Pop Tens!


I want to share with you today, a fun game that my students are always thrilled to play. It helps them build up their understanding of place value and seeing numbers as groups of tens and ones. 

I use a commercially produced game called 'Pop for Numbers' that is great for Numeral Identification. It has lots of gumball cards inside that each feature a numeral. 

Students take a ball from the container, and collect the same number of ones.


Upon their next turn, they collect another set of ones. Once a group of ten can be formed with the ones they have collected, they can trade it in

And so the building begins... 


if a 'pop' card is revealed, this player returns all their blocks to the tub and must turn their gum ball numbers over. The building then commences again. 



Your students may also like to practice building specific numbers using a new file of mine called "Show Me the Number Fun Book".

You will tell them a number for each page, and they can use MAB equipment to build the number.


The pages of this file can be printed and made into books for your students. 


You will direct the students to write a number on the "show me" card..

Students will then colour...


Trace .... 

Paste..... 


Draw ..... 


And create an interactive flap page... 



to show their understanding of the numbers. 

You can direct your students to show an understanding of numbers between 1 and 99!

Find it here in my TpT store!



Have fun with your tens and ones! Thanks for stopping by! 

Patch Up Post!


Brooke from Teachable Moments has a brand new Link-Up for blogs that need a little bit of love! We have been on Summer Break here in Australia for the last 5 weeks and head back into the classroom next week... sigh... so our blogs have been a teeny tiny bit neglected..

So this post will hopefully patch things up somewhat and shower a little bit of love on our blogs.

I made this printable scrappy worksheet for the first week of school. It is great to start the first week with a few "getting to know you" activities! Students can finish this picture by drawing in their facial features and filling in some basic information about themselves. 

You can snag it from Google Drive by clicking on the image below



or by clicking HERE

Thanks for stopping by today!

FREE Scrappy Valentine's Day Coloring Page


Everyone loves a scrappy coloring page! We  have one ready for you for Valentine's Day. We share it with you from our Pond Coloring Club website - it's free to join just with your email! You can find out all about it here

Find it in the 'scrappy' library!

valentine day coloring page


If you need more printables and ideas for incorporating a Valentine's Day theme into your learning space, pop over to our website page to see our growing collection:

Valentine's Day Teaching Ideas



Big Shape Tracing


Use this fun robot themed prewriting activity to help your little learners become engaged and ready for writing.


Handwriting line practice is always a great activity to do with preschool and kindergarten students.

I created this little robot to help a friend of mine who is struggling to motivate her little boy with pre-writing activities! I would love you to have it too!


Find this free page in the tracing library of our FREE coloring club! 


Find out how to join (it's really easy) on our information page.


If you need more 'big shape' tracing - you can find a whole packet of more robot tracing pages on TpT.


and this alphabet version is a popular one too!




I would love to send you some more free printables for your little learners - sign up to the newsletter below so we can stay in contact!

Bonus Bonanza!

Printable Teaching Resources for Teaching Consonant Blends

Blends Bonanza will provide you with everything you need to introduce your students to consonant blends in your phonics program.

After cvc Words

Are your students ready to move on from cvc words?
This pack will help get you started, teaching ccvc and cvcc words!
When teaching consonant blends it is most effective to begin with words than can be sounded-out. It is assumed that your students have already learned single sounds and cvc words.

Consonant Blends in Initial and Final Position

This mega pack includes vibrant and motivating images for 60 words that each have a consonant blend either in the initial or final position (ccvc or cvcc)

  • The 60 words have been carefully selected, and I have made custom graphics to suit. 
  • The 60 words cover ALL of the main blends and there are 12 pictures of each short vowel sound grouping. 
  • It is anticipated that you will introduce these words to your students, sorted in a short vowel sound focus. 
  • The consonant blends that come in the initial position in words, in this packet, include: bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp and st. 
  • The blends in the final position in words, in this pack are: ct, ft, ld, lf, lk, lm, lp, lt, mp, nd, nk, nt, pt, sk and st. 

What is included in the bundle?

I have included:

Poster and Cards Pack 

Print these posters to help introduce each word. Print them 4 to a page to create game cards

Word Making Mats

Use these with magnetic letters or dry erase markers, and students 'build' the word in 3 parts (beginning, middle, end). These will follow on from the word making mats in our original cvc resource "Word Making Train".

Write n Wipe Cards

Print these cards and have students use dry erase markers to write the words. One word per card, 3 difficulty levels

Bingo Mega Pack

Create bingo games for students to practice sounding-out and reading words

Cut and Paste Worksheets

Print and copy for your class, students cut, paste, color and write on these fun worksheets

Puzzle Paste Worksheets

Print these worksheets for students to build ccvc and cvcc words in a fun puzzle format. Each worksheet features 4 puzzles! 60 puzzles are included!
Head over to TpT to grab the files, and I thank you once again for your amazing support!

Is it time to move on? Teaching blends

learning blends in kindergarten

Learning blends in kindergarten and first grade

Blends Bonanza will help you move on from cvc words with your little learners after they have mastered blending 3 single letter sounds.

