Stained Glass Number Line!

Back to school!

Crazy town, right? I cannot believe that we're into August already. Where did the summer go? Where is 2013 going? And didn't we just do fall?

Apparently, we're about to do it again.

This year, I'm sending my oldest off to "school". And by school, I mean preschool at one of our local churches. She is so super excited about it.

Last year I did some homeschool stuff with her. Not much, really, and we were pretty relaxed about it, but I truly believe that she is way ready for pre-k this year because of that head start. And I'd like to do the same thing for Daniel.

Since I plan working with Daniel, I wanted to get our room ready. The room that we use for school is really just our play room, but the activities are a little more organized (when the room isn't a wreck) and I've got shelves and cabinets which house my curriculum books (both current books and books that I've saved from my years as a teacher), art and craft supplies, and other odds and ends that we use during the year.

One of the things that the room was sorely missing last year that I wanted to remedy this year was a basic number line, something that Daniel will be able to look up and reference when we're working on number recognition.

There are plenty of these available for purchase. But I have beef with most of them. They're not always cheap, for one. And secondly, most of them are too cutesy for my taste. I wanted something functional and easy on the eyes. Oh, and free. Free works.

The other major problem I have is that our room was built as a sunroom, which means that there are a lot of windows. I love windows, don't get me wrong. But it does make things difficult when I have so much to hang. Wall space is at a premium. Basically, I wanted something that I could hang in the window.

So I made it myself! (surprised?) It was easy, it was quick, and it gave me some ammunition for our next Friday's Art Smarts, which, let's all hope, will be more successful than last week. ;)

Here we go.

Materials:

1. old crayons

2. manual pencil sharpener

3. ice cube tray (or other tray with several compartments)

4. wax paper

5. parchment paper

6. iron

7. cardstock or old file folder

8. pencil

9. scissors

10. hole punch

11. thread or string (I used waxed string)

This is a great way to use up all your old, ratty crayons. I don't know about your house, but we have a ridiculously huge crayon collection. I don't know where they've all come from, but they came, and we have them, and now we have to figure out how to use them.

Pick out a few in the colors you'd like to use and sharpen them with the sharpener. Make sure you catch all the shavings in the ice cube tray to keep the colors separate.

For this project, one crayon filled two cubes with shavings, which means I only used seven crayons.

Not gonna lie. It's tedious sharpening all those crayons to bits. And it makes your fingers hurt. But it's worth it in the end.

On your ironing board, lay down a large piece of parchment paper. On top of that, lay out a large piece of wax paper.

On top of the wax paper, scatter your shavings in a way that pleases you.

Cover your shavings with a second piece of wax paper. On the very top, lay out a final piece of parchment paper.

The wax paper is what you're fusing together. The parchment paper keeps the wax paper from sticking to the both the ironing board and your iron as it melts. Read: it's very important.

Set your iron on a low setting; mine was set on "silk." Make sure you've turned off the steam.

Start ironing over the parchment paper, moving fairly fast. Don't let the iron sit in any one spot for more than a couple seconds. You'll find that the crayon shavings melt right away and begin to merge.

The whole process should take no longer than a minute.

Let the wax dry. I left mine alone for about 20 minutes.

While your wax is drying, draw out your number stencils on an old file folder or piece of cardstock. I made my numbers five inches tall and free-handed them, with the aid of a ruler.

Cut them out and trace them onto the wax paper. I used a pencil to trace them out.

Finally, cut those numbers out and - ta da! You've got some beautiful numbers ready to string.

I punched two holes in the top of each number and threaded my waxed string through. Then I hung them!

I love how colorful they are and I love, love how they look with the sun shining through them.

This is one of those standard crafts from my childhood that I'm so glad I resurrected. I can't wait to do a similar activity with my kids later this week. I think (I hope!) they'll have some fun with it!

I know a lot of you are getting your own homes ready for school this year (or classrooms!), and I'd love to hear it if you've used or modified this idea in any way. And send me a link if you blog about it!!

