Word lists

I have been looking on-line for word lists and found some really good ones that I like. I have put them together so all you have to do is print them out. The one I have today is for a Pre-Primer reader. A pre-primer reader is a child that knows all their letter names and their sounds. They have also begun to put the sounds together to make one sound. It's kind of hard to give an example in writing but I will try. C A T (they are just saying the sounds) A pre-primer reader begins to put those sounds together slowly C A T and then they get faster so it comes out as one sound CAT.

Pre-Primer words from www.k12reader.com and a 1st grade teacher

a	and	away
big	blue	can
come	down	find
for	funny	at
go	help	here
I	in	is
it	jump	little
look	make	me
my	not	one
play	red	run
said	see	the
three	to	two
where	yellow	you
white	pink	black
purple	green	black
four	six	nine
seven	zero	five
eight	ten	sit
hit	kind	mind
pig	dog	rat

The other document I have posted is a memory math game. I was working with my 4 year old and boy do we have a huge hole in his learning. He doesn't know what the number symbols are after 10 (he doesn't know 11 on up). He can almost count to 100 but man did I miss a major part of his math learning. This is a memory game that shows the numbers in the 3 forms we use, number words, symbols (4, 5, 9) and in an amount. I used a 10 grid to for the number amount because that is how we commonly see amounts in school. Teachers really want kids to be able to look at a group in an organized manner (like a 10 grid) an know exactly how many items are there. It's kind of like looking at the dots on dice but this works all the way to 10 not just 6.

Memory Game

four	****	4
six	***** *	6
nine	***** ****	9
two	**	2
one	*	1
seven	***** **	7
zero		0
three	***	3
five	*****	5
eight	***** ***	8
ten	***** *****	10

Parts of Speech

Nouns, Verbs, Pronouns, Adjectives

Can you remember and define each of these or do you run to the internet each time your child comes home with an assignment where they have to locate these in a sentence?

I wanted a fun way to teach parts of speech so I searched the internet and found some fun ways.

First of all I love to use Mad libs.

Mad libs can be done either on-line or on paper. When kids understand (usually late 2nd grade, early 3rd grade). I like to give them a passage from their Reading book or from an encyclopedia and have them create their own mad libs for their friends.

Here's one that I made up.

You always make a list of the parts of speech first. It's not as much fun to fill in the blank with something that makes sense. It's more fun to make crazy sentences.

Noun __________

Temperature __________

Verb ___________

Adjective __________

Adjective _____________

Direction _____________

Verb _______________

Noun ______________

Fill these in first. Don't cheat! Then scroll down to the passage and fill in your answers for a funny mad lib.

You make _____1_____ on ______2______ days without even knowing it. When you ________3______out warm, _______4____ air, it _____5_____

in front of you and briefly ______6_____ a little _______7_______.

Here's the real passage. I got this from my "Science Is" book that is full of fun science experiments.

You make clouds on cold days without even knowing it. When you breathe out warm, moist air, it cools in front of you and briefly forms a little "cloud".

Here are some sites that I found that have mad libs. I have not checked all the mad libs on these sites so make sure you do these with your child so you can make sure they are age appropriate.

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/ - I really like this site. They have a huge variety of age appropriate mad libs and the kids have to do all the thinking.

http://www.madglibs.com/showglib.php?glibid=187 - This one is better for older kids. Parent caution needed!

http://www.itsamadlibsworld.com/

http://www.funbrain.com/brain/ReadingBrain/ReadingBrain.html - This site gives you a list of words that fit the part of speech or you can type in an answer.

Printable Mad libs - These would be lots of fun to do on long car trips

http://www.classroomjr.com/printable-mad-libs-for-kids/

You can also purchase mad lib books from scholastic book orders. They have one or a packet or 5 for pretty cheep. This is how I got mine. I don't let my kids write in them. We do them on another piece of paper or use a dry erase marker and small whiteboard. We then share them with our family.

Decisions

My husband and I have a big decision to make concerning our 4 year old. Our son turns 4 tomorrow. He is quite the smarty pants. He has known all his letter names since he was 2, learned all the letter sounds around 2 1/2 and at 3 1/2 he began to read small words and short books with help. He can count to 100 with someone reminding him of what 10 comes next and is learning to add numbers together. He can count backwards from 10 and possibly 20. We haven't really tried that. So what do you do with a child like this.

