very important.

I also pulled out the salt box.

Tabitha wanted to make them into a "puzzle."  

Then I asked her to form letters.  I figured I would start with 3 letter C-V-C words.

She wanted the "silent e."

She also wanted to sound out "mischief."  We never did get it made.

I also pulled out our Build A Letters.

They also had some fun free play all week.  Tabitha was having fun with the blocks.

She was trying to make the tower as tall as her.

The girls made "Fruity Cheerio Flowers in Vases" at Story Time.

Then we made something that my older daughter has wanted to make since we did the letter I last year.  We never had time to make them and I have heard about it for quite a while.  She has actually been at her dad's and I convinced her to come here so she could make them this weekend.

We got to make Sugar Cube Igloos.  Krystal had made them before and we followed her instructions.  We used our homemade buttercream frosting (the one we used last week for Hannah's birthday cake).  Here is the recipe.  It is great.  It hardens just right to help keep the igloo sturdy.

Butter Cream Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened

8 cups confectioners sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk.

In a mixing bowl cream butter.  Beat in the sugar and vanilla.  Add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.

This made more than enough for 2 igloos. We planned on using it for cupcakes for a bake sale tomorrow too.

Spreading frosting on wax paper covered cardboard:

Laying the bottom layer:

Building it up:

This was not so easy.  And then I realized I had the entry way going in instead of out.  Not sure what I was thinking.

We got so high and it started to fall in, so I decided we should have Bible time and go to bed.  I told the girls I was going to finish the igloo.  They didn't really care, as they had been doing less and less anyhow.  The girls found it tricky to line them up.  But they had fun.

Oh, yes, we had furniture:

Finished igloos.  Krystal's is the one in the back.

Tiny Tot Time:

I found Hannah trying to put these heart sticks into the cheese shaker.  She has never, to my knowledge, seen this used.

Yes she can get them in.  

Some time with brother

Helping herself to her favorite snack from the Lazy Susan:

Playing with the guitar at play group.

Trying to put her own pajamas on:

Told you she liked this activity:

Piano time with daddy.

Please check out the Hopping Along to Easter Blog Hop.  

This Blog Hop Series will continue through Easter Sunday!

There will be a new topic each week.  This week's topic is crafts!

We just ask that you compose a post in response to the topic question and come back to link up.

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