Practising reading and writing with Flashcards

Making writing fun can be really tricky especially for children who don't want to pick up a pencil. I have found my kids prefer writing on small pieces of paper.

One of the activities my daughter enjoys is making her own flashcards. I give her a pile of small sheets of paper, various pens and pencils, and a pack of flash card for inspiration and to help with words she cannot spell
She will sit for a hour or so drawing pictures, reading words, and writing. She has a great sense of self achievement and is always really proud of her finished pack of Flashcards.

Singing with Flash Cards

My children love playing with Flash Cards but after a little while they start to lose interest and want to do something else. To keep them interested a little longer I decided to use the cards a little bit differently. We look for words that are used in our favourite songs. 

There is a few different ways you can do this. The cards  can be grouped beforehand and the children can read the words on the cards and then sing the song associated with those words. The cards can be laid out so the children can pick some pictures and then sing the song or you could ask them to find the cards that match a song. 

Children could also be given the chance to use their imagination and be creative. Let them pick cards at random and make up their own songs. 

Here are a few examples :) 

Twinkle twinkle little star, my dad drives a rusty car

Turn the engine, pull the choke

Off he goes with a puff of smoke

Twinkle twinkle little star, my dad drives a rusty car 

Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick sick sick

So she phoned for the doctor to be quick quick quick

The doctor came with his bag and hat

And he knocked on the door with a rat-a-tat-tat

He looked at dolly and he shook his head

And said Miss Polly put her straight to bed 

He wrote on a paper for a pill pill pill 

I will be back in the morning with my bill bill bill

Hey diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle 

The cow jumped over the moon

The little dog laughed to see such fun 

And the dish ran away with the spoon 

How much is that doggie in the window

The one with the waggley tail

How much is that doggie in the window 

I do hope that doggie's for sale

Row row row your boat 

Gently down the stream 

Merrily merrily merrily merrily 

Life is but a dream 

Rock Rock Rock your boat 

Gently down the stream 

If you see a crocodile 

Don't forget to scream

Row Row Row your boat 

Down the Arctic river 

If you see a Polar Bear 

Don't forget to shiver

Rock Rock Rock your boat 

All the way to shore

If you see a Lion there 

Don't forget to ROAR!

Wind the bobbin up, wind the bobbin up

Pull pull clap clap clap 

Wind it back again, Wind it back again 

Pull pull clap clap clap

Point to the ceiling, point to the floor

Point to the window, point to the door

Clap your hands together 

One two three

Put your hands down on your knee. 

Old MacDonald had a farm ee-i-ee-i-ooo

And on that farm he had a pig ee-i-ee-i-ooo

With a oink oink here and a oink there 

Here a oink there a oink 

Everywhere a oink oink

Old MacDonald had a farm ee-i-ee-i-ooo

(repeat verse with other animals)

The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round, round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round 

all day long

The cat on the bus go Miow miow miow

Miow miow miow, miow miow miow 

The cat on the bus goes Miow miow miow 

All day long 

(Stray away from the traditional verses and mix the verses up with whatever animals/ things your child desires. The children will have a giggle imagining all the bizarre things on the bus. )

Five little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me'

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be

Snap!

There are four little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me' 

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be 

Snap! 

There are three little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me'

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be

Snap!

There are two little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me' 

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be 

Snap! 

There is one little monkeys swinging in a tree

Teasing Mr crocodile 'you can't catch me'

Along came Mr crocodile hungry as can be

Snap!

There are no more monkeys swinging in a tree

The Tiny Turnip

My children love  The Gigantic Turnip. It is one of their favourite story books.  I used this book as inspiration for last nights meal. It is very important to me to teach my children about healthy eating  but I try do it in a subtle way. My children watch and help me cook.  Its part of everyday discussions and I try to include it in some of our activities.

I read the story then asked my children to find a turnip in the fridge. They were very disappointed that it was very tiny unlike the gigantic turnip in the story.

'We can call ours the tiny turnip' - Macey

I don't like to just tell them fruit and vegetables are good for you I like to give them a reason why so I usually pick one item from our meals and give them one example of why its good for them. In tonights meal I told them the tiny turnip has lots of fibre to help our tummies digestive system run smoothly. 

On a fine March morning, the old woman sat up in bed, sniffed the sweet spring air  and said,

'It's time to sow the vegetables!' So the old man and the old woman went into the garden. 

They sowed peas and carrots and potatoes and beans. Last of all they sowed turnips.

We used the same vegetables that the old man and woman sowed in our recipe. We added peas and carrots with some mince turkey, parsnips, and vegetable stock and plopped some mini dumplings on top. We made turnip and potato mash and served with green beans. 

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Usbournes very first reading

As a child reading was a passion from a very early age. My childhood was consumed by books and the dream of becoming an author. Although this dream did not go beyond the shed in the garden, where I sat with my little type writer typing stories about giant blob monsters and magical worlds I still have a special place for books.
My love for books is shared with my 2 year old son and my 4 year old daughter. My daughter loves listening to Roald Dahl, and Enid Blytons Faraway Tree stories. There is nothing I like more then to enlighten their imagination with the books I loved as a child

Bearing this in mind I believe the best gift you can give your children is the ability to read and after a bit of research I found the perfect set of books to help with early reading: Usbournes very first reading.
They are a set of fifteen books designed to introduce younger children to read together with a parent.  Parents and children take turns to read from the page (the text clearly marked for who should be reading) and as the books progress in the series the adults read less and less and the child more and more. Here is a video of Peter Usbourne the company founder introducing the range and explaining how they work.