Play Dough

My son has really gotten into play dough lately.  He can sit for hours and cut and roll it.  A friend of mine share a super great recipe of Facebook and of course I just had to try it.  So what did I think?


Lets first look at the very simple ingredients:
2 cups of cornstarch 
1 cup of hair conditioning 
food coloring of your choice

I would suggest mixing the color in to the conditioner before mixing with the cornstarch.  On our first try I did not do this and the colors didn't blend well till we had played with it for some time. Also the smell was great!  I used Herbal Essence conditioner.  You could always use a plan light sent and add sents like essential oils to make it more smelly.  I love lavender.

My over all thoughts on the play dough:
1.  It was super easy to make.
2. It was a winner with the kid!
3. Can be used for science/math as well as motor skills and play.
4. It left my hands feeling really soft!! WINNER WINNER!!

Over all I def give this activity 5 *****

 Go, Teach and Learn! And always have FUN!

Toilet Paper Tube Books

Recently I have given myself the goal of finding one creative activity on an educational website and trying it out. This week the project is another great found on I Can Teach My Child.  Toilet Paper Tube Books are easy to make and cute.  I am going to use mine mostly with my son, teaching him colors.

Learning colors with toilet paper tube books!

What you need:
5 or more toilet paper tubes (clean of all paper)- Paper towel tubes can also be used
Construction paper/scrap-booking paper
Glue
Tabbed dividers 




Lay the tubes under something heavy for about 24 hours.  Cut paper to fit for covering the tubes. Cut tabs to fit.


I found  pictures to match my colors since I used coordinating construction paper to teach colors.  I also used a ring to hold mine together instead of ribbon.  Using just the ring, the tube book can be hung up easier.  I will probably add more pictures and details to this one. 

Added colorful pictures to help in the learning process.

Go, Teach and Learn! And always have FUN!

For more instructions and pictures check out the I Can Teach My Child @ http://www.icanteachmychild.com/2011/06/toilet-paper-tube-books-with-pull-tabs/

Slidders

What you need:

Paper Plates

Marker

Sturdy Construction Paper

I found this neat looking idea on another webpage and tailored it to my own specific needs. Sliders are easy to make, cost efficient and very useful.   I think they could be tailored to various subjects including math such as times tables or addition/subtraction problems.  There are many ways to change them to fit your needs.  The website I got the idea from used them to teach words with ending sounds such as ip, op, at, ig and  an.  I have been working with a student on blends so I chose two ending sounds  (an & at) that I could use some good blends with to create words we often see and use.  
The sturdier the plate the better.  Remember that you and your students or child will be handling these a lot.  Also, one thing I plan on doing is laminating the strips that go down the center to make them sturdier.
I plan on playing around with the makings of the sliders.  Perhaps giving the student more part in it such as painting the plates.  You could even allow each child create his or her own set.  Keeping in mind you as the teacher or parent may want to do the writing.


How to make the sliders:
Take each plate and cut two slots about 1 and 1/2 inch long.  Cut a strip of construction paper to fit through the slot.  Yep it is that simple!  
 Go, Teach and Learn! And always have FUN!

Sight Word Hopscotch

As stated before, I am trying to figure new creative ways to teach children sight words.  On Thursday I tried a quick spur of the moment idea.  I called it Hopscotch Words.  Any words could be used in this game.  I took the 6 hardest words and placed them in hopscotch squares.  As the student made his way across the board, he had to say each word.  
What I really loved about this game:
For younger students, it allows them to get up and move.  The words were seen and repeated several times.  It could be played in small groups of 2-5 students.
Another way to play the game for spelling:
Use letters on each square for individual words.  This could get lengthy. So it would be best used during tutoring sessions or other one on one sessions.

 Go, Teach and Learn! And always have FUN!

Sight Words

Textured Sight Words

I have been working with lower grade student with reading difficulties.  Sight words are the words that students will see more frequently though out their lifetime.  Sight words are words most of us just learn by sight. These words often do not follow language rules.  Some can be sounded out but most are just SIGHTED. 

I have been trying new ways to teach students sight words.  I enjoy crafty projects.  So combining both I experiment today.

Using colored pipe cleaners, glue and sturdy paper I had students to create sight words that they were having trouble with.   Play dough can also be used.

For small fingers, bending the wire to the correct shape was a little difficult, but not impossible.

One of my favorite parts about the project is that the students can feel the words as they read them.  Using brightly colored wires also allows each letter to stand out clearly.

The play dough worked really well but was not as clearly seen as the pipe cleaner is.  However, I was using a darker colored dough.  A bright color on a dark surface would be much better.

It was a great exercise which the students seem to enjoy.

Sight words made from play dough was a winner with the students.

 Go, Teach and Learn! And always have FUN!