Wanting to make working on reading heart words a hands-on activity at home? Feel free to
download my heart word playdough mats by
clicking here. Research shows that young children learn best when they are moving and actively participating in whatever it is they should be learning. Working with playdough to form and build words is a fabulous way to engage young learners!
 |
| Read the word, roll a playdough "snake", and build the word |
You will need:
Because the heart word list I use in the classroom is color-coded, I chose to print each color level on paper that matches. It helps me sort the words quickly, and it also allows me to have students working on the level they need the most practice reading. The words can certainly be printed on white copy paper, though.
I run the mats through my personal laminator so that the mats will hold up with 30 sets of hands touching them week after week. I also cut the mats into cards because I have multiple students using these at one time.
 |
| Laminated & trimmed word cards |
|
However, you
do not need to laminate the mats for home use. You could build the words directly onto paper with the dough, or you could place each printed sheet in a plastic page sleeve, as I did in the picture below. This protects the mats from sticky dough and makes for easy storage if you place the page sleeves in a 3-ring binder, as seen below. (Heavyweight, non-glare page sleeves work best for this activity.)
 |
| Mat in a plastic page sleeve |
Playdough can be purchased at any of the retail stores around, but you might have all of the ingredients to make a batch in your kitchen.
 |
| This batch has two packets of watermelon limeade drink mix. Yum! |
Homemade playdough is so much fun to make! Here is a link to my favorite recipe:
https://nellieedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Play-Dough-Recipe.pdf
Can you imagine having to tie shoes for 20-30 kiddos each day? Ahhhhh! That's the stuff a teacher's nightmares are made of (no joke). If and when your child's shoe comes untied at school, he/she will be encouraged to either tie their own shoes...or find a friend to help them do it. In our classroom, students must "ask three before you ask me". That means ask at least three friends before asking a teacher for help. (Children already able to tie looooove to show off this skill.)
