A Little Dirt Don't Hurt

11/12/2025

We did nothing according to plan today and it was amazing. An off the books approach is my favorite.

We read this book, which turned into a review about quotation marks showing us when a character is speaking, which turned into highlighting what they were saying, and creating our own play!

We reviewed concepts like setting and characters as well as lots of art and creativity to create the set! When everyone is into what the project is, the concepts stick better. There are claims that it takes up to 400 repetitions to create a new synapse, however, when learning through play, that estimate is DRASTICALLY reduced and it is estimated that only 10-20 repetitions are required.!

I like to remind myself of that on days that go "off the rails" The time and effort spent in these more creative endeavors pay off in the long run. I doubt my kids will have fond memories of textbook days but I am confident that some of today sticks. At least for me.🥰

11/09/2025

What a great interactive way to learn about open and closed syllables! If a syllable is open (ends in a vowel) the vowel says it's long sound (it's name.)
If the syllable is closed (ends in a consonant) the vowel says it's short sound. The visual really helped cement this one in for my kiddos.

02/05/2025

Trying some fun new activities lately! The video is long and includes a full real view of the chaos 😆 but I like to keep it real. Plus.... who has time for all that editing? Not me...

I'm trying to incorporate more movement into their day since we can't go outside as much in the winter so I've brought in the peanut ball!

Toby's been showing interest in letters and their sounds so I've taken a more hands on approach to working on it with him! This is our first attempt at this activity and I included all the letters we've been working. Next time I would keep it to 3 letters at a time I think though.

Lastly (and not pictured well) I laminated some empty bingo boards so I could customize them based on what each child is learning. Toby has letters and has to find their match- we also include their sounds because why not. Jax has sight words he is working on reading. Cooper is working on spelling. He just had the first letter of a word on his card.

We frequently use a free app that let's you create wheels you can customize and spin. I made a wheel with the alphabet, one with Jax's sight words, and one with Cooper's spelling words. I would read Cooper his words and if he could spell them correctly he picked a spot that began with that letter. (If he couldn't he had to write the word out with good handwriting to get the space.)

All the kids loved this and have been wanting to do it everyday. I love when I get a 3 for one activity!

Pictures in comments.

07/29/2024

It's a yogurt party kind of day!

It is all about the presentation on this one (and a few sprinkles 🤫). Some kids struggle with fruits because you never know if you are gonna get a sweet one, a sour one, or a squishy one. Put it in an ice cream cone with some yogurt and nobody seems to care!

Layer yogurt and fruits! Top with whipped cream and sprinkles!

05/13/2024

Who doesn't love a little fingerprint art (or handprint or footprint)! My favorite thing about a good stamp pad is that it's an easy cleanup with some baby wipes which are always nearby.

Today we worked hard on getting those little birdies to be on the line I drew... we had a few birds with different ideas though and that's OK too :)

This led to reading the 3 Little Pigs (because of his piggie), counting the birds we made, checking on our baby birds outside, and singing the itsy bitsy spider. It's fun letting the kids take the lead and seeing where their brains go and what they are interested in!

04/22/2024

Who here can sing the 50 states in alphabetical order?

Music has a way of sticking in our brains and this guy on Instagram knows it! I can't stop watching....

More in the comments

https://www.instagram.com/teachwithmrc?igsh=bjdoMGc2NWdtM2ps

04/19/2024

Looking for ways to teach kids of multiple ages without double or triple the planning? This lady shows some great ways to do that! This dragon activity will DEFINITELY be replicated in our house!

https://www.instagram.com/toddler_kidsactivities?igsh=ZGNzdGRlMmdpZjl6

04/19/2024

Toby (2.5) has been mimicking letter sounds when me and Jax (almost 5) work on them. Every child is different and there is no right age to learn to read! Cooper was reading at 4, Jax is mastering his letters and sounds still, and Toby's jumping in. Age and skill level is not a measure of success. What success looks like is meeting your child where they are at, embracing it, encouraging them, and providing them with consistent (FUN!) activities to build their skills from where they are at!

I just came across this YouTube channel that talks about how to teach your child to read and when they can be ready and he's AWESOME so I wanted to share him with you all!

Getting started with your toddler can be much more fun than you might think. In this video I'll show you how to start small, build on their interests, and ge...

12/10/2023

Stickers are one of those things I always have an abundance of and I think a lot of people have that same situation. Here's a fast activity to put together and use up some stickers! Matching is an early literacy skill and drawing a line across a page requires crossing the midline which is an important developmental skill.

Here's a link for more info on crossing the midline:
https://www.sensationalkids.ie/why-crossing-the-midline-is-an-important-developmental-skill-for-your-chlid/ #:~:text=The%20body's%20midline%20is%20an,opposite%20side%20of%20their%20body.

12/08/2023

Ok....I'm geeking out about this one. I'm sure we've all been there.... your child wants to hear the same book....for the MILLIONTH TIME. Enter the Mom guilt. I know I should read it. I know I should have excitement in my voice.... but the dread of having to read this book AGAIN is real.

Or.... the book is LONG. You have things to get done and just don't have 15 minutes at this very moment to read THAT book.

I found a magical, miracle solution.

I've been obsessed with the idea of a Tonies Box. Basically a unit that a kid can use independently to hear stories. What I wasn't obsessed with was the price tags that come with these things... so I started trying to come up with ways I could create this myself.

Enter NFC tags. What are NFC tags you might ask? I discovered these when I was wanting a forever business card and my brain has been buzzing since with the possibilities. I picked up a pack of 50 sticker NFC tags on Amazon for only $15. This is BY FAR my favorite use for them yet.

My phone (Galaxy S23+) has a ridiculously easy way to record and program these voice clips to your NFC card. I hope this helps someone else out there because I'm so thrilled with this!

*See comments for second recording of this in action. Forgive the recording quality, to record my phone using the NFC tag I needed to use an old phone with a broken camera lens 😆 but it gets the idea across*

**Edit to add- when using "voice labels" to write the NFC tags it seems to make it so that only the phone that writes them can read or utilize the function. This is the first time I've had that issue with the tags so it must be related to how the voice label works. Looking for a work around and I'll share if I find it :) **

08/07/2023

Cooper chose sharks as his thing he wanted to learn about this week so today we learned about buoyancy and the 3 things about a shark that help it to float instead of sink!