why maybe, just maybe, you might consider blogging. . .

Please forgive my diversion. . .

I'm a rookie blogger. I'm a rookie blogger, and I'm totally proud of it.

I'm new to the online communities, to Twitter, to avatars, to comment-leaving, widgets, and gadgets. I have too much to learn, and my site is too basic to even come close to competing with some of these incredible, seasoned, pro-blogging mom sites. Yet I love what I have created and couldn't be more proud of it. Never in a million years did I think I would be changing html codes or be researching 2 vs 3 column layouts.

And that's why I love being a part of this new and exciting community of talented, intelligent women. The sky's the limit for what I can do with it, and I'm ready to take off. The blogging community has received me with open arms; my rudimentary questions are answered quickly by friends I've yet to meet, and people oceans away leave me meaningful feedback for my blog posts. Blogging friends share their lives, their struggles, their joys, and dreams. In the lines of their posts, I've found products that work, ways to save money, tools to keep my life running smoothly, and the amazing truth that most of us have more in common than not.

My own community--family, friends, neighbors, and friends of friends--are becoming my best cheerleaders and frequent blog-readers. They look forward to my posts and talk about what I've written, what the "blogs worth your time" have posted, and how my own ideas worked with their children.

It's been more reward than I ever thought possible; my world has opened up in a way I never could have imagined, and it just keeps on getting better. I'm enjoying the ride.

This post was written not only to share my new-found blog love, but to try to just maybe, maybe, maybe send my tiny blogging self to the BlogHer Annual Conference in Chicago this July, 2009. If I win, I'd be the event's chief correspondent for Mabel's Labels blog. Hard to believe, hard to imagine, but it would be totally and completely amazing if the unbelievable happens and I do win this very cool contest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed; anything is possible--and talk about the learning I'd be doing in Chicago with a bunch of expert bloggers. . . .

1, 2, 3. . . number boxes!

Numbers, numbers, numbers. I'm not a math person--it's just not how I'm wired--so I constantly have to remind myself to work on number learning with my little ones and not to focus entirely on letters and reading. Today, I tried to make that my focus: numbers. We first made visual representations of each number, using--of course--none other than the beloved Foamies that my little ones never seem to grow tired of and then we worked on number writing with watercolors later in the day.

• Number Chart: Maddy, Owen, and Cora each picked out a piece of colored paper, and I folded each of their papers so that Maddy's and Owen's showed 8 boxes and Cora's had 3.

I numbered and outlined the boxes, and said, Okay, each of these boxes needs a special number of Foamies. The number the box needs is written right here (pointed to the top of the box). How many Foamies does this first box need? You got it. One. Pick out one Foamie and put it in the box. Now how about this (pointed to second one) one? . . .

I really worked with Cora on hers, but Maddy and Owen did fine independently. They were both really proud to show off their finished work. When Owen stuck in an extra snowball in his eighth box, I said, Okay, let's check our work. (Maddy counted hers out loud first, then Owen.) When we reached the error, I said, Something is not quite right. Look at the number on top of the box, then count again to double-check. He did, and he found his error. Self-checking by children to find mistakes can be more beneficial than a parent or teacher pinpointing errors.

Here are some variations of this same activity that I may try in the next few weeks. I may:

1. Get a poster board and make any number of spaces, then challenge my kiddos to hunt for things small enough to fit in each box. We have so many Matchbox cars, tiny dinosaurs, bouncy balls, and doll shoes, that it would be fun to see what they can round up and put in each box. And they'd love that the poster was huge compared to their normal-sized sheets.
   
2. Make a number "splash" by writing numbers 1-10 on separate sheets of paper, then dropping them around the room. That way, each child be "own" a certain number and put the given number of objects or toys around it. It would be fun to put the numbers in order at the end. This method is a bit more difficult but is worth a try down the road.

It was very simple, didn't take much time at all, and could be varied according to each of my little students--a perfect fit for our little bit of learning today!

who is teach mama?

A Reading Specialist and High School English Teacher, Amy is married to an amazing man and is raising three of the most awesome kids in America.

She is a Literacy Consultant, working with area schools to help train their Reading Teachers and design their Literacy Programs. She also tutors students, ranging from pre-K through grade 12, several evenings a week; she assesses students' reading abilities, and she creates a goal-driven plan to help them meet with success in English and Reading.

She views her position as a stay-at-home mom with a strong background in education as an opportunity to help out her pals by sharing with them some of the "insider secrets" of teaching to use on their own children.

Hoping to create an easy way for parents to interact with the bloggers they read and for parents--and teachers--to share their super-cool ideas without going through the trouble of starting a blog, Amy developed we teach. A sort of 'virtual teachers' lounge', we teach has grown quickly and steadily in a very short time, and is a place for everyone to learn, share, and grow.


Amy's goals for the New Year? Clarity. Focus. Simplicity. Contentment.