Teacher - From a teachers stand point I would love a classroom full of this child. He loves to learn and go, go, go. He does shut down when things get to be too difficult but that is something that a little confidence will help with. I would not however want one or two of these kids in a classroom with kids that are on or below grade level because you don't know what to do with them. They are ready before the other kids and you constantly have to keep them going with new activities. An activity that should take the class 20 minutes could take him 5. You defiantly have to have an "I'm done now what" kit for these kids. I also would use these kids to help other kids complete projects or pass out papers. I know full well that I'm not helping them meet their full potential but because I have 28-30 kids in one room that I am responsible for I have to concentrate there. Those kids are smart and will make it.

Parent - As his mom I don't want him to become a behavior problem because he is bored in school, I don't want him to be the teacher's helper and pass out papers or help other students when he is done, and I don't want him being punished with extra work because he finishes faster than the other kids. I don't agree with kids skipping grades. It does too much damage socially. He is also ready for Kindergarten right now and can't go for 2 more years. I don't want him to lose that love of learning by holding him back but I don't want him to be bored in school.

Possible solutions

1. We start doing the kindergarten curriculum now after testing him with the local school's Kindergarten test to make sure he is ready and I homeschool him for Math and Reading until we can get him into a spectrum program (which usually starts at 3rd grade.)

2. We wait and hope he doesn't lose that love of learning or get too frustrated when things become difficult and just send him with his peers.

3. We find a school that levels for math and reading and cross our fingers that in 2 years when we put his name on the list and hope we get in.

It frustrates me that schools aren't better equipped to deal with kids like my son. As a teacher I always heard about children with disabilities and how I needed to make sure I made accommodations for them so they could reach their full potential. What about those that are gifted and learn quickly? Do we assign them "busy work" so they begin to hate finishing quickly so we can keep them working? We need to come up with a better system that meets all the needs of the students.

I don't agree with moving kids to another grade because academically they can handle it. What about socially? Last year I was a part of a team that was deciding if a first grader could move to second grade. She had the smarts but socially she couldn't handle it. The first grade teacher and I told the parents it wasn't a good idea. They did it anyways. The child was a major behavior problem the rest of the year.

We need another option. We are slowly failing our kids with the system we have now and exhausting out teachers as they try to meet the individual needs of 30+ students. What if we grouped kids by their ability level. Now I know this has been done before and that many people will be upset if we do it again, but honestly I would rather have my slower child (and yes I have one of those) in a classroom with less children and a teacher that has the time to give them the attention that they need then in a classroom where they are going to continually fall behind because the teacher doesn't have the time to help them. This way I don't have to force a child that struggles and doesn't like school to suffer through 4 hours of homework because they didn't know how to do it at school. I know it is hard hearing that your child struggles. I'd even compare it to hearing that your child has some disease. Once you know your child is sick you can then begin to do everything possible to treat it. It's the same with education. Once you know there is a problem you can do something about it and your child can learn. Not every child learns the same way and not every teacher teaches the same way. Let's start matching up our kids with the teacher that will help them reach their full potential. Let's have them keep that teacher longer than a year so they can get to know the child well enough to know how they learn and can help them through their primary education. Let's make a change.

Germs - Science experiment

My family and I have really gotten into Mythbusters lately. It's this crazy show where the hosts try out the myths. The one we watched today showed them trying to beat a policeman's radar gun. Nothing worked just in case you were wondering.

They did one a little while ago about how colds spread. It was very creative. I have seen and taught this using glitter before (the janitors loved me the day we did this :) I put glitter on my hands and went around touching kids just like normal. Then we talked about how germs spread and looked at all the glitter around the classroom. I told the kids that it was germs and that they could now all get sick. It was fun but part way through the activity the kids began to wonder why there was glitter all over the classroom.

Mythbusters used a solution ( like black light paint) that only shows up in a black light. They rigged up a runny nose then hosted a party. 3 people at the party knew what was going on and were trying to not get the "germs" and 3 didn't so they just acted normal. They ended the party after about 30 minutes and told everyone what was going on and turned on the black light. They then hosted another party where the host avoided contact with his guests by having others pass out the supplies. The results were amazing but you'll have to try it to find out what happens.

