1. Present a capital and lower case U to your child. See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Explain that U is one of the letters that can make different sounds. One sound it makes is the same as the name of the letter. Give examples of hard […]
The Letter Y is an unreliable letter that acts as both a consonant and a vowel. It makes a wide range of sounds including /y/ /e/ and /i/.  1. Present a capital and lower case Y to your child. See if she knows the name of the letter and the sound it makes.  Explain […]
Ripe avocado pit 3 toothpicks Glass of water  Stick toothpicks into middle of pit, spacing so that pit can balance inside the rim of the glass, large end down. Fill glass with enough water to cover bottom of pit. Place in warm spot-not in direct sun. Replace water as it evaporates. When a good […]
The Letter S is a very unreliable letter that often makes sounds other than the base /s/ sound:     /s/ as in snake     /z/ as in was     /sh/ as in sheep   1. Present a capital and lower case S to your child. See if she knows the name of the letter and […]
The letter Q is an extremely reliable, but redundant, letter. It does not make its own unique sound — it makes the /kw/ sound as in queen. This makes it a difficult letter for children to sound out.  1. Present a capitol and lower case Q to your child. See if she knows the […]
We keep a box of small, nonworking appliances, such as an old telephone, answering machine, radio, etc. Then when my kids get bored, I have them choose one of the appliances and take it all apart, and then try to put it back together again. If they get it together and there are some extra […]
1. Present a capitol and lower case O to your child. See if she knows the name of the letter and the sounds it makes. Explain that it’s a letter that sometimes makes the same sound as its name. Give examples of long o words such as ocean, only and oatmeal. See if she knows […]
 Card stock in assorted colors Scissors Hole punch Glue Paper fasteners Yarn or embroidery floss for a giraffe mane and tail Flexible straws  Cut out the shapes as shown from card stock. Punch holes in the head for an eye, a nostril, and a mouth. Next, punch holes in both movable leg pieces […]
