Frog & Toad Get a Facelift

February 17, 2017 by lauraschachter@gmail.com

Free Long and Short Vowels Activities

Distinguishing between long vowel and short vowel sounds can be fun to teach! Identifying the differences between long and short vowels can be difficult for some children. If you turn practice into a game format, then distinguishing between the long and short vowels becomes fun! Thus, “Frog and Toad” the vowel amphibians came into being. Use these fun characters to create a meaningful reason to distinguish between long and short vowel sounds. Grab these free long and short vowels activities here!
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DIY Container Creations

January 29, 2016 by lauraschachter@gmail.com

DIY: Container Creations

Read on for a quick DIY tutorial on creating a dog out of a cascade container. Use ‘Bingo the dog’ for tons of learning games and add a bit of fun to practicing basic skills. This sweet dog can also be used as a container for your Valentine cards! You can read about my inspiration for creating Container Creations here.

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Novelty & Learning

January 27, 2016 by lauraschachter@gmail.com

Have you ever noticed how kids just can not resist the pull of something strange and new? Novelty helps capture attention.

I love capitalizing on childrens’ love of novelty to cement new information into their brains. Thus, I began to dream up “Container Creations”.

The beauty of these interesting objects is that they are novel and grab attention, but also have some specific educational value. The kids are able to interact with the creations and practice specific skills. It turns rote practice into a coveted activity.

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DIY Turkey From A Plastic Bucket

November 8, 2015 by lauraschachter@gmail.com

Learning Fun With Turkey: Turkey Learning Activities

Tons of learning activities revolving around a turkey. Great ideas to incorporate around Thanksgiving. DIY turkey container (he really eats!), rhyming activities, letter identification, initial and ending sound fun, and more!

You can see the directions to make a turkey out of a Cascade container here.

Get the directions to make the Print & Cut turkey here.

Ways to Use Your Turkey

Pass out cards to help kids practice basic skills: letter identification, beginning & ending sounds, rhymes, numeral identification, counting, addition, subtraction, or any skill you choose. We used cards from my Turkey Time: Literacy Pack. You can pass out cards to the whole group, or use the turkey in a center. Kids will feed the turkey!

Use the “Turkey Time” rhyme to spark excitement with the kids. Change the key words in the rhyme to help students’ focus on the specific skills.

Get your free copy of the turkey rhyme here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzdf4OqBvDfcbWFOTFhkWFRXZFE/view?usp=sharing

Materials Needed for Bucket Turkey

Plastic bucket (I got mine from the Dollar Store)
Foam or card stock
Felt to cover the turkey’s body
Hot glue
Magnet
Tape

DIY Bucket Turkey

Step 1: Cut out the shapes for the turkey. Use foam or card stock for the turkey shapes. I use foam for a more durable turkey.

Step 2: Fold the beak in half.

Step 3: Tape the feathers together and glue the black pupils into the middle of the eyes.

Step 4: Tape a magnet or rock to the tip of the beak. This is just to give the beak some weight. It will help keep the turkey’s mouth closed.

Step 5: Tape the beak to the back of the bucket.

Step 6: Tape or glue the eyes to the top of the beak.

Step 7: Tape the feathers to the back of the bucket.

Step 8: Hot glue felt around the base of the bucket.

Step 9: Your turkey is ready for learning fun!

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to head over to The Primary Pack to see more ideas on how to use the turkey!

Head over to my TPT store to get my “Turkey Time” pack. It will be 50% off for the rest of this week for Kelly and Kim’s Markdown Monday. Check out their blog for this week’s deals!

http://kellyandkimskindergarten.blogspot.com/2015/11/markdown-monday-linky-party-november_8.html

Frog and Toad Freebie!

March 17, 2014 by lauraschachter@gmail.com

Free Long and Short Vowel Sorting Game

Engage students with a FREE long and short vowel sorting game, featuring the lovable characters Frog & Toad. The games are differentiated for young learners.

I am sitting here looking out the window at the SIX inches of snow on the ground! I am so ready for spring!! I have been stuck in bed for the last few weeks, so I decided to make a spring freebie. I thought it might make me feel a little more “springy”!

I love frogs and toads! When I was little, I went searching for frogs and toads in the woods behind our house. I always loved catching them and playing with them. My kids don’t have the woods right behind their house, so I decided to make them a pretend frog and toad. They can play with them and feed them flies!

Materials You Will Need:

I’ve included the affiliate links to the stuff I used to create frog and toad.
Lysol Wipe Containers– or any container with a circular top.
Large Google Eyes
Scrapbook Paper: to cover the containers
Pipe Cleaners: for tongues
Foam: for more durable eyes
Hot Glue
Hot Glue Gun

I started with a Lysol wipes container and removed the paper on the outside.

I took a razor blade and cut out the middle of the top of the Lysol container. This is the mouth for the frog.

I attached brown paper to the outside of the toad and green foam to the outside of the frog. You can use whatever you have on hand. You can get a pack of photo scrapbook paper here. I think the cracked earth looks a lot like a toad.

I then used the same paper or foam to create the back of the frog/toad’s eyelids. I cut a smaller piece of foam and hot glued it to the larger piece.

I then attached a large googly eye and attached the whole eye to the back of the Lysol container.

Here is the toad- ready to eat!

I used a red pipe cleaner to create a durable tongue for the frog/toad. I wrapped it around my finger to make it look curly and hot glued it to the divet in front of the frog/toad’s mouth.

Here is the frog ready for action!

You can use the frog and toad for anything, but I thought it would be great to use them for sorting short and long vowel words. Frog is for the short vowels and toad is for the long vowels. The words “frog” and “toad” can help students remember the differences between long and short vowel sounds.

I created a freebie with the labels for the frog and toad, as well as, flies with short and long vowel words on them. Students will read the words out loud and sort the words into the appropriate container.

Students will then use the recording sheet to record the long and short vowel words. They will also use some of the words to create an original sentence. Click here to get your Frog and Toad Freebie!

I would love it, if you would let me know how it works for you!!!

I have another FUN and interactive set to work on long and short vowels. This pack includes sorting mats, picture and word cards, printables, and interactive booklets. Kids will “meet” animals for each short and long vowel sound. Check out this pack in action here.