In the past few years, online learning for kids is becoming more and more popular. Now, being in the middle of a pandemic, well, it’s almost normal for kids to just log on to their computers to see their teachers. We can now create individualized resources that target multiple intelligences to provide an enriched and interactive learning experience for every child. While paper-based resources remain a dominant form of learning in classrooms (and obviously are an extremely effective medium for learning), online learning is only just beginning to scratch the surface of it’s capability to transform the educational experience. Digital paperless resources provide the opportunity for endless repetition, success-based graduation of concepts and high levels of individualization that can target each student’s particular needs.

Interactive phonics games

Interactive phonics games are a great way to provide many different pathways to the same lessons. Working at a particular concept through an online resource may free up a child to experiment, make mistakes and challenge themselves. It is yet another tool in the toolbox, but one that may prove over time to become a veritable swiss-army knife at unlocking learning in those hard-to-reach kids that the current teaching frameworks miss.

Educational Games: Online or Hands-on? What do you prefer?

In this digital world that we live in now, I feel both blessed to have digital learning at the tips of our fingers, but then I worry that it is too much. To be honest, I much prefer hands on learning without the screens. Play is learning and learning is play. When kids are interacting with each other through face to face conversation, the lessons and learnings are invaluable. I love using phonics task cards to help kids learn new concepts. But right now, during this very trying time, learning without screens is more and more unattainable. I am home with my 4 small kids and I’m struggling finding the time to teach phonological awareness to my son who’s in kindergarten while keeping up with my other son on task with his Zoom schedule. Perhaps moving forward, we will embrace a more balanced approach that incorporates the best of both mediums.

Beginning Sounds: the start to strong literacy skills

Beginning sounds, well are at the beginning for a reason. When kids first learn how to read, they learn their letters and sounds and THEN they start to develop the beginning skills of reading. I know it sounds simple, but teaching beginning sounds is vital when learning how to read. Often kids will guess the words, or look at the pictures without reading the words. This is NORMAL and some of these skills are helpful, but they are not going to get kids reading without starting with learning beginning sounds. I created these BOOM Cards (Digital Resource) to help reinforce beginning sounds. For me, a MUST HAVE when learning how to read!

Syllable Activities:

Syllables Activities are SO important when teaching early readers and to develop strong literacy skills. Syllables help kids chunk words together. Segmenting words help kids chunk words and put them back together, developing strong literacy skills.

Consonant Digraphs

Consonant digraphs are important phonological skills that kids must learn in order to become strong readers and writers. Learning digraphs are imperative and once learned, kids are much more likely to become and confident to grow as strong, confident readers and writers. In these boom cards, I focus on consonant digraphs and kids can click on the pictures to hear the sounds, then find the corresponding digraphs.   I love these because they are interactive, so kids can click on the sounds of the words and then pick the answer. Hearing the sounds of each word really helps kids make the connection between blending the digraphs into the words. This resource includes SH, TH, WH, WR, PH, CH, KN, & QU digraphs.

interactive phonics games

As a Literacy Specialist for the past 10 years, and a parent for almost 8 years, I get it. Teaching reading doesn’t always come naturally to kids. Actually, it is NOT natural for kids to know how just read and must be taught phonetically. this means kids needs to be explicitly taught the 44 sounds of the English language. Building strong readers and writers is built overtime. When we give kids the building blocks that build a strong foundation in a fun and interactive way, the hope is that they develop a love for reading! This Online Phonics Bundle is a MUST HAVE. These are hosted on a free sight called BOOM (digital resource) is AMAZING for parents and teachers because you can access them from anywhere that has internet. Differentiating between kids has never been so easy!