Summer Learning: It's All About the Benjamins

I can not be the only parent that dreads taking kids to the store sometimes. Now that Savannah and Mikey are a little older they have started asking  begging for things in the store. Up until about a month ago we would have peaceful trips to the store. I could scan the aisles, get what I needed and be done....

Lately when we're in the store these kids point out every sparkly brightly colored character filled item that they see. Mikey has never even seen Finding Nemo or Dory but the other day when we were in the store he insisted that we stop to, "Say hello to Dory fish."

I don't even know Dory like that.

Telling the kids that they don't need more toys or things hasn't really worked for me. They don't get it. They think debit cards are endless pits of money. Maybe someone's card is but not mine. This Mom and her debit card have limits. There are limits to my debit, m'kay...

To give them a real idea of how money works I decided to take a page from The Cosby Show and turn our house into a store. Let's play a game I said (in my scary Saw movie voice)....

I told them whoever had the most money at the end of the day could have an Oreo. Y'all I charged these kids for everything and I allowed them to buy whatever they wanted.

When that money started leaving their little hands it was priceless....

An instant light went on. (Well at least it did for Savannah. I don't think Mikey cared.) We talked about working to earn money, saving your money and spending money on things you need or want.

If you follow me on snapchat you know Savannah is a good little saver already. She saved over $100 in change during our time in Texas. Hopefully this little exercise helped her learn a bit more about the value of a dollar. The verdict is still out on Mikey - he demanded an Oreo for his time when my game was over.

What do you think about our little game? I think it was a fun way to get them to understand how money works.

Preschool at Home: Spelling Spoons

During school drop off one morning I noticed one of the activities for the morning were "alphabet spoons". It looked interesting and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. They were sounding out words and learning to spell in a fun way.

At first I wondered why they weren't using regular flashcards but then I realized that the spoons made it fun and different. I decided to make Savannah some of her own spelling spoons. There are so many ways to use them. I've thought of a few different games already.

All you need to get started is a bag of plastic spoons and a sharpie. Write each letter of the alphabet on a spoon.

That's it. Here are some of the games and activities I've thought of to use our spoons...

-Make a phonetic sound and have your child find that spoon.

- Say a word and have your child spell it out using the spoons. Have them sound out the word as they look for the right spoons.

- Play a rhyming game. Choose an ending sound and teach them how to identify words that rhyme.

- This game is for 2-4 players. You will need at least three sets of spoons. Hand each player 10 spoons. Place the remaining spoons in a plastic cup scoop down. Have each player create words using the spoons in their hand. If a player needs another letter have them choose from the cup. You can only pull from the "deck" once per turn. Using a timer, each player has 60 seconds to spell out their word. The first player to get rid of all the spoons in their hand wins.

- Spell a word and leave one letter space blank. Have your child fill the blank with the missing letter.

- Scramble up the letters of a word and have your child move each spoon to their correct place to spell the word correctly.

What do you think? Sounds fun, right? I'm looking forward to playing more games like this over the Summer with the kids. Will you be trying 'spelling spoons'? It's a fun a alternative to flashcards!

Preschool at Home: And at School

After giving it some serious thought over the summer we decided to put Savannah in a preschool program this year. This wasn't a super easy decision for my family to make but it was an easy one for me. (insert smile)

Over the summer I realized that I was doing her and myself a disservice. We were spending a lot of time together. Going to play dates here and there. But I noticed that many of our days were spent with just each other. Day after day.

Of course we were still going places and doing things but we were still going to those places and doing those things with just each other. She wasn't getting much time with other kids her age. I have to admit part of that is my fault because I am not really a playgroup person. I prefer personal play dates with people we know. You know, cause in order for play dates to work you have to like the Mom and her kids.

Then there's also the fact that I have a tendency to be in my little bubble where I forget to actually schedule things like that. So. I figured that a great way to give her the social time she craves would be to put her in preschool.

She can learn, have playtime and be back at home in time for lunch. It's perfect.

