Beginning Reader Mini Books Giveaway!

We've been working the past few weeks on our pre-reading books.  It's an important stage of reading development to be able to memorize text patterns and learn the skills that pre-reading texts provide practice in.  Be sure to check out my post about pre-reading books to familiarize yourself with the concept and skills we can be working on. 

Throughout the year we've been working on our repertoire of decodable texts.  I strongly believe that we can teach young children the alphabet in a manner where it is usable to them immediately, rather than just learning the names and sounds of symbols that don't have a purpose.  Each week as we focus on a new letter we add it to the letters we already know and work on sounding-out or decoding words with those letters.    

A decodable text in preschool is a text that utilizes only short vowels and single consonant sounds (think of CVC or consonant-vowel-consonant words like "cat").  We don't try to tackle tough phonics like digraphs (think of "th" or "sh") or soft sounds (think of "g" in giraffe).  Reading is a skill that requires a lot of practice and it's easier to practice something you are being successful at.  By the 3rd week of preschool we know the letters M, T and A and can decode or sound-out the words "at" and "am" and "mat".  That is literally success right out the gate!

I have been partnering with Esther from The Amazing Action Alphabet since I started teaching preschool.  The products she provides are excellent and follow this same philosophy that we can teach our young learners with great success.  She has a set of Beginning Reader Mini Books that are just perfect for our young readers.  The first page covers some of the basics of reading which helps every teacher or mom that has never taught reading before be successful. Then each 8.5 x 11 page has a book, intended to be copied, cut and stapled together.  Each book builds upon the previous ones as we learn to blend sounds together to read words.  The pictures are black and white and perfect for coloring.  Since they are paper books I LOVE having the kids circle any sight words they come across (I think there are a total of 6 sight words they learn to memorize).

Even if you don't win the books you can still get a great deal! I just heard back from Esther at Amazing Action Alphabet and she wants to offer a 20% discount code to readers of Little Adventures Preschool.  Just enter 11131971 at checkout! 

I  love how the second page of each book has a word list.  In the beginning of our reading lesson we write the words from the word list one at a time on the white board and practice sounding them out.  We draw pictures where it's helpful and we act things out (like "zip") to practice the words.  Then we head to the reading table where I have a big copy of the book.  I simply copied each little page to fit on a 8.5x11 by itself and put it in sheet protectors.  That way we have a giant shared reading version of the book to reference while each child has their own child size version in front of them.  We do a picture walk through the book and talk about what the pictures are showing us about the story.  Then we take turns reading pages through the story.  It works great and the kids are being successful!

I know that each of you would love to be successful in teaching reading in your home or school, right? Well, now is your chance!  Check out the Rafflecopter below and enter to win one of two copies of the Beginning Reader Mini Books from the Amazing Action Alphabet!  And don't forget to grab your discounted materials with coupon code 11131971 at checkout!  All of her products are simply amazing!

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Spring Book Giveaways!

Isn't it lovely that spring is in the air?  What a wonderful time of year.  We turn much of our attention to nature based themes this time of year in preschool. This past week we had so much fun learning all about fruits and vegetables.  It was so much fun to talk about the parts of plants that we commonly eat.  This book, "Tops and Bottoms" is a great story about a Hare who demonstrates that hard work pays off.  He tricks the lazy bear into letting him have certain parts of the crops and after doing all the work he gains the reward - food for his family.  Our preschoolers love this book every year.  It makes them giggle as we talk about the parts of the crops that each animal gets to keep.  As my springtime gift you I'm picking one lucky winner to have this book (or End of the Rainbow Fruit Salad, posted below) for your very own collection!  Keep reading for details.

"As usual, Stevens' animal characters, bold and colorful, are delightful. . . . It's all wonderful fun, and the book opens, fittingly, from top to bottom instead of from side to side, making it perfect for story-time sharing."-- Booklist

It is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you a new kind of book.  It's the first in a series of recipe-adventure stories created to teach and entertain young children. "Ideal for early child development, End of the Rainbow Fruit Salad uses the art of cooking, colorful illustrations and critical thinking lessons to make learning both educational and fun for kids. From counting and colors to food exploration and fun problem solving, this Kitchen Club Kids’ book gives parents a reason to start cooking and helping to establish healthy eating habits. As an added bonus, each story features a rhymey-good-timey recipe that can be prepared in the kitchen by cooks of any caliber."

We had so much fun with this book in our preschool class. It paired perfectly with our conversation about fruit and our math theme of representing quantities and numbers with numerals.  We were able to talk about our favorite fruits, name the colors of the fruits and practice naming numerals and counting to ten.

After we read the book we continued our fruit conversation to the snack table where we prepared a fruit salad.  We didn't have the exact ingredients (and we forgot the kiwis) but the kids had a blast pouring all the fruits into the bowl, mixing them up and enjoying their snack. I am very pleased with the resulting positive conversations about certain fruits that were previously not appealing.  I'm so glad that the authors created a book to encourage healthy eating in this day and age of processed food.  Fine work Bread+Butter Publishing!  In addition to the previous book, I also have an "End of the Rainbow Fruit Salad book to give away to one lucky winner.  Check out the details below and enter to win it for your own library!

Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below for your chance to win one of these fantastic books.  There will be two winners.  The first will get their book pick and the second will get the one left over (hopefully their book pick too!).  Books will be mailed out on Monday April 21st (upon receipt via email of the winner's mailing address).  Join us for the fun and complete your entries between now and the 21st!  Good Luck!

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Lakeshore Giveaway

Have you heard the great news?  Lakeshore Learning has been a long time supporter of classrooms and they just launched a new line of products specifically for homeschoolers.  Yay!  Check out their home education products at http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/home



Need more great news?  Readers of Little Adventures Preschool also get a special coupon offer for 20% off any nonsale item!  Just head here to utilize the coupon: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/7413 (Expires 10/31/13).

A few things I LOVE from the Lakeshore Learning at Home catalog:

Trace and Write Alphabet Center
Seriously, EMan hasn't put this activity down yet.  He keeps it in his Elmo backpack and LOVES playing with it.  For more details you can check out the full review here.

Add-It-Up! Archery Set
This in on the list of items to get CJ for Christmas.  He LOVES archery and broke his bow a few months ago.  This item will give him a target to shoot for as well as a great math activity that I'm sure he will love!

Telling Time Teaching Clock
We are rapidly approaching the telling time part of CJ's Kindergarten Math Curriculum and I can't wait.  He's been so interested in knowing what time it is and how long he has to wait for something to happen.  I love this little clock and look forward to how it will seamlessly enrich the curriculum we're already working on.

Count, Sort and Play Keys
My kids love keys.  Every set of baby keys I ever bought are still being played with.  They disappear into the baby box every once in a while, but when the box reappears the keys come right out and are played with all the time.  If we could also work on counting and sorting loose keys I'm sure they'd be a toy that would never have a chance to be put back away because they'd always be in use.

Bright Giant Washable Color Ink Pads
I use these every week in tot school, preschool and in our Kindergarten curriculum.  Unlike other brands that say they're washable but aren't really, the Lakeshore brand is completely washable, won't stain hands and are perfect for all giant ink pad needs.  I've owned mine for about a year and a half and only recently have I noticed they are starting to dry out and I need to get another set! You can't go wrong with these!

Washable Tempera Paint
We love the Lakeshore washable tempera paint and use it all the time.  The only thing I'd recommend is getting the pint size (not the 4 oz size) and also have a gallon back up of your favorite colors (we go through green really fast).

Last, but not least, the Arts and Crafts Supply Center
For all families who really like to have the arts and crafts supplies all in one spot and not over taking your house this is the perfect solution.  A box of drawers to hold everything you need close at hand.  The added bonus is that it comes already filled with hundreds of creative craft supplies.  There are 20 clear-view drawers that are overflowing with fuzzy pom-poms, colored wiggly eyes, sparkly pipe stems, craft glue and much more!  There is also an activity book with ideas to use all these awesome supplies.  The best part about it is that I HAVE ONE TO GIVE AWAY!

To enter the giveaway all you need to do is click on the green buttons on the Rafflecopter Giveaway below. There are a possible 35 entries per person: Like Little Adventures Preschool on Facebook, Like Lakeshore Learning on Facebook, Let us know what your favorite item from the Learning at Home catalog is, spread the word any way you like, and make Little Adventures Preschool Shop one of your favorites on Teacher's Notebook!  Best of luck to you all!  The giveaway ends 9/16/13 at 12AM.  The winner will be announced after that.

Don't forget that you can also utilize our special reader coupon at Lakeshore by clicking here: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/7413.

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ABCmouse.com Review and Giveaway!

I am so excited about this review today.  My kids have been playing on ABCmouse since about March 2013 and they love it.  EMan always asks to play the "mouse game" and I think it makes them feel so grown up to play a computer game like daddy.

I love it because it's a full interactive online curriculum for preschoolers and kindergarteners.  It is customizable to each child with 6 different academic levels.  As the parent it was really easy to sign up for an account and create a user for both of my children that was set at their individual level.

I started CJ on a "Level 3" because I knew it would be easy enough for him to learn the program and be really excited about completing the games.  CJ had already learned to use a mouse and how to navigate computer games, so it only took a few minutes of us working together to learn what he could do. He enjoyed playing on it while I was doing Tot School with EMan and our toddler friends.

One of the aspects that the kids find really exciting is the Tickets and Rewards System.  Each time they complete an activity they get an amount of digital tickets.  They LOVE counting the tickets as they come out of the ticket dispenser.  They also love choosing their digital prize at the end of each lesson.  These digital prizes are like aquariums and lamps that they get to put in their digital room.  They can then spend their tickets on fish to add to the aquarium, etc.  They love all the choices!

