Discipline Tip—Use Less Words

• Listening more and talking less are what I work on constantly.
• When a child misbehaves, use as few words as possible.  Sometimes a look or the word, “STOP” is enough to stop a behavior.  Use time-out or move them if necessary.
• If a child needs to be talked to about a problem, make it one on one, if at all possible. Have them tell you the problem and have them give you solutions to the problem.  You act as the sounding board.  Have them commit to new behavior.  Have the commitments be positive.  (Use nice words, keeps hands to myself, etc.)
• Older children can make a written commitment or promise and sign it.

Good luck on your commitment to talk less and listen more.

Take Care of Yourself–Discipline Tip

 

Self-Esteem–

You, as the teacher or parent, need to feel good about yourself.  To do this you must find your inner greatness.  You were created by greatness and that Creator only makes greatness.  Look inside yourself and see your own personal worth.  Your personal worth has nothing to do with your job, being a parent, how much money you have, what size you are, the bad things you have done, or the bad things that have been done to you, etc.  Your personal worth is a gift and it is inside you.  Your task is to look inward and find your personal worth.  Tips to find your inner worth:

• Make a list of qualities your Creator/Heavenly Father has.
• Realize those qualities you have inherited, and your task is to find them.
• Forgive.
• Life is full of possibilities.  Find your possibilities.
• Live for what you can do for others, and not what you can get.
• God doesn’t make junk.  Treat yourself with dignity.  You are HIS creation.
• There is a song from my childhood that has helped me through hard times.  “I Am A Child of God”  Find songs to help you.

When you start finding your inner worth, you will have more success working with the children in your life.    LOVE YOURSELF!

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How to Use Music to Teach Anything!

How to Use Music to Teach Anything!

 Music is the best memory aid.  When we look back at the things we remember from our childhood, much of it is associated with music.  It is easy to add music to any subject.  Here are some suggestions:

•  Take a simple tune, beat or rap and add any items to be learned.  The simpler the better.  Keep the songs short and fun.  Funny and silly are especially successful. Children of any age will enjoy making up silly learning songs.
• Be brave.  You don’t need great music talent to use music.
• Find ready-made music.  Make sure the music is simple. It is good to hear the music before you buy it if possible.  Our phonics is taught with simple, short songs.  Contact us for Free music and books for teaching the phonetic sounds.     http://www.phonicsbyspelling.com/

Please share your success with using music to teach with us.  

Have a Routine.

Routine is one of the keys to successful discipline.

As many are home schooling for the first time, you will have great success when you set a routine.  Everything will go smoother with a routine.

• It is good to have a routine or schedule.  It will help your day run smoother.

• Whether it is in a classroom or at home, children handle everything better if they know the routine (Bed time, reading time, homework time, etc.).

• Most children feel more comfortable with an established routine.

• When the routine has to be changed, it will go smoother if they are told in advance the routine will be changed.

• Children need to learn to handle last-minute changes but it is good to practice that in a controlled situation, not when you need it to happen now.

Math Lesson Ideas for the Number 1 (One)

Math Lesson for the Number 1 (One)

Objective:  Help children recognize the number 1, the word “one”, numbers are used for counting, count 1 object, and learn to write “l” and “one”.

Preparations:

• Find an art print or picture from a calendar or magazine with good examples of “ONE”.
• Optional:  Make some die cuts of apples or something else in two different colors and 3 different sizes.
• Have some stickers.
• Write the number “l” and the word, “one” on a word card.
• Have examples of the different fonts of the printed form of 1.
• Decide on a simple book, poem or nursery rhyme that has good examples of “one”.  Possibly use, “There Was a Crooked Man”.  (Included at the end.)
• Have paper and pencil for each child.

Lesson:

• Display the word card with “l one”.  Discuss the difference between the number “1” and the word “one”.  What are words made of?  (letters)  What are numbers used for?  (counting)
• Read  a book, poem or the Nursery Rhyme.  Then discuss the examples of one thing in the reading. Discuss different body parts to see how many they have.  Do you have 1 eye?  1 nose? Etc.
• Show the picture and have each child pick out one thing in the picture.
• Show the children examples of different fonts for the number one.  Encourage them to write their l’s with a straight line like an “l”.  Have them make them in the air with their finger.
• Give each child a paper and pencil.  Have or help them write their name.  Show the word card again for “l one”.  Have them write a number “l” and a word “one”.  (If a child has a hard time writing their letters, write the word “one” with a yellow pencil and have them trace it.)  Put out stickers and have them select 1 for their paper.

Extension ideas: Possibly include some comparison or patterning activities with the die cut apples.  (small, medium, large, same, different, ABAB pattern, etc.)   Can also do a food activity with several 1 items.

Nursery Rhyme

There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile;
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile:
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

For more educational tips and information visit www.phonicsbyspelling.com

Weather Review

 

Objective:  To review weather.

Preparation:

• Find pictures or drawings of weather in books, magazines, internet, or old calendars.
• Have crayons, pencils or markers to finish the books.
• Print the template for the weather book.  Cut into 2 pages. Use half a sheet of construction paper for the cover.
•  weather book template page 1    weather book template page 2  
• Suggested Book: Weather by Gallimard Jeunesse

Lesson:

Read the book and discuss:

• Discuss any pictures of weather. 
• Discuss what weather the children have seen.
• Review ideas from other weather lessons. 

Activity:

Help the kids make their weather book by reading and discussing each page as they work. When finished, read the book together.

