School @ the Mill

No big deal – just a 50 cent garage sale find.  I can’t reiterate enough that garage sales are THE PLACE to explore if you are in need of preschool age through at least first grade materials.  This box includes two sets of very sturdy, cardboard flashcards 1-10.  One set has a large numeral on one side and the corresponding amount of animals on the flip side.  The other set has the number written out with appropriate amount of dots to count on one side and the corresponding amount of animals on the flip side.  Here’s a link to the set on Amazon if you’re interested in some more pictures.

This activity came from 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 .  Right now I am focusing on cards 1-5 with Abby.  However, we practice using all of them and, of course, she enjoys putting pom-poms on every single circle.  I haven’t attached velcro to the pom-poms or cards as suggested, but I plan on getting that done soon.  Without it, they roll around too much and it can be difficult for tiny fingers to make them stay put. You can print off your own set of number cards at the site listed above.  Then, you simply cut them out, laminate and attach velcro.  This uses the really tiny pom-poms, which you can typically find at dollar stores. This is an excellent way for kids to develop their fine motor skills while gaining number recognition and learning to count!\

We love this ridiculously easy idea!  Simply combine the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Alphabet Stamp Set with a container of play dough and presto!  You have an awesome preschool activity that can be used in a million different ways!  Any alphabet stamps will work with this idea, but this nice, wooden set should last us forever. I helped Abby flatten out a chunk of play dough.  Then I stamped one letter (either upper or lower case) on the play dough and she has to find and stamp the matching letter.  If that is too difficult for your child, you can simply have them stamp a letter of choice and talk about what letter it is with them. I’m already excited to use this with spelling activities as Abby gets older.  It’d be a great (and fun!) assessment to use.  You could stamp out words, leaving one letter blank and have your child stamp in the missing letter.  It’d be an excellent way to practice word families or writing their name.  So much fun to b...

 I LOVE THIS TOY!  It’s kind of ridiculously expensive on Amazon, but I (of course) found mine at a garage sale.  Don’t let the $2 marker on the box fool you either…. I definitely bargained and just paid a dollar. 😉  I’ve used this through multiple students and children and it is still one of my favorites.  There are color sorting mats, addition mats, pattern mats, bug classification mats – it’s awesome.