Language and Literacy for Little Learners

Recently I presented at an early childhood conference on the subjects of language and literacy for early learners.  I came up with and copied some really cool ideas for helping to teach young children about literacy and ways to increase language acquisition.  Below are some of the things I presented.  My favorite of all is the cute little "puppets" made simply from gloves, googly eye rings and some homemade hair (made from tying ribbon, string, rick-rack, etc. to simple ponytail holders).  Put all the gloves, eyes and hair in a plastic jar and let children come up with their own puppets.  Then encourage them to tell stories, etc. with their puppet. 



Jar of Puppets...sounds like an awesome rock band or something *wink*

The "hair" is made from a ponytail holder I found.



Ribbon and sparkly trim just tied onto a ponytail holder.  I also glued snowflake sequins to the ends of the ribbon.

My husband said this is Elsa from Frozen...can't you just see her singing "Let it Go"?

I call this one Neon-y...she's always very tired (yawns a lot)



Mother Nature (notice leaf sequins glued on to ribbon)

If this were a green glove, it could be a frog.  I made a cool one from a camouflage glove that looked like a giraffe.  The possibilities are endless! 

Alphabet Pizza: Glue red paper to a pizza pan and let children use magnetic letters on it.

Peeps Carrot and Letter Hunt: Make Peeps and carrots from felt.  Glue a magnet between two peeps and paint on eyes.  Glue two carrots together with a paperclip partially tucked inside.  Add another paperclip to the first one.  Place magnetic letters/numbers and carrots in a basket filled with shredded paper or Easter grass.  Let the Peep search for letters and carrots.



I Spy Game: throw a bunch of toys, nuts, bolts, Barbie shoes (always missing one from a pair!), and any smaller item you can find into a non-breakable jar.  Dump on the floor and play I Spy.  The fun part of this game is that it can continue to grow as you find more objects to add.  You can use this game to teach categorizing (by color, type, etc.), language building, and concentration.

Shelly

Papertrey Build a Bouquet Challenge

Ugh...it's getting late but I wanted to get one more entry in.  For this card, I used the Birds & Blooms set along with the Reasons to Smile set.  I inked the stems and flowers then added a touch of sparkle with some embossing powder.

Shelly

PTI Maile Belles Inspiration Challenge

Maile Belles has a clean and sophisticated style.  I typically don't go running towards that style, but Maile does a fine job showcasing it with Papertrey products.  I found one card I liked in particular for Valentine's Day, then I made my own from her inspirational piece.

Maile's Card

My Card

Shelly

Papertrey Ink Bagged & Tagged Challenge

I created this gift bag made from one sheet of 12x12 cardstock.  It's all in the way it's folded!  I think it looks great paired with the Sending Love tag and I like that it's masculine...not enough of that going around!

Shelly

Papertrey's Heavy Metal Challenge

So Bloggers, as you can see, I'm going backwards a bit in the Papertrey Ink anniversary challenges.  I made a few of the projects during the week, but am just getting to photographing and posting them, so there you go!

Here is my entry for the Heavy Metal challenge.  I have been making some of these sweet tealight cakes for friends and family when they have birthdays...cute huh?

Shelly

Papertrey Ink Blue Ombre Challenge

Papertrey Ink is celebrating the company's 8th anniversary.  Part of the festivities include daily challenges and/or contests.  Day 8 is the Blue Ombre challenge.  I made this card using a paint chip card from the hardware store.

Shelly