This Little Project: Writing

Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts

Note Card Caddy

Sometimes I'm a sneaky mom.

{This little project} looks like a box of fun stamps, cards, stickers, etc.

But it is a disguise for teaching my kids how to write thank you notes and practice their handwriting and spelling.

We've been using it for a few months and they don't know it yet!

Even though I made {this little project} for the kids I decided that I had to make one for me too!

At this time of year we take a little extra time to be grateful.

{This little project} has made it a little easier

to say "thank you" all year round.

Just today one of our neighbors gave Jay a plant (he loves plants!) when he came home he said, "Mom I should write her a thank you card." That's music to a mom's ears.

To make {this little project}

I used a cleaning caddy because I love the handle and that it naturally separates all of our supplies.

Our Note Card Caddy has:

blank cards and envelopes (we send a lot of happy birthday cards too)

stamps and ink pads

colored pencils

stickers

addresses

postage stamps

crayons/markers

And just this week I picked these up for $1 each at Michaels. With these six stamps you pretty much have every occasion covered.

And if you are nervous about kids and stamps/ink, here is a {little project tip}: I keep a couple of my old t-shirts near this box. The kids can slip it on over their clothes and slip it back off when they are done. easy.

We also wet a paper towel to stamp the extra ink off of the stamp. I love watching them learn to take responsibility for their things.

Actually, this Note Card Caddy is an extension of {this little project} from the past.

There's nothing like a pen pal for making writing fun!

Even with all our technology, there's nothing like getting a hand-written note.
Thanks for stopping by today!

Handwriting Helper

{This Little Project} has been a fun game to help us practice good hand writing.

It turned out pretty cute considering {This Little Project} out of our invention/junk box!

To make {This Little Project} you need:

an egg carton that holds 2 dozen eggs

stickers of the alphabet

a pom pom

To assemble: put an alphabet sticker inside each egg spot.

You'll be short 2 spots so we put the last two at the top.

To Play the Handwriting Helper Game:

Have the child toss the pom pom into the carton.

The child writes the letter the pom pom lands on.

You can have them write the uppercase or lowercase letter, or both!

You could also have the child say the sound that goes with the letter.

Game Variation for Older Children:

Instead of writing just the letter, have the child think of a word that starts with that letter.

This can turn into a spelling game too!

Have fun writing and playing!

Words

I know it's summer and that means that school is out, but that doesn't mean that learning has to stop, right? So I'll go ahead and share what we're doing with words right now.

This activity works on these skills:

WRITE

READ

CUT

SPELL

CELEBRATE!

(sorry it's sideways-I can't get it to switch!)

Jay has pretty good handwriting, but he likes uppercase better. And let's face it, worksheets are boring! So we're happy to have a place to practice and put his words: in a "Words Can" (a covered oatmeal can and a slit cut in the lid).

This is how {This Little Project} works:

1- First we choose some of his favorite words. I help by suggesting words we're using in other learning. For instance: plant names, insects, friends' names, vacation words, seasons, etc.

2-Then I write a word on each line of this paper

3- Then he copies the word next to it. Sometimes he gets to WRITE it a few times so he has extra practice.

4-Then he puts a sticker next to the words with the best handwriting to CELEBRATE what a good job he did.

5-Then he CUTS OUT the words with the best handwriting.

6-And puts those best words in the "Word Can."

7-Later, while I'm making dinner or feeding the baby, or otherwise sort-of occupied but not totally, I can take one word out at a time and ask him to SPELL it to me. If it's easy to spell he can discard the word to make room for new words to go in the Word Can. To CELEBRATE you could have the child color with his favorite colored pencil over the letters again to reinforce the writing and show that it was mastered.

8-Or I can ask him to take the words out and READ them to me to practice his reading. If it's easy to read he can discard the word to make room for new words to go in the Word Can. Again, to CELEBRATE you could have the child write with his favorite colored pencil over the letters again to reinforce the writing and show that it was mastered.

That way we get a lot of fun with words that mean something personal, which is a lot more motivating and makes a fun {Little Project}!

A Postcard Project

I am really excited to be joining in the postcard swap being hosted at Playingbythebook.net If your kids are like mine they LOVE getting mail. We're also excited to have a {Little Project} creating and then writing about our favorite books, and mailing our postcards in the exchange.

I hope you will join in too! Go here to learn how to join in, but hurry because the deadline to participate is April 30th! (You'll find out who you get to mail to the following week.)

