September Highlights Hidden Pictures

Highlights Hidden Pictures are always a great go to when the kids start to whine about nothing to do!  You can download Septembers Hidden Pictures here for some extra fun.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider Video and Math Freebie!

Here is an adorable video version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider for your little ones to enjoy:

When they finish watching, print out this fun spider and fly number matching game to play!

Become A Tax Preparer

In my former life, I worked as an accountant in a CPA firm.  My job was primarily as a tax preparer and I really enjoyed it.  I wish that I had known about Fast Forward Academy back then, particularly when I was preparing for my CPA exam and other tax courses.

Tax preparer jobs are a great way to either make a full-time living, or add some extra part-time income to your budget. I am still often asked to prepare several tax returns during tax season, even though it is no longer my primary job.  It is always nice to earn a few hundred dollars per return (especially right after the Christmas Season).

If you are interested in making some extra money this upcoming tax season, or are looking for a career change, you should definitely check out the many resources available from Fast Forward Academy!

Long Vowel E Lesson Plan

Tell your child, "We are going to work with some long-vowel e patterns. The way we’ll do it is we’ll learn a set of clue words, and we’ll use those words to read other words. Your clue words today are eat, bee, and thief. (Write underlined words on a board or print them out on cards). They all use patterns to spell the long e. In the word eat, the letters ea represent the long e. In the word bee, the letters ee represent the long e.In the word  thief, the letters ie represent the long e."

Say: "I am going to show you a new word. I want you to point to the clue word with the same pattern and then say

“I know                                    . This must be                                                   .”

Show your child various words with these patterns, either written on the board or on index cards.  Have your child practice reading them several times.

Then have your child read the Bee and The Flea which you can print out for free here.

 

Watch a Butterfly as it is born! Plus a freebie!

Here is a great time-lapse video of a butterfly as it is born.

After your child has watched it, they can complete this fun life cycle of a butterfly craft.

Apples, Apples, Everywhere!

Fall always reminds me of apples and lots of them!  Here are a few great activities for incorporating apples into your daily lessons:

Give your child a large sheet of construction paper folded in half and the sequencing sheet below.  They cut out the pics, label each one, and glue it inside their folded piece of construction paper. 

Make up some yummy homemade apple sauce with this recipe below:

Here are a few more apple activities to try:

Apples Graphing

Apples in Boxes Counting Activity

Color the Apples AB patterns

Apple Number Order

Watch an Egg Hatch and Free Emergent Reader

Many kids don't get to see eggs hatching in real life, so here is a great way to help your child experience just that!



After watching the video, have them practice their reading skills with this great emergent reader.