Xtra Math - Free Program for Practicing Math Facts

Math fact fluency is so important for continuing math skills!  I found a program that helps your kiddos to master their facts called Xtra Math, and the best part is that it is FREE!  You can watch a video about Xtra Math below:


Getting Started with XtraMath -- for Parents from XtraMath on Vimeo.

Chutes and Ladders Math Facts Practice

I just bumped in to this adorable way to repurpose a Chutes and Ladders Game for your kiddos who are working on their subtraction facts!  Simply print out the cards below.  Each player will take turns picking one of the cards, and the answer to the math problem will determine the number of spaces to move.



Math Fact Chutes and Ladders

The Power of Nature - Guided Reading Book

You can download and print a copy of The Power of Nature here. 

Before reading:

Read the title and names of the authors.  Ask:


• What do you see in the cover photograph? Have you ever seen trees look like this? What was happening at the time?

• Read the headings with your child.  Explain that headings can help a reader to  preview the information that will be presented in the book.
• Say: I want you to find out about storms and other forces of nature and how thesecan harm people and other things. Monitor reading and provide support when necessary.

After Reading:

Ask Your Child:

• In what ways can an earthquake hurt us?
• If you were a scientist, which natural force discussed in the book would you most want to study? Why?

In what ways can a  tornado hurt us?

The Hungry Caterpillar Lesson Plan

Before Reading:

Introduce The Hungry Caterpillar to your child by showing them the cover of the book.  Explain to them that this book is about how a caterpillar changes.

While Reading:

1. Read the first three pages then stop.  Ask the child to brainstorm what type of foods he/she might eat if hungry.  Then ask, "Would caterpillars eat those kinds of foods?"

2. As you finish reading each day of the week, see if your child can tell you the next day of the week.

3. Have your child make predictions about what the caterpillar might eat next.

After Reading: 

✔ What day of the week did the egg hatch into a small caterpillar?


✔ Why was the caterpillar so hungry?

✔ Was the caterpillar eating the right kind of food to help him grow?

✔ How many things did he eat on Monday?

✔ Did he eat more or less on Tuesday? How much more?

✔ How does that amount compare to what he ate on Wednesday and Thursday?

✔ How many things did he eat from Monday through Friday?

✔ How many things did he eat on Saturday?

✔ Why didn’t he feel well on Saturday?

✔For how many weeks was the caterpillar in the cocoon? How many days is that?

✔ What day of the week was it when the butterfly came out of the cocoon?

Language Arts

Compare and contrast butterflies and moths with this venn diagram.

Butterfly letter matching

Learn about real and make believe in the story with this worksheet

Handwriting

Practice writing the letter B with this B is for Butterfly worksheet.

My caterpillar is green handwriting worksheet

Science

Learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly with this craft:

Older kiddos can learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly with these two worksheets:

Lifecycle of a butterfly  (harder)

Lifecycle of a butterfly fill in the blank  (more challenging)

Art/Coloring Page:

Print out this adorable coloring page here.

Here is a butterfly template to make a butterfly craft.

Math

Practice addition with this butterfly addition dice game.

Butterfly addition worksheet

More butterfly math

Try this caterpillar number match file folder game


Listen/Watch the Very Hungry Caterpillar.


You can watch the story illustrated here on YouTube:

Numbers in the teens

Here is a fun video for learning the numbers in the teens.  After you watch the video, practice with the following activities:

Ordering numbers 1 to 20

Tracing numbers 1 to 30

Ordering numbers 1 to 30

Live Owl Cam

The boys and I have become quite addicted to watching the live owl cam here.  Mama owl, Sydney is waiting on the arrival of her new baby owls.  I wanted to share the link with you now, and I am working on some owl resources for my kiddos that I will share as soon as I put them up!

Handwriting

Practice writing the word owl with this handwriting worksheet.

Math

Practice multiplication with this owl themed worksheet.

Art



Your kiddos will love making this adorable owl craft.

Reading

Read Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, then answer the reading comprehension questions and math journal questions here.