Posts

Showing posts from June, 2014

Making Teen Numbers Folder Game

Image
This jungle-themed folder game teaches kids how "teen" numbers are formed by asking them to place the numbers 0-9 over a row of tens.  The game boards also include a pile of 10 bananas and a set of 10 banana cards.  For each teen number, the parent can help the child add the correct number of bananas to the pile (n+10) as a second way to emphasize how teen numbers are formed. To access the folder game, click the link below: Making Teen Numbers We're linked up!

Ducks in a Row Busy Bag

Image
This folder game isn't about counting, but it is about numbers, the order of them.  The child is asked to line the ducks up in numerical order from 1-10.  This activity will be used during our "D is for duck" week in preschool. To download the PDF, click on the link below: Ducks in a Row

X Marks the Spot Folder Games

Image
More folder games!  It seems to be the only theme on my blog right now (yikes!). I have another set of folder games to share with you.  These correspond with our preschool week "X marks the spot," which will be pirate themed and feature the letter X.  The PDF contains 4 versions of a treasure map, in increased difficulty.  The first is a simple picture to picture match.  The second and third are letter matching (one lowercase to lowercase and one uppercase to lowercase).  The fourth game is a word matching one with a secret message.  In all of them, the child is asked to use their "spy glass" (magnifying glass) to match tiny pictures with larger ones to create a path from the pirate to his treasure. To download these games, click on the link below: X Marks the Spot

Desert Toob Matching Game

Image
/> For our "D is for Desert" unit, I've decided to make the folder game 3D by making a matching game using real pictures of desert animals and figurines from the Desert Toob by Safari Ltd.  This is a similar game as others have done (including this blog (ocean) and this one (penguins) ). To download the PDF, click on the link below: American Desert Match

Y is for Yarn Folder Game

Image
The best part about homeschooling is choosing your own curriculum and areas of study.  One of our preschool themes for next year will be "Y is for Yarn," where we'll look at how yarn is manufactured, the colors and textures of yarn, and do crafts with yarn.  For a knitting mommy, this is the best of all worlds. The folder game for this unit is a color sorting game, where the children place several skeins of yarn (picture cards) on each color.  The PDF includes two game boards and two pages of yarn colors. To download the game, click on the link below: Sort the Skeins by Color

Animals and Their Homes Folder Game

Image
As I've been preparing for our first year of preschool, I've been spending a lot of time creating folder games to go with each of our units.  This game is called "Which One is My Home?"  The PDF includes two game boards with various animal homes and a page of animal cards to cut out.  The child is instructed to match the animal to their correct home.  This game goes with our theme "H is for Habitats and Homes." To download the game, click on the link below: Which One is My Home?

Groceries (Food) Count and Clip

Image
Introducing yet another folder game.  This one is "count and clip" cards or worksheets that can be completed over and over.  The child must count the items on the card and then clip a clothes pin onto the correct number, or circle the correct number if you use these pages as worksheets. To download the PDF game, click on the link below: Groceries Count and Click

Duck Pond Folder Game

Image
I'm planning on teaching letters using the recommended order from this website .  The letters are presented so that the most common letters are introduced first.  The logic is that it gets kids using the letters and reading words early in their learning. For our "D is for Duck" week, I've made a folder game that uses all the letters we'd learned previously (a, m, t, s, i, f, d).  The child is instructed to place the ducks in their pond so that each letter has a home.  The second version of this game encouraged children to use the "letter ducks" to spell words (provided) in the "word pond." To download the PDF of this game, click on the link below: Home in the Pond Bonus: Letter and Word Tracing Worksheets

Laundry Sorting Folder Game (free)

Image
As you have probably deduced, I've been going crazy lately making folder games for my preschoolers.  This latest game is called "Laundry Sorting" to go with my preschool week "l is for laundry."  The game boards include sections for "large, medium, and small" and the child must sort the t-shirts according to those specifications.  It would also be possible to print extra copies of the shirts to encourage sorting of other kinds, like by color.  You could even teach sorting by "lights and darks" or "whites and colors."  Should you desire to take the game into the 3D world, you could instruct your child on how to hang these shirts on the wash line (upside down, so they don't get funky creases on the shoulders).  The pack includes two game boards and two pages of shirts. To download this folder game, click on the link below.  Enjoy sorting laundry. Laundry Sorting

