Tutorial Tuesday: Teaching Letter Sounds

Hi! My name is Tammy from 123 Teach With Me. 

I'm so glad Lori invited me to be here!! I'm a teacher of 10 years and love sharing and inspiring other teachers. I think it's so important to build a strong connection between school and home. That's the main reason why I started my blog....to share my ideas with teachers AND parents. A child's success is not possible with only the teacher or only the parent. It's takes both to build a successful student.

Today I'm going to share with you a fun way I teach my own kids beginning letter sounds and practice with finding sounds in words. 

I came up with this when my son started to learn his letter sounds and he loved it!! We played this in the car, outside, and while we were shopping in stores. When I knew we were going play the game, I would give my son a magnifying glass and tell him we were going on a "hunt". It might be a good idea to keep a hand lens in your purse or bag so if they ask to go "hunting" you will be ready. He always loved to have his own lens to carry along while he was "hunting" because he thought it was funny the way things looked.

The song with this game goes to the tune of "A Hunting We Will Go" Here it is....

A hunting we will go

A hunting we will go

"B" is the sound we're listening for

A hunting we will go

**When they find something that begins with that sound sing...

Bat begins with "B" (make the sound)

Bat begins with "B"

Bat begins with "B B" (make the sound twice)

A hunting we will go.

When we returned home or finished the game, I would get this sheet out (pic below) where we would talk about what we saw that day and I would write down the words. Again, a sheet protector is great so you can easily erase the letter with a tissue and start with a new letter the next day.

This is a quick activity that your children or students will love!! You can also alter this for whatever sounds you are finding in words; ending sounds, blends, digraphs, long vowels, short vowels or just simply finding the actual letter....any specific phonetic skill will work! All children love a little song and I know they will really enjoy this!

Thanks for reading! 

 

Tutorial Tuesday: Learning Air Pollution in Preschool

Today's guest post is from Brenna from Brenna Phillips: Children's Ministry, Education and Life. Please take a moment to visit her blog and make a comment!

Learning Air Pollution in Preschool 

During Recycling week and studies on Earth Day, the preschool students learned about the importance of keeping the air clean.

They drew pictures on black bulletin board paper. There were pictures of flowers, the sun, and even some letters of the alphabet. Then we took the black paper outside and sprinkled baby powder on it. Yuck. It made a mess out of the students’ nice pictures.

We tried to shake the powder off the paper. It didn’t come off. We turned the paper over and tried to wipe the powder off on the grass. It only smeared it and didn’t come off.

The students were able to see how air pollution messes up good things. They learned the importance of keeping the air clean. We talked about factories with smoke stacks that cause air pollution and how that smoke sometimes makes our air yucky to breathe and not healthy for our lungs.

Calling All Guest Bloggers!

Good Morning everyone! It's another Tuesday here at Cachey Mama's Classroom and I have some news! The winning idea for my new feature based on the poll results is Tutorial Tuesday. Now, I need lots of volunteers to be guest bloggers. I am totally okay with previous posts you have written that include a tutorial about how to do something kid-related or classroom-related. I am open to many ideas, so try me! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE e-mail me (cacheymama@gmail.com) with your ideas and pass this on to anyone else you know who may be interested. Thanks!!!

Vote for my new feature!

As you may have noticed, I have concluded my Wishlist Wednesday feature. But, I miss guest bloggers, so I am working on coming up with something new for Tuesdays. You can help me decide. The 3 ideas I came up with are Tutorial Tuesday, Top Ten Tuesday, and Teaching Tip Tuesday. Please take a moment to vote in the poll at the top of my right sidebar.Your input will be very useful to me. Also, if you are interested in guest blogging when I get this all up and running, please e-mail me: cacheymama@gmail.com  Thanks for your participation!

Wishlist Wednesday: H is for Homeschooling

This week's wishlist is provided by Sierra from H is for Homeschooling. I am so excited to finally have her guest post. I have gotten to know her blog pretty well, mostly through linky parties! Please drop by and leave her a comment on her amazing site! I know you will find some great treasures there, I always do!

Hi Cachey Mama's Classroom, Readers! I'm Sierra from H is for Homeschooling, and I am so glad to be a guest blogger for Lori today! This series is a fun way to look ahead and hope for the best, both things I enjoy doing. My Hubby-Man and I have two amazing little boys- "Boogie", who is almost 2.5 and "Bam Bam" who is 9 months old. I started "tot school" with Boogie at the end of the summer, which is also when I started blogging. I wanted to remember our homeschooling journey from the beginning, and blogging is a great way to make memories and join a community. The way we do tot school has developed and changed over the past 7 months, and we are currently in a period of child-led play more so than structured play. This is what works for Boogie right now, so I am making it work for me too, even though I have a background as an English teacher and really like structure. Someday, when the train table is put away, I will cry for these slow, unstructured days and miss them. Even knowing that, I do daydream about our future classroom. In the wee small hours of the morning, when I am feeding my littler one, I catch up on my Google Reader feed and often see posts featuring homeschool classrooms. Since we mostly do tot school in the kitchen on the floor, and because my supplies are in diaper boxes in the laundry room, or spread throughout the kitchen in various boxes and cabinets, my wishlist item is a homeschool classroom. I don't ask for much, do I?!

