hands on Archives - The Crafty Classroom

Hands on Alphabet Printables

July 20, 2015 By Valerie Mcclintick 1 Comment

If you’re looking for a fun way for your little one’s to learn the basic shapes of the the uppercase letters, I’ve got a great free printable set for you.

I’ve just added these to our Alphabet Printables at File Folder Fun and you can print a set in color or black and white. You could even print them on colored paper if you want colored versions without paying for all the ink.

If you have a laminator, definitely use it on these before cutting the shapes out, as these will get lots of use.

Children can use these shapes to make the entire uppercase alphabet, making this set extra useful. My children started making pictures with them, so I’m sure they will inspire a little creativity in your kids as well.

Print your own Hands on Alphabet Here

Looking for more Alphabet Activities? Check out our Letter of the Week Preschool Curriculum!

Printable Nets

September 21, 2014 By Valerie Mcclintick 3 Comments

These printable nets can be helpful for teaching young students geometry and geometric concepts.

Plus they are sorta fun to make!

We recommend you print your nets on colored paper. Â This makes it more fun and colorful.

You can print on cardstock and laminate if you’re making a classroom set, but we’ve just used regular strength printer paper for this set.

Cut your nets out carefully, the tabs are in light gray and can be difficult to see on the colored paper, so go slow!

Crease all your folds. Â We assembled ours so that the lines are inside the shape and don’t show.

Use a glue stick on the tabs for best results.

Here is how our cube looks when assembled!

They won’t be perfect, but they are an inexpensive way to add a little hands on fun to your math lessons.

Print your set of Geometry Nets Here

This is a subscriber freebie so be sure you’re logged in first!

Find more Math Printables and Manipulatives here.

Magnetic Grid Games!

May 13, 2011 By Valerie Mcclintick 2 Comments

I’ve been Ooogling Mama Jenn’s Puff Ball Magnets for MONTHS

(Remember Mama Jenn is the genius behind Education Cubes)

Well she also has TONS of fantastic learning game ideas
throughout her blog too….puff ball magnets being just one of many!

They look so colorful and fun, and best of all Hands-On,
but I never made them because I was waiting for Monkey
to get a bit older……somewhere past the age of the
“Everything goes into my mouth” stage.

Well, the time is here, and Monkey is now progressing
to the next developmental stage of learning:

He’s now in the “Everything goes into my mouth but I realize that somethings shouldn’t, and I should quickly take them out and exclaim, ‘yuck‘ stage.”

That is a real stage….Dr. Spock Says So.

That and Mama Jenn’s new Grid Games
just sent me over the edge!

I had to make them now,
because they will be so handy for Sissy and Bubba too!

So I followed her tutorial, using a Glue Gun because I too, am completely impatient.

(TIP: In case you are a sleep deprived Mom like me, be sure and put the glue on the magnet part first, and not the fuzzy puff ball part. Trust me.)

They turned out wonderfully didn’t they!

Then I printed out Mama Jenn’s Crown Grid game, and wrote each number 1-9 on the crowns three times each. There were three squares left over so I wrote 8, 2, 10 on each of them.

Then I slid the game into a page protector, and covered up the numbers with the Pom-pom’s.

To Play: Children take turns turning over two pom-pom’s at a time, with the goal of making 10. If a child makes 10, then they get to keep the pom-poms, if not, then they are recovered. Child with the most pom-poms wins. (I did write a 10 on one crown for a bonus pom)

The kids loved playing this game today, and we’re looking forward to more grid games! What Fun! Thanks Mama Jenn!

HS Recon: Spelling Printables

March 20, 2011 By Valerie Mcclintick 3 Comments

That’s right… Spelling!

Spelling is supposed to be fun!

And we’ve been a bit at a standstill with all the worksheets
that have been printed and cut apart and glued, and tossed
into the trash.

It is time for something NEW!

Time for Homeschool Recon: Spelling!

So Sissy (8) has a brand new Language Arts Curriculum that I’ll be posting about shortly, which includes her spelling resources.

(I’m so excited to share…I can hardly stand it!)

But Bubba (5) was in need of his own spelling program…..somthing fun to keep the boy busy, and learning at the same time.

So you know, of course that I just had to make him something.

(Any excuse to make a printable, and I’m there.)

So for the little fella, I came up with an easy to follow 5 day spelling program.

Nothing fancy, but lots of fun.

I posted all about it here, with details and links to the specific resources we’ll be using.

You’ll find some fantastic Letter Tiles:

printable letter tiles

And even a Spelling Train to use with your little ones:

printable spelling resources

These are super adorable when you cut out the window and put your child’s picture in!

So, go check it out!

But then come back and
Tell me how you make spelling fun for your children,
I’m sure I could use a few more ideas for these rainy Oregon homeschool days!

Pssst…..
I’m participating in Spell Out Loud’s Birthday Bash!
Mark your calendars!