Her impetus for this blog? Sharing with friends and family how she tries to sneak in some sort of learning for her own children in the every day. Nothing super-fancy, expensive, or complicated--just learning through meaningful time and play together.

Her kiddos? Here's the skinny:


Maddy

Owen

Cora


_______________________________________

today we built an A. . .and a B. . .and a C. . .

We broke open a new toy today, one given to us for Christmas, and it is a definite keeper. It's simple, well-made, and I wish, wish, wish that I would have thought of it first. Hooray for you, Sara Midda!

• How to build an A: An alphabet book by Sara Midda: The premise of this book is remarkably basic--with eleven white foam blocks, children literally "build" the letters of the alphabet. The layout and language of this book is simple; for example, the left-hand page says, A is for apple, and the opposite page has a watercolor picture of an apple. The format is the same for each of the 26 letters. Throughout the book are little tiny sweet-faced people who show readers how they can create each letter using the foam blocks, just like on the cover of the book.

Maddy and Owen took turns making each letter, using the book as a reference and helping each other along the way. The book was out all day long, and although Cora did bite on one of the blocks (two year molars on their way, maybe?), they seem like they'll hold up through wear and tear of our house. It's a really cool concept, and the blocks will (hopefully) stay together in the handy net bag that came with the set.

Later in the day, I found Owen relaxing on the living room floor, just building letters by himself. How awesome is that?

Any way that children can learn to create the letters of the alphabet is worth exploring, but a method where children actually physically create letters can be much more beneficial than completing pages in a workbook or playing a game on the computer--especially for our kinesthetic learners, or those who learn by doing. Also, this way children are forced to recognize the similarities in letters--how the E resembles the F, the F the T, the T, the I, etc. If you don't have this cool set, it might also be done using Play-doh, strips of paper, Wikki Stix, and even some sets of building blocks.

And there's just a glimpse into our learning for today--

my favorite online stops

Here are some of my favorite sites.

Share and enjoy, and if you think I missed one, drop me a line. I'd be more than happy to add to the list; I'm always on the hunt for the best stops on the web.

(This is a work in progress and is taking me soooo long to finish--there are so many awesome blogs to add!)

Please--if you would like to be added, drop me a note and let me know!

Teaching Blogs:

• ABC and 123
• Adventures of a Flake
• A Mommy's Adventures
  
• Chasing Cheerios
  
• Explorations
• Hubbard's Cupboard
• Itty Bitty Bookworm (and Raising Itty Bitty Bookworms blog)
• Let's Explore
  
• No Time for Flashcards
• Superheroes and Princesses
  
• one pink fish
• The Activity Mom
  
• Mama to 3 Blessings
• PreKinders
• Teach Preschool
  

Reading (and searching for the best books) Blogs:

• Moms Inspire Learning
• Literacy Launchpad
• The Almost Librarian
• Jen Robinson's Book Page
• Imagination Soup
• Chatel Village
  
• Book Dads
  
• Everyday I Write the Book
• Librarian by Day
• Reading Rockets
  
• Scrub-a-Dub Tub
  
• Share a Story--Shape a Future
• The Book Chook
  
• The Reading Zone
• Picture This! Teaching with Picture Books
• Links To Literacy / Literacy Toolbox
• Playing by the Book
  

Crafting Blogs:

• One Crafty Place (site is closed, but it's still worth checking!)
  
• Pink and Green Mama
• PaintCutPaste
  
• Frugal Family Fun
  

Cooking Blogs:

• Andrea's Recipes
• A Spiced Life
• A Year of Slow Cooking
  
• Cookie Girl Creations
  

Hanging (in the DC Metro Area) Blogs:

• A Parent in Silver Spring
• Out by Ten
• CultureCapital
  

Talking Technology (and more!) Blogs:

• Tech Savvy Mama
• techmamas
  

Parenting Blogs:

• BananaBlueberry
• Caffeinated
• Jodifur
• Just Fergie
  
• Laundry for Six
• Mommy Niri
• Mrs. Mo's New Jersey
  
• Musings of a Housewife
• Resourceful Mommy
  
• Smiling Mama
• Stimeyland
• Toddler Planet
  
• To The Max
  
• Where's My Cape?
• Wife and Mommy

Law & Politicking Blogs (and more!):

• PunditMom
• MamaLaw
  

Saving Money Blogs (and more!):

• A Few Short Cuts
  

Fashion/ Style Blogs:

• Mom Generations
  

Blogging (as a Collective) Blogs:

• Silicon Valley Moms Group
• Silicon Valley Moms Blog
• Chicago Moms Blog
• DC Metro Moms Blog
  
• NYC Moms Blog
• Ohio Moms Blog
• 50-Something Moms Blog
• New Jersey Moms Blog
  
• Deep South Moms Blog
• LA Moms Blog
• Rocky Mountain Moms Blog
• Philadelphia Moms Blog
• Canada Moms Blog
  

Cool Online Resources Worth Checking Out:

• Free Homeschool Printables
  
• FreePrintable.com

• Lightening Bug Learning: USA made books, flashcards, learning games and more to inspire, teach, and engage your child. Shop now!
  

valentine's day hearts & big, pig, FIG!