Here are the top 3 spaces I love, and why.

Source: 1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com via Sierra on Pinterest

I love this classroom from 1+1+1=1 because of all the wide open space, the storage space (closets and bookcases), and the fact that each child and their mom has their own work area. The only downside is that there are no windows.

Source: homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com via Sierra on Pinterest

I love this classroom from Homeschool Creations because it is so bright and sunny!! I also love the ceiling, the window seat and reading area, the color on the walls, as well as the wide open space, and the separate learning spaces for each child (there is also a table they use for working together) and their mom.

Source: confessionsofahomeschooler.com via Sierra on Pinterest

I love this classroom from Confessions of a Homeschooler because of the windows, the giant shared table, and the incredible organization. There are also a lot of great things hanging on the walls, like the map and alphabet banner you can see in this picture, but there is also a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree and a huge whiteboard.

So, if anyone wants to buy me a house with a spare room that is huge and has lots of windows and a couple closets, my family would be much obliged :P

Thanks, Lori, so much for letting me come over here and share my wish!

Wishlist Wednesday: Crazy for First Grade

Introducing, this week's guest blogger... With over 2000 followers and a Teachers Pay Teachers store you will adore, it's Anna from Crazy for First Grade. Make sure you stop by her blog to check out all her wonderful first grade ideas!

Hey there, I'm Anna Brantley over at Crazy for First Grade. I was SO excited when Lori contacted me to be a Wishlist Wednesday guest blogger here! I'm currently the mom to an almost 3 year old son and a public school first grade teacher to 21 amazing students in Watkinsville, Georgia! It didn't take me long at all to know what was #1 on my classroom wishlist. Earlier this year, I went to a technology fair and discovered the SMART Table. I'm talking love at first sight, y'all!! The SMART Table is the very first multiuser/multitouch technology tool that allows groups of students to interact and work simultaneously on one surface. With around a $7,000 price tag {OUCH!}, I knew it was a wishlist item right away, but was still just thrilled to be able to play around with it for a little while!!!

So, what does a SMART Table do & why do I want one?? 

• Multiple students can interact with the SMART Table at the same time on the table’s multitouch screen surface. That's right, more than one finger at a time to manipulate objects!! 
•  It's perfect for an engaging learning center or small group activity. 
• It comes with eight awesome applications – Multiple Choice, Hot Spots, Paint, Media, Addition, Puzzle and more. Using the tool kit, you can customize & create activities by changing backgrounds, questions, and images. For example, you can create themed activities for any of the applications to match them to any SMART Notebook lesson activity or Senteo/Response question set. 
• You can find tons of free & ready to use SMART Table activities on SMART Exchange! I love that many of the activities involve categorizing and sorting. 
• You can use a Document Camera with the table. 
• It's portable, but can also be locked in place. 
• Last but not least, it's super FUN and a fabulous way to incorporate technology to meet the needs of your students. 

 Check it out for yourself!!

   

 Thanks again, Lori, for letting me share my wishlist item!!! 

Anna Brantley

Wishlist Wednesday: Taming My Flock of Firsties

Hi! It's Beth Ann from Taming My Flock of Firsties.

I feel so fortunate to be asked by Lori to be a guest on her blog. 

{{{BLUSH}}}

When we first took on Guided Reading, so many years ago, our school bought so many books in every level. We have a book room with thousands of books. I wish that we could have all the books leveled the same. Some are Reading Recovery Levels and some are Fountas and Pinnell. When we go to borrow books, we have to look up the corresponding levels for each book. I know it's something little, but it would save me that little bit of time. :)


I would LOVE one of THESE pencil sharpeners.

I have seen them mentioned on many different blogs. My kids are obsessed, as I am sure they all are, with the electric pencil sharpener. It doesn't work correctly. We actually have two in one area. They have to begin with one and finish with the other. Not distracting at all!


Another thing I wish we had in our classroom was a real rug. Ours is actually carpet squares, duct taped together, into a big rectangle. I know it serves it's purpose and we get along just fine, but it would be so nice to sit on a real rug to have our Morning Meeting.


Thank you to Lori for letting me post. 
I had so much fun thinking of things I wanted. 

Wishlist Wednesday: Filling our Bucket

This week's guest blogger is from Filling our Bucket, an awesome mommy blog that you have to check out. This mommy has so many ideas and shares her everyday experiences with her family. So stop on by and enjoy!

 

A wish for for my baby boy.

I love watching my son grow and play everyday. I love watching him learn through his play as he discovers new things in the world around him. Whether it be new skills - like standing up on his own, or realizing something new about a toy - such as the fact the ball not only rolls, but bounces too, watching him learn and grow is one of the greatest joys of being a mom.

When I was pregnant, I dreamed about what my little boy would look like, be like. Would he have my chin? Would he take after Daddy and be a sports fanatic? Would he love music, like Mommy? One of the biggest dreams - and hopes - I had, was that he would be an avid reader, like me.