Cookie Addition Folder Game (free)

Image
C is for Cookie!  This folder game encourages children to learn basic addition by playing with Christmas cookies.  The file includes two playing boards, and several varieties of cookies for manipulating and adding. To download the game, click on the link below. Cookie Addition Folder Game

King Me Folder Game (free)

Image
One of our preschool weeks next fall will be "K is for King."  To go along with that theme, I've made a folder game, called "King Me, Jewel Counting Game."  There are several pages of crowns with numbers on them.  The children are asked to place the correct number of jewels on each crown.  I intend to use craft store jewels for this activity, so I haven't included any to cut out.  Alternatively, you could create paper jewels by cutting small shapes out colored paper. To download the folder game, click on the link below. King Me Folder Game

Discovery Bottles

Image
Discovery Bottles are plastic bottles full of thing that kids can't normally explore, or a way to play with messy things in a clean way.  There are many examples of them on Pinterest, which is where I was first introduced to them.  The question with discovery bottles is not "What do I put in them?" but "What do I use for a bottle?"  Some families use empty water bottles, or sports drink bottles (like this blogger who has lots of examples).  Besides being heavy, the other problems with the bigger bottles is that they tend to take up a lot of room, especially when you get a lot of them. Amazon.com link I've found a solution that is making myself and my family very happy: 3oz travel bottles.  The picture is from Amazon, but I bought my bottles in a pack of 3 from the Dollar Tree.  The set from the dollar store has a spritzer bottle, which I'm planning on using for a different project, as the third bottle instead of the pump.  The other two bottles ar

Ice Cream Cone Folder Game (free)

Image
July is National Ice Cream month.  To help you celebrate, I've created an Ice Cream Cone Folder Game.  The object of the game is to build an ice cream cone that matches the one on the folder.  I have labeled this activity patterning, which was probably incorrect.  To fix that mistake, you can encourage your child to continue the pattern that was begun on the folder page.  After they complete that task, you can help them to make their own pattern.  The pack includes two pages of game boards and three pages of cones and scoops.  I recommend printing the last page, which has a scoop of every "flavor," a few times so that you have a lot of pieces with which to build. We plan on making some ice cream flavored play doughs ( like this one ) to add to our ice cream fun.  I recently bought these plastic cups from Amazon to use in our dough play. To download the folder game, click on the link below.  Have a fun July! Ice Cream Cone File Folder Game

Bees Like B's Folder Game (free)

Image
More Mommy School preparations!  This time, I've made a folder game for my "Bees" week called "The Sweetest Flowers."  The bees (included) can only land on the flowers with the letter B on them.  The game includes two playing boards and a sheet of bees to cut out. Click on the link below to download the game. The Sweetest Flower Bonus: this pack also includes the game boards to "10 frame" addition and subtraction and "20 frame" subtraction!

Viva Chile!

Image
It's World Cup time!  Most of the time, we're just a normal, American family.  But, once every four years, we become Chilean.  My husband was born in Chile and grew up there for a large part of his life.  World Cup is when we get to celebrate that heritage. Tonight, I made empanadas for dinner.  They took such a long time that it's no surprise why I don't make them more often.  They were really good though.  I might have to make them one more time before World Cup is over. My recipe (not claiming any authenticity) - 1 lbs cooked ground beef - 2 hard boiled eggs - 1/2 cup raisins - 1/4 cup sliced olives - 2 cups chopped spinach - spices (I use garlic, onion, Italian seasonings, cumin, red pepper, and cilantro) - 2 raw eggs - pie crust (I think I use about 4 cups to make my batch) Mix all the ingredients but the pie crust in a large bowl.  Pinch off balls of pie crust dough and roll them out into an oval shape.  Lay dough circle on cookie sheet.  Scoop the m