Preschool has actually changed my life. I'll talk more about that in another post though.

We're still learning at home because I want to make sure she continues to progress academically. Much of what she already knows will be reinforced in class. She'll be learning new things like geometry (on a preschool level) and spanish.  Then there are those life skills like - waiting your turn, working well with others and being quiet when someone else of authority (like a teacher) is talking that she needs to be learning.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel once she started going to school everyday. I think the fact that she really seems to love it has made it a smooth transition for all of us. Our new schedule/routine has been amazing. It's like we're getting the best of both worlds.

I finally feel like I'm checking off all my "Mommy boxes". How has "back to school" been for you? Any tips you want to share with me as we adjust to having a child in school?

A Rant About the Kindergarten Checklist Pin

Okay Mommy friends. You might remember this post  where I shared some of the learning goals for Savannah between now and next year when she starts school. Well. In that post I had a pretty little checklist that I thought other Moms would find helpful so I pinned it.

The response has been overwhelming. Thank you to anyone that pinned, liked or shared this pin with a friend. I really appreciate it. The amount of people that "liked" this pin outweigh the naysayers and negative nancies. However, I would be lying if I told you I wasn't confused about some of these comments.

For starters, I would consider myself a good "Mommy friend". Meaning that I'm not critical of what my friends or other Moms choose to do with their kids. I have friends with kids in private school, public school and I have friends who homeschool. All of them made the decision that they felt was best for their child. Now. While I may joke with my friends about things (like how many of them think I should continue to homeschool and I already know I'm not 'bout that homeschool life long term - at least I feel that way now - things could change…) I don't ever make them feel like their decision is wrong. 

That's just not how I get down. If you like it, I love it. If you want to teach your child everything from the basics to multiplication and how DNA works all before Kindergarten - good for you. If you only want to cover the basics with your kid - good for you. And lastly, if you don't want to teach your child anything before they start school then do you boo but that's not how I operate.

As a stay at home Mom I feel that I would be doing my children a disservice if I didn't at least try to give them a stronger foundation for learning. I am home with them everyday. Everyday we have an opportunity to learn something. Sure we still play and have lots of fun but in my house education comes first. It always will. So, there's no point in waiting until they start school for them to learn that. They need to know that now. Those are the expectations we have for our children. 

I strongly believe that a child is capable of learning anything as long as their is someone willing to teach them. That willing person also has to believe that the child is capable of learning. He or she will also need tons of patience and a little time. 

I didn't create that pin to make anyone feel inadequate about their own decisions. I made it for parents like me that want to expose their child to as much as possible. Learning can be fun and is a great way to bond with your child. We are our children's first teachers. I will always push my kids to go above and beyond what the standard is. That is what you can expect to find here. 

Be a good Mommy friend and support what your fellow Moms are doing. This is the last time I will address the Kindergarten pin (here, on twitter and my email). Be comfortable enough in your decisions to not be swayed, upset or critical of what someone else is doing. 

Before I go I also just want to encourage everyone to not ever come for Savannah's (or BabyM's) mind again unless it sends for you. I would hate for you to meet "Ratchet Mommy". She isn't about being politically correct for the internet and I don't think she knows Jesus. 

Thanks again for all the positive support. It means more than you know!

Preschool at Home: Learning to Read at Home

I have decided that our main learning objective for the summer will be reading and handwriting. As you know I am constantly trying different things to find the right fit for Savannah and I. I also use all this research to form a blueprint for BabyM's learning path too. Of course, different kids respond to different things but at least by the time he is ready to learn to read I'll have a better road map for teaching him.

While doing a search on Amazon I came across this book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. The title alone peaked my interest. The promise states that all you need is twenty minutes a day everyday for 100 days and you and your child should have a nice foundation for reading. That seemed right up my alley. I can do twenty minutes everyday.


