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: 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.