Curriculum/Educational Resources

I've been cleaning out boxes and boxes full of resources that have accumulated over ten years of teaching. I've taught first, second and third grades...and now I work with third through fifth grade. I want to begin sharing some of the resources I have because...teaching and learning is all about sharing ideas! When you find something that works - share it! I've always supplied copies of anything and everything I'm doing to co-workers...because each of our minds work differently and it's always nice to have a different perspective on things...a perspective that may be JUST what you were looking for in order to reach that ONE student you're having difficulty with in class...you just never know.

I hope whether you're a public/private school educator, homeschooler or parent needing more materials to work with your child at home, you'll find something you can use in the new Educational Resources Section of the blog!

I want to introduce the first activity: Alphabet Mazes!

When my son came home from preschool with a letter from his teacher that he needed to work on recognizing his letters, my mouth dropped open. I'm a TEACHER. I've TAUGHT children how to read! I made a mad dash to purchase flash cards and we set off to work. Now, about a week later, he knows them. We practice daily, we do flash cards, we play games where he picks out the letters in his name and "builds" his name, we work, play and learn.

So, the first activity I want to introduce is one I've created for The Short One. It's as simple as this...

On a sheet of paper there is a table/grid with 16 spaces. Each space has a different letter in it. If we're working on the letter "A", there are at least 6 letter "A"s in the grid, surrounded by other letters. My son must take his pencil, beginning with the first A he finds and trace through the path of "A"s until he gets to the end of the maze. Not only does this work on his recognition skills, but it also works on those fine mother skills that are SO important for children in the early grades to master in order to write - especially boys! In the middle of the page there is a row of the letter A. They are already written so that the child has to trace over them with a crayon or pencil. Then a picture to color is at the bottom of the page - something that begins with the letter A...for example, "Alligator". My son LOVES doing these mazes...moreso than flash cards or tracing, so for us - it works! Now, you have all the details you need to go into word and create this page for yourself, or...I can send you my creations! All educational resources will be in word format and sent to your email. You can use the PayPal button at the top if you would like to "purchase" them from me or ... have fun creating your own unique version!

Please let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear if some of you think you'll find this section of the blog helpful. Just "sharing" what I love - teaching!