Bee Hive Worksheet and Activity (free)

Image
One of our preschool themes for next year is "B is for Bees."  In preparation for that unit, I've made a hive-themed worksheet.  The bees come from my favorite website, mycutegraphics.com .  My plan is to store the sheet in a page protector and allow my children to trace the hexagons over and over with either dry erase crayons or markers.  Then, I'll have them build a hive out of pattern blocks or printed shapes.  Of course, we'll be having Honeycomb Cereal for snack that week. To download this worksheet, click the link below.  Enjoy. Bee Hive Worksheet

Hungry Bear Folder Game

Image
One of our preschool weeks will be camping/woods themed.  To go with that theme, I've made a folder game entitled, "Hungry Bear Counting Game."  The child chooses their own number from 0-20 and writes it in the space provided.  Then, they count out the fish and place the correct number in the lake for the bear to "catch."  The elements of this board could also be used to teach addition and subtraction.  I plan on using velco to affix the fish in the lake, so working the addition and subtraction facts of 20 should be fairly easy.  I have even made some fish to face left and some to face right to aid in "higher" mathematical uses after counting.  This pack has two playing boards, which you can either place in a file folder and laminate or put in plastic sheet protectors, and one page of fish to cut out and laminate. By the way, have I mentioned how much I LOVE my lamination machine.  I love the feeling of power I get when I cover something in plastic

Metamorphosis Folder Games (free)

Image
I hope you have been enjoying my preschool printables.  Here are a few more.  Included in this pack is a sorting game, where the child places pictures of the frog and butterfly life cycles onto the correct sorting mat.  There is also a life cycle puzzle for both the frog and butterfly.  In the math category, there are two counting games.  One is a roll and draw game, where the child rolls a dice and then "feeds" the right number of flies to the frogs.  The other one is a roll and cover game, where two players race to be the first to transform from an egg to a full-grown adult.  You can download the pack by clicking on the link below. Frog and Butterfly Metamorphosis Folder Game

Nap Time Folder Game (free)

Image
One of our preschool themes for the upcoming year is "N is for Napping/Night."  In preparation for teaching the letter "N," I've used my scrapbook program (daisytrail.com) to create a few file folder games.  The first game is a Pillow Shapes Matching activity, where the child works to match the wildly patterned (and clashing) pillows with their shape shadows.  There are two pages of "game boards" and one page of shapes to cut out and laminate.  The second game is a sorting activity, where the child is given several objects that pertain to "day" and "night" and must put them in the right category.  There are two game boards and two pages of objects to cut out for sorting. You can download the games by clicking the link below.  Enjoy. Nap Time Folder Games

Seeds Coloring Page (free)

Image
It's finally springtime in the mountains (yes, it's June).  The snow has melted and the flowers are blooming.  The warmer weather has sent me scurrying to prepare for Mommy School, which we will begin next fall. One of our themes will be "s is for seeds."  To go with that theme, I've created a "What Seeds Did You Sow" coloring sheet.  The child can color the pot and draw flowers or a plant on the page.  There is also a Bible verse (NIV) that you can lead your child in memorizing. To download the coloring page, click on the link below.  Enjoy. Seeds Coloring Page

Sock Matching Folder Game (free)

Image
 I'm really into folder games right now.  I love the concept of an easy to transport game that requires very little set up.  We've even bought a laminating machine lately to fuel my printables obsession. I've even been using my digital scrapbooking ( http://www.daisytrail.com ) program to make my own folder games to go with our preschool themes for next school year.  The one I'd like to share today is a Sock Matching File Folder game.  The socks are clip art from my favorite website, mycutegraphics.com .  There are two "game board" pages and one page of socks to cut out and match.  I like to store my folder games, covered in page protestors, in a 3-ring binder (like Staples Better Binders ) and keep the game pieces in labeled ziplock bags.  I use a 3-ring zipper pouch in the front of the binder to keep all the bags together.  You can also store dry erase crayons or markers in the pouch for worksheets or games. Click on the link below to download the game