part deux

Group 2 of the beginning sight words set. Will see if I can get group 3 done before bed tonight.

beginning sight words do-a-dots

Working on a series of sight words for use with do-a-dot markers. Here is the first set. The first eight or nine groups will not be to hard to do. I am still trying to figure out how to make this work with the longer words, I will figure something out though!

Don’t have do-a-dots? Not a problem, the only limit is imagination. They can color, doodle, stamp, sticker, washi tape, candy, beans, counters, play-doh or anything else they can think of!

playdough mats: shapes

Let them have fun while they learn! Shapes, letters, numbers, 3 new packs to the playdough sets in my store!

The shape set contains 16 pages of shapes and lines to follow.

The number set contains 20 pages and includes numbers 1-10, each page contains a 10-grid to count with. The numbers with the starter dot have the grid filled in for the youngers. The grids in the plain set are empty so they will count on their own.

The alphabet set includes 52 pages. 2 sets of A-Z with upper and lower case on each page. Like the numbers, one set has as a starter dot, the other does not.

As with all sets like this I make, Play-doh is not the only option. They can be colored, decorated with stickers, do-a-dots, laminated and used with wipe-offs. Many options, just print and have fun!

play-doh: the benefits

We are on a Play-doh kick around here. When Miss Thing is not trying to find a way to use it in school she is using it in school she is using it to create dresses for her clip dollies. It is also used often in her occupational therapy. I had no idea play-doh had so many benefits for little hands!

The obvious is how it helps young children build finger and hand strength, fine motor skills and coordination. The less obvious is communication skills and story telling. MT cannot play with Play-doh without a constant chatter. If you listen to her, you will hear her telling stories as she plays, talking her way through a new dress design, or imitating her favorite youtube channels and pretending to put on her on show with very detailed step-by-step instructions.

Here is a link to an interesting article by Mallary I. Swartz, MS, she explains the benefits this magical substance has for little ones. Benefits include the following:

• social and emotional development
• approaches to learning
• creative arts
• language development
• science
• mathematics
• literacy
• physical health and development

Once I realized all the benefits I decided “playdough mats” were going to be my next project, I created one Playdough Pack last week and labeled it “set 1” knowing more would follow for sure. This weekend I created 5 more, however I decided to combine a couple to create larger packs so I will only be uploading 3 new sets tonight… after I take MT dress shopping. Priorities ya know! Ta-ta for now~

now free!

Get it now, it’s free! Loaded with fun and games, great for Kindergarten-ish ages 🙂

playdough mats

Payton approved! Print, laminate if desired, decorate. We used playdough. They could be colored, stamped, glitter glued. Options are only limited by imagination. So far her favorite is the alien, she thinks it should be pink since it is from Mars.

This will be the first in a series. I plan on adding holidays, seasons, letters and numbers. If you have any ideas just let me know, I would love to hear them.

punch it

Here are four sets of number cards, 1-10. Print on card stock to make stronger or laminate to be reusable. Find the number match and clip with clothes pins or paperclips, color, punch with a hole puncher, use do-a-dots, cover with beans or candy. Be creative and have fun!

keep calm and be a writer

A few months ago I entered a contest a my friend told me about. I sent in the first few pages of my book. I Lost. Last night I received an email from them, it included score sheets from the judges and their comments. So many good things included! Even the bad was good because I can learn from it. Nobody told me to throw it away, one even said she was waiting for me to finish so she could get in line to by my book! She is my favorite, my score from her was 77/100. The worst was 34/100. All but one liked my story, she/he can suck an egg.

The most interesting thing was all but one liked a secondary character better than the main, which really doesn’t surprise me as that character had been coming alive more than any other when I stopped writing and started editing for this contest. The judge who did not like her referred to her as a “penis chaser” and that made me giggle, especially since there is no mention of sex in the pages I sent in.

I’m going to take the one piece advice they all agreed on: take some time and develop the characters before continuing the story. I told that to myself a while back but haven’t really followed through. The story is almost complete, just lacking an ending and that is because I just don’t know what they would do.

So if you hear me talking about people you think are not real, don’t worry. They are very real in my head and hopefully you will meet them soon.