We're looking forward to This Little postcard Project!

You've Got Mail-for kids

Jay has a cousin who lives a few states away. She is just a three months older and they love to play together. My sister (her Mom) thought of a beautiful idea: The kids could be pen pals!

Who doesn't like to get a letter in the mail?

Plus it would be a great incentive for our kids to practice their writing skills. Today we are sending off the "N" page to Jay's cousin. We often include a card that Jay has made, some stickers, a short letter, or an art project he wants to share with her as well.

Jay has an incentive to finish his work, but I think it also is teaching him to share something he made with someone else. He really looks forward to sending his mail, not just receiving mail from his cousin. Jay also knows what the mailman does because it's personal.

Here are some other things the kids have learned with {This Little Project}:

How to address an envelope
Where the stamp goes
How to write his and his cousin's name on the envelope
To put the flag up on the mailbox when he puts his letter inside
How the mail system works.
To make something to give to someone else
How to write a letter
How to write their letters :)
How to sound out words that they want to write
They are both learning to read and look forward to what the other one writes to them
To be patient while they wait for mail. We send something every week or two.

{This Little Project} is one that any age can enjoy. Handwritten notes are so much more special and the relationship that is developed and strengthened is priceless!

Remarkable Marker Fun

Most people think of dry erase markers on just the white board that they come with. Did you know that dry erase markers work perfectly well on mirrors too?

Below are 3 more surfaces and activities that are remarkably more fun with these fun little markers. If you don't trust your little one with dry erase markers washable markers work too :)

Try doing a self-portrait right in front of the mirror.

Kids can make all kinds of expressions in the mirror and then draw them "on themselves."

Mirror writing is also a fun way to write reminders. It's a great place to display sight words. We also use it as a place for Spanish words we are learning. Most families spend some time in front of the mirror. You can write messages to each other too!

A dry erase marker on a laminated surface can make reviewing something so exciting! Jay normally might not want to review how to draw each letter. But with a dry erase marker it is an adventure he won't miss. (He's using a placemat from the dollar store in this activity.)

I draw a little dot on each letter so he remembers where to start and then he's off to draw them all-no complaints! We've also used this technique with maps, etc.

Dry erase markers also work well on windows. We use window writing to practice writing words. It's way more exciting on the window then on "normal" paper! They are great for rainy days too!

Dry erase markers are temporary on these surfaces but they come off easiest if they don't sit for a long time. Remember to keep the dry erase markers OUT of REACH except for special occasions and to keep a good eye out while they are in use. If you opt for washable markers (I do with Kay) then just use water to wash them away.
I hope you have fun with This Little Project!

Tot School #3

I'm late again getting this done, but I think it is worth doing anyway. I love having a picture record of some of the things the kids are doing. And I love seeing what others are up to because it inspires me. So here is a little about our past week.

Jay is still into frogs and spelling. Here he got to combine both. We've played with magnetic letters a lot and it's always really effective for him.

Kay and Jay practiced transferring beans from one bowl to another.

Jay wasn't as enthusiastic about this puzzle as he used to be. We should do it more often (from Target $5)

The kids LOVED this Cake Walk Alphabet Game we played for Dr. Seuss day!

Kay can't get enough of stacking and sorting and collecting.

We made alphabet pancakes and ate words.

I love this book and so does Jay (Border's Bargain book). It has a dry eraser marker that lets you use it again and again! You can pull out the tabs to see if you were right!

It's a great way to practice spelling, reading, and writing (with very little work on my part, which I don't mind!)

These are the math equations we did on our abacus. Writing them as we did them tied the two things together better.

We checked this abacus out from our children's library-what a treat!

We are getting ready to go visit DC, so we have been reading about US presidents.

Kay loves sorting and playing with these pom poms.

Kay is really good at feeding herself. And when she's not, I love this bib (from IKEA!)

Jay read the newspaper for the first time this week. It's a habit at our house to have it out, but I didn't think he was paying much attention. Best Buy might be proud to know that those were the first words he sounded out reading a newspaper :)

We made banana boats for a treat to celebrate the reading we did about Curious George and his ice cream/banana adventures.

Kay has noticed puzzles lately. And I'm noticing she is pretty good at them. She must be related to her puzzle-monster brother! I love these Melissa and Doug chunky ones. The animals can all stand up on their own so they double as fun toys and are great for little hands to maneuver.