Did you know that there are five skills your child should master before you begin formal reading instruction? Because these reading readiness skills are so important, we call them The Big Five Skills.

Would you like to help your child avoid some of the most common errors in written English? Today we’re talking about the misuse of contractions, especially when it comes to words like it’s vs. its and you’re vs. your.

You’ve probably seen these mistakes; maybe they’ve even made you cringe.

When your child is a struggling learner, it can be scary.

My son struggled with reading and spelling, so I know firsthand what that fear feels like.

You feel responsible for making sure your child grows up being able to read and spell proficiently, because you know that your child’s future options will be limited without those essential skills.

Did you know that President Taft was so big he needed to have a jumbo-sized bathtub installed in the White House? Or that George Washington’s first set of false teeth were made out of hippopotamus ivory? If your kids think history is boring, these books just might change their minds!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we have a sweet rhyming activity for your kids! And it’s designed for all ages, because rhyming continues to be an important part of phonological awareness even as students move on to more advanced reading.

Let’s get started!

Don’t Put Those Mittens Away!

When winter hangs on and the snow keeps piling up, a bit of extra warmth is just what the weatherman ordered!

But not ALL mittens are for wearing. These mittens are for eating!

Perhaps you’ve heard of using copywork to teach spelling. Maybe you’ve even assigned some spelling copywork to your children. Still, you may be wondering about the benefits of this popular homeschool discipline.

And more importantly—does it really work?

Maybe you haven’t heard of schwas before, or maybe you’ve heard of them but are wondering how to teach schwas to your children. If so—read on! By the end of this post, I hope to have helped you make sense of the schwa.

Here are eight fantastic ways to develop pre-reading skills using alphabet refrigerator magnets (with no mess or fuss)! And if magnets don’t stick to your fridge, you can do these same activities using a metal baking sheet or the front of your dishwasher.

Does your child have gaps in reading and spelling?

Hundreds of thousands of children struggle to learn to read and spell. They spend hour after tiring hour being fed information, only to eventually be tagged as “unable to read” or labeled with a learning disability that keeps them from being able to spell.

If your student is a beginning or struggling speller, one of the most important things you can do is teach him how to segment words. Knowing how to segment opens up a whole world of literacy. In fact, it’s surprising that this important spelling skill isn’t taught more widely, especially given how easy it is to teach.

Emperor penguins are amazing!

At the beginning of the winter, the female penguin lays an egg and then goes off in search of food. The daddy penguin stays behind with a very important job. While he waits for the mother to return, the father has to keep the egg (and himself) warm during the long, frigid, Antarctic winter.