Snow! Snow! Snow! Today was our first official Snow Day of the year, so our house was abuzz with energy! Mom was home! Woo-hoo! (But what's new?) Dad was home!! Hooray! On a Tuesday! When he was supposed to be at work! Yipppeee!! Everyone was happy!

I had to think fast and channel their excitement quickly into some learning for the day, before boots, hats, and snow pants were soggy and sledding tired out my bambinos. So we decorated for Valentine's Day (I'm a sucker for holiday decorating, and my children love to do it!), and then during snack time, we built words.

• Valentine's Day Hearts: My moms' group made these at our meeting this month to use as decorations for a dinner we hosted for the families at The Children's Inn at NIH. They were easy to make, and they really made the Inn look beautiful and festive. So I picked up some contact paper this week, and here's what we did: I taught Maddy and Owen how to make a heart by folding construction paper in half (how fun!), and they cut the hearts I traced. Then we cut red, white, and pink tissue paper, leftover plastic goodie bags, and silver sparkles up into tiny pieces. We put the heart on the sticky side of contact paper, then carefully placed the tiny pieces of pretty paper in the center. When we were finished, we put another piece of contact paper over the whole thing and cut around the edges. We put them on the windows, and they looked awesome, especially against the falling snow. Cora loved picking out which tissue paper she wanted in the center of her hearts, and it was a great activity for scissor practice for Maddy and Owen. All preschoolers need scissor practice. . .
  

During our morning snack, an opportunity for a little word building arose, since my children love to examine the packages of their foods for words they know. I think it was a box of 'Corn Pops' a few months back that started it--Maddy read 'pops' and so the fun began.

• Word Building: It was the package of Fig Newtons that started it today. I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora if they could read any of the words on the package, and no one said a word. Their mouths were full.

  So I put the word, pig, on the fridge with some magnetic letters we always keep nearby. Maddy mumbled, "pig!" So I asked what words rhymed with pig. Owen called out, "big! . . . dig!" I repeated big and dig, then moved the "p" from pig and replaced it with a "b". I sounded the new word out, "bbbb ig." They chimed, "big!" We did the same thing with dig.
  

I said, "Now look at our snack and see if you can find a word you know." Here was our secret learning for today: everyone yelled, "FIG!"

Maddy asked to "build" more words, so we did. I put up the word cat, and we played with the -at family, then I placed Dad on the fridge, and we played with the -ad family. Then, before I knew it, snack was over, and winter clothes were on.

The above example is one method of helping children learn patterns and how patterns can help them read. It seems very simple, but it's so important to model-- Change the first letter of a word you know, and you have a new word: to-do; Dad-had; come-some; get-let; Mom-Tom; went-sent.

Cunningham, P. (2000). Phonics they use: Words for reading and writing. New York: Longman.

trying to keep smiling: quick trick, choices

Once an awhile, instead of sharing what secret little lesson I've stuck into our day, I'm going to share a Quick Trick that works (more often than not) for me or for one of my pals. Some days, as most parents know, things just don't go the way you'd hoped and it's all you can do to make it through the day. This parenting thing is tough, and there's no rest for the weary. So my Quick Trick might focus on anything from parenting to preschool, healthy habits to a happy household. Most likely, I've stolen the idea from someone, somewhere else and made it my own; teachers are the best, most practiced thieves.

So here we go. . .

This May Change Your Life:
(okay, or maybe just a tiny part of it)

• Give children two positive choices as a way of setting limits. Here is the formula:

1. You may ____ or _____.
   
2. What is your choice?
3. You chose ____!
   

• For older children, try:
  

1. Feel free to ____ or ____. OR,
   
2. Which of these options would be better for you, ____ or ____?
   

• When Owen doesn't want to get dressed in the morning, I try: Hmmmm, what will Owen choose to put on first, his pants or his shirt? Awesome! He chose to put on his shirt first this morning!
  

• When we're leaving a friend's house: I wonder if Maddy will choose to put on her coat or her boots first. . . Yesterday she put on her boots first. What will she choose today? . . .
  

• When we're trying to clean up: Will Owen choose to put away these cars first or the puzzles?
  

It does sound strange at first, I know, but after awhile, I was totally surprised at how this worked and got my little ones moving. The choices have to positive, though, and that's the tough part initially. Saying, Okay, feel free to clean up this mess or go to your room, won't cut it. Instead try, This room is a mess. Are you going to choose to put the puzzles or the Polly Pockets away first?

I'm a huge, huge fan of Dr. Becky Bailey's Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline, and although it is a constant challenge for me to incorporate all of her principles into my daily routine, I find that her philosophy of discipline and parenting is really worth exploring.

Dr. Bailey says, Discipline is not a technique to use on children. It is a way of life to model for children.