I was thinking that you could do this with black light paint. It would be difficult to make an automatic runny nose so try applying it to you hands every once in a while and watch the germs spread. Host a small party and see what happens. Make sure you do everything else the same in both parties. If you have the cups stacked in one, have them stacked in the second. This is the control and will help you determine if it limiting contact with others when you are sick helps stop the spread of germs. Take pictures and record your results.

Do you think you could stop the germs from spreading if you avoid contact with others or are the germs going to spread no matter what?

Glow sticks might also work. Just remember don't stick your hands in or near your mouth. This stuff is not good to eat!! This is an older kids science experiment.

Chocolate Math

I had to post this one too. It was just too funny.

et's sum it up: I cannot add. Finding a difference drives me mad. I hate remainders and it's true, Multiplication makes me blue. Those plastic sticks just don't do it. Who thought that up really blew it. We'll do well with a new device, These M&Ms will be real nice. This subject now will be a treat As Chocolate Math is really sweet! I'll be an adder who never misses While adding piles of chocolate kisses. Here's a device found at the store: Ten Tootsie Rolls, and I'll eat four. Then I'll say, "I still have six." With Chocolate Subtraction Tricks. Now division can be done in haste When it's done with a little taste. With remainders I'll have a ball, I'll pick them up and eat them all. To multiply we will be able To put some chocolate on the table. Two candy bars times four are eight. (ate) That product we'll assimilate. If teachers would not preach and nag But assign our homework from a bag, All students could be math fanatics By using Chocolate Mathematics. —Grandpa Tucker Copyright ©1998 Bob Tucker

Poems

Poems can be a fun way to practice handwriting. I once had a one of my professors tell me that we should never have kids practice their handwriting and have them create something on their own. I agree. It is too difficult for them to think about what to write and how to write. I have some great writing tips from a Spalding course that I took that I will post as soon as I find them. They are safe in a file somewhere.

I really like Grandpa Tucker's poems. They are fun to read. Most have jokes toward the end and many have to do with topics that the kids are learning about. The best part is they are free. I see that you can now purchase them in a book from amazon as well.

I like this poem. It would be fun to have your kids practice the "Best handwriting" with this poem then give it to their teacher to say thanks for all they are doing.

You can find this poem and more like it at http://www.grandpatucker.com/

A Thank You Hiss

Sammy Snake says, "No one's so dear As a dedicated volunteer. The ones who come to school each day, Who work for love and not for pay. They do so many different tasks, Most anything our teacher asks. Like help us write and cut and stuff And then in math when it gets tough! They help us do the bulletin board, A smile from us is their reward. For they do know, for goodness sake, It's hard to be a student snake. We hand them homework every day. They type and file our things away. Then sort the mail for everyone To take back home when day is done. We're glad they're here, they're really great! We little snakes appreciate The ones who spend their time like this. We hope they like our thank you hissss." -Grandpa Tucker Copyright ©2000 by Bob Tucker

Birthdays

Did you know that it is now a Utah law that you can't use sweets (candy, cupcakes, brownies yummy) in Utah classrooms? Most teachers don't really follow this rule. Some still reward their students with candy. When I was first told that I couldn't use food in my classroom without getting the parents to sign a note I was nervous. I didn't use food too much. Well except for my Super way cool Hersey bar fraction bar demonstration. I'll have to tell you about that some day. It worked VERY well!!

I survived. I used other rewards with my students. They survived. We teach our kids to be healthy then feed them junk. Now I am not against junk food. My kids get their fair share (and sneak more from their secret stashes then I know about). As I have said before all things in moderation. Too much of a good this is still too much.

I have thought of a few different ways you can celebrate your child's birthday without using food in the classroom. Last year I had a parent pay for an assembly for the whole second grade. She asked me what we were learning about, found something that correlated and set it all up.

The kids loved it. We happened to be learning about animals at the time so she contacted a group called scales and tails that brought in snakes, lizards, and other reptiles. It was so neat. This can become pretty expensive but if a room mom got all the parents together, everyone could spend what they would normally spend on cupcakes for everyone and the kid would get a wonderful learning experience.

You could also come in and teach something for the class. Teach them a neat art project, about a far off place that you have been too, donate a game or book to the class, or teach them a fun game to get them moving. There are many other things that you could do to celebrate your child's birthday at school. Just be creative. If you need more ideas let me know and I will do some research and see what I can find.