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How To: Make and Use a Phonics Flip Book

Education materials are kind of a niche market.  And since only a small number of stores are making and selling specialized materials and manipulatives, they charge (in my humble opinion) way too much for their stuff.  

Now, they do sell some great stuff, and it is fun to walk around the store or look at catalogs and think about the possibilities.  But I just can't afford to spend what they're asking.  So I've taken to making the same materials for far less.

Today we're going to make phonics flip books.  These books can be used to practice basic letter recognition all the way through sounding out large words with beginning blends and vowel digraphs.  In other words, they're amazingly versatile.  And very simple.

Materials:

index cards (at least 20)

scissors

pencil

sharpie marker

ruler or measuring mat

page protector (not pictured)

three ring binder or index card binder (not pictured)

hole punch (not pictured)

laminating machine and envelopes (optional)

pipe cleaners (optional)

Start by cutting the index cards into 3 equal parts.  My pieces are each one and a half inches wide.  

Label the cards with your sharpie:

The following is a list of the letters that I wrote on the first stack of cards:

b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, z

the second (or middle) stack of cards:

a, e, i, o, u, ea, ee, ai, ou, ow

the third (or last) stack of cards:

b, d, f, g, l, m, n, p, r, t, w, y

The above list is just a guide.  Feel free to add more or less of the alphabet (including consonant digraphs and blends in the first stack of cards) depending on your child's reading level.

As you can see, I chose to focus on the letters that would make common, easy to pronounce first words and sounds.  I have not included q or x on any card.  As Natalie's reading ability grows, I'll be adding these letters into her flip book.

At this point, you might choose to laminate your cards.  I've not done that yet, but I think I might.  After working with the book one time, I can see that they'll get bent or torn easily if I don't.    

Punch holes in the top of your cards and add them to your binder.  Add a blank card to the top of the first and last stack.  I also put a page protector behind the cards to hold the extras.

To Use Your Phonics Flip Book

I always start with reviewing the short vowel sound.  Make sure your child knows this sound before going any further.  Once she has that letter and sound recognition under her belt, flip up the blank card on the last stack (here, I've flipped up to letter t).

Model how to blend these two sounds together.  Don't break up the sounds.  In other words, you shouldn't say, "a. t."  Instead, say, "aaaaat."  It should sound like you're saying the word in slow motion.  While you're saying each sound, point to the letter of the sound you're making.  Slowly move your finger to the next letter as you say the next sound (sometimes kids get a kick out of using a pointer to point to the letters.  Almost any longish object can be used as a pointer, but I've suggested a pipe cleaner).

Have your child blend the sounds with you, then by herself.  Finally, have her say it fast - "at."  If she says it the wrong way or seems confused, try it again.  Don't go on until she gets it.  Once she does, flip up the blank card in the first stack.  

Model blending the word "bat" in the same way - in slow motion, not by breaking up the sounds.  You should say, "baaaat," not "b. a. t."  Have her say it with you, then by herself.  Just like before, practice until she understands.  Then try a new beginning sound.

It's okay if some words are pretend:

When Natalie tried this activity for the first time, we started with the word, "ab."  The "b" at the end of this word can be a little tricky.  Often, children want to say, "buh" when sounding out this letter.  Don't let them do it!  We don't say, "a-buh."  We say, "ab."  

Here, she's sounding out the word "dab."  Notice how she's pointing to the letters as she says the sound.  

And here she's sounding out "fab."

In her Periwinkle costume.  Gotta love doing school as a fairy ;)

These phonics flip books are so great for super beginning readers (like Natalie) and for those kids that might need a little review or practice.  They work at so many different levels and can grow along with your child.  I hope that you're feeling encouraged to go make one for your house - even if you aren't homeschooling.  With summer just beginning, these would be an awesome way to practice early reading skills over the break.

Have fun!

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