This book has been amazing. Not only does it teach your child how to sound out words but it also focuses on reading comprehension and handwriting. I did things kind of backwards with Sav. I taught her the alphabet and each letter's phonetic sound then I taught her sight words. I wish I had found this book before we did sight words. It hasn't really hurt her but I see now where it would have been better to use this book to teach her how to take the phonetic sounds she knew and turn them into words with these lessons. 
Hopefully I am saying this all clearly, LOL…
Anyway. I highly recommend this book if you are a parent that needs a road map. The book tells you exactly what to say to your child. It doesn't get much easier than that. It is such a joy to see Sav sounding out words and actually reading. We are only about a quarter of the way through the book and I am really pleased with her progress so far. After her lesson we sit and read a book together. She reads to me and I help her when she asks me to.
Has anyone else heard of this book? Have you used it? What did you think about it?
*I am not a teacher. I am not in the education industry. I'm just a Mom teaching my child at home. I did NOT get paid for this review. I purchased the book myself.*

Preschool at Home: Reading Resources (Sight Words)

I have often found that when people know how to do something, like sewing or doing hair, they are often not interested in teaching other people how to do it. Some may not even be willing to share how they learned. That's so funny to me. It's like they don't want anyone else to learn how to do something they're good at. They may even tell you that they'll be more than happy to teach you or share the info but they never follow through on that…

Well. As I have said before, I am a girl's girl. If I know something and I think it can help you I am going to share it. If I see that something has worked for my daughter or son I will be more than happy to share that with you. Why not? Sharing is caring and at some point I know I'll need someone to care for me and mine.

Today I am going to share some of the resources I have found online to make introducing Savannah to reading a breeze. We first started off by learning letters and their phonetic sounds and then we moved to sight words. I am not a teacher or educator of any sort. I am fumbling my way through teaching my daughter. I try different things until I find what works. So please consider all of that when you are reading these preschool posts. I'm just sharing our journey and I am not trying to come off as an expert at all.

Teaching Sav the sight words extremely boosted her confidence in reading. She even sounds out words a lot better too. We still have a long way to go but I think we're off to a great start. My little lady should be reading by her birthday and that was my goal for 2014. With that said, here are all 220 of the non-noun sight words sub-divided into five levels.

I like making my own flashcards. Since Savannah already knows many of these I'll be making cards for the words we still need to work on. If you visit this site you can download bingo cards to go along with the sight words. That's another fun way to help them learn. You may also remember that we like playing "musical words" or "word hop". I lay all the cards out on the floor and I have Savannah hop to the word I call out or I play music, she walks around, when he music stops she has to pick a word and tell me what it is. Very fun!

Did you find this helpful? I'll continue to share stuff as we find what works for us. Feel free to share and pin!

Preschool at Home: Kindergarten Preparation

Now that we've gotten into a better schedule centered around learning I thought it would be a good idea to make a list of everything I wanted to teach Savannah before she starts school next year. This is my last school year having her at home and I want to make sure she is prepared for her first day of school.

This list is based off what Sav already knows and what she still has to learn. I'm pretty sure there are some things that I may have forgotten so I'll do an updated list and share it if I need to. I am still really loving the Preschool Prep Company's literacy tools. She's on their level 3 sight word reading books now. As we go through each book she gets better at sounding out words. It's been so neat watching her become a little reader.

I really need to do a lot better about teaching her numbers and math. I am a word person and I naturally gravitate towards books and writing. I plan to start alternating our lessons. One day we'll do Reading/Writing and the next day we'll do Counting/Math. That's my plan between now and next August when she starts school.

What do you think of this list? Anything I missed? Feel free to pin and share if you'd like!

Preschool at Home: Upcoming Review

I have exciting news to share!

Savannah and I have been invited to review K5 learning! As you know, I've been working with her to build strong reading and math skills. I'm excited for the opportunity to review this online program. Her literacy skills are really growing so this could not have come at a better time. To be honest, I'm hoping it will help us get a better handle on where she is with math and numbers. I'm not a math person so I am looking forward to utilizing another resource to help us.