And that's the hard part for me. The emotional, quick-tempered Irish girl I am heard myself saying early on (to my then 2-yr old), You better stop crying, or I'll give you something to cry about! I stopped myself, totally freaked out, and knew that I was in desperate need of a paradigm shift--or I'd be eaten alive by my own kids. It is not easy--or natural--for me as a parent to take a deep breath and think before I speak to my whining, crying, cranky child who's asking me for the gazillionth time to go outside, for another snack, to watch tv, or find a missing doll shoe.

So reading--and re-reading--and picking out the parts make sense to me from Dr. Bailey's book has helped me to try to be more conscious of the way I interact with my children during both the easy and more difficult times so that discipline becomes, like she says, a way of life to model for them. Much easier said than done, but I'm trying to do my best, just like we all are.

muffin madness & sound sorting

Just from the way that things worked out today, I had some chunks of quiet time with each Maddy, Owen, and Cora. As much as I love watching my little ones play with each other and the craziness of a full house, it's so nice sometimes to just sit back and see how my children choose to use their alone time with me. Sometimes it's cars, dolls, drawing, or games; sometimes it's a book marathon or just chatting. Today, here's what unfolded:

• Muffin Making with Cora: Cora, like Maddy and Owen, loves to help in the kitchen, but she doesn't always get to take the lead on baking or cooking because she's the youngest. So when just she and I put on our aprons and got to work while the others were at preschool, she was ecstatic. I really tried to let her do what she could while I ignored the mess. She put the muffin papers in the pans, mashed bananas, dumped ingredients in the bowl, and tried her hand at cracking the eggs (ugh). Even though it's so much easier to do it myself, I know how important it is for her to feel the textures of sugar, flour, and eggs and taste what is safe along the way. Even watching the process of ingredients moving toward finished product--mixing, watching rising muffins, and tasting them when they're finished--is so important.

Rhyme Bingo & Sound Sort: Owen ran upstairs for his "before rest book" with the Rhyme Bingo game from yesterday in his hands. We played that a few times, again using the Foamies as our tokins, but then we switched gears and tried a Sound Sort.

• Sound Sort: I could tell Owen had some energy and wanted to try something new. I grabbed a Beginning Consonant Sort for Emergent Spellers, featuring pictures of words that began with r- and s- . These should be an easily contrasting sort since /r/ and /s/ are continuant sounds and come from different parts of the mouth. Owen knows his letters, but I was curious as to how well he could distinguish and isolate beginning sounds. Here's how it went:

I showed Owen the r- and s- word and letter cards: Owen, we are going to play with the beginning sounds of words. Look at this card. It has a picture of a ring. RRRRRing. Ring starts with r sound. Now look at this card. It has a picture of a sun. SSSSSun. Sun begins with the s sound. Sssssun, so I'll put it here (put it at the top of new column). Now look at this card. It is a picture of a rope. Rrrrope. Rope begins with the r sound, too. I'm going to put it under the ring. Rrrrope and rrrrring both start with r. I literally walked him through the activity the first time, talking him through the process and asking him for help along the way. We did it together the first time, and then we mixed up all of the cards and he did it on his own.

Tomorrow I'll add cards with /b/ sounds to the mix and see how that goes. He had no idea that he was learning (and I was, too!) during his sorting game. . .

FYI: Here are some things to remember for Beginning Sound Picture Sorts:

1. Start with meaningful text--sounds can come from a familiar rhyme, book, etc.
   
2. Start with obvious contrasting sounds, then get harder as needed.
3. Use a key word and letter as headers so that children have a reference for subsequent words or pictures.
4. Begin with directed sorts--discuss the sound and letter name, then model the placement of two or three words in each category.
5. Use pictures that are easy to name and sort.
6. Correct mistakes on the first sort but wait to correct later--allow children to sort independently, show you what they've done, then ask, Is there a picture in this row that needs to be changed? Can you find it?
7. Vary the group sorting--place all of the pictures face up and allow children to choose ones that they are confident they can name correctly. Ask them to say, ___ begins with the ___ sound and goes under the letter ____. Consider adding a "?" category for words or pictures they are not sure of.
8. Give them lots of time for practice--have bags of sorts where you keep your puzzles so that children can grab them and play when they want.
   

**This activity and information is from: Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2003). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction, 3^rd edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Publishers.

beads, beads, and more beads!

Often when it's rainy outside, we try to cheer ourselves up by having a lunchtime "Rainy Day Picnic" on our living room floor. However, it's been freezing cold, icy, and snowy for so long, that on our way home from open gym today, we all decided that today would be perfect for an inside picnic, even without the rain. We just gave it a new name.

• Freezing Day Picnic: It's always Maddy, Owen, and Cora's job to pick up the living room and set up the big striped blanket on our picnic days. So while I packed lunches, they got to work and let me know when the room was ready. I brought in the lunches and scarves (we had to play up the freezing part a little) and set Cora's chair on the floor (otherwise, she won't sit still). Although my kiddos are pretty good with eating their veggies, I find that they will eat almost anything I shove in a small plastic bag, so I try to load them up with some extra good stuff while we picnic. Once lunch is over, clean-up involves gathering the plastic bags for next time, throwing away the trash, and shaking off the blanket. And the living room is already clean! Woo-hoo!
  

