Jumbled Up Sentences - An Easy Way to Help Beginning Writers

Discover how jumbled up sentences can enhance literacy instruction in kindergarten or grade one classrooms. This evidence-based activity boosts sentence structure and enriches writing skills in a fun and productive way!

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle23 October 2023jumbled up sentences, beginning writers, early literacy, reading, writing, kindergarten, grade 1, first gradeComment

Free Halloween Writing Prompts for Kindergarten

Get your students excited about writing this Halloween with my Free Halloween Writing Prompts for Kindergarten and grade one. Quick, easy prep and educational too!

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle13 October 2023kindergarten writing, halloween, writing prompts, grade one, first grade, prep, foundation stageComment

Playdough Activities for Kindergarten Sensory Maths Play

This blog post is a comprehensive guide on playdough activities for kindergarten focusing on sensory maths play. Find out my 10 favourite playdough math activities and discover some invaluable playdough resources for your kindergarten classroom.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle3 October 2023playdough, kindergarten, preschool, play based learning, sensory play, mathsComment

5 Best CVC Words Activities and Games for Kindergarten

Discover the 5 best CVC words activities in this informative blog post. Learn what CVC words are, why they're essential for early literacy, and the best ways to teach them. These tried and tested activities will make learning CVC words a joy for your students.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle28 August 2023cvc, cvc words, cvc words activities, kindergarten, early literacy, reading strategies, science of reading decoding strategies Comments

Free Ten Frame Cards Printable for Hands-on Math Activities

Enhance math skills and engage your students with my FREE Ten Frame Cards Printable for you to download. In this blog post you’ll discover hands-on activities, games, and strategies for teaching number sense, counting, and problem-solving using ten frames.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle21 August 2023ten frames, ten frame cards printable, kindergarten mathComment

12 Effective Strategies for Teaching Phonemic Awareness

Looking for the most effective strategies for teaching phonemic awareness? Discover how to get your students to reach their reading benchmarks and have success learning to read and write in this blog post. Hint: You’ll need to know the latest Science of Reading research and use it to effectively teach phonemic awareness to your kids!

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle14 August 2023phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, strategies for teaching phonemic awareness, kindergarten, preschool, reading strategies, science of readingComment

The Power of Open-Ended Questions for Kids

Open-ended questions for kids are a great way to promote exploration and discovery in young learners. Find out how to use them in your classroom and get plenty of examples to help you.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle7 August 2023open ended questions for kids, open ended questions, play based learning, thinking skillsComment

Fun Phoneme Blending Activities - Build Phonemic Awareness

Discover my tried and tested phoneme blending activities in this blog post. Build phonemic awareness and find out why learning to blend sounds is such an important phonemic awareness skill.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle31 July 2023phoneme blending, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, early literacyComment

Fun Activities and Games with Sight Words for Kindergarten

Discover engaging sight word games and activities for your kindergarten students and build reading fluency. Make learning high-frequency words fun with these tried and tested ideas. Get your free sight word resource and create a playful and effective learning environment for your students.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle17 July 2023sight words, games, hands-on learning, activities, early literacy, readingComment

Should We Teach the Kindergarten First 100 Sight Words?

Discover the latest Science of Reading research on teaching the kindergarten first 100 sight words. Enhance your sight word instruction and download my free sight word lists and tools to boost your students' reading fluency and confidence.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle10 July 2023sight words, kindergarten, early literacy, reading, reading strategies, science of readingComment

9 Hands-on Maths Number Activities for Kindergarten

Looking for some hands-on maths number activities for kindergarten? In this blog post, we will look at the Australian math curriculum, and I’ll give you 9 engaging activities on numbers for kindergarten kids that will help you teach the Number and Algebra strand of the ACARA mathematics curriculum.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle3 July 2023math provocations, maths, hands-on learning, hands-on math activities, hands-on number activities, number activities, kindergartenComment

Decodable Sentences with CVC Words for Kindergarten

Decodable sentences with CVC words play a vital role in laying the foundation for early reading and writing development. Discover just how important CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words are and download a comprehensive list of CVC words along with 20 matching sentences for your classroom. You will also find nine effective reading activities that will boost your student's decoding and reading comprehension skills in this blog post.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle26 June 2023cvc, cvc words, decodable sentences, kindergarten, literacy Comment

Science of Reading Decoding Strategies with CVC Words

Discover the best reading decoding strategies you need to be using in your classroom according to the Science of Reading research and learn the best practices for teaching CVC words in your classroom.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle26 June 2023cvc, cvc words, science of reading, science of reading decoding strategies, reading strategies, kindergarten, literacy, reading, decodingComment

Best Open-ended Questions for Preschool Kids

Want to unlock the power of open-ended questions for preschoolers? Enhance communication skills and oral language development with thought-provoking prompts and discover the best open-ended questions for preschool kids in this blog post.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle12 June 2023open ended questions, preschool Comments

The Positioning Schema

Discover everything you need to know about the positioning schema in this comprehensive blog post. Learn how to recognise this play schema in your early childhood classroom and get some practical ideas on how you can support it.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle22 May 2023positioning play schema, positioning schema, child development, play based learning, play schemaComment

The 5 Best Resources for Hands On Learning in Early Childhood Classrooms

Hands-on learning is learning by doing. It is not only fun and engaging, but it’s the most effective way early childhood students learn. Check out the top 5 resources you need to make your classroom hands on learning activities super educational and entertaining!

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle15 May 2023hands-on, hands-on learning, early childhood, play based learning, play based classroomComment

11 Amazing Yoga Benefits for Children

Yoga has many benefits for children. It can help children develop their physical, emotional, and mental health, as well as promote self-awareness, concentration, and relaxation. Classroom yoga will benefit your children. Check out this blog post to discover 11 amazing yoga benefits for children.

Investigations, Explicit Teaching, Social and EmotionalJanelle McArdle18 April 2023kids yoga, yoga benefits for children, classroom yoga, mindful kids, mindful classroom, behaviour management, early childhood, early years, social and emotionalComment

The Trajectory Schema

The trajectory schema is all about movement. If you have children in your classroom throwing things, fascinated with moving objects or force and motion, you have children developing their trajectory schema. Discover exactly what this play schema is and get heaps of playful hands-on activities you can use to support them.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle6 January 2023play schema, trajectory schema, play based classroom, investigations, early childhood, play based learning, developmental play, child development Comment

Blog - Life in a Play Based Classroom

I’m Janelle and I’m here to help you implement an engaging, play based curriculum

that STILL has your children meeting academic standards and benchmarks!