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How to Make A Fun ABC Flip Book Fingerprint Activity for Kindergarten

January 1, 2023 | Leave a Comment
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Today I have a fun fingerprint activity for kindergarten. Also, grab my other tips, ideas, and crafts for kindergarten on my page Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum.

I am all for creating your own curriculum, especially in the early years like kindergarten.

While each child develops at their own pace, I have found that learning comes much more naturally to a child who enjoys what they are learning.

How to Make A Fun ABC Flip Book Fingerprint Activity for Kindergarten

Too, when learning is fun children are engaged.

You can use a workbook or worksheets.

Or you can make it even more interesting and let your child have more ownership in creating their own collection of ABCs

So, today we’re creating an ABC flip book fingerprint activity for kindergarten.

5 Ways to Help a Child Learn Letter Recognition

This little book gives you at least 5 ways to practice letter recognition skills:

Start by having your child place the letters in the upper right corner with letter stickers. He can also practice writing the letter if you prefer but this gives your child a good reference for the letters’ correct form. This is the first introduction to letters for the book.

Next, as you work through the letters, have your child name an item or two that begins with the letter. For example, A is for Apple, O is for Octopus. Stamp their finger in ink and onto the page and then encourage them to create that object from their fingerprint.

Find the objects to match up with the letters by taking your book on a letter scavenger hunt throughout the house or outdoors. Encourage your child to say the letter and its sound several times throughout the activity.

Combine the book with letter beads or to spell the simple words your child created with their fingerprint like cat, apple, dog, and etc.

Finally, another easy way for the book for practice is to use it as flashcards. Show the letter stickers in the upper right corner and ask for the letter name or sound.

Their ABC flip book can also go on road trips, out to eat, and while waiting at doctors’ offices to keep little minds and hands busy.

When all the pages are done, you can laminate to make them sturdier and then put them back on the ring for practice throughout the whole school year if you like.

Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum And Crafts

You can use this ABC flip book as part of a larger curriculum.

Additionally, you can use it for a letter of the week approach, do them in order, out of order, as a review, to introduce letters, or in any way that suits your child’s needs and your style.

Besides the creative outlet of putting the book together and practicing letters and sounds with the alpha stickers your child also gets practice when finding words that start with the letter, flipping through to review, and as you add to it each time.

The little ring makes it easy to carry around and easy to flip through.

It’s the perfect size for little hands.

How to Make an ABC Flip Book Fingerprint Activity for Kindergarten

Now, let me give you a simple rundown on how to put it all together:

You will need:

8.5×11 Cardstock
Stamp pads
Binder Ring
Letter Stickers
Large hole punch
markers/crayons

Cut 4 sheets of cardstock into 4.25 x 5.5 rectangles You will end up with a few extra. So use these for free fingerprint art.

On the front cover write ABC lightly in pencil.

Let your child “trace” it with their fingerprints to decorate the frog cover.

Punch a hole through the upper left corner of all the pages.

I used my large industrial hole punch, but you can use a single hole punch. You will just have to punch the paper one or two sheets at a time.

Slip your binder ring through all the holes to create a flipbook that can be carried around or stored in a basket with your other learning supplies.

Add A-Z letter stickers to the upper right corner of each page front and back, you can choose uppercase, lowercase or both depending on what you are working on.

Now enjoy finding objects that start with each letter with your child to fill their book through looking at ABC books, using their imagination, or on a letter hunt.

Give your child markers and or crayons to complete their drawings, turning fingerprints into cute little objects.

Write at the bottom of each page the letter and the word your child has chosen to represent it so that they can see it in writing. G is for grape for example.

10 Things to Learn From The Fun Geronimo Stilton Chapter Books

October 24, 2022 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

We absolutely adore the fun Geronimo Stilton chapter books for ages 7-10, grades 2^nd-5^th, but also reluctant readers will love the Geronimo Stilton books.

