A friend of mine told me about this wonderful web site that is utilized by a school district in our area. I loved the reading activities on it that were perfect for my older son who is a beginning reader. However, I also found a great section of the site that is just for kids who are learning their letter sounds. I can’t wait to get my preschooler started!
Starfall.com is a free educational web site that is designed to help children learn to read. The first section is “ABC’s”, where children get ready to read by identifying letters and their corresponding sounds. Children are able to click on any letter of the alphabet in order to start a mini learning adventure. Each letter has three short videos that demonstrate how the letter can be heard at the beginning of everyday words.
After listening to the sounds and seeing them on the screen several times, children are then able to complete a short activity where they identify the upper and lower case letter that is being highlighted. I really liked that there were no negative buzzers or giant “X”s if the child chooses incorrectly. The child simply gets another chance to correctly identify the letters, and they earn stars when they choose correctly.
It is a very positive learning experience for children. They are able to start in whichever section they are ready to begin, and they are able to repeat any activities they either enjoy or in which they need more practice. My older son already loves the web site, and I have a feeling my preschooler is going to love it too!
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Written by Laura on February 7, 2011
Most kids seem to be fascinated with cameras. I know my own love to grab a digital camera and snap away. They’ll spend a great deal of time taking pictures, and even more time looking at pictures that they have taken or that have been taken of them.
Use this attraction to create a learning adventure. This activity works best with a digital camera so that you can quickly review the picture
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Written by Laura on January 10, 2011
My kids love when the new toy catalogs are distributed by the major toy store in our area. They will spend hours looking through the pages of full color adds, beaming as they begin to circle the toys they for which they would like to ask Santa for Christmas. Of course, nearly the entire catalog is circled after the first or second look through, but I don’t say a word. I just let them have
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Written by Laura on December 3, 2010
Here is a great activity you can do with your child that reinforces letters and numbers while having fun without leaving home. You will need some sidewalk chalk, an Alphabet Foam Mat (which can often be found at garage sales), a paved driveway or sidewalk, and plenty of sunshine.
Each section of mat has a letter or number that can be removed from the center of the piece. Remove the numbers and l
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Written by BRWI Staff on August 4, 2010
It is natural for parents and teachers to help children learn the sounds heard at the beginning of words. However, it is also important for children to be able to identify the sounds that they hear in the middle and at the end of words. Middle sounds are particularly difficult to identify so, after your child has mastered beginning sounds, help her to determine the sounds she is hearing at the e
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 30, 2010
When teaching young children the sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet, it is fairly easy to practice with a child in almost any situation. For example, while traveling in the car, road signs can be used to identify letters. Once a letter is identified, parents can ask what sound the letter makes. Of course there numerous are games, flashcards, toys, etc. that also provide a good r
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 25, 2010
Word families are groups of words that have the same ending sound. They are typically three or four letter words such as hug, bug, jug, mug, etc. You can help your child gain confidence in reading using simple word families because he will quickly realize he can read a lot of words when he knows the ending sound. Here is a quick activity you can do with your child to create word family flip boo
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Written by Laura on February 28, 2010
Once your child is able to identify the sounds associated with each letter of the alphabet, and he can identify the letters as they are used as the beginning sound in words, move on to a more difficult, yet similar concept of identifying the letter sounds in other parts of words. For example, the letter ‘d’ starts the word “dog”, it is in the middle of the word “pudd
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Written by BRWI Staff on February 6, 2010
As parents of young children, we have all been on car rides that we wish would end sooner than they are expected to last. This is the perfect game to play in the car when your preschooler is getting bored. The best part is that your child will be learning beginning letter sounds while happily going from one place to another.
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Written by BRWI Staff on October 2, 2009
Most everyone has played the game “musical chairs” at some point in their lives. You may remember the giddiness you felt when you got a chair or perhaps the disappointment in being the person who was “out” when the music stopped. This version of the game can be played with one or more people, and no one ever has to leave the game. The best part is that this game can be u
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Written by BRWI Staff on August 20, 2009
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