• Beads, beads, and more beads: Maddy, Owen, and I played with beads after Cora went down for her nap. I have found that nothing seems to relax these two like playing with beads. We have a huge tub of them, and stringing beads is not only great for improving their hand-eye coordination, but it is also a great activity for teaching colors, sorting, organizing, or making patterns. I always enjoy our conversations while we bead; today was especially interesting since Owen came up with a crazy story about how Lightening McQueen and Doc Hudson went swimming in the beads, and thank goodness Maddy's little Princess Fairy was around because she dove in and saved them. . . but that's another story.
  

I think I'll bring the beads out in the next few days again and have Cora play with them, too. She might not be able to string them for quite awhile, but she will learn by watching her sister and brother that you don't eat the beads but can still have fun with them by grouping them by color in piles or small bowls, feeling their texture when she squeezes them, or puts them in color lines on the back of packing tape.

So that's our little bit of fun learning for today. . .

rhyme bingo vs dice match-up

After a morning with Cora at our busy monthly moms’ group meeting, I found I was really looking forward to my “quiet time” with Maddy and Owen after lunch. I knew I wanted to do some rhyming work, since Owen can really use the work on his enunciation, so the first thing we did focused on rhyming.

• Rhyme Bingo: My kiddos love Bingo—in any shape or form—so they were totally psyched to play Rhyme Bingo. On small 9 x 9” boards divided by 3 x 3” squares are pictures of words that rhyme with other pictures that are on a set of cards. I drew a card from the pile, then we all checked to see if it rhymed with one of the pictures on our boards. We played ‘cover-all’, since our ‘tokens’ were pieces from a set of Foamies that I bought a few months ago. (My kids love these little things--I wish I would have invented them myself--so I try to figure out as many uses for them as I can.) Maddy and Owen loved the game, and we played a few times, but I could tell they were more interested in the penguin/ snowflake Foamies, so I switched gears. . .

• Dice Match-up: I asked Maddy and Owen to put all of the penguin/ snowflake Foamies (we only used about 1/4 of the huge tub) into a pile in the middle of the table, then I grabbed a set of dice and gave one each to Maddy and Owen. I asked them to shake it and roll it on the table (this was actually very interesting--I'm horrible--but have you ever seen a 3 year old roll dice? Yikes!). Then I asked,

  Okay, now each of you count the number of dots on your die and then take that number of Foamies and line them up under your die. . . Awesome! Maddy, your die has four dots, and you have four penguins in a row! Good counting. . . Owen, your die has six dots. How many snowflakes did you line up? Right--six!

• After having them each use one die for a few times, we mixed it up a bit. Here's what we did: each used two dice; tried to choose all snowflakes/ penguins; made patterns with the Foamies they chose; rolled one die, lined them up, then rolled the other and took that number away, etc. It was fun.
  

They apparently loved this game more than Bingo today, and the practice with one-to-one correspondence is super-helpful in preparing them for reading. One-to-one counting dots on dice to Foamies can only help to prepare them for concepts of print: one-to-one word reading, letter-sound, etc. It was just a little bit of learning tucked into our first day back to the normal schedule.

A bit more info: One of the best books on word study is Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction 3rd edition (Merrill Publishers, 2004). They have released a newer edition, I believe, in 2007. A ton of the resources that I do have and use regularly comes from this text. A CD accompanies the text, and on it are hundreds of print-outs, games, and sorts that are organized according to spelling stages: emergent through most advanced. I highly recommend it for anyone, and the Bingo game came from this resource.

inauguration day activities, please!

This just in! Nothing like a last-minute mama running around, trying to find some good activities for her little ones on this historic day, right?

Here's what I found, thanks to some of my blogging friends who work a whole lot harder than I do and have really done their homework:

• Check out a very cool mom blog I now subscribe to who's based right here in DC. She's really done an awesome job of finding coloring pages, connect-the-dots, and color-by-numbers for today's events! Her name is Tech Savvy Mama, and she rocks!
• After checking out her site, I was curious myself, so I came across some more coloring pages and activities. These are a little more simple and will be great for the little, little ones.

I'll use some of the coloring pages today and keep my fingers crossed that we have some quiet, interested little artists while my friends, family, and I watch the historic address. There's a ton of opportunity for learning today; conversations about the event, the Secret Service (all kiddos are amazed by them!), the swearing-in, Obama's family, and the reason for the crowds--will do more for our little ones than we can imagine.

crayon color list? check!