Geronimo Stilton is an editor in chief of The Rodent’s Gazette, the most “famous” newspaper in New Mouse City.

He’s also the author of his own best-selling book series.

But the Geronimo Stilton chapter books were actually written by Elisabetta Maria Dami who is an Italian children’s book author and she is the creator of the character Geronimo Stilton.

10 Things to Learn From The Fun Geronimo Stilton Chapter Books

And the character of Geronimo Stilton is a shy, funny, but adventurous mouse.

Because the author Elisabetta Maria Dami has an interest in archaeology and a passion for traveling and exploring, Geronimo is always off on an adventure.

The whole series makes for a fun literature study but especially to incorporate geography and history into your unit studies.

About the Geronimo Stilton Series

Look at these ten things to learn from the Geronimo Stilton books.

1. Learn literary devices in a fun way.

Be on the lookout for examples of literary devices such as:

Onomatopoeia
Similes/Metaphors
Hyperbole
Idioms
Puns

What is an onomatopoeia?

Other than it being my favorite little gem found in these books, it’s a literary device to know and super fun to teach.

First, let’s take a minute to appreciate how fun this word is to say.

If this is a new word for your kids, be sure to listen to the pronunciation.

“Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes.”

For example, a dry fall leaf crunches underfoot.

Also, look at my Amazon Shop to see a list of the books.

A bumblebee buzzes around the backyard.

Geronimo Stilton must love Onomatopoeia too because the word pictures he uses to show the reader this literary device are perfection for a visual learner.

How many examples of onomatopoeia can you find in each chapter?

2. Have a fun vocabulary scavenger hunt.

Make a list of new words you find in each chapter.

It won’t be hard for your kids to find them.

3. Focus on character development.

You will fall in love with the characters.

They are full of personality.

For example, Geronimo Stilton is quite the “scaredy-mouse”, but he is always going on an adventure and facing lot of fears to get there.

Have your child pick a favorite character and follow his/her character development throughout the story.

4. Nurture a love for famous mystery novels and authors.

If your geek level is as high as mine, and I assume it must be if you’re reading this post, you’ll love the fun facts that pop up for adults too.

These books are a great bridge to a study about other famous mystery titles and authors.

There’s even a nod to some characters you might recognize like Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s well-known fictional Belgian detective.

What a fun way to introduce your reader to other books, authors, and the mystery genre!

5. Cultivate a love for history and geography.

Not only does Geronimo Stilton live in the center of New Mouse City, he reluctantly travels around the globe.

Each book will land the reader in a new place.

These books are great for learning state facts, especially New York, and they’re also the perfect addition to a history and geography study about where the setting takes place.

6. Have some cheesy food fun.

Geronimo Stilton is a cheese connoisseur. He eats lots of cheese.

He talks about cheese and makes “punny” jokes about cheese.

It’s impossible to not want to snack on some cheesy delights of some kind.

Create a cheese platter and sample some new snacks.
Make homemade macaroni and cheese.
Look at moldy cheese under a microscope.
Have a cheese fondue night.

7. Nurture a love for timeless treasures like antiques.

Any antique lovers out there? Well, you will love Geronimo Stilton’s eye for timeless treasures.

If your kids are into antiques, visit a few thrift stores and hunt for treasures.

Check out American Pickers or Antiques Roadshow.

8. Learn how to plan a trip.

Plan a vacation to the destination in your book.

Estimate the cost of flight, hotel, and car rental. Research prices on the internet to find the best deals.

How much will you need to for food and spending?
What activities will you do while you’re there?
Add the cost of excursions or admissions to special events or destinations.

9. Learn how to face fear.

Geronimo must face lots of fears to travel, solve mysteries, and go on each adventure.

These are a great way to talk to your kids about fears, anxiety, and coping skills.

10. Learn about nurturing family ties.

I love the Geronimo is a family guy!

He spends a lot of time with his nephew, Benjamin and his sister, Thea.

