Building short vowel CVC words

Playing a game while eating a snack or a meal, takes the “homework” feel out of teaching literacy. For more Eat Your Words activities follow along on Instagram.

Build Short Vowel CVC Words

Do you sometimes feel like your child needs to go back to the basics to practice foundational spelling rules?  I’m taking it back to the beginning of the phonics sequence for Eat Your Words this week. (Don't miss the free printable.)

Materials:

All you will need is two different color markers and paper.

Steps:

1. First, write all five vowels and cut them out in squares. 

2. Write a few three-letter words, leaving out the vowel. For example, m_p (can become mop or map) c_t can become cut, cat, cot. Others you can try d_b, h_d, l_d, n_p, p_t, r_d, r_g, s_t, t_b, v_t, z_p. Anything works and they even need to be real words! I avoid words that end in n or m because it changes the sound of the short a and can be confusing, but it's still doable if you want to try it. 

3. Let your child move the vowels around and see what words they can make.

4. Finally, draw and spell the words! 

5. If you want to go the extra mile, pair it with a snack that also has a short vowel pair this activity like mixed nuts or Chex Mix.  

Here's what you are teaching (without teaching):  

• Remind kids that short vowel sounds can be held in one breath (unlike long vowels that say their name). Demonstrate a aaaaaaaaple, e eeeeeee elephant, I iiiiiiiiguana, ooooooooctupus, uuuuuumbrella.

• Remind kids that every single word must have a vowel.

Finally, to help kids transfer these vowel sounds into their writing, it's helpful to have a visual in your house. Click the link in my profile to download one for free. 

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Mad Libs

Playing a game while eating a snack or a meal, takes the “homework” feel out of teaching literacy. For more Eat Your Words activities follow along on Instagram.

Who said learning parts of speech needs to be dull? We can all use a laugh right now, so for this week’s Eat Your Words I made a Thanksgiving Mad Libs for you and your family! Download for free without an email address here.

Journals to Keep Kids Writing in Fun Ways

You, Me, We! by Erin Jang. A pack of two journals, one for you and one for your child. Some writing prompts only require a checkmark with two choices, others writing or some with opportunities to draw. Not only will you have the chance to bond with your child, but it will keep them writing while school is out.

This Is How I Do: One Day in the Life of You and 59 Read Kids From Around the World by Matt Lamothe. This journal allows kids to document their daily lives like what they eat for breakfast, where they sleep, and who makes up their family, while learning about these parts of the lives of children around the world. It comes with stickers and postcards to send to friends.

Write On: My Story Journal by Wee Society. From the creators of Me: A Compendium, this journal provides so many different ways to create a story. It prompts little writers with pictures, fill in the blank stories and genre introductions, including poetry and tall tales. Wee Society has lots of options, some that appeal to younger writers than this one, including Yay! A Celbration of You and Go! A Kid’s Interactive Travel Diary and Journal.

The 3 Minute Gratitude Journal For Kids by Modern Kids Press. This journal allows the child to keep track of ways to express gratitude. Each day it prompts the writer to list three things they are thankful for, circle an emotion that displays their feelings, and illustrate their ideas. I believe that keeping track of the things we are grateful for increases our happiness and it’s a great habit for kids to start early.

Just Between Us by Meredith Jacobs and Sophie Jacobs. There is a journal for mom and daughter, mom and son, and between sisters. This journal is geared to older children and will prompt beautiful conversations and allow you to document sweet shared moments.

Ways to improve reading comprehension for kids

My goal as a reading specialist and former social worker is to maintain excitement, confidence, and interest in reading during those years that kids are still learning the mechanics. I care more about a child’s confidence and identity as a learner than their “reading level.”

There are lots of ways to keep kids feeling good about themselves and motivated. One way is to make things easier by helping them organize their thoughts visually. Writing their ideas or drawing them also increases executive functioning skills, which are important and often lacking in today’s digital world. Print these graphic organizers to help your child strengthen comprehension skills and learn the text structure of any story.

This pyramid below shows the five components of reading and how each concept builds on the other to allow children to truly experience a book. Comprehension is the entire point of reading, which might sound obvious. If you picture a beginning reader sounding out words, you will notice that most of our young readers aren’t able to understand what they are reading. Their brains are focused on remembering each letter’s sound. That’s why most kids are learning to read until third grade and then reading to learn after third grade.

If your child is still mastering the mechanics of spelling and reading, they can still utilize the organizers with drawings. If they struggle with writing, write for them. It’s completely ok for a child to focus on practicing one concept like comprehension while you help them with the mechanics. Otherwise, frustration will prevent them from enjoying the purpose of the activity. Let me know how this works for you and your child!

Is My Child on Track? Literacy Milestones from Infancy Through Third Grade

When you become a new parent, there is an overload of information. It seems there are a million markers, tests and charts to ensure your child is on track and the pediatrician is walking right alongside every week to check off your child’s progress. There is a marker for every little hiccup in early childhood, but then when our kids enter school, milestones can feel vague and confusing. It seems you must wait for the report card or progress report to know if your child is progressing.

To provide a little help, I've created a short write-up of literacy milestones to look for and encourage in your child from birth through third grade. You might cringe when kids begin to recognize the C or M for Chick-fil-a and McDonalds because now you are going to need to stop for a snack, but this is actually a positive sign. They are learning to read logos and symbols, and this skill will help them when they learn to match a sound to a letter shape. To get the developmental chart click the link below and I’ll send it to your inbox. As always, let me know if you have any questions or ways that I can help!