Learning Activities for Kids

Easy Ways to Encourage Reading Comprehension at Home

March 1, 2017 By Terri Thompson

Can we talk parent to parent here for a moment?

Do you ever feel completely lost when you try to help your kids when their school work? Like, how can you help them when they’re learning to read?

There’s more to reading than just decoding words. You’ve got to string all those decoded words together into sentences, paragraphs, and stories to find out what they’re trying to say.

I know that and I know you know that. Even our kids know that.

But, sometimes when kids are learning to read and struggling to sound out words, the meaning behind those words gets lost.

So, how can you, as a parent, help your child with reading comprehension?

Easy ways to help with reading comprehension during read aloud time at home.

Over the years, I came to realize that read aloud time was more than just a cozy bonding time with my kids. There were so many benefits. One of which was helping my kids with reading comprehension. My girls’ teachers confirmed this for me every single year.

That’s why I kept up our read aloud time even when my girls started reading more and more themselves. Even now, when they’re both comfortable reading their own chapter books, we still have read aloud time. I love sharing some of my childhood favorites with them this way.

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How does read aloud time help with reading comprehension?

When your kids are listening to you read, they’re no longer trying to decode those words. The struggle to figure out a word is set aside and they can relax and enjoy the story.

You can read and enjoy more difficult books. On their own, your child may still be working on simple BOB Books, but when you read together, you may be enjoying Charlotte’s Web.

Your kids are free to focus on understanding the story. That’s a powerful advantage.

Easy ways to help with reading comprehension during read aloud time at home.

How can I help my child work on reading comprehension?

It’s simple. Just talk about the story, ask questions and let your kids ask questions. Tailor your questions to the story.

Ask about the main character. Then, ask about the setting and the plot. Did your kids pick up any details?

Try one of these questions:
Where does the story take place?
Who (or what) is the story about?
What happened at the beginning of the story?
What happened at the end of the story?

Take it further and help them make inferences about the story:
Why do you think the character did what they did? (Add in details from the story you’re reading.)
How do you think the character felt?
What do you think happened next?

Notes from the trenches: I found that adding “do you think” to my questions helped my kids relax and think about the question. With the simple additional words, I let them know that there wasn’t a right or wrong answer. I just wanted to know what they thought. It made a world of difference.

Keep it conversational and natural. You certainly don’t want to turn read aloud time into a chore, because the most important thing is to keep it enjoyable.

Reading aloud is so beneficial and so much fun. Keep it up. You’re helping your kids so much.

You’ve got this.

Easy ways to help with reading comprehension during read aloud time at home.

Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart Game

February 27, 2017 By Terri Thompson

Even though the book was around when I was a child, I never read Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss until my own kids were in school. I was definitely missing out!

(In all fairness, the book was originally published under another of his pen names, Theo. LeSieg.)

It’s a fun book that inspires so many wacky activities, like this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game.

Try to correct the hundred chart with this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game inspired by the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Make the game:

This game is really easy to make. All you need is a printable hundred chart and a pair of scissors.

Print it out and cut all the excess paper from around the hundred chart so you have one big square.

Try to correct the hundred chart with this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game inspired by the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday.

Now, it time to make your hundred chart game.

Cut your hundred chart into smaller pieces. You can cut rows, columns, or smaller squares. I cut mine into squares made up of four smaller squares.

Mix it up and put it together in the hundred chart shape again. But, make sure you mix it all up. The fun part of this game is to see it all mixed up and then put it back together again.

Try to correct the hundred chart with this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game inspired by the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday.

Play the game:

Put it together, then mix it up again. Do it again and again and again. It’s a fun puzzle.

You can mix up the numbers and put them in the hundred chart shape, or you can just leave them in a pile.

Put all your pieces in a small bag and you’ve got an instant busy bag for elementary kids.

Grab a copy of Wacky Wednesday, read it together, and play your own version of this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game.

Try to correct the hundred chart with this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game inspired by the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday.

Psssst… if you want to make the game more challenging, cut out each number individually. Challenge your kids to put it back together again.

Try to correct the hundred chart with this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game inspired by the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday.

If you enjoyed this post, the above photo is perfect for sharing on Facebook or you can share the photo below on Pinterest.