It’s a great opportunity to focus on the importance of family.

Create a family tree.
Research your family’s origin.
Send an email to a family member to brighten their day.
Do something nice for a sibling.

Have you tried this series with your children? I know you’ll fall in love with the books.

Other Geronimo Stilton Chapter Books Resources

10 Best Homeschool Phonics Curriculum For Kindergarten

September 30, 2022 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Choosing the best homeschool phonics curriculum for kindergarten is one of the first places to start when choosing kindergarten homeschool curriculum.

After all reading is the foundation of every other subject you’ll be teaching.

And teaching phonics to your child doesn’t have to be as frightening as some make it sound.

10 Best Homeschool Phonics Curriculum For Kindergarten

In addition, many programs teaching reading have a public-school mindset meaning the earlier the better in teaching a child how to read.

While that may work for some children, other children benefit from waiting longer before you introduce a phonics program.

However, all children benefit from direct phonics instructions whenever your child has his start.

Also, arming you with tips after 20+ years of teaching children how to read, I want you to be confident to trust the process.

Homeschool Phonics

However, to trust the process, you need to understand the process.

And it will help you if you know some of the mindsets which exist in the reading world.

When I started homeschooling there was still much debate between whole language teaching versus direct phonics instructions.

As I mentioned that was over 20 years ago. I feel the debate goes on still.

However, I feel that children use both skills to read.

Do all children need the same amount of exposure? Absolutely not. But they all benefit.

Unfortunately, some homeschool families who think their child needs less instruction do not find out until later.

The real struggle or lack of instruction does not show up until third or fourth grade. Sometimes even later.

What is the Science of Reading

So, I remember the first time I heard the term the science of reading. I delved into it.

Basically, it means to understand that research has been developed into how a child learns to read.

Because we want to teach in a way that nurtures how the brain learns to read, we need to be aware of the process.

As you can tell, reading and understanding the science of reading is a comprehensive topic now.

Homeschool Phonics Kindergarten

Instead of trying to understand the science of reading which can take professionals years, focus on knowing that teaching phonics in a sequential approach with 1:1 teaching is the most effective.

Sight words have a place too. But what are sight words?

Sight words are words that teachers expect kids to know (memorize) by sight. Children are wired to articulate or sound out words. But some children with strong memory skills can learn sight words. Basically learning a sight word just means recognizing a symbol and deciphering it.

Children with special needs or who may not have strong memorization skills can fall behind with this process.

If that is the case, work through the other senses to help a child with special needs or a struggling child.

For example, you can:

point out the part of the sight word your child may be able to articulate. Some sight words have a pair of letters which make a sound your child may know.
play games with the sight words.
have the child write the word and then take away the first or last letter and have him write it in. This can help to makes strong connections in the brain.
use sensory writing. Have your child write in shaving cream, in rice, on the wall.

So, take time to help your kids learn sight words while you choose the best homeschool phonics curriculum for kindergarten.

Also, I’ve included hands-on manipulatives below too.

Other Homeschool Kindergarten Phonics Resources:

Then, you’ll love these other phonics resources below:

11 Best Phonics for Homeschool Kindergarten

Teaching kids how to read doesn't have to be hard, you just have to have the right tools.

You'll love these phonics resources.

Photo Credit: www.allaboutlearningpress.com

All About Reading Level 1

Package includes: one Teacher's Manual, one Student Packet, and three readers

Evan-Moor Daily Phonics, Grade 2, Homeschooling, Phonemic Awareness, Decoding, Word-Study, Teaching Editions, Reproducible Worksheets

Provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction and practice in just 15 to 20 minutes a day!

Daily Phonics, Grade 2 helps students in second gradeincluding students learning Englishdevelop the phonics skills necessary to become proficient, on-grade-level readers.

The 32 weekly units in grade 2 cover:

Photo Credit: www.starfall.com

Welcome to Starfall PreK & Kindergarten

Starfall.com® opened in September 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read.