Reading has always been one of my greatest and most beloved hobbies. And recently, my little boy has shown more and more interest in reading and books. Our nightly reading has gone from one book to three. When he plays in our living room, after a while he will always make a crawling beeline for his little bookshelf and pull a book out to look at. Whenever he does, I take advantage of the opportunity to get down on the floor with him, pull him onto my lap and read to him. As I do, he stares in awe at the pages, the pictures. He will, every once in a while, look up at me with this big smile on his face and then, look back at the book with the same smile. With some books, such as his nightly readings, he knows when the page has ended, and he will turn to the next himself, or look at me expectantly as if to say, "What happens next, Mommy??"

My wish for my son is that he continue to grow in his love of learning, but in particular in his love of reading. I wish for him to let reading expand his imagination, his horizons and his experiences with our world. As he grows older, I wish for reading to be something we can continue to share together as mother and son. A shared love, within a shared life.

Thank you Lori, for having me as a guest blogger today!

Wishlist Wednesday: Teachy Marie

This week's guest blogger, Katie, is very new to blogging, but has wonderful ideas! Please support her by becoming a follower on her blog and leaving some comments! You can check out Teachy Marie by clicking below:

Hello there!! I am the proud author of the new teaching blog Teachy Marie!  I’m just getting started with my blogging and was so surprised and excited to be asked to write a guest post for Cachey Mama’s Classroom!  I feel so very honored to help Lori out!  I love her ideas and she is such a great “sharer” with all her lessons!

I am new this year to PreKinders, so I have a very extensive wish list for my seemingly bare classroom!  Our school has Smart Boards on rollers that we can check out from the Library, however we don’t have enough projectors or laptops to hook up to them.  So most of our Smart Boards are collecting dust in the storage room.  Even when we can check one out, we have at least four cords that are up to 30 feet long, 25 kids ducked down on the floor so the projector that’s sitting on a desk can project over their heads to the smart board.  Heaven forbid someone accidentally knock the desk or Smart Board and require reformatting!

So now that you know where I’m coming from, I can tell you what my number one item is on my classroom wish list!

You guessed it… the new iPad 2.  I would love to be able to show my kiddos interactive stories and videos, on a screen big enough for everyone to see, while still able to hold it in my hand during our circle time!  My kids love watching/listening to songs/nursery rhymes on my computer, however my computer is about 10 years out of date, and usually cannot run very long without shutting itself down.  I think the iPad would help improve all aspects of my lessons as well as allowing me to teach in the 21^st century!  The possibilities are truly endless!

Huge thanks to Lori for asking me to be her guest for today!  I’m always looking for new followers, so please stop by for some center ideas at Teachy Marie!

Wishlist Wednesday: Patience, Puppsters, and Pre-K

This week's guest post is from Jessica who is a beginner Pre-K blogger. Please take a moment to click on her blog and become a follower. She has some awesome photos of her classroom. Jessica also shares a lot of experiences with her first year of teaching Pre-K including some great tips. Enjoy!


Hi, this is Jessica Cobb from Patience, Pupsters, and Pre-K. Thank you so much to Cachey Mama for letting me be a guest blogger. I am a third year teacher, but a first year pre-k teacher. If you happen to make your way over to my blog please excuse the lack of updates. Pre-K has ended up being more challenging than I expected, and blogging, which is also new for me, has taken a bit of a back seat. I’ll try to do better!

Now, here are the things that I am DYING to have for my classroom. Anybody out there may feel free to donate. HA!

1. I desperately want an iPad 2 for my room. Honestly, it would be completely used for work. I already have a slew of my own Mac products to use for personal stuff. I can just think of SO many fabulous things I could do with one of those beauties in my room. The apps! The music! The centers! Portfolios! The possibilities are endless…

 

2. A guinea pig. In Georgia, we are required to have "something living for the children to care for" in the room. Initially I was completely opposed to the idea of a classroom pet other than fish, and my peace lily currently fulfils our “something living” requirement quite nicely. However, I discovered Petsmart’s Pets in the Classroom teacher grant that gives the money for a pet and habitat. Your choices, should you be approved, are for a guinea pig, hamsters, reptiles, or fish. Well reptiles are gross and they freak me out. Last year my second grade class had a bad experience with fish. I also had hamsters as a kid. Guinea pigs are new and exciting, and according to many other teachers online, they make excellent class pets. Just look at how adorable they are! I want. I want. I want. However, we are afraid that my beagle would also want, want, want. Obviously our guinea friend would have to come live at my house over long breaks and summer, and I'm not so sure it would survive in our house. So alas, we will continue to be a peace lily classroom :(

 

3. A reading loft. My classroom is quite limited on space, and we are required to have a lot of stuff. I wish I could have a reading loft to simply provide more space! I also think it would really encourage the kids to go to the reading and listening centers more often. I remember having a reading loft when I was in kindergarten, and we all thought that it was pretty much the greatest thing we’d ever seen.

There are obviously several other things that I could add, but for now those are the three biggies. What are some things you want for your classroom?