First Grade Homeschooling
From Goals to Words: Using Soccer to Inspire Your Child’s Writing- A non-fiction research unit with my 7 year old
What is Non-fiction writing? Non-fiction writing is a type of writing that aims to inform, explain or educate others about people, events, or issues. Non-fiction writing is: It is important to do a balance of fiction and non-fiction writing. In international schools, students do a combination of fiction and non-fiction study throughout the year. In…
Writing, documenting and creating memories through travel scrapbooking in Japan
Introduction During our winter trip to Japan this time as a mother of two school-aged children, I paid special attention to, and was intrigued by the print-rich environment surrounding us every day. Colorful billboards with flashing slogans, JR maps dotted with tiny Japanese characters, and the endless supplies of flyers and brochures that line every…
What “Small-Moment Writing” looks like in First Grade (at home)
Lucy Calkins’ units are not perfect, but her “whole language” approach does nurture a love of writing. She places a strong emphasis on writer’s craft, and it is not at all too early for 6-7 year olds to start thinking about how authors make a purposeful choice of vocabulary, sentence formation, voice OR tone in…
Age 6 and up
MUST-HAVE literacy resources to support your child at home (Ages 1-7)
(I will keep updating the blog. This is first published in 2022, and last updated as of April 2022.). I have since then launched my own Science of Reading course that will help you understand HOW a child learns to read so you can make full use of the resources you already have at home,…
How to practice Past Tense using “Hey Jack” series (Grade 1-3)
If you haven’t already noticed, many young children’s books are written in the simple present tense. For teachers, this is wonderful to see since exposing children to different tenses in books is one way to get them familiar with its usage. Simple present tense is used to: describe facts or habitsdescribe scheduled events This is…
Ages 4 -6
Learning through the arts- Drawing the English Alphabet
I didn’t use worksheets or workbooks for my kids when they learned to write the alphabet. I taught…
IG / ZOOM LIVE: Starting the “Write” Way for Ages 3-6
I had the pleasure of doing a LIVE workshop with Rajini from @mrsmogan discussing common student issues we…
Setting up a writing center for a 6 year old
Why set up a writing center? At home, a writing center provides an inviting environment so that your child can access writing tools, explore different materials and build a habit of writing. Since I am teaching Kai and Kei to read and write, I do Guided Writing lessons where I teach the skills, and let…
Offering structured choice to encourage writing
What is structured choiceExamples of structured choice in writingProviding structured choice for practicing spellingProviding structured choice through different writing genresNarratives/RecountHow-to WritingOpinion WritingReportsProviding structured choice within a writing centerConclusion 1. What is structured choice? Structured choice is nothing new in terms of behavioral/parenting strategy. A structured choice presents a child with options which are acceptable for…
Supporting your child to write stories with a clear Beginning, Middle and End- foldable trilingual template
Every story should have a beginning, middle and end (BME). One of the many literacy skills a child needs to learn early on is is BOTH to identify BME of any stories, and to write a story with a clear BME. The Picture Book Teacher (here) has a great blog post on the importance of…
Using “Touch and Tell, Touch and Say, Touch and Read” strategies to foster independence in writing
These are the 3 strategies that I teach in the classroom which I have recently introduced at home to help Kai and Kei with writing. I find that when children are encouraged to say things aloud, they often notice things that are often overlooked when they “think silently” to themselves. Encouraging children to use their…
What we need to know about children’s stages of writing development
Many parents ask me: When does a child start writing? It is difficult to answer this question since writing could be anything from “meaningful scribbles,” “letter formation” to “spelling accurately.” Children as young as 2 years old begin making marks on paper to show their thoughts and ideas. Children go through stages of writing development when…
Using the Story Grammar Marker (SGM) to support reading, writing and speaking (Titanic Unit) and others
Children’s stories are more or less structured the same way. The structure, also called “story grammar” divides a story into smaller segments. Depending on what programs you use, the story grammar elements could be different, but character, setting, problem, events are usually standard. It is important that children learn to identify parts of a story…
10 ways to use sticky notes to support literacy at home
