Getting Ready for Kindergarten: Summer School at Home, Week 7!
Welcome to Summer School at Home with HeidiSongs, Week Seven! This week I will be sharing my favorite Pinterest "Pins" (pictures posted on Pinterest) that could be used at home or in the classroom to help children learn or prepare for the skills typically taught at the beginning of the year in Kindergarten.
I hope you enjoy it, and that it will help your little ones get ready for Kindergarten! And enjoy the rest of your summer- whatever happens to be left of it!
This is a really great book with a comforting message and a practical strategy for helping kids feel that their parents are still "close by," even when they are not within view.
Here's a neat idea I found on Pinterest that would work great for family names or classroom names alike! It came from the blog called Katie's Nesting Spot. She calls it the Family Name Tracing Book. All you have to do is write each child's name with a dotted line, and put a picture next to it. Laminate it (or even cover it in clear Contact Paper) and then let children practice tracing the names. I would also suggest giving the children another card that has a picture, but has no name to trace so that the child gets used to writing the name on his or her own. I also like having the children match names to pictures! Just make another set of cards with the pictures and names, and cut them apart like puzzle pieces. Mix them up and have the children match the names to the photos by fitting them together.
This great idea is from KatiesNestingSpot.com.
Here's another idea: just put the names and pictures into a dollar store photo album and have the children copy the names with a dry erase marker and erase! Cheap and easy (other than the photos, of course!) The picture below shows math flash cards, but this could be done with any kind of writing, including names, letters, numbers, etc.
This idea is from the website DoItAndHow.com.
My Alphabet Ideas Board on Pinterest is CHOCK-FULL of fun ideas for helping kids learn the letters and sounds! It's one of my favorite boards. Below you will find just a few of the ideas that I like the best.
Okay, I LOVE this idea of having kids make alphabet letters out of Lego or Duplo blocks! And this homeschooling mom is giving these cards away FREE- if you sign up for her email newsletter. Otherwise, they are two dollars. You will also find a pin for her lower case cards on my Alphabet Ideas board as well.
This came from WildflowerRamblings.com. And the cards are FREEEEEEE - (to her email subscribers, anyway!)
Isn't this a sweet picture? Love it! Click here to see this pin on Pinterest from WildflowerRamblings.com.
Here is a really FUN idea from a blog called "Toddler Approved" that I really enjoy! This is written by another homeschooling mom, and I just LOVE her ideas! Ninety percent of the time, they are ideas for active learning that I think would be adaptable to children that are older than toddlers, with very little tweaking. The idea below simply involves writing letters on cars and having the children drive the cars through the paper "tunnels" that have the matching upper or lower case letters. However, you could easily tape or glue a flash card with a picture on it on top of the tunnel to have the child drive the car through the tunnel with the matching SOUND. For example, a child could drive the A car through the Apple Tunnel, and the B car could be driven through the Bear Tunnel. Get it? We have flash cards with small pictures for each letter of the alphabet in our Alphabet Book, Vol. 2 Book.
This idea is from a FANTASTIC blog called Toddler Approved. It has tons of great active learning ideas for young children ages one year old to approximately second grade, I would say (depending on the needs of the child, and how good you are at adapting the given ideas!)
Idea: Take the flash cards from the Volume Two book and put them on a "tunnel" as in the idea above. Have kids drive a car with a letter on it through the tunnel with the matching letter sound.
Also, don't forget to check out our Letters and Sounds CD/DVD. Music and movement is the very best way I know of teaching young children the alphabet, numbers, words, etc.!
Here is a fun and easy idea that I shared at the I Teach K! Conference in Las Vegas! I pinned it here.
This pin from Pinterest has EIGHT great ideas for teaching numbers using toy vehicles! That's always a hit with little boys, that's for sure!
This is a great post from a blog called, "The Measured Mom," who is a teacher that now home schools her children. She posts TONS of very high quality freebies every week. Check it out! It's an AWESOME blog!
This looks like a really fun idea, too! It could be played with tongs or tweezers and any small objects you have around the house. Let your child turn an empty tissue box into a frog or any other kind of hungry creature!
This idea came from KiwiCrate.com!
And for more practice writing numbers, check out our "Counting Creatures!" These cute little monsters and robots could make just about anything seem like fun, I think!
For number writing practice, check out these "Counting Creatures." Fun! This set is especially popular with BOYS!
Here's another fun and easy idea that I found on Pinterest from the Stay at Home Mom Survival Guide. I suggest that if your dots go past ten, circle the sets of ten before adding any more dots. This will help the children count out the dots in sets of ten and then count on from there, which is an important skill that they will need to learn in Kindergarten anyway!
This great idea came from TheStay-at-home-momsurvivalguide.com.
If your kids are past learning 0-10, check out our Counting Creatures, Vol. 2 book, which has pages for learning the numbers 11-20.
And remember to try a little music and movement to help them remember those numbers and shapes, too!
To practice rhyming words, find a book of nursery rhymes and read it with your child. Can your child say any of them aloud without help? If he or she can, that is a good indication that your child is developing a sense of rhyme. You will also find lots of ideas to go with nursery rhymes on my Nursery Rhymes Ideas Pinterest Board here!
And may I just say I LOVE this idea from Mrs. Lee's Kinder Kids blog! You just take a spider ring and put it on a pipe cleaner spout so that it can go up and down. How fun is THAT?
This wonderful idea came from Mrs. Lee's Kinder Kids Blog. Love this!