Suggested Discussion questions:

• What do you wear when it’s snowy; rainy; etc. ?
• What kinds of activities can you do when it’s snowy; rainy; etc.?

 

 

 

   

Check out our website: http://www.phonicsbyspelling.com/

Weather: Rain and Snow

    

Weather: Rain and Snow      

Objective: Help children learn about the water cycle and how water is a part of our weather.

Preparation:

• Find drawings or pictures of rain, snow and other storms from books, magazines or old calendars.
• Collect a pan, water, a cookie sheet, and a stove or something to heat the water.
• Make word cards; evaporation, water cycle, water vapor, and condensation. 
• Have crayons, pencils or markers.
• Scraps of construction paper in white, dark blue, green and yellow.
• Print the water cycle on light blue or white paper. water-cycle-picture   If you do this activity with older children, they can write all the words.  
• Create a sample water cycle.

Suggested books:

• Cloudy with a Chance Of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
• Franklin and the Thunderstorm by Paulette Bourgeois
• What Makes it Rain? by Keith Brandt

Lesson:

Read a book then discuss water weather:

Discussion questions:

1. How do you feel when it rains?
2. Are you afraid of storms, if so why do they scare you?
3. What activities do you like to do in the rain?
4. Where do you think rain comes from?
5. What other weather has water in it?  (snow, hail)

Demonstrate “condensation” and “evaporation” by heating a small pot of water on the stove. Heat the water until you see steam.  Show the “water vapor” and “evaporation” cards.  Say, “The steam is water vapor or evaporation.”  Hold the cookie sheet above the water.  Show how the water condensate on the cookie sheet. Show the word card “condensation. Say, “If we hold this cookie sheet for a long time above the water it will start dropping rain. 

Activity: Help children learn about the water cycle by making a water cycle collage picture.  (Tearing paper is a skill that most children have to be taught.)

• Give each child a sheet of light blue or white water cycle picture paper.
• Tear dark blue paper big enough to fill half of the bottom part of the paper to look like the ocean. Have the children glue it on their paper by the word “ocean”.
• Tear a sun shape of yellow. Have the children glue it by the word “sun” above the ocean. Talk about how the sun heats the water and causes it to evaporate. Help them write “sun” on the sun.
• Tear a piece of white paper and have the children shade it with gray with the side of a crayon to look like a rain cloud. Have the children glue it on their paper opposite the sun by the words, “rain cloud”. (Explain how the droplets of water vapor come together and cool to make a cloud and when they get too heavy they condensate on bits of dust and begin to fall to the earth as snow or rain depending on how cold they are.)
• Have the children draw the rain coming from the cloud by the word, “rain” below the cloud. Discuss the ways the rain helps all living things and all the benefits of rain and storms.
• Tear a piece of green or brown paper to look like a slope of land coming down to meet the ocean. Have the children glue it next to the ocean piece of paper by the word “land”.
• Tear a strip of blue paper to look like a river. Have the children glue it on the slope of land by the word, “river”. Talk about the collection of rain into rivers, lakes and oceans
• Read all the words on the picture together.

Check out our website: http://www.phonicsbyspelling.com/

Word Cards for Attention!

Word Cards

Using word cards to introduce every subject helps children know where the lesson is headed.  It helps them stay with you.  Even if the children you are teaching don’t read yet, a word card helps them learn to read plus it gets and keeps their attention.

It is often said that when teaching or giving a speech, tell them  what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you have told them.  This is especially true of young children.  Here are some tips for using word cards:

•  Use a word card to bring them back to the subject.   
• A word card can be used in fun, possibly silly, ways.
• Keeping the word cards down to 1 or 2 per lesson will help children stay focused.
• Vary how the word cards is used.
• Word cards can also help at home to keep children on task and focused.

Have fun using word cards to increase learning for the children in your life.  We would love feedback on how you have successfully used Word Cards.

For more educational products and information visit www.phonicsbyspelling.com

I Like Myself!

Children need to feel good about themselves and their creative work.

 

When children want you to praise them for their work, turn it around and ask how they feel about it.  This builds their internal self-worth.  Example:

• Child:  Do you like my picture?
• Adult:  What do you like about your picture?
• Child:  The flowers.
• Adult:  I see why you like the flowers.

This helps children see what is good about themselves.  When the child comes up with it, it is internalized better.

Try using positive talk about yourself.  This is great modeling.

This takes practice.  Enjoy the learning path.

Teaching Colors

Objective:  Help children learn colors, and how to read some of the color words.  (This is best taught over a few days.)

Preparation:

• Print out attached color book—one for each child. Cut each page in half then staple the ends together to make a book for each child.

              Color book pg1

              Color book pg2

              Color book pg3

              Color book pg4

              Color book pg5

• Have crayons, for the children to use to draw.
• Decide on a book to read.  Suggested books:  Do you know colors? by J.P. Miller and Katherine Howard,  Cat’s Colors by Jane Cabrera

Lesson:

Read the book(s) then discuss while showing pictures:

Discussion Questions:

• What color is a frog; dog; rainbow…..etc.?
• What is yellow; blue; green…..etc.?

Activity:  Illustrate the color book.

Have the children drawing something representing the color on each page. Ask the child what he drew and write it in for him. Do each page together as a class. Wait until they are all finished with the page you are doing before moving on to the next.  

For more educational products and information visit www.phonicsbyspelling.com