Learning letter sounds is the first step to being able to read.  Keeping it fun makes kids want to keep doing it!

In our preschool, we have great success with teaching letter sounds to kids by keeping it fun and making it like a game.  Zoo-Phonics makes it simple because they have created letter cards with animals in the shape of the letters.

However, any letter cards will do.  The most important part of the program is getting the kids to move while they make the sound.  I am excited to share with our preschool families, and anyone else who wants to make learning letters fun, the motions we use in our preschool.

Follow this link to watch it on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4skoTANMbM

And keep following us for the games we use for each letter!  Each day we learn a new letter, we have a fun little game to help the kids learn the sound.  Follow us on Facebook, or sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss out on more fun as we publish it.  Learning can be fun!

Sometimes getting kids to line up nicely can feel like you are attempting to herd a bunch of cats.  It's just not something they naturally want to do.

To make this sometimes daunting task easier, we like to use a chime or bell, sing a little song, and get the kids involved.  Getting the kids to be "in charge" always seems to make any task go better.  

Continuing on with our theme of kind children, I wanted to share with everyone a copy of our "Thanks Before Meals" poem.  I really believe that teaching children to wait for everyone to eat, and to pause to be thankful, is so wonderful and important.

By having kids participate in saying thanks before they begin eating, you can easily teach them some wonderful manners.  They need to be aware of everyone else around them before they can even begin the poem - it's wonderful!

This poem will easily work with anyone with any sort of background as you can choose who or what you are thanking!

We also do hand motions with it in class to really keep the little ones engaged.  For food, we do a pretend getting food off a plate with a fork and eating it motion.  The friends so sweet part is done by giving yourself a big hug.  To make a bird, we cross over our thumbs and wiggle our fingers like bird wings.  Finally, to represent love, we make a heart by putting our thumbs together and then curving our fingers around.

You can even choose one child who gets to start the thank you poem.  We always give this job to our Student of the Week.  Then, everyone says it together once that particular child begins it.  If you are doing this at home, you can easily rotate nights or weeks also.!

Raising polite children may be work, but it will be so worth it in the end!  Enjoy the print-ables for your own home or classroom in the links below.  Feel free to pass our little poem along, too!  xoxo

Everyone likes a thankful child, right?  For some children, an attitude of gratitude comes naturally, but for others it must be taught and practiced.

In our classroom, we have a few parts of every day where we encourage the children to pause and be thankful.  These are things that you could easily do in any home or classroom.

Do you have a little one that can't get enough of learning about outer space?  I find that every year this is one of the very most loved science topics in our preschool.  

While there may only be about a month to learn about space in the classroom, you can help your child follow their curiosity anytime with a few of my favorite space toys, books, and educational items below!

For BIG learning fun at home or in the classroom, I highly recommend getting inflatable planets or solar system models to really get their attention and as a fun hands-on learning experience about the planets.  We use the inflatables in class, and the kids just LOVE them.  They would be great hung up on a ceiling, too.  
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If you've been around kids a lot, then you know how there are those moments when you just need to get their attention and keep them busy for a little while.  It might be in a classroom between activities, waiting in a line, waiting for a turn, or maybe you just need to re-focus.

Finger plays are one of the best ways to handle this!  I know there are a ton of websites out there with ideas, but we've tried many of them over the years, and have learned that there are a few that the kids just love and really like to join you.

The next time you need to pass a few minutes of time or re-group for a bit, give one of our favorites a try!  You even get the added bonus of helpful pre-reading skills with rhyme and repetition (woohoo!).

Here are some of our most favorites:​

Welcome!  For over 7 years we have been delighting young minds locally with science and nature. Through this blog, we will now be able to share many of our fun lessons, classroom tips, child development thoughts, tricks for running your own business, and lots of other fun.  I am so glad you are joining us!  We know this will benefit classroom teachers, co-ops, preschools, homeschoolers, enrichment programs, parents for after school time, and many others.  Enjoy!  Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you don't miss any of our free tips, tricks, or lessons.
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