We also have a Nursery Rhymes CD and DVD here at HeidiSongs!
If you would like to share any more great ideas or pins from Pinterest, I would love to hear them! Please share! :)
-Heidi
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Looking for more learn at home ideas? Check out our previous Summer School at Home with HeidiSongs: Getting Ready for Kindergarten posts for:
Week 1
Click here to see our post on Free Kindergarten - Prep Summer School at Home, Week 1!
Week 2
FREE Kindergarten Prep Summer School at Home with HeidiSongs; Week 2! Please SHARE this valuable information with friends!
Week 3
Click here! FREE Kindergarten - Prep Summer School at Home, Week 3
Week 4
Click here! FREE Kindergarten - Prep Summer School at Home, Week 4!
Week 5
Click here! FREE Kindergarten Prep - Summer School at Home, Week 5!
Week 6
Click here! FREE Kindergarten Prep - Summer School at Home, Week 6!
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I hope you enjoy it, and that it will help your little ones get ready for Kindergarten! And enjoy the rest of your summer- whatever happens to be left of it!
Here's a neat idea I found on Pinterest that would work great for family names or classroom names alike! It came from the blog called Katie's Nesting Spot. She calls it the Family Name Tracing Book. All you have to do is write each child's name with a dotted line, and put a picture next to it. Laminate it (or even cover it in clear Contact Paper) and then let children practice tracing the names. I would also suggest giving the children another card that has a picture, but has no name to trace so that the child gets used to writing the name on his or her own. I also like having the children match names to pictures! Just make another set of cards with the pictures and names, and cut them apart like puzzle pieces. Mix them up and have the children match the names to the photos by fitting them together.
Here's another idea: just put the names and pictures into a dollar store photo album and have the children copy the names with a dry erase marker and erase! Cheap and easy (other than the photos, of course!) The picture below shows math flash cards, but this could be done with any kind of writing, including names, letters, numbers, etc.
My Alphabet Ideas Board on Pinterest is CHOCK-FULL of fun ideas for helping kids learn the letters and sounds! It's one of my favorite boards. Below you will find just a few of the ideas that I like the best.
Okay, I LOVE this idea of having kids make alphabet letters out of Lego or Duplo blocks! And this homeschooling mom is giving these cards away FREE- if you sign up for her email newsletter. Otherwise, they are two dollars. You will also find a pin for her lower case cards on my Alphabet Ideas board as well.
Here is a really FUN idea from a blog called "Toddler Approved" that I really enjoy! This is written by another homeschooling mom, and I just LOVE her ideas! Ninety percent of the time, they are ideas for active learning that I think would be adaptable to children that are older than toddlers, with very little tweaking. The idea below simply involves writing letters on cars and having the children drive the cars through the paper "tunnels" that have the matching upper or lower case letters. However, you could easily tape or glue a flash card with a picture on it on top of the tunnel to have the child drive the car through the tunnel with the matching SOUND. For example, a child could drive the A car through the Apple Tunnel, and the B car could be driven through the Bear Tunnel. Get it? We have flash cards with small pictures for each letter of the alphabet in our Alphabet Book, Vol. 2 Book.
Also, don't forget to check out our Letters and Sounds CD/DVD. Music and movement is the very best way I know of teaching young children the alphabet, numbers, words, etc.!
Here is a fun and easy idea that I shared at the I Teach K! Conference in Las Vegas! I pinned it here.
This pin from Pinterest has EIGHT great ideas for teaching numbers using toy vehicles! That's always a hit with little boys, that's for sure!
This looks like a really fun idea, too! It could be played with tongs or tweezers and any small objects you have around the house. Let your child turn an empty tissue box into a frog or any other kind of hungry creature!
And for more practice writing numbers, check out our "Counting Creatures!" These cute little monsters and robots could make just about anything seem like fun, I think!
Here's another fun and easy idea that I found on Pinterest from the Stay at Home Mom Survival Guide. I suggest that if your dots go past ten, circle the sets of ten before adding any more dots. This will help the children count out the dots in sets of ten and then count on from there, which is an important skill that they will need to learn in Kindergarten anyway!
If your kids are past learning 0-10, check out our Counting Creatures, Vol. 2 book, which has pages for learning the numbers 11-20.
And remember to try a little music and movement to help them remember those numbers and shapes, too!
To practice rhyming words, find a book of nursery rhymes and read it with your child. Can your child say any of them aloud without help? If he or she can, that is a good indication that your child is developing a sense of rhyme. You will also find lots of ideas to go with nursery rhymes on my Nursery Rhymes Ideas Pinterest Board here!
And may I just say I LOVE this idea from Mrs. Lee's Kinder Kids blog! You just take a spider ring and put it on a pipe cleaner spout so that it can go up and down. How fun is THAT?
We also have a Nursery Rhymes CD and DVD here at HeidiSongs!
If you would like to share any more great ideas or pins from Pinterest, I would love to hear them! Please share! :)
-Heidi
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for more learn at home ideas? Check out our previous Summer School at Home with HeidiSongs: Getting Ready for Kindergarten posts for:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
----------------------------------
Follow me! Did you enjoy this post? Do me a favor and share it with your friends! And follow this blog by signing up for my email updates here, or follow on Bloglovin', or follow me on TPT! I'm also on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube, too! Don't forget to sign up for our email newsletter for special deals and promo codes that you won't find out about anywhere else.
