Fun Phonics! Easy Activities for Teaching Kids to Read: Er, Ir, Ur – Free Printable!

Use this fun free printable activity to help your child learn the sounds of er, ir, and ur!

How to Teach Your Child to Read the Easy Way! The Fun Way to Learn the Vowels – FREE Printable Activity!

Teach your child the vowels with this fun Old McVowel song!

Picture Books About the Great Depression

Rudy Rides the Rails by Chris Ellison This story from the Tales of Young Americans series is about the hoboes who road the rails during the Great Depression, and it is full of information about how they traveled, ate, worked, and lived.. We especially liked learning about the signs the hoboes would use to communicateContinue reading “Picture Books About the Great Depression”

10 Terrific Picture Books for Teaching Children About World War I

These excellent books make it easy to introduce even young children to the difficult topic of World War I. I learned a lot from reading them too!

Learning History with American Girl Addy Part 2: Addy’s Food

Addy’s Food Slaves were given a weekly ration of food which typically included a few pounds of corn meal and a few pounds of fatty pork, which wasn’t much for an entire week. Slaves who worked on plantations like Addy did were almost always hungry. Some slave masters were more generous and provided some additionalContinue reading “Learning History with American Girl Addy Part 2: Addy’s Food”

How to Teach Your Child to Read the Fun and Easy Way Lesson 3: Sounding Out

Once your child knows the consonant and short-vowel sounds, and understands that these sounds make words (which I discuss in part 1 and part 2 of this series), you can begin to help your child learn to sound out words. Now, this skill will come when your child is developmentally ready, so if he doesn’tContinue reading “How to Teach Your Child to Read the Fun and Easy Way Lesson 3: Sounding Out”

Learning History with American Girl Addy Part 1: Plantation Work

Addy’s story is part of one of the saddest chapters in American history. She grew up as a slave in North Carolina before and during the Civil War. While the atrocities and hardships of slavery are unimaginable to most of us, we can get a little insight into what life was like for African AmericanContinue reading “Learning History with American Girl Addy Part 1: Plantation Work”