Stay tuned for the review coming soon!

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students. I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program. If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

Preschool at Home: Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.

We are half way thru with January. Can't believe it. Savannah and I have been working really hard on sight words and reading. We live in walking distance to the library and we go there often to check out books or rent Wii games.

For this particular trip I wanted to focus on finding books that talked about Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. Our library had a few books to choose from and we chose the three below. I have enjoyed reading these to her and introducing to her some of the facts about our nation's history.


Since we had been reading so much about MLK's vision I thought it would be fun to help Savannah make a vision board, but on a smaller Pre-K level. I started by getting some of her painting paper and my letter stencils.


Then I just asked her what her dreams were. I wrote them down in the color of her choice. As you can see, this activity had very little to do with her learning to write or cut. This activity was all about teaching her to recognize her dreams.


I thought she came up with some pretty good dreams for a three year old. I asked her simple questions like, "If you could learn anything what would it be? and " What do you want to be when you grow up?". I think it will be fun to do this with her every year at this same time and save them. When BabyM is old enough he'll do it too.

I plan to stencil her name at the bottom between the stars. I wanted to get this post up before it got too late. So. What do you think? How will you observe MLK Day with your little one? I know someone is out there thinking that this maybe too much for a three year old. So. I'll share something with you that I told a friend earlier today…

Preschool at Home: Learning Sight Words

Now that the holiday season is over we are getting back to our routine. Slowly but surely. For Christmas Savannah received a literacy set that focuses on sight words. I will share the set and my review on it in a separate post. It came with DVDs and books. We've started using it but I want to use it a little more before I do a review here.

Anyway. While we were watching the video and reading the books I was trying to think of other ways to get her to recognize her site words. Part of learning to read is recognizing these words without having to figure them out. Since repetition is everything  I thought it would be fun to make large flashcards that can be used in several different ways. This way, not only is she learning to recognize her words but she's also having fun. Double win. Go me.

In this particular picture I put the words down on the floor, called out a word and had her bring the word to me. She really enjoyed this. Savannah thought it was so fun to look for words. She starts a literacy class in a couple weeks and I can't wait to see her turn into a little reader.

The kit that she received for Christmas says that you can start as early as 15 months. When Sav was that age I was teaching her the baby book of 100 words. It didn't include these type of sight words but I think I will start early with BabyM. When you know better, you do better, right?

What do you think about this idea? Have you started doing sight words with your little one?

Preschool at Home: Using What You Have

Savannah is finally starting to feel better. She had no fever today and she was playing as usual. I didn't have an activity planned for us today. I was expecting her to still be a little sick. She asked me if we could do "homework" and that's when I knew she must be feeling a lot better.

So. I pulled out her workbook and we did a few pages. She then requested to do numbers. This made me happy because we really need to focus on her numbers. My focus has been on her letters, writing and phonics and because of that we haven't really focused on counting/numbers as much.


After completing a few pages, I remembered an activity we had done with her class. The teacher had us doing simple addition using candy. Since Sav loves marshmallows I added those to some m&ms. We counted from zero to twenty a few times.



Then we sorted the treats and counted them.  This was a fun activity. It was quick and luckily I had somethings in the pantry. We had previously decorated Christmas cookies so I just pulled the candy and marshmallows from there.


You could do this activity with anything you have that your child likes. You could use chopped fruit or nuts. Another cool idea would be to use colored pasta. My point here is to use whatever you have on hand. Everything doesn't always have to be so thought out and perfect. As long as your child is learning and you both are enjoying it that's all that really matters.

What do you think? Isn't this so easy? I love getting ideas from Savannah's teacher during class and using them at home.

Preschool at Home: Paper Plate Snowman

Here we are with a new craft idea. Today I thought it would be fun to make a snowman. We never have paper plates in our house. Since we have a few leftover from Thanksgiving I decided to use them for a craft with Savannah.

For this snowman you will need three paper plates, tape and whatever you'd like to use to decorate your snowman. We used eyes, puff balls, pipe cleaners and construction paper (for the hat). This was super easy and fun.

