Lovevery curated on LTK

What exactly is phonological awareness? Basically, it is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in a spoken language. Think rhyming, counting syllables, identifying first and last sounds of a word, identifying how many words in a sentence, sorting words by their first sounds, putting two words together to make a new word, and more. If that sounds overwhelming, I get it, it definitely can be. Even me, as a former early childhood teacher, struggles to have it together enough to support my own kids at home. That’s why I am SOOO excited to share this AMAZING resource from Lovevery they truly knocked it out of the park on this one! This is the Reading Skill Set Part One (or 3 parts) and what you see in this video is only a fraction of what’s included, making it well worth the price point. With the Reading Skill Set you are not expected to be a reading expert, you have everything you need to build a strong foundation for reading in a playful way LTKFamily LTKVideo LTKKids

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Lovevery | The Reading Skill Set | Sounds to Reading | A Phonics-Based Program for Learning to Re... | Amazon (US)

LOVEVERY | The Reading Skill Set | Advanced Rules to Chapter Books | A Phonics-Based Program for ... | Amazon (US)

Lovevery | The Reading Skill Set | Words to Books | A Phonics-Based Program for Learning to Read,... | Amazon (US)

Outsidethetoybox

Did you know that developing new fears is a totally normal part of early childhood? 🎃 As their imagination grows, so do their fears—especially around Halloween when everything’s a bit spookier!

That’s why I created this Halloween-themed calm down basket. It’s full of tools to help kids express their fears in a fun and practical way.

Get the breathing prompt cards and the Color Monster writing prompts as part of my Emotion Explorers printable bundle available at outsidethetoybox.com

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Here are 3 ways to practice social emotional skills in a fun, hands-on way. Shop products below and the printables are available on my website outsidethetoybox.com

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Did you see part 1? Which was your favorite Halloween sensory bin?

The sensory fillers/bases that we used are