Since then it has expanded to include language arts and mathematics for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and third grade.

Starfall’s emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity has proven effective in teaching emergent readers

Explode the Code 4 Books

Explode the Code is a research-based, multisensory program geared to improving literacy with direct, systematic, phonics instruction.

Photo Credit: www.progressivephonics.com

Progressive Phonics

Progressive Phonics all-in-one reading program that is easy, fun, and totally FREE---that's right, totally and completely free.

And with Progressive Phonics, ANYONE can teach a child to read and write in just a few minutes a day, which makes it ideal for parents, teachers, tutors, volunteers and home-schoolers.

Photo Credit: www.opensourcephonics.org

Open Source Phonics

Free Phonics Materials for Teachers, Tutors, and Families Literacy is a civil right. The research supporting phonics is too strong to ignore. All families deserve access to high-quality phonics materials.

Foundations by Logic of English

Help you child learn to read and spell - while having fun. Teachers and parents are raving about it! This first step in the Logic of English Foundations series opens the door to reading with phonemic
awareness activities, fun lessons that practice the sounds of a-z, and creative blending games

Horizons K Phonics and Reading

Prepare your child for a lifetime of reading and successful learning with the Horizons Kindergarten Phonics & Reading Student Book 1 from Alpha Omega Publications.

Photo Credit: winterpromise.com

Early Language Arts Overview - WinterPromise

Adventures in Pine Hollow is designed to engage students so thoroughly that whether they can’t wait to read or would rather wait forever, they are pulled into a forest world, where they join critter adventures and forget there’s learning going on!

First Start Reading, Book A

First Start Reading covers consonants, short and long vowels, 45 common words, and manuscript
printing, accompanied by artist-drawn coloring pictures and drawing pages for every letter.

Alpha-Phonics Primer

Mr. Blumenfeld created Alpha-Phonics (spiral-bound) to provide parents, teachers and tutors with a sensible, logical, easy-to-use system for teaching reading. It is an intensive phonics instruction
program based on the author's many years of research and experience in the reading instruction field

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid Barbie Mummy

July 25, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid is another fun book in the series of Geronimo Stilton books. It is the second book in the series.

Elementary students will love taking their favorite Geronimo Stilton book and turning it into a mini unit study with a few hands-on activities.

The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid is another adventure for Geronimo Stilton. He is off to Egypt to the Great Cheese Pyramid.

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid Barbie Mummy

So, this hands-on activity I am sharing with you today, mummifying a Barbie gives kids a little bit more understanding of the mummification process.

And you can easily tie in science and history perfectly with the fun book The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid. Matter of fact most of the books highlight some kind of geography or history.

Even if your kids are older like middle or high school the same activity can be altered to make it a bit more challenging so that the whole family can join in.

Books Of Geronimo Stilton

If you don’t know about Geronimo Stilton books let me give you a quick little overview. The fun series is aimed at early readers or ages 7 to 10 years old

And they follow the many and varied adventures of Geronimo Stilton editor and publisher at The Rodent’s Gazette.

Too, they read similar to a graphic novel.

Geronimo Stilton Four Cheese Box Set (Books 1-4)

For instance, the words are highlighted in different fonts, sizes, and colors. The series make it an engaging read for kids.

They are silly and outlandish which makes it especially great for reluctant readers.

Another point about the different fonts and colors of words are that some are for emphasis.

However, quite a few make great lessons for vocabulary, spelling words, and introduction to the eight parts of speech.

So be sure to make note of the words for several chapters.

And have your child look up the words and make flashcards to round out this mini lesson.

You certainly can use this fun book as a spine for language arts. Too, you can use this spine as independent reading or for a read aloud.

Ancient Egypt Mummifying a Barbie Craft

However, one of the best parts of each book is that you can add hands-on activity as Stilton is always on a globe-trotting adventure.

