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Bird Books for Preschool
There are so many books available about birds. This is definitely one of those topics where it can be hard to narrow down the most helpful and relevant titles. Some of the non-fiction books that are supposed to be for children can also be really difficult and dry. So how do you know which ones are worth reading? I’m happy to share the ones that we’ve loved! All links are affiliates. National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America, Second Edition – Jonathan Alderfer Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch: What Will You Find? – Storey Publishing Feathers for Lunch – Lois Ehlert Bird Builds a Nest: A First Science Storybook –…
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Volcano Books for the Classroom
On Wednesday I shared some activities to use when exploring volcanos – and how to decide if this is a relevant topic for your class. Today it’s all about the volcano books that will support this exploration. There are so many volcano books for children that are truly not written at a level young children can understand. The vocabulary, depth, and assumed prior knowledge is too much, especially for preschoolers. I was able to find some winners though! Here are the books that I recommend (all are affiliate links):
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Airplane Books for Preschool
Airplane week is in full swing, but let me tell you, choosing books for this week was a bit of a challenge. Books about airplanes can easily get way too technical for young children, and sometimes they are a little too history-heavy for little ones who don’t have an understanding of the concept of past and present. Here are the books that we chose (all links are affiliates). Planes – National Geographic Kids I Want to be a Pilot – Peter J Eyewitness Flight – DK Books We Are Going on an Airplane – Mavis Camellia Ask a Pilot – Justin Kelley
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Birthday Books for Preschool
On Wednesday I shared all of the birthday activities that we’re enjoying this week. Here are the books that we’re using to support our birthday theme (all links are affiliates). The Berenstain Bears Too Many Birthdays – Stan Berenstain Happy Birthday to You – Dr. Seuss The Birthday Book – Todd Parr Happy Birthday Cupcake – Terry Border Weird but True: Birthdays – National Geographic Kids
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Books to give at the end of the school year
Our students become our little family every year, and I always love leaving them with a memento to remember the community that we created, and to let them know that I’m still in their corner and cheering them on. Books are a wonderful gift to send them off with at the end of the year. There are always the classics, but how many copies of Oh The Places You’ll Go does one child really need? Here are 6 fund new options if you’re looking for some inspiration (all are affiliate links).
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What I’m Loving at the Scholastic Book Fair
I spent yesterday morning helping with the Scholastic Book Fair at my daughter’s school. I don’t know what it is about a book fair, but Scholastic has really cornered the market on getting kids excited about buying books. I have fond memories of LOVING the book fair as a kid, and the students that I helped this week had that same enthusiasm. If I’m being honest, I was still a little giddy about getting my hands on some new books. I found some amazing new offerings that would be wonderful additions to any classroom library. I’m linking my favorites below – and I’m not being compensated in any way for…
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Introducing CVC Words in Preschool – Resources
There are SO MANY different activities that you can do with CVC words – just do a quick Pinterest search, it’s a little overwhelming! After trying a ton of these in the classroom, I realized that I really needed some activities that could be used any time of year, and that were easy to store. Here are the resources I’ve created and use regularly for practicing CVC words: CVC Ring Books – These are the best because the pieces are all self-contained, and they’re really easy for children to use independently. The large colored strip has the word family ending, and the smaller white boxes have a variety of letters…
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Teaching CVC Words in Preschool
Earlier this week I shared my thoughts on reading instruction and it’s place in the preschool classroom. One of the strategies that I’m a huge fan of is introducing CVC words. So let’s go back to basics for a minute and explore what CVC words actually are. These are words that follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern (hence the CVC abbreviation). These words fall into “word families” with words in the same family ending with the same vowel and consonant. For example, the -at family includes the words bat, cat, hat, and rat. CVC word families are generally introduced by consonant sound, with short a words first. Before children are ready for…
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Should Learning to Read Happen in Preschool?
Most early childhood educators would agree that learning about language is a lifelong process – we begin hearing and decoding words at birth, and continuous growth happens from that moment! But when you specifically ask if preschoolers should be taught to read, you’ll get a wide variety of different answers. The truth is that preschoolers are already learning to read – whether we intentionally introduce activities that support this or not – they notice letters, the ways that these are oriented on the page, how combining them creates words, and that letters can be strung together and used to share information. These are foundational pieces for sure! My answer to…
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Valentine’s Language Center
Valentine’s Day has a special place in my heart (see what I did there). January can be a long, dreary month and having something fun to look forward to can really change the mood. If you’re like me – looking forward to a holiday that’s all about warmth and love – and you’re planning what this will look like in your classroom, then I have some materials that might be just what you need! Here’s my Valentine writing center: I want children to get excited about using these materials, and I do that by making them inviting – adding decorations, related textiles, and touches that create a homey and comforting…
