Turkey Crafts – not just for November

I love the activity “Thankful Turkey Kid Craft and Book” from the blog “The Resourceful Mama.” This could be a great /t/ connection. If it’s not November, you could still do this activity – instead of writing on feathers what you’re thankful for, you could write words that begin with “t” or just practice writing

Hovercraft Basics with /h/

“How to Make a Hovercraft” is a fun science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) project to connect to the /h/ sound. It’s also a great way to recycle those blank CD-ROMs you found hiding in your closet. Check it out at “Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational!” Interested in tutoring or know a parent who’s looking for

When Life Hands You the /l/ Sound

Connect /l/ to lemons! I’m lucky to live in a neighborhood of citrus trees and every year, my neighbors give away free fruit before it drops to the ground. This year I planted my own lemon tree so I can enjoy the wonderful, energizing smell of fresh lemons. Check out this “Lemon Poppyseed Muffin” recipe

Making Mittens for Math and /m/

What better way to tie in the sound /m/ but with math? The following math activities are using mittens. Check out “Learning with Mittens” from the blog “Learning and Teaching Preschoolers.” Interested in tutoring or know a parent who’s looking for a reading tutor? Might I offer some suggestions for helping your child make progress

The Power of Garlic and /g/

Garlic is an aromatic, flavorful food with powerful medicinal properties. I have at least two heads of garlic in my house for all of those reasons. Connect /g/ to “garlic” in the recipe “30-Minute Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Chowder” from the blog “Simply Quinoa.” Another garlic idea: you could roast a head of garlic, then smear

Managing Classroom Decibels with /d/

Another literature connection to /d/ sound is the children’s book “Decibella” written by Julia Cook and illustrated by Anita DuFolla. If you are an educator or just trying to help someone become more aware of the voice volume level, this is an AWESOME book and classroom management strategy I found on “Bright Concepts 4 Teachers.”

Static Electrified Short /a/

You can connect short /a/ sound to the concept of static electricity with this science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activity from “i heart CRAFTY things.” Check out the Static Electricity Butterfly Experiment. Interested in tutoring or know a parent who’s looking for a reading tutor? Might I offer some suggestions for helping your child

Crockpot short /o/ Recipe

Connect short /o/ sound to this recipe for “Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup” from “Pinch of Yum.” “Crockpot” had two short /o/ sounds. WARNING: Of the three possible pronunciations for “gnocchi”, short /o/ is NOT necessarily an option: people have called it nyawk-kee, nok-ee or noh-kee. Interested in tutoring or know a parent who’s looking for a

Baked French Dessert Lands Support Role

Where do you begin with emergent readers, people who struggle distinguishing the sounds that letters make. We begin with /c/ as in “cat.” It’s also known as “hard c.” In the spirit of summer berry-picking in some parts of the United States, I found an an excellent recipe with /c/ called “Berry Clafoutis Recipe” on

Whistling Words With “wh”

The digraph “wh” is pronounced /w/, just like the letter “w.” One literature connection to “wh” is A Whistle for Willie written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. Peter is a little boy who yearns for the ability to whistle. He is imaginative and loves to pretend. He follows his dog throughout his neighborhood and