To start cut out your two smaller circles. I used a cup to trace the smallest circle. Then use the tape to build your snowman. We used tape because it was less messy and there's no drying time.


Remember to keep your left over paper plate pieces. You'll need them if you decide to do a scarf or use them for arms like we did.


At first we were going to use pipe cleaners for the arms but I'm really glad we went with the paper plate pieces.


And here is our finished project. I used a sharpie to dot on his mouth and we added the pipe cleaner (that was originally for the arms) to his scarf for a little extra flair.

What do you think about Savannah's snowman? Will you be trying this? If you like the crafts you see here please feel free to pin and share them!

PreSchool at Home: Finger Paint Flashcards

We have officially started adding more hands on activities to our routine. We have always played learning games and read books but I wanted to start introducing Savannah to Pre-K skills. I want to make sure she can hold a pencil, use scissors properly and listen to instructions for activities.

Today I thought it would be fun for her to make some number "cards". I have been collecting paper bags from the grocery store so we used that to make our cards. I cut down the center of one side to make to strips of paper.

I then cut the bottom of the bag off to make a paint holder. Save the rest of your bag for another activity later.

I then cut the two strips into six squares or "cards".

As we went through the numbers I wrote the number out. I then showed her how to write the numerical version of the number. Then it was her turn to write the number. For the tougher numbers I made dots and had her connect them.

On the other side of the card I wrote the number out again and had her paint the appropriate number of dots on the card.

She used the left over paint to make a picture. She enjoyed herself. Today we made cards for numbers one through six. We'll work with these cards by placing them around the house. When she sees a card I'll have her do one of the following things: -Count up to that number. -Count as high as she can starting from that number. -Tell me what comes before and after the number.
From what I've read it is important to have children prepared to work with numbers one through twenty before they start kindergarten. What do you think of this activity? 

Pre-School at Home

In an attempt to try not to sound like I'm whining I want to talk about Pre-School and how my child isn't old enough. At first I was very upset that she wouldn't be able to start school. She's ready. After looking up all the schools in our area I learned that the birthday cut off is September 1. Since her birthday falls two weeks after that she wouldn't be eligible for any of the programs this year.

I even looked at putting her in some of the highly recommended private programs. They had programs with curriculums for three year olds, but your child has to be three by September 1. Bummer. I then considered putting her in one of the Mother's Morning Out programs. I figured it would be good for her and she would still be able to learn in a group setting. Once I learned that the MMO program didn't follow a curriculum I decided to take a step back. I was told that the MMO program offers learning through play and that the three year old school is the first time curriculum is offered for students. So, with all that information... I decided that it would be best to continue teaching Savannah at home.

She already participates in activities. We go on play dates and I plan to start taking her to a weekly playgroup once the older kids here go back to school. There is also a program here called Ready Set Learn that's pretty awesome. It's a pre-school type class that meets once a week. We'll be starting that too. My goal is to have her doing something learning related every day. Between the resources that I have available to me thru play groups and Ready Set Learn, her dance class and the activities we'll be doing at home I feel pretty confident in my decision to not put her in a MMO program. Why would I pay for her to go somewhere twice a week when I can get that same learning environment for free? 

I have already started collecting our supplies for our at home learning days. Of course I've been on Pinterest looking up different activities too. I also found a book on Amazon I plan to use as a guide along with a book that I've had since I was a child. I think this will be a good start for us. Here are some of the supplies we have so far. I've been getting paper bags for my groceries for arts and crafts. I love the Leap Frog Learning Skills books for handwriting and worksheet style activities. There are still some things I need to get but I think this is good for now. We already had crayons, paint, playdough, chalk and lots of other art supplies so I didn't have to get much of that. I do however need to stock up on more crafty items like beads, pipe cleaners, colored tissue paper and all those types of materials.

How did you go about getting your little one ready for Pre-K and Kindergarten?