Today, since Stilton is off to Egypt, we learned about mummies in Ancient Egypt

Look at this short list of supplies to make a Barbie mummy.

A Barbie or similar doll (we grabbed a cheap one from Dollar Tree)
Gauze
Cooking oil
Salt (we used Epsom since we had that)
large dish big enough for the body to lay in
Essential oils
Scissors and construction paper

First, we made a death mask from construction paper and laid it aside.

Your kids can get elaborate with this part or keep it simple.

Then we made simple canopic jars by drawing them on paper.

After drawing the jars, we cut them out and taped them into a tube shape.

A quick google search will show you what each of the four gods, Hapy, Imsety, Duamutef and Qebhsenef looked like and which housed which organs.

We also used our TOOB Organs to examine the organs closely,

Then, we laid them out and talked about each function as the kids pretended to extract the organ and place it in the canopic jars.

Barbie Mummy

Next, this portion of the activity can be done or finished while you read aloud.

Have your child finish the death mask. And let your child draw them with whatever art medium they choose. We used markers.

First, the brain was pulled out through the nose, but considered unimportant in ancient Egyptian times, it was just tossed out.

Then, the stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver were extracted and placed in the correct jar.

The heart stayed in place in the body. Use tweezers for this part and let them pretend they are extracting each part.

Next, Egyptians would cover the body in salt to remove all moisture, this would take weeks but for the sake of time we waited just a few minutes.

We used Epsom salt as we had a ton on hand already.

And then we placed our prepared body in a large tupperware container and covered it in salt as well as we could.

Finally, the body would be anointed with oils and wrapped,.

If you have some on hand add essential oils to a little bit of cooking oil to add to the sensory experience, pour over the entire body.

We tightly wrapped our Barbie head to toe and then affixed her death mask with a bit of tape.

Obviously, you know your child best and can include the parts that you would choose and gloss over those that might be too much for a younger child.

For example, for older children you can add ideas like labeling the organs, give them spelling and vocabulary words like sarcophagus, hieroglyphic, and etc.

Too, you can extend the lesson by having them give a presentation in front of the whole family on the mummification process.

Geronimo Stilton The Curse of The Cheese Pyramid covers everything from mummies to pyramids as well as mentions of camels, pharaohs, and the eye of RA, giving you a large base for a unit study.

I can’t wait to dig in a little deeper and share more hands on activities with you! What do you think? Are you going to add this to your list of hands-on activities?

Other Resources You’ll Love

How to Effortlessly Blend Kindergarten Homeschool Subjects & Life

July 21, 2022 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Blending kindergarten homeschool subjects and life doesn’t make it easy to determine kindergarten homeschool curriculum.

However, today I’m helping you to know how to effortlessly blend the kindergarten subjects with what you’re doing naturally every day.

Further, don’t forget up to this time you have not used any curriculum in your instruction.

Sometimes very little kindergarten homeschool curriculum is needed.

In addition, families vary in their needs, but all children benefit from a gentle and relaxed approach to the kindergarten homeschool subjects.

How to Effortlessly Blend Kindergarten Homeschool Subjects & Life

Moreover, it’s important to build a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

And it begins what the subjects that are foundational and the subjects that can be folded into your day naturally.

Beginning my journey 20+ years ago, I didn’t have to make a choice about common core and by the time the No Child Left Behind act was passed, I was well on my way to homeschooling.

Because the educational world can be muddled to trek through, I will give you a glimpse of what is important at this age.

Essential Kindergarten Subjects

Too, it’s important for you to first to know what subjects you need and want to teach.

1. Begin with the subjects your local homeschool law requires.

First, begin with your local law.

No, you don’t choose homeschool curriculum first because your local law could be relaxed or it could be rigid. And your curriculum can help or hinder you meet state law.

Choose curriculum after you’re familiar with the subjects you must teach.