Try to correct the hundred chart with this Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart game inspired by the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday.

All-Star Sports Reading Pointers

February 21, 2017 By Terri Thompson

Have you ever watched a kid use their fingers to track reading across a page?

It’s such a natural thing and a great way to train their eyes to track the words on a page.

Fingers aren’t the only thing you can use to track the words. You can have a little fun with homemade reading pointers. These All-Star Sports Reading Pointers are perfect for little sports fans that will make reading so much more fun.

Hit a home run with these simple All Star Sports Reading Pointers that will help your new reading keep their place on a page.

Disclosure: Thank you to CraftProjectIdeas.com for providing the supplies to make this project. The idea is my own. This post also contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

These reading pointers are so easy to make. I made this set in just a few minutes. It would be so easy to make enough for an entire classroom.

Supplies Needed

Colorful craft sticks
Sports-themed foam stickers
Black marker

CraftProjectIdeas.com has a great set of sports stickers that are perfect for these reading pointers.

Hit a home run with these simple All Star Sports Reading Pointers that will help your new reading keep their place on a page.

How To Make Your Reading Pointers

You’ll need one craft stick and two identical stickers for each craft stick.

Take the backing off one sticker and put it at the top of your craft stick. Make sure you plenty of open areas on your sticker. (See the picture above.)

Place a second stickers directly on top of the sticky side of your first sticker sandwiching the craft stick in between. Press tightly so that the two stickers stick together tightly.

Hit a home run with these simple All Star Sports Reading Pointers that will help your new reading keep their place on a page.

Use your black marker to add a fun and curvy dashed line all the way down your stick.

That’s it! Your reading pointers are ready to use.

Hit a home run with these simple All Star Sports Reading Pointers that will help your new reading keep their place on a page.

If you’ve got a young reader at home, it’s very beneficial to keep a supply of reading pointers.

Keep them accessible so your kids can use them whenever they feel like they need them.

It’s a great way to help them practice reading and gain confidence in their reading ability. They’ll have a little help along the way.

They also easily double as a bookmark and they’re reading and waiting for the next time they pick up a book.

Hit a home run with these simple All-Star Sports Reading Pointers that will help your new reading keep their place on a page.

If you enjoyed this post, the above picture is perfect for sharing on Facebook. Or, you can pin the picture below.

Hit a home run with these simple All-Star Sports Reading Pointers that will help your new reading keep their place on a page.

10 Simple Ways to Practice Counting On

February 17, 2017 By Terri Thompson

Sometimes the kids come home from school way too tired to want to do anything, especially a learning game.

And, who can blame them? School is a lot of work!

If you’re like me, you’re looking for some simple ideas. Ideas that you can do in five minutes that won’t make the kids feel even more tired than they already are.

Here are ten super simple ideas to practice the math concept of counting on. You can do them on the walk home from school, at snack time, or even in the car. These ideas couldn’t be easier or more fun.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

What is counting on?

Counting on is a simple skill, but also an essential skill.

Simply put, it’s starting at any number other than one and counting from that point.

Your child will start working on this in kindergarten (and often even earlier). It’s such a useful tool and sets the foundation for addition and subtraction.

If you want to learn more, you can get a more detailed explanation here at Math Homework 101: Counting On.

10 Simple Ways to Practice Counting On

Simple ways to practice counting on

#1 Use math manipulatives such as pennies, mini erasers, pompoms, rocks, etc. Start with a small pile, such as 4 pennies, and ask your child to continue counting the pennies from that point.

#2 Chant or sing. Use the tune of a simple song, like the Alphabet Song or Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and sing your numbers. How far can you get before the song ends?

#3 Go on a walk and count your steps. Start at the number 11 and keep counting. Call out a random number at different parts of the walk and continue counting from there.

10 Simple Ways to Practice Counting On

#4 Use playing cards. Simply draw a card and start counting from there or grab some dice to play Counting On: the Card Game, an easy math game from Creative Family Fun.

More fun and simple ways to practice counting on

#5 Practice with a hundred chart. This is a great tool to use when you’re introducing the concept of counting on. Grab a hundred chart (you can find one on this post), pick a random number, and use the chart to help you count.

