Category Archives: learning to read

Foam Flower Words

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Here’s a fun way to practice reading and spelling, and they are so easy to make. All you need is some colorful craft foam and a permanent marker. Spritz on a little water, and they stick to glass. Tips for … Continue reading →

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Posted in creative play, Early Elementary Years, kindergarten, learning to read, Spring crafts | 7 Comments

Strong, Brave, Courageous Girls: Picture Book Characters for Our Daughters

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

You know what we love? Books with strong, brave, courageous, funny, characters.  What is even better is when they have a whole series of their own.  Remember when you were a child, first discovering a love of books? Remember when … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning, preschool | 4 Comments

Writing With Spaghetti!

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

You can thank my six year old daughter for this idea. Bored in a restaurant, she began to write her name on the table using spaghetti noodles. Before leaving, I scooped all the uneaten spaghetti noodles into a take out … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, preschool | 2 Comments

Review: More Starfall

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

    My kids have long been fans of  Starfall, a free website for preschoolers and early elementary aged kids that teaches reading and language skills. Starfall also has additional content on their More Starfall component, which consists of more … Continue reading →

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Posted in curriculum review, homeschooling, learning to read, math, pre-reading, preschool | 2 Comments

Fancy Feathers for Learning Sight Words

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

So, we’ve been kinda going crazy with popsicle sticks over here lately. If you’ve seen our grocery store game with googly eyes and pom pom popsicle sticks, then you know what I’m talking about. Well, feathers work nicely, too. My … Continue reading →

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Posted in American History, Early Elementary Years, hands-on history, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning | 1 Comment

Shopping Game for Learning Letters, Numbers and Sight Words

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Here’s a little game we played in the grocery store today, although you could play it in any store or at home. My 3 1/2 year old is working on recognizing letters and numbers and my 6 year old is … Continue reading →

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Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, math, preschool | 3 Comments

Becoming a Reader

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Guess what my 8-year-old Firefly and I did last night? We finished the very last chapter in the very last book in the Harry Potter series. We started last fall, reading the first book in the series. And here it is … Continue reading →

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Posted in books, Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, learning to read, life, literature-based learning, Parenting | 13 Comments

Curriculum Review: Brave Writer –and Give Away!

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

From the first time that I heard the founder of Brave Writer, Julie Bogart, speak, I knew that this was not your average language arts curriculum. I could not absorb Julie’s ideas fast enough at that homeschooling conference last Spring. … Continue reading →

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Posted in curriculum review, Early Elementary Years, give-a-way!, homeschooling, learning to read, literature-based learning | 31 Comments

It’s a Pinning Party

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We’ve begun to build up our fabulous collaborative Pinterest boards, to share even more wonderful hands-on history, science and literature activities with you all. My Pinning Friends have been quite busy. Please check out our boards and see what we’ve … Continue reading →

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Posted in American History, Ancient History, blogging, Early Elementary Years, hands-on history, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning, preschool, science | 7 Comments

Teaching My Kindergartener to Read

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Here’s what’s working for us.  The Word Wall.  It all started with Fancy Nancy. We started to make fancy word cards of the words my daughter could read. Then she took it and ran with it. She started making cards … Continue reading →

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Posted in homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read | 20 Comments

Learning With Literature: The Snowy Day

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

 The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a Caldecott winner and a Before-Five-In-a-Row selection.  And this year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of this wonderful book. Quite significant, is that it is the first children’s book to … Continue reading →

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Posted in books, F.I.A.R., homeschooling, keeping toddlers busy so you can actually educate your older children, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning, preschool, winter | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Science, Math & Reading All in One

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

We just did a great little activity that my kids, from ages three to seven, loved.  It involved math, science and reading and it only cost me $1. I filled a pie pan with water for each of them and … Continue reading →

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Posted in creative play, Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, keeping toddlers busy so you can actually educate your older children, kindergarten, learning to read, math, preschool, science, toddlers | 18 Comments

Learning With Literature: Fancy Nancy

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Welcome to our week with Fancy Nancy, one of my daughter’s favorite book characters. She loves to play dress-up, just like Nancy. The fancier, the better.  So naturally, we dressed up each day before delving into our Fancy Nancy books. … Continue reading →

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Posted in books, Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, kindergarten, learning to read, literature-based learning | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Silent “e” Slam Game

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

Here’s a fun game we played this week to reinforce the concept of the silent e.  I wrote words on the white board and had Firefly read them, then he slammed a silent e onto the word and read the … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, learning to read | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

My Reluctant Reader and His Email Account

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Julie @ Creekside Learning

My 7 year old has come a long, long way with reading.  Leaps and bounds, really, after a year of plugging away during our first homeschooling year.  We used a formal reading curriculum all school year, then switched to him … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Elementary Years, homeschooling, learning to read | 1 Comment