Wondering what it takes to teach your child to read?

How do you know when your child is ready? 

Are you worried about turning them off of reading, or butting heads as you begin the process?

Teaching your child to read may feel overwhelming. There are a lot of moving parts. 

As a resource teacher working with children and teachers, I was able to lean in on others’ classrooms and get a ton of great ideas. These teachers inspired me to raise the bar, and one, in particular - the Reading Recovery teacher - had a profound impact on my practice with her simplified tools to teach reading.

She had a giant tickletrunk of tools - many of them very playful and hands-on -  and I couldn’t help myself from eavesdropping every time she did a lesson. These struggling kids learned to read SO QUICKLY - with confidence, ease and fluency. 

I took stock of the strategies she used, and started to test them out in my own practice, and later on with my own girls. I was...

 Many homeschool parents are eager to teach their littlest children to learn to read.

But did you know there are several FOUNDATIONAL skills your child needs to master before ever picking up a book or even learning their letters and their sounds?

In this video and article, we're talking about the FUNDAMENTAL pre-cursor to teaching reading, and it has very little to do with letters, sounds or phonics. In fact, research says this skill is the SINGLE BIGGEST PREDICTOR for future reading success.

Can you guess what It is? 

Phonemic awareness.

And in this article, I'm sharing five playful, prep-free ways you can build this skill every day, so that your child becomes a fluent, skilled reader.

What exactly is phonemic awareness?

At its very core, phonemic awareness is your chid’s ability to PLAY with language. 

Phonemic awareness is not phonics. 

Phonemic awareness is AUDITORY and does not involve letters or words in print.

It is the ability to...

Do you wonder exactly HOW to teach your child to write {without butting heads / bribery or boring worksheets} in your homeschool?

Where do we start?

What does writing in the early years even look like? How does it fit into a Reggio-Inspired approach?

How much is too much? And do we push them, even when they resist?

Teaching writing is part art and part science. It requires a set of tools and a bit of knowledge about how kids develop and learn. When I taught in my Reggio-Inspired Kindergarten, I learned some pretty amazing tricks of the trade. Through my years of experience teaching hundreds of children - many of them reluctant - I honed my teacher toolbox with tried-and-true strategies. This article and video share some of my "teacher hacks" - a set of concrete tools to help make teaching writing easier for you, and more fun for them. 

“Writing floats on a sea of talk.” - James Britton

Oral language precedes the written word....

Parents of preschoolers and little ones: ready to bust boredom, and inject some creativity and artful learning into your homeschool day? 

Young kids are built to move, to create and build  - and that's exactly what these unconventional supplies encourage.

Weave these unexpected, inexpensive supplies into everyday learning to up-level the fun-factor in your homeschool program!

For those of you who enjoy hearing AND seeing, be sure to check out the full video above!

1. India Ink

A beautiful medium for creating strong, punchy bold lines, India Ink is a unique tool to create expressive portraits,  working BIG on easel paper, or creating fun script, alphabet letters and numbers. Available on Amazon or Michaels, I offer a BIG disclaimer: India Ink is highly staining. So get outside, and don those big sloppy smocks!

2. Sharpie

Fine-line Sharpie markers are not for the faint of heart,...

If creating a beautiful, bright and organized space for learning is on your wish list, read on!

In schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the space that surrounds children is given a lot of consideration. It's not just about "decor" to make it look pretty, or "organization" of stuff. It's so much more.

The Italian word ambiente (amˈbyentē) is used in Reggio schools to describe the textures, the colours, the smells, the feel, the vibe you get when you enter a space. Ambiente is so important, that the environment is considered the child's third teacher in a Reggio Emilia-inspired world.

Why is so much attention given to the space that surrounds our children in the world of Reggio?

When we create an environment that respects children as learners and full of potential, they in turn respect their environment and view themselves as capable, competent and full of potential. 

 
They understand that this is a place where they are...

If you're looking for ideas to inspire your kids to read and write, you're going to LOVE this DIY bookmaking project! 

Often, young children need a little warming up, a little prompting when it comes to getting pen to paper  - especially if they suffer from perfectionistic tendencies, and want to get it just right.

Bookmaking opens a world of writing inspiration. A beautiful handmade book BEGS to be filled with your child's ideas, stories and pictures.

I like to think of bookmaking as the intersection of emergent literacy and art-making. A truly winning combination.

An autobiography is a wonderful starting point, because your child is sharing facts about his life. They're also a beautiful way to catch a glimpse of how your child see himself in the world, and the things that are most important to them.

Construct the book with the instructions inside the video at the top of this post.

Once the structure is completed, your book is ready to...

What is an atelier?

How does the atelier foster our kids' creativity and self expression?

How can we create our own mini-atelier in our own home, and what materials should be included?

In Reggio Emilia, Italy, the atelier is like the beating heart of the classroom. 

A dedicated space for art-making, long-term projects and creative exploration through a variety of rich art media, accessible to children to represent their ideas, provoke creative thinking, and show understanding through their one hundred languages.

How might we bring the magic of the Atelier home?

What kinds of tools should we include, and how can they be organized to foster independence and creative exploration for our own children?

Designating a dedicated space for creating sends a message to our children that art is valued, and that they are valued as artists.

This can be a special nook, corner or area of...

Valentine's Day is a special day that captures the hearts {and sweet-teeth} of our children, and is a day that holds so much possibility for dialogue about love, kindness and friendship.

Children of all ages love to receive and create their own handmade Valentines, and inside my latest YouTube video, I'm sharing several {new!} process-art techniques for creating Valentines cards for sharing, and ways to extend these invitations to include beginning writing.

 But how do we extend our children's Valentine's art to also encourage writing?

Begin with mind-mapping exercises (brainstorming), where you create a bubble map of children's ideas about love / kindness / friendship.

Some ideas for brainstorming:

• People we love
• What is Love?
• What does kindness look like / sound like / feel like?
• What does it mean to be a good friend?

These brainstorming moments are a great way to initiate our kids' prior knowledge. This...

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a Reggio-Inspired classroom?

Do you dabble with the approach - injecting the odd provocation here and there, experimenting with emergent curriculum, but also enjoy a more predictable, structured {planned} curriculum?

Have you wondered how to meet all the academic outcomes, but also how to balance a child-centred, curiosity-driven approach?  What are the rhythms and routines? How does learning “happen?” What does a typical schedule look like?

I’m also sharing my {somewhat controversial} stance - as someone who straddles the line between a traditional, teacher-directed approach with a more Reggio-inspired, child-centred approach. The "sweet spot" where wonder meets rigour.

I used to struggle with internal questions like:

"Is this inquiry-enough?"
"Is this artsy/playful/natural enough?"
"Does this spark enough joy/wonder/creativity?" 

More recently, however, I have finally become comfortable in my...

Are you looking for fun, easy and inexpensive ways to ring in the New Year - with kids??

For the past several years, we've included our own children in New Years Eve festivities. 

Our tradition has been to gather with a few other families for an evening of kid-friendly games and activities. My friend {a fellow Kindergarten teacher} has always been a gracious host, and prepares the most fun games for our kids.

I'm sharing some fun, easy and inexpensive ways to keep your kids happily entertained as we ring in 2023! 

*All of the printables, labels, done-for-you-games are available to download in one package here.

1. Celebration Kits

These kits are a fun way to get kids excited about the evening. Inside, is a simple collection of Dollar-store goodies, homemade crafts and edible treats.  They include balloons, noisemakers, fancy necklaces, glow bracelets, crowns, and a bag of edible "Midnight Kisses." 

The "Celebration Sparkle Dough" that's inside was inspired...