Another snowy winter day had us stuck indoors once again, but our morning was made a bit brighter by the tin of Crayola crayons that my mom pulled out for everyone to explore. The container was a mix of the new and exciting colors that Crayola’s now offering; when we visited the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA a few months back, we had the chance to create our own combination of colors from huge bins, and we packed ours with the new and unusual colors we didn't already have at home. Crayons with colors with names like Razzle Dazzle Rose, Inch Worm, Happy Ever After, Mac and Cheese, and Famous had Maddy in stitches today, and before I realized it, my mom and sister (two of the most amazing, creative, and awesome people I know!) were working with Maddy to create a list of all of the new colors in the tin. Maddy didn't realize it, but here was a great little opportunity for learning in Maddy’s day today.

• Crayon Color List: Aunt Mary read the super-silly name of the color, laughed and joked about it with Maddy, then handed Maddy the crayon. My mom and Mary both helped Maddy to spell the color name on her list. This shared writing--letting Maddy take some guesses at letters and helping her along the way--is so simple, but it is so worthwhile in helping Maddy to learn letter-sound relationships.

  This crayon is called, ‘Rose.‘ What makes the ‘r’ sound, Maddy? Right! ‘r.‘ What sound do you hear next? That's right, an 'o' like in 'Owen'. . .

  Also, giving Maddy a purpose for writing--her list--gives her writing value and meaning. Not that the stories she writes do not have value and meaning; they certainly do. However, she knew that this list was going to be read by everyone and used as a reference for colors, so she wanted to do her best. A few days from now, I'll do this at home again, maybe with our markers, or, if we've got a bit of time on our hands, I'll pull out the ole trusty box of 64 for a little bit more learning that day.
  

Here's why lists every so often are a good idea:
One goal for success in writing for all students is proficiency in the three modes of writing: expressive (the earliest form of writing for most students--personal writing--sounds like written speech), transactional (explicit writing, with a purpose to communicate information), and poetic (slightly more advanced writing with a focus on diction and "using language to communicate rich and descriptive messages"). Therefore, having our emergent readers and writers create lists, recipes, directions, or signs helps to create a well-rounded and more fully-developed learner.

Dorn, L. J. & Soffos, C. (2001). Scaffolding Young Writers: A Writer's Workshop Approach. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. (p 30)

it's really me. . .

. . . as teach mama, hanging out in cyberspace, in all of these fun, amazing, super-cool spots:


I created this online group for parents and teachers to hang out, to collaborate, and to communicate (join the fun!):

• we teach

I write regularly here:

• DC Metro Moms Blog
• ABC and 123's Literacy Consultant
• 5 Minutes for Mom.com
  
• Washington Times Communities: Family Today
  

I'm excited to have been mentioned in these publications:

• Washington Post, Camp's out: Kid-friendly activities and happy hours in the Washington Area 7/30/10
• Family Fun Magazine, What Others are Saying 08/10
  
• Frederick Gazette, 3/25/10
• Washington Post, Local Living--Blog Watch, 12/12/09

I will be speaking here:

• BlogHer 2010 in NYC--Change Agents, ROYO: Resource Blogging--Serving Your Community One Post at a Time
• Live Blog Feed from ROYO Panel
  

I have written pieces for these sites:

• Literacy Lava 2
• Literacy Lava 3
• Literacy Lava 4
  
• Literacy Lava 5
  
• Literacy Lava 6
  

• Share a Story, Shape a Future Blog Tour 2010
• Day 2: Literacy My Way, Literacy Your Way
• Day 3: The Nonfiction Book Hook
  

• We Just Got Back
• trekaroo: kids, trips, tips
  

I am extremely grateful to have guest posted or have been featured here:

• ABC and 123: Learning Cooperative
• 5 Minutes for Mom
  
• No Time For Flashcards
• 3:17 a.m.: Useful Bits on Telling Stories
• Love That Max
• Occupation Mommy
• Tech Savvy Mama
• Shining Dawn Books
• Early Childhood Resources: Interview
• Toddler Planet
• Tech Savvy Mama
• Scholastic's Parent & Child magazine 2010 Parent Blogger Awards
• Raising Playful Tots Index
  
• Literacy Toolbox
• 1 + 1 + 1 = 1
• Surviving the Sandcastles
• 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 -- Learning Tools
• Volunteer Spot
• LeapFrog Community Blogs
• By Moms, For Moms: Lansinoh.com Mom Blogger of the Week Interview
  

I'm thankful that these friends have mentioned my ideas here:

• No Time For Flashcards
  
• Superheroes and Princesses
• Explorations
  
• One Crafty Place
• Feels Like Home
• Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary
• Mama Kenz Studio
• Our Nifty Notebook
• Muses of Megret
• Raising Itty-Bitty Bookworms
• Planning With Kids: 10 Resources On Children's Literacy
• FamilyEducation.com
• FreePrintables.com
• From the Hive
• Pink and Green Mama
• Free Homeschool Printables
• Hooked on Phonics
• Dreambox Learning
• Circle of Life: Multi-Tasking Mommy Blog
• From the Desk of a Future Teacher
• Smiling Mama
• Family Education.com
• Impress Your Kids
  