2. Second, focus on math and language arts which are your essential subjects

Then, know what are foundational subjects for kindergarten.

Although curriculum companies tout that you need all subjects, the truth of it is that math and language arts are the key components.

But, I know you want details because that is what I needed to when teaching my first child.

What’s more look below at this list to see what skills you need to focus on.

ESSENTIAL SUBJECTS IN KINDERGARTEN

MATH | LANGUAGE ARTS (Tip: The subjects vary by age and grade.) For Kindergarten, the subjects are Reading, Phonics, and Writing.

SKILLS TAUGHT IN MATH	SKILLS TAUGHT IN LANGUAGE ARTS
Know the ordinal numbers up to 10, but recite numbers to 100	Names the parts of a book like cover, back, and inside pages. Understands which direction to hold the book And knows that a story has a beginning, middle and ending .

Knows how to compare two groups to understand the more than, less than and equal to.	Recognizes the letters of the alphabet and understands that the letter represents sounds.
Recognizes shapes, and understand patterns ABC, AABBCC, ABBCC, ABAB, etc. Identifies money. Is familiar with conventional measuring tools like rulers, but starts with unconventional tools like a pencil.	Can see that we read right to left and top to bottom. Associates sounds with symbols for writing and begins with inventive writing which letters can be indistinguishable. And practices adding new words to his vocabulary.

Compares objects based on size and capacity.	Can retell stories and can even act them out.
Counting by 10s and understands what is a pair.	Begins to learn and recognize signs from his community like stop signs, etc.

Is familiar with a clock and the numbers on it.	Recognizes his name and attempts to “write” it.
Becomes familiar with word that represent position like under, through, on top of, etc. Also, begins basic addition and subtraction by learning how to group sets and break them apart.	Begins to sound out and read CVC words like cat, rat, and sat.

3. Decide how to pair kindergarten subjects with life skills.

Next, look at these skills above which are normally introduced in curriculum through a scope and sequence or order.

Kindergarten Subjects

So, you can either use a laid-out curriculum or continue to do what you’ve been doing up to this time in your child’s life.

For example, look at how I effortlessly blended the kindergarten homeschool subjects with life skills.

Reading aloud increases your child’s vocabulary, ability to retell, and encourages him to act out what he has learned.
Point out words or signs in your home and community to explain their meaning and what they say.
Provide plenty of pictures books to your child to look at and dream about.
Plant a garden to cover science, measuring, and “write’ on plant markers.
Instead of using the app on your phone, have your Kindergarten help with a grocery list.
Encourage your kindergarten to understand money by adding some to his piggy bank and paying for small items with your supervision.

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Kindergarten Homeschool Ideas

Also, here are more ideas of things you’ve probably already been doing.

Take care of a pet and learn to measure the pet’s food or medicine.
Practice and recite rhymes. Rhymes are not just child’s play but the foundation to hear rhyming and syllables of a word. These skills are the beginning of phonics. Eventually, the sounds will be put to writing to learn spelling. It’s important to rhyme.
Use paint brushes, q tips, sticks, to ‘”write” with.
Bake cookies and learn fractions and the measurements on the cups.
Take a nature walk and look for patterns in nature. For example, look at the repeating patterns of petals and the seeds in the head of a sunflower.
Do crafts and make a clock with moving hands.

Play games like uno and dominoes to learn number and additions.
Use popsicle sticks and glue on 10 beans and use as a counter for 10s, 20s, and etc.
Use these fun rock crayons which encourage the correct grip prior to holding a pencil.

Moreover, as you can see all of this can be done without worksheets. Puzzles, play props, and play-doh should still be part of kindergarten.

Do not give up what you’ve done for the first five years of your child’s life. Learning doesn’t always have to be divided into subjects.

Finally, if you need a curriculum, remember to use it as a framework, but do not make it the ultimate way a child learns.

What things are you naturally doing with your kindergartner each day where you’re blending learning and living?