Activities on the Go!

admin January 23, 2014 No Comments

It just  hit me one day!  I was cleaning the basement and came across a whole stack of old Disney movies.  I just couldn’t throw them away- oh, the memories.  What could I do with all those movies?  Okay, maybe it’s not the best solution for the movies themselves, but the CASES!  Perfect for storing activities!  My teacher friends are always looking for ways to store their activities.  These old video cases are absolutely perfect!  It kind of became an obsession–well, not “kind of”- it became a big obsession.  I decided to create 17 different activities which could fit in these cases. I had about 10 cases so I had to hop on over to the Habitat for Humanity Restore

[Read More...]

DIY Notepads

admin January 21, 2014 No Comments

My scrap drawer was overflowing! What am I to do with all that paper??  Well, I just can’t bring myself to throw it all away, but certainly I didn’t need all that scrap paper myself.  So, in the spirit of recycling I decided to make my own notepads.  Okay, I know, it’s nothing fancy, but I thought if I made them a little bit cute then I wouldn’t feel so guilty just handing a wad of paper to my friends at work. Making your own notepads is pretty simple.  Making the adhesive binding requires only three ingredients:  vinegar, glycerin and unflavored gelatin.  You can find the glycerin in a pharmacy.  Here are the steps: Dissolve 1/2 Tbsp of unflavored gelatin

[Read More...]

Flipping Eggs!

admin January 16, 2014 No Comments

The Flipping Pancakes for sight words activity was such a hit I thought I’d shake it up a bit and create an activity for flipping eggs!  It’s amazing to me how something so simple can keep the kiddos engaged while practicing an otherwise – maybe not so fun- skill.  This activity is great for either your classroom literacy centers or as an activity for small group instruction.  Grab a spatula at the dollar store,  print the eggs, laminate (optional), cut them out and you’re ready to go!  Having a pan and plate available isn’t really necessary, but it just adds a little novelty.  The flipping eggs activity is available for the alphabet, consonant-vowel-consonant words and the Dolch 220 sight words.

[Read More...]

Winter Themed Math Bundle for K-1

admin January 11, 2014 No Comments

I’m not sure which season I love best- fall or winter.  When you live in the great white north, you have to like winter even just a little bit.   So, in the spirit of one my favorite seasons, I created math center activities for kindergarten and first grade.  This bundle is jam packed with 12 hands-on winter-themed activities for your kiddos.   Here’s a peek of what’s in the pack: Play Doh mats are one of my favorite hands-on activities for introducing basic number concepts.  I’m pretty picky about my doh so I make my own using a common recipe that can be found on the internet.  The trick is to make the doh using either alum or cream

[Read More...]

So You Think You Can Draw…..

admin January 7, 2014 No Comments

Years ago my youngest daughter was taking piano lessons. On the wall above the piano at her teacher’s home hung a poster that read “If you can talk, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance”.  I love that quote.  Every week while waiting for her lesson to end, I read that quote.  It became kind of my mantra for the upcoming week.  Just a reminder to throw caution to the wind and try something new regardless of what others think.  Well, following the “if you can talk, you can sing”  theme, how about  “if you can write, you can draw”.  Humm……..  I am so envious of artists.  Really, I am.  I so wish I had an ounce

[Read More...]

DIY Number Puzzles

admin January 3, 2014 No Comments

I’ve been seeing number puzzles all over Pinterest.  These puzzles are ideal for independent centers for working with number order.  They’ve been printing the  puzzles on card stock and cutting and the pieces.  That’s a great idea, but I thought if we created the puzzles on craft sticks they’d be much more durable and will last for years to come.  Sure, it’s a little more work on the front-end, but it’s so well worth the effort. Making your own puzzles is super easy.  All you’ll need is Mod Podge, large craft sticks and pictures.  I created my own pictures on the computer which you could download for free.  You could also copy your own photographs on a printer or use

[Read More...]

Flipping Pancakes!

admin December 31, 2013 No Comments

It’s important to add a little variety into our small group instruction and into our literacy center activities.  Sometimes just adding a little twist to a drill and practice activity can do the trick.  The Flipping Pancakes activity is super easy to make and guaranteed to keep our students engaged.  Simply print the pancakes (laminate if desired) and then cut them out.  Have your students read the words and then flip the pancake with a spatula.  This activity is super simple, but the kids just absolutely love it! Storing your activities can sometimes be a bit challenging.  I typically store mine in baggies, but plastic storage containers will work great too! The Make, Take & Teach Flipping Pancakes activity is

[Read More...]

Motivating Struggling Readers

admin December 26, 2013 No Comments

This is a post about helping children to become better readers- I promise.  Before we talk about reading, however, I’d like to share with you a story about the love-hate relationship that I have with my guitar.  Yep, that’s right- my guitar. Fifteen years ago I was a stay-at-home mom.  My children were just old enough to entertain themselves for brief periods of time so I thought I’d do something new.  That “something” would be learning to play the guitar.  At the time was I attending our contemporary mass at church and a new friend was one of two guitar players.  I asked Lori if she wouldn’t mind teaching me to play. She agreed, so off I went to purchase

[Read More...]

Teaching Students to Blend Words

admin December 21, 2013 No Comments

Blending sounds into words–what an exciting step in learning to read.  Once students know a few consonants and vowels, we can begin to teach them how to blend those sounds into meaningful words.  Blending, for some students, is a challenge.  Do you have students who know their letters and sounds and can sound out any word sound-by-sound, but yet haven’t figured out how to smoothly connect the sounds?  Their reading may sound something like this:  “The /b/ /u/ /g/ bug is /u/ /n/ /d/ /e/ /r/ under the /r/ /u/ /g/ rug.”  For these students, direct instruction in blending will be needed. One way to begin instruction is to help students recognize patterns within words.  We can do this by

[Read More...]

Race Car Blending

admin December 14, 2013 No Comments

Here’s a super fun way for teaching students to blend words.  Just a quick little stop at the dollar store to pick up a few race cars and you’re all set.  Simply provide each student with a racing track and a car and have them say the sounds of the letters as they move the car across each letter.  We want to be sure that they are smoothly blending the sounds together and not stopping between each sound and this little activity may just do the trick.  It’s also a great way to engage those boys! The Race Car Blending activity can be found in my online Teachers Pay Teachers store or through the Make, Take & Teach website.  

[Read More...]

Follow Us

Popular Posts

Copyright © 2025 · Make Take & Teach · Site by Bit Social Media