• Sweet Brown Sugars
• Tot School
• Takoma Park Cooperative Nursery School
• Literacy News
• Simple. Messy. FUN!
• Very Blessed Mommy
• B.Inspired, Mama!
• Nurture Mama
• read.learn.grow
• Impress Your Kids (and again!)
• When Crazy Seems Normal
• The Activity Mom
• Complete Organizing Solutions
• Roo's Classroom (and here!)
• United Teaching Discoveries
• Giving Up on a Clean House
• DC Urban Moms
• Literacy News, 661th ed
• Literacy News, 670th ed
  
• Children's Literacy: The Reading Tub
• Refrigerator Artist
• The Activity Mom, re: we teach
• From the Land of Pleasant Living
• little illuminations
• Resourceful Mommy
• PBS Parents: Booklights
• Go Out and Play!
• Nurture Mama
• Mondorfment
• Leap Frog Community
• Refrigerator Artist
• Adventures of a Flake
• Fitz Fam Happenings
• Go Out and Play: What to do in Arlington and Beyond
• Family Education Blogs
• Little Illuminations
• Teach Preschool
• Kate's Musings
• The Bump
• The Activity Mom
• ABC and 123
• Cup of Creativi-Tea
• Giving Up on a Clean House
• The Craze of Our Lives
• The Activity Mom
• Planning With Kids
• Literacy Toolbox
• Rockin' Granola
• Feels Like Home
• A Peaceful Day
• Steazblog
• Simple Homeschool
• Abby & Her Boys
• Sandy Spring CSA
• Jodifur
• 1 + 1 + 1 = 1
• Paint Cut Paste
• Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns
• 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 (favorites) and again!
• Impress Your Kids
• Buggie Bungalow
• Bookmark: The First Book Blog
• Parenting by Dummies
• The Traveling Circus
• Pre-K Pages
• Life of a Dairy Queen
• Speaking of Speech.com
• On Our Minds @ Scholastic
• Crescere Creativamente
• Not Just Cute
• the little list
• ABC and 123
• Nurture Mama
• FiveMinute5
• Pink and Green Mama
• DC Urban Moms
  

I'm proud to be on the education-related blogrolls here:

• Raising Playful Tots Index Hooray! I'm number 8 out of 100!
  

• Alltop: Education, Parenting, & Moms)
• dys Talk
• Innovations in Education
• Let's Explore
  
• Hooked on Phonics Blog
• PBS Remotely Connected
• Preschool By the Bay
• Lightning Bug Learning
• Think Tank12
• Pink and Green Mama: Inspiration
• Imagination Soup: My Favorite and My Best
  

I am a key contributor here:

• ABC and 123
  
• the home teacher wiki
  
• Free Homeschool Printables

I am helping to write the *NEW* kindergarten curriculum for this site:

• Itty-Bitty Bookworm

I am an advisor here:

• Memetales

I am a member of the following professional organizations:

• NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English)
• IRA (International Reading Association)

I am a member of these influential social media groups:

• Global Influence
  

• Yahoo Mother Board
• Momz Share
  

I take part in these blog groups:

• The Secret is in the Sauce
• Maryland Mom Bloggers
• The Mom Blogs
• She Writes
• DCBlogs
  

I do some blogging here:

• Mom Bloggers Club
• BlogHer

contact me

Please feel free to contact Amy if you:

• would like to see her media kit;
  

• have questions about any of the content on the site;

• would like to borrow something--a post, a picture, anything--from this site;
  

• are interested in having her review a product or service;

• would like for Amy to write an article for your publication or website;
  

• are interested in having her speak at your group's meeting, conference, or workshop;

• would like to advertise on this site;

• want to offer Amy sponsorship for an upcoming conference (she is attending BlogHer '10 in NYC this August);

• just really think teachmama.com is cool and want to tell Amy (that would be so appreciated!)

You can contact her at teachmama@verizon.net

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is Teach Mama's Disclosure Policy:

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising and products for review, but my opinions on products are always my own; if I like a product, I'll say I do, and if I don't I'll tell you why.

I abide by word of mouth marketing standards. I believe in honesty of relationship, opinion, and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space, or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

Occasionally, I am compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. I will always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

I would like to disclose my relationship with Silicon Valley Moms Group. I am a writer for the SV Moms Group, but this relationship does not have a significant impact on the content of this blog.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

on the road abc hunt

Today was a hectic travel day for us, but I was determined to use our travel window more wisely than I usually do in order to ensure a little bit of “secret” learning along our way. What we did was incredibly simple, but all three of my kiddos enjoyed it, and it gave us an exciting 45 minutes without whining, complaining, or asking, “Are we there yet?”

• Alphabet Hunt: Before we left, I ran to the computer and made two simple tables of two rows each, each with 13 columns. Letters A-M were in the top row, and the row beneath the letters were empty; N-Z were in the top row of the second table, and the row below them were empty, too. I made the letters in all capitals, in a large size. I used sturdy white paper, and I made two full alphabet tables on each sheet so I could give each child a half sheet. The finished boxes beneath the letters were almost the perfect size for a normal chart sticker. Here is Alphabet Hunt I, in uppercase letters, and here is Alphabet Hunt II, in all lowercase letters.
  