Word building sequence

We recommend introducing your word-building in the following order:
  1. single sounds (alphabet sounds)
  2. cvc words (introduce with a focus on short medial vowel sound)
  3. consonant blends (initial and final position)
  4. consonant digraphs
  5. vowel sounds and other 'harder' sounds
Phonics Teaching Learning To Read

Teaching Blends after cvc Words

ccvc and cvcc

  • After cvc words look at words that have two consonants in the initial or final position of a word.
  • It makes more sense if students move from cvc to ccvc,to learn blends. Why? Because the only difference between a cvc and a ccvc is one extra consonant. They'll learn it in a snap.
  • For example, it is better to teach the blend "cl" with resources that features words like clam, clip and club (all ccvc words) than 'clothes', 'cloud' and 'clever'.
  • Because there are not too many words in ccvc and cvcc format, you will need to structure your program based on a short vowel sound focus - not a blends focus. For example, one week you can teach a host of ccvc words that have the short a in the medial position. 
  • This is very achievable, as students pick up blends so quickly. They are easier to learn that tricky digraphs that make a whole new sound - like oi or ou. 
  • Consonant blends look like they sound. Once students learn a few, they pick up the others quickly. 
All the resources in our new Blends Bonanza pack will help you introduce and teach blends in ccvc and cvcc format!

Vocabulary

  • You may also have to 'teach' some new vocabulary with our resources - just a few. We have used some ccvc words that may not be overly familiar "stag' for example (male deer). 
  • Little learners will learn these new words quickly as part of an overall focus for the week. Your first activity for the week should be to introduce a bank of words and discuss them. Perfect timing!
  • When you have a short vowel focus to your program, your students will be learning multiple blends at the same time - for example if you do 'short a' first, they could focus on plan, tank, trap and ramp all on one day. 
  • What ties them together is the short vowel, not the blend. 

Blends Bonanza

This packet of resources would follow on very well from our "Words Train" resource, that helps learn cvc words. Although it is not necessary. This resource encourages students to build and make cvc words to gain and understanding of cvc words.

When you use a framework like this for word work, where students are 'building' the word on a structure, it makes learning blends SUPER easy. You just show students how you are making one letter to one of the cards. During your very first lesson on blends, make a cvc word with the coloured cards, and then physically write a new letter on one of the existing cards - so in the image below - b, a, t would become br, a, t and the students could see very clearly how easy it is to add a new letter and make a new word. 


For blends, I would recommend that you print and use the posters to help introduce the students to your focus words for the week.

I printed these '2 to a page'.


The bundle includes worksheets where students can cut and paste to build the word. Write'n'Wipe cards are also available to use in a literacy centre or small group.




The word building mats are very similar to the ones in my cvc packet, incorporating colours for each section of the word. This will assist your students in recognising the blend as one chunk within the word. You can use them with letter brick, magnetic letters, or my favourite - dry erase markers.




Blends Bonanza is in my TpT store HERE

New In Store: Valentine's Day Craft


I would also love to show you a little practical printable writing activity for Valentine's Day - or any time of the year! 

Get to know your students and what they love! They will write an answer to each sentence starter on the flaps of the cupcake and staple their pages togethers. 

You may like to let your students pass their cupcakes around so they can get to know one another. 

Rules for Pinning!

Free Penguin Activity Printable


My little learners have always been captivated with pinning activities, and my daughter is loving it at the moment too!

I just made this 'Penguin Love' pinning page for her, and would love to share it with you!




One thing that I love are 'visuals'. When I introduce new activities and procedures in my classrooms.

Visuals (posters, charts, anchor charts, pictorial sequence cards) help:
  • activities run smoothly 
  • effectively convey and explain rules and procedures
  • provide independence in students by giving them a feeling of security and confidence  
  • reduce the cognitive overload of too many verbal instructions
If I do not have 'visuals' ready made you can 
  • do a little role play
  • hand sketch an illustration/break down of steps

Another approach is to take photos. I use photos of positive and correct procedures to manage student behaviour, and keep them in the bottom drawer of my Core Drawers. 


Today, I made some visuals for "Pinning Rules". These have been on my to do list for a long time, and now that I find drawing pictures on the computer a lot easier - they have finally come to life!

These visuals will help you to have a discussion with your students about the way you want them to behave when using pins in the classroom. 

There are 4 main rules in my pinning activities.

  1. The sharp part of the pin ALWAYS points down. This is the case when you are holding it, using it, or putting it away. It never points out, or towards another person.
  2. We always sit to pin. Students must be sitting down to begin and complete their activity. 
  3. The pin goes in paper only. We do not poke our pin into ANYTHING else!
  4. Put your pin away. This is a very important one. Immediately after the pinning page is complete, the pin goes back in the tub. This will stop pins from ending up on the floor and in a shoe!


Remind your students how happy the children are in the posters. Tell them that they are happy because they are having fun, and at school, fun comes when you follow the rules and act safely!

I found these GIANT pokey pins this week!! SO in LOVE!



Head over to TpT now to find these posters. 


You can also grab the Penguin Love pinning page from our free Coloring Club pinning page library!


Find more fun pinning pages in our collection.