As parents & teachers of preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten littles, we need to understand the typical progression of writing development in order to help our kids become strong writers.

Journal writing seems to be a popular activity to foster writing development in early childhood classroom, but how can we make sure it's actually effective & meaningful?

Keep listening to learn about best practices for journal writing time, including focusing on fine motor journals and handwriting instruction FIRST before introducing journal writing.

*Looking for ultimate guide to handwriting development? Click here.

*Looking for tips for teaching name writing? Click here.

*Looking for the FREE Name Cards or the FREE Alphabet Chart I shared in this episode? Those are available as a special THANK YOU to my email subscribers! Join my email list here.

JOURNAL WRITING SUPPLIES:

The following are Amazon Affiliate Links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

1) Small Pencils

2) Primary Journals

3) Melissa and Doug Stamps

4) Dot Markers

5) Circle Scissors

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Happy Learning!

-Erin

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As parents & teachers of preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten littles, we need to understand the typical progression of pre-writing & writing development in order to help our kids become strong writers.

Keep listening to learn about typical pre-writing line development as well as the 4 Phases of Writing Development according to research.

*Looking for the handwriting blog post? Click here.

*Looking for the name writing blog post? Click here.

*Looking for small pencils to use during handwriting time? Click this affiliate link. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Handwriting & Name Writing Video Playlist

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Happy Learning!

-Erin

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As a preschool / pre-k teacher and literacy specialist, I see many parents and teachers VERY focused on having kids memorize "sight words" in order to help with reading.

But research tells us that memorizing words as whole words is ineffective and NOT helpful to our kids.

Instead, we want to pull apart the sounds in words and map those sounds onto letters, which is called phoneme-grapheme mapping.

By doing this, our brains will "orthographically map" those words into our sight word memories.

Keep listening to learn more about the process of orthographic mapping, and find out why it's the key to helping little ones become strong readers.

VIDEO LINKS:

1) Sight Words vs. High-Frequency Words

2) Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping

3) Heart Word Method

4) Heart Words vs. Flash Words

5) VC and CVC Word Blending

*Download the sounds mats for FREE here

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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When teaching little ones to read in preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten, there are two types of books you'll come across that are marketed for beginning readers: Decodable Books and Leveled Books.

There are advocates for both types of books, but which ones are truly going to teach our kids to read according to the Science of Reading?

Keep listening to learn more about each type of book and why one of them is the clear winner when teaching kids to read.

EPISODE LINKS:

1) Sight Words vs. High-Frequency Words

2) Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping

3) Heart Word Method

4) Heart Words vs. Flash Words

5) VC and CVC Word Blending

6) Orthographic Mapping

*BOB Decodable Books (This is an Amazon Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

>>> Grab my FREE Animal Alphabet here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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In order to become strong readers and spellers, kids need to learn to blend and segment sounds within a word.

One of the BEST activities to work on these skills is word chaining.

Word chains are effective because they promote orthographic mapping, phonemic awareness, and a deeper understanding of the alphabetic principle.

They are ideal for our preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students who are learning to read and spell.

Keep listening to learn 2 different ways to use word chains with your littles to help them become strong readers and spellers.

Want to learn about using VC and CVC words to work on segmenting and blending? Check out this video.

*The following links are Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases:

1) Magnetic Letters

2) "A Fresh Look at Phonics" by Wiley Blevins

3) Primary Notebook

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

>>> Grab my FREE Sound Mats here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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In order to become strong readers and spellers, kids need to learn to blend and segment sounds within a word.

But what words should we use when doing these blending and segmenting activities with our beginning readers?

Keep listening to learn about how to use VC and CVC words with your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten littles to help them become strong readers and spellers.

Want to learn 3 different ways to teach blending? Check out this video.

Need some fun, hands-on ideas to work on blending? Check out this video.

Magnetic Letters. *This is an Amazon Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

*Download the sounds mats for FREE here.

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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Teaching kids their names is one of the most important things we can do for preschool & pre-k littles to prepare them for kindergarten.

We want them to recognize their name, spell their name, and write their name independently.

But how can we accomplish this goal in a play-based way?

Keep listening because this episode gives you 10+ fun, hands-on, and engaging ways to practice names with your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten little.

LINKS TO ITEMS SHARED IN PODCAST:

Name Writing Sheets (Editable, Printable)

Chyrsanthemum Blog Post (which includes FREE In My Name/Not In My Name Letter Sorting Mat)

Melissa & Doug Alphabet Stamps (This is an Amazon Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Space Name Craft

*Video: Preschool Handwriting: Write Names in Uppercase FIRST

*Video: Preschool Handwriting: 5 Tips for Learning Names

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

>>> Grab my FREE Animal Alphabet here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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One of the most important steps when teaching students to read is teaching them HOW to properly blend letter sounds.

This starts with LOTS of oral blending (phonemic awareness), and then we introduce students to blend when reading printed words.

Keep listening for some fun, hands-on, and engaging activities you can use when teaching blending to your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students to help them become strong readers.

These blending ideas are based on the book "A Fresh Look at Phonics" by Wiley Blevins. You can find the book here. *This is an Amazon Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

>>> Grab my FREE Blending Letters here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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One of the most important steps when teaching kids to read is teaching them how to blend properly.

This starts with LOTS of oral blending (phonemic awareness), and then we introduce how to blend when reading printed words.

Keep watching to learn about three types of blending you can use with your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten littles to help them become strong readers.

These blending ideas are based on the book "A Fresh Look at Phonics" by Wiley Blevins. You can find the book here. *This is an Amazon Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

>>> Would you rather watch this information as a video? Click here!

>>> Grab my FREE Blending Letters here!

Let's Connect!

>>> Join my email list here!

>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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Do you know the difference between continuous sounds and stop sounds when teaching students to read?

Knowing the difference is SO helpful when you start working on blending with your preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten littles.

Keep listening to learn all about these two types of letter sounds and why they're important when teaching reading.

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>>> Grab my Consonants and Vowels FREEBIE here.

Let's Connect!

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>>> Reach out on Instagram @littleslovelearningblog

Happy Learning!

-Erin

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