Just when my troops began to get antsy, I told them that even though they were stuck in their car seats, they were going to go on an Alphabet Hunt (woo-hooo!) and that all they needed for their hunt was one piece of paper and some stickers.

I showed them how the hunt worked on the sheet: Okay, friends, we have 26 letters of the alphabet to find today. Let’s see who can find all 26! I’ll show you how to use your hunt chart. I need to find a letter ‘A’. Who can help me find one? Wow! That was quick! You’re right, there’s an ‘A’ on that truck, Maddy!

I put one of the chart stickers under the ‘A’, handed them their own cards and two half-sheets of stickers, and they got rolling! They loved it, and even though Cora was way too young for it, she loved putting stickers all over her card.

What I realized about this simple, easy activity is that we don’t have to be in the car to do it. I think I’ll try:

• an ‘in the-house alphabet hunt‘;
• an ‘around the neighborhood alphabet hunt’ (once it warms up);
  
• a ‘grocery store alphabet hunt’ (if I get desperate in the next few cold winter weeks);
• a ‘number hunt’ cards so we can work on numbers and number recognition. (Here is a Number Hunt board I made a few weeks later.)
  

The possibilities are endless for sneaking some learning in when it involves letter/ number recognition and chart stickers. . .

bagels, yum! rhymes with . . . thumb?

One thing I've found out this year, ever since I've been on the board of my local moms' group, is that there's never any harm in asking for a little something from your local businesses. I've tried to let our local businesses "show us what they've got" since June, and all I've had to do is some advance-planning. And I'll tell you what-- our moms and children have really seemed to enjoy our trips and tours of our local florist, fire station, ice-cream shop, etc. Today was our January tour date, and we hit our local bagel shop. You better believe there's some learning to be done there, and even if you're not a part of an organized group, I'm sure that your local businesses would be excited to show you and your kiddos around if you give them some advanced notice.

• Bagel Store tour: In order to prepare my already-excited children for our morning at the Bagel Store, I used some typical pre-reading questioning with them at breakfast: Okay, guys, today is our bagel store tour day! (I started simple.) What do we know about bagels and our bagel store? (Then, I tried to have them make some logical predictions and connect to what they already knew.) What kinds of things do you think we'll see in the bagel store? How do you think they make bagels? (Finally, I gave them set a purpose for the tour.) What questions do you have for the baker about bagels? I was wary about what types of questions they'd develop, but Maddy and Owen got really into the idea of finding out the answers to Why do bagels have holes? and Can you put anything into a bagel? It turned out that we had an awesome store owner who really knew how to work with children, and the bakers seemed almost more excited to share their bagel-knowledge than we could have ever hoped. It turned out to be a great morning, topped off with free bagels and drinks for everyone! I continue to be surprised at how eager our town is to help make every day a learning day for our little ones!

I thought the morning would surely wipe out everyone, but immediately after lunch, Maddy and Owen insisted on working on their Alphabet Books. We did exactly what we did yesterday, but I stopped them after "D". I was beat. I could tell they were on their way, too.

Instead of a book before bed tonight, Owen wanted to work on his rhyming cards. We finally located four of the previously missing ones earlier in the afternoon, so we were all happy to have the set reunited.

• Rhyming Cards: This is a really awesome set by Melissa & Doug. It's proven to be really helpful for Owen with his work on sounds and rhyming, and I love that the pictures are clear and the cards all fit together like a puzzle. We usually spread them all out on the floor and each take a turn searching for the other half of the pair. I'll grab one card and say the word, "Gate, hmmmm. . . gate, horn? No. Gate, tree? No. Gate, hmmmm, is there a plate somewhere? or maybe a skate? Oh! Here it is, a skate! Gate, skate!" He gets a kick out of it every time, and after we have our finished pairs lined up, we always try to add more rhymes to the list: "Sock and clock--that's a pair. What other words do we know that rhyme with sock and clock? Hmmmm, sock, clock, rock, lock. . . "
  

**Rhyming at any age--even beginning with babies on up through pre-schoolers--is muy, muy importante. Here's why:

Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sound units in words. It is one component of a comprehensive reading program, and it is the precursor to solid literacy development. Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words; it is one element of Phonological Awareness. Phonological Awareness activities can involve work with rhymes, words, syllables, and onsets and rimes. Phonological Awareness carries significant importance in students' reading development; students must be able to hear sound units in words so that they can encode, decode, and comprehend texts.

Stahl, S. (2002). Teaching phonics and phonological awareness. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.). Handbook of early literacy research (333-347) New York, NY: Guilford.

Ehri, L., Nunes, S., (2002). The role of phonemic awareness in learning to read. In A.E. Farstrup & S. Samuels (Eds.) What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 110-139). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.