The activities in the Learning Path consist of books, puzzles, games, songs, art, and printables that relate to a specific topic.  Right now EMan is working on recognizing his alphabet.  He's currently playing with letter C on ABCmouse.  Some of the activities include a puzzle of the letter C and a cat, a song about the sounds letter C says, a coloring letter C page, etc.  

In addition to the Learning Path (see the whiteboard below) my boys love the different options provided to them.  They can visit the farm or zoo to complete activities relating to those animals.  They can also visit the Classroom (pictured below) and click on anything within it to interact with it.  They can buy fish for the aquarium, play with the clock and digital/analog forms of telling time, the calendar tells them the day of the week/month/date and allows them to put stickers on different days.  There are so many activities right from the classroom that are engaging and teach about the world around us. There is also the option to pick a subject along the top of the page so kids like EMan who LOVE puzzles can click on that tab and play all the puzzles that relate to his learning level. CJ, on the other hand, LOVES science and "The World Around Us" is his favorite stop.  Lately he's been telling me all about what he's learned about salmon, a topic I wouldn't have even thought of to share with him. 

 

 If you click on the top left "Home" page you'll find a few extra resources that are worth mentioning.  Our favorite is the "Mouse and Pointer Tutorial".  CJ has learned how to use a mouse with great accuracy, but EMan always needed me to play right by his side manipulating the mouse where he wanted it to go.  When I discovered this activity we got right to work and now I'm excited that he's able to start doing it on his own.  In such a digital age it isn't a surprise that kids are learning to utilize computers so early in life.  Remember that even though we have a such a great resource for our kids, to a child LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E.  So, whether on ABCmouse our outside exploring nature give your child your full undivided attention as often as possible (yes, turn off those text messages - you can get to them later). 

There are so many things about this program that I wish I could tell you.  For example, the Parents Section has a curriculum overview so you can know what your child is learning and why/how they are learning.  There is a lesson builder to set up specific lessons for your child and there is a progress tracking page to quickly see what you're child has been working on. There are so many fantastic elements that I simply cannot go over them all, so I'll leave you with this: CJ enjoying a little ABCmouse music:

In these first 5 years of life children learn more than at any other time in their lives.  I am so glad to have a resource like ABCmouse that provides quality exposure and information to children about the world around them.  Being a mom of 2 I know that they are safe and enjoying the experience while I'm working with the other child.  They are developing a joy in the process of learning and a love of reading.  I enjoy the time I get to spend with them exploring these games and discussing topics in further detail.  Overall, I'd highly recommend exploring this online learning tool with the little ones in your life. 

And now, for the part you've been waiting for, the GIVEAWAY!  The great people over at ABCmouse have given me one year subscription to give to a lucky reader.  The good news is that you can win even if you already have a paid subscription!  It will just add a year onto your current membership.  So scroll down a little and enter to win it today!

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Ladybug Release and Giveaway!

Be sure to scroll all the way down to enter the Ladybug Land Giveaway!

We had such an awesome day today.  Our ladybugs had finally arrived in the mail and we had a friend over for dinner that enjoyed releasing the ladybugs with us.  We first read a book about ladybugs from one of our science reader sets.  All three kids had great questions and were so interested in the details!

 Did you know a ladybug's wings are yellow before they get hard and turn red?  And their dots are the equivalent of freckles on a person.  Each lady bug is different.

 We talked about what ladybugs eat (aphids) and how that is good for our garden because the aphids eat the leaves and plants that we want to eat.  We happen to have a few extra aphids hanging out in our greenhouse on the lettuce right now so we took our bug jars and captured a few.

 Then the ladybugs came out to play.  They can live in your refrigerator for up to 3 months because they can hibernate and live off their body fat.  We decided to dump out about half of the bag and save the other half for our Little Learners - Summer Bugs activity day with our home school group LEARN in August.

 Just a quick tip - if your spritz the ladybugs with a 50/50 water/soda mix it creates a temporary "glue" that makes them unable to fly for a few days.  This way we were able to observe them and then transfer them to the garden where they will make their home instead of flying off right away and leaving our cute little space.

 I love that DH was able to join us.  It's fun to have him participate in the fun activities that we do.

 EMan was constantly brushing ladybugs off his neck and arms.  They were so "tickly" to him and he kept squirming.  So cute!

 Miss Katrina was so nice to take photos for us (she's generally the one behind the camera if I'm in the photograph).  I used the camera though for a few shots to let her get in on the action.  I love the sleeping LittleMiss in the ergo :)

We had a fantastic time learning about and observing our ladybugs.  It was definitely worth the investment and I'll most likely repeat this activity every year.  It's a great science activity and then when we're done they're great for our garden!

Now for the fun stuff!  I have one Ladybug Land to give away.  It comes with an order form to order your very own ladybugs!  Just leave a blog post letting me know who you'd use it with and why you'd be excited to use it.  Then click the enter button below.  You can also like us and share about Little Adventures Preschool on Facebook.  Good luck!

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