You Oughta Know: Letter School

Happy Weekend friends! 

I'm linking up with Jasmine over at Buzzing with Mrs. McClain for 

After reading about what I think YOU OUGHT KNOW, click on the links below to read about what other fabulous bloggers think YOU OUGHTA KNOW about too. 

My little guy is in Pre-K and has really taken a liking to all things letters. 

He's all about identifying letters and telling me their phonetic sounds. 

Over the past several months, he's started chunking sounds together to make words. 

Friends, this makes my "teacher heart" sing! Watching your own little one embrace the joys of learning to read is beyond words. 

So, I wanted to share with you a great little app that we purchased
awhile back for him to use.

This handwriting app is only $4.99 and is well worth the investment. 

{Click HERE for the iTunes App}

First off, let me clarify that this app is NOT just about letters, it covers numbers 1-10 as well.

Kids are able to explore uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers through various interactions with proper formations, name identification, and phonetic sounds. 

After choosing a particular letter or number, kids are exposed to and interact with letter/number formation by performing one of the following options:
TAP, TRACE, WRITE

TAP - tap the dots (in the correct order) for the letter/number to appear.

TRACE - use your finger to drag the lines from dot to dot. If done correctly, a fun image retraces the letter/number.

WRITE - free-write the letter/number (reminders are given if necessary).

All the while, kids are earning stars and there are 2 levels of challenge for each letter (upper and lower) and number. 

Want to give it a FREE trial run?

Try Letter School Lite and get a sample of what you can experience with Letter School full version.

Hope you pick up some great ideas this weekend.

An InLinkz Link-up

You Oughta Know: Read to Me FREE

I'm linking up with Jasmine, over at Buzzing with Mrs. McClain, for 

Here's something I think EVERY teacher should know about.

Have you heard of Read to Me?

(Click here or image to visit website)

I, randomly, came across this great website while browsing Pinterest one evening. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I clicked on the Pin, but boy was I pleased when I did. 

The Clark County Education Association Community Foundation in Las Vegas has built and maintains a FREE online youth reading program that can be accessed by ANYONE!

The website presents fun (and often popular) picture books in
a read-aloud format. 

Stories are read by Las Vegas community members (including it's mayor) and even some famous faces. 

You can easily browse the website for books and find lesson plans to
go along with each story!

Friends, this is a great website for literacy centers (Daily 5 Listen to Reading) and a wonderful resource to pass along to families!

An InLinkz Link-up

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