Ending Sounds GAME {online}

Found this really cool new game online for ending sound practice. Check it out...there are tons of other fun activities too! I have an old iPhone 3G and it works great on their. ENJOY!!!!

{click image below to take you to the cite}

Softschools.com

St. Patty's Day Party!

Had our party today at school. I thought I would share some of the things I made and some activities the kids and I did.

Rainbow Fruit Kabobs (Strawberries, Oranges, Pineapples, Green grapes, Blueberries, and Purple Grapes)

Leprechaun Trap (we thought we had him, but he cut a hole in the back and escaped with our gold...little did he know it was FOOLS gold: dried play dough coins painted with gold acrylic paint ;0)

Green Cupcakes (made by one of the parents) and Mini Sugar Cookies
Green Gifts: Green water bottles filled with green candy, green slime, a green pencil & note pad, green gum, all adorned with an Irish flag and shamrock balloon.

With the Luck Charms we did this graph: Lucky Charms Graph
and with the Skittles we sorted them by color and compared the groups in size.
All in a days work!!!

Book Box {Printable Books}

Hi there!!! For those of you who don't know I am a preschool teacher. I have my California Multiple Subjects K-12 Teaching Credential, but instead of teaching public school I opted to teach private preschool so that I could be with my daughter. She is 4 and will be heading off to Kindergarten this August...sigh. For the last year I've been printing easy to read books for the kids. We read the same book every day for a week and then on Friday the kids take it home and put it in their book box that we made in class (just a shoe box decorated with stickers). I ask that the kids (with a parent) read 2 books every night for homework. The kids LOVE the books and can memorize them in one day. I make sure that they are using proper directionality (left to right) and also that they are pointing to each word when it is read as well as using the return sweep when reading multiple lines. This has improved their reading skills tremendously and offers them a chance to use the phonics we've been working on tediously for the last 2 years. They can all pretty much read every book that I've printed on any given day. Now I know they have them memorized, but that's really the first steps into reading. When they read these books they are picking up sight words, learning new vocabulary, understanding that pictures and print contain messages, demonstrating the concepts of print, and starting to acknowledge punctuation. They also are building confidence in learning how to read. It's awesome!!!! I've been teaching the normal California preschool curriculum as well, but these books are an added bonus. There is no greater reward then teaching a child to read!

Here are some links to some fabulous sites that offer FREE printable books.

DLTK Printable Books
Reading A-Z Printable Books
Hubbard's Cupboard Printable Books
Starfall Printable Books
Professor Garfield Alpha Book Printable
Kids Zone Beginning Sound Printable Books
Clarkness.com


There are also other sites I haven't used yet. I only print FREE books,
I don't like to pay for anything if I don't have to. :0)

School Sparks

Dear School Sparks I wish I would have met you sooner!!

I found this awesome website called School Sparks a few weeks ago that has information and worksheets for Preschool and Kindergarten Readiness. I wish I would have known about it sooner because it's AWESOME!!! In teaching preschool I use the California Standards for Pre-K and these worksheets fit into my curriculum perfectly. Thank you School Sparks for offering your worksheets for FREE! As a preschool teacher I don't make a ton of money so having these worksheets that I can print without having to purchase is the icing on my preschool cake. THANK YOU!

Find them on facebook here: School Sparks on Facebook
Come check out their blog: School Sparks Blog

Transportation Theme Idea...

My kids and I did a fun craft last week. We made tracks using toy cars on black paper. We talked about the different patterns in the tracks and how cars have 2 track lines, but a motorcycle only has one track line. They really enjoyed it...and it was a fun new way to paint a masterpiece. If I had to do it again I would use a different color of paint for each car. All you need is cheap cars from the dollar store, washable paint, and construction paper. Easy peasy!!!

Wear ORANGE and support Leukemia Awareness!!!

Come visit my etsy shop @ www.emmaleesboutique.etsy.com and make an ORANGE purchase to support Leukemia Awareness. All the proceeds go to my student and my daughter's best friend who was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. THANK YOU!!!!

FREE {Alphabet Printables}

Just found these awesome alphabet/color by number printables (click image for link)... supplied by A Heart For Home.
Language Arts and Math all wrapped up in one adorable activity!

Christmas Crafts....for the kiddos

Here are some darling Christmas crafts to try with your kiddos.

Source: scrapbooksetc.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: littleilluminations.blogspot.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: unconfidentialcook.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: suite101.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: filthwizardry.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Source: skiptomylou.org via Tari on Pinterest

Source: mydeliciousambiguity.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: squidoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: oopseydaisyblog.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: crafts.kaboose.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Educational Website

THURSDAY {Teach it}

EDUCATION.COM

Do you teach Pre-K or have preschoolers at home? If so this website is AMAZING!!! I use this all the time to print out worksheets or get ideas for my preschoolers, but it covers all grades. Simply visit this link: Education.com, select the grade, then select a subject, and PRESTO you have a ton of FUN stuff for your kiddos. NO NEED TO BUY WORKBOOKS! Oh and did I mention it's FREE!!!!

Thanksgiving {CRAFT IDEAS}

Here are some wonderful, easy to do, and affordable Thanksgiving crafts you can do with your kids. I will definitely be doing some of these with my preschoolers. LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!!!

Source: parents.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Derinda on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Derinda on Pinterest

Personal Tracer Pages for your Preschoolers

Make your own custom tracer pages for your child's name or letter of the week.

DLTK Tracer Page