#6 Count your toys. Grab some LEGOs, toy cars, or any other small toys. Start with a random number and count your toys from that point.

10 Simple Ways to Practice Counting On

#7 Use dice. Grab a pair of dice and throw them. Count up the total number of dots, and then start from that number to practice counting on. You can play this over and over again!

#8 Count in the car. This is perfect for a busy day. Tell your child to start with the number five and count all the cars they see or they can start with the number 12 and count the mailboxes you drive post. This is a great way to practice math while your driving to and from an after school activity.

#9 Practice on a nature walk. Get out and enjoy nature while your practice counting on. Check out Creative Family Fun for some ideas to practice counting on in nature.

#10 Count your snack. Sneak in a little bit of math practice at snack time and count your Goldfish, pretzels, or even apple slices.

10 Simple Ways to Practice Counting On

It’s so easy to practice counting on at home.

You don’t need to prep an activity or buy any special supplies. You just need to sneak in a few seconds of learning.

So grab a snack or go on a walk and start counting.

10 Simple Ways to Practice Counting On

If you enjoyed this post, the above photo is perfect for sharing on Facebook, or you can share the below photo on Pinterest.

Practice counting on with one of these ideas that use simple supplies that you can do at home. They're easy, hands-on, and fun.

You may also like one of these fun math ideas:

Kindergarten Math: Counting to 100

One Fish Two Fish Number Match

Wacky Mixed-Up Hundred Chart

Driveway Hundred Chart at Creative Family Fun

Valentine’s Day Literacy Activities

January 24, 2017 By Terri Thompson

The closer it gets to Valentine’s Day, the more I want to add hearts to every activity.

Don’t you?

If you’re like me, and wanting to plaster everything with hearts, I’ve found a great selection of fun Valentine’s Day literacy activities to help your kids have fun while they practice reading and writing.

Practice reading and writing with one of these fun Valentine's Day literacy activities perfect for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Reading

Use candy kisses to spell your name, sight words, or spelling words with this simple Candy Kisses Game from Fantastic Fun and Learning.

Mix in a little science with this Melting Hearts Word Search activity from Inspiration Laboratories. You can hide sight words or spelling words in these hearts.

Practice your spelling words, or even sight words, with this Valentine’s Day Spelling Activity from Coffee Cups and Crayons.

Deliver some hearts while you practice reading with this fun Sight Word Delivery Game from Growing Book by Book.

Practice sight words, words families, or spelling words with this fun hanging words activity based on the book The Day it Rained Hearts from Inspiration Laboratories.

Get out your fancy heart doilies to practice reading with this Valentine’s Day Word Families activity.

Practice homophones with this free heart matching game from This Reading Mama.

Read a great book for Valentine’s Day.

ABC Creative Learning has a great list of 25 Valentine’s picture books.

You can find 10 Valentine’s books that will appeal to boys over at Embark on the Journey.

If you’ve looking for chapter books, Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas has a list of Valentine’s chapter books for kids.

Practice reading and writing with one of these fun Valentine's Day literacy activities perfect for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Writing

Practice writing letters, sight words, or spelling words with this simple Valentine’s Day sensory writing tray from The Imagination Tree.

Use these Valentine’s Story Stones from Creative Family Fun to write your own Valentine’s Day stories.

Combine art and writing. Create a batch of these Kindness Heart Postcards from Toddler Approved and write notes to send to family and friends.

Create this gorgeous golden heart book from Imagination Soup and use it for creative writing. It’s the perfect place to write some Valentine’s poetry.

Make I Love Books from Fun-A-Day. This preschool activity can be easily modified for older kids by having the kids do all the writing themselves.

Have some fun with some kid-friendly Valentine’s Day Mad Libs found at My Sister’s Suitcase.

Don’t these all look like fun? Which of these Valentine’s Day literacy activities are you going to try with your kids today?

Practice reading and writing with one of these fun Valentine's Day literacy activities perfect for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. #literacy #ValentinesDay #BetterThanHomework

Learning Activities for Kids

Easy Ways to Encourage Reading Comprehension at Home

How does read aloud time help with reading comprehension?

How can I help my child work on reading comprehension?