I use a lot of sticky-notes in the classroom! I use them for assessments, I use them for Reading Groups, and I use them during Writer’s Workshops. It’s no surprise that I’ve found ways to incorporate them at home when working with Kai and Kei. I use them so much that I keep a stash…
Letting your child’s questions drive learning at home- all about volcanoes
Inquiry at home One benefit of working with my child at home is that I don’t have to worry about following learning standards or curriculum. I can take the time to observe my children’s interests, and let their curiosity determine what projects that they do. After watching the movie ” The Octonauts and the Ring…
Guiding your child to write authentically (3-5 years old)
A while ago, I posted something on Instagram regarding purposeful and meaningful writing that I thought I should elaborate on in a blogpost. I wrote: From Age 3 until now, Kai did many kinds of writing that reflected his interests and need. After all, writing is not only the act of making marks on the…
Learning how to use prepositions with an Easter egg hunt treasure map
Sometimes the best and most meaningful activities with my kids are ones that are not planned, but spontaneous and improvised on the spot based on what they want to…
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Ways to encourage your toddler to write stories at home
Many parents have come and talked to me about their chid’s writing, “How can they be a better writer?” Apart from lessons at school, I think the other 50% of the “how” can be and SHOULD be done at home. Just like reading which can be encouraged, writing can be too. Children can only be better…
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Using 5-senses to encourage your child to write descriptively
Many parents ask, “Ms. Claudia, I want my son to write about his birthday party but he has nothing to write about!” Some other issues among parents who are trying to encourage their child to write descriptively at home include: If your child simply doesn’t want to write, you can refer to my other post…
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Mommy’s Game Plan for Spring: 5-senses Goldfish Journal (Part 3)
Lahlahbanana recently introduced me to this amazing Chinese-learning platform Lingobuddies (here). After browsing the website as a premium member, the first thing I downloaded was a Goldfish Journal Template and a 5-Senses dice. As some of you may recall, I have posted about using sensory details to help a child write descriptively (See post here…
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Mommy’s game plan for Spring: literacy-centered activities (Part 1)
1. Origami Spring wreath + Butterfly Lifecycle We have 3 weeks of Spring holiday, and as our first activity, I wanted to introduce life-cycles to Kai. We began by reading life-cycle related books that we already have in English, Chinese and Japanese. Spring books: “In the Small Small Pond” by Denise Fleming (here) “Dandelions: Stars…
Keep readingAges 8 and up
Teaching Reinforces Learning: how Common Craft Video Enhances Subject Knowledge
Digital storytelling allows students to tell a story that usually revolves around a specific theme or topic. It is channeled through medium such a video, text, pictures, music or recorded audio. Digital storytelling is a great way to have students…
Comparison of Digital Storytelling apps- Puppet Pals VS Toontastic
The Grade 1 students will be focusing on the Central Idea that “Solutions to problems can be found through cooperation.” This topic lends itself for integrating technology into this Unit of Inquiry (UOI), where the students will be asked to come…
Using Popplet in Reading and Writing
Students often struggle with writing because instructional time devoted to teaching the process of writing is limited. What I mean by the process of writing, or the ‘writing process’, is steps generally defined as brainstorming, planning, drafting, and revising.…
Using iMovie split-screen feature to present two different view points
The Grade 4 students will be working on a discussion text for their next writing genre. As their ICT teacher, I wanted to incorporate some simple movie making techniques with this unit. This iMovie project will encourage students to pay attention…
A teaching case for social media: what pen and paper can’t do
Recently, I came across an article (A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute) written by the New York Times which highlights one school in Silicon Valley where, instead of tablet devices and computers, “pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud” are used. With…
Using “Writing a-z” and Minecraft to improve a student’s writing
I have been tutoring Stanley who is student entering the forth grade this summer. One thing his mother told me prior to our first session was that he dislikes writing and his ideas are often scattered without any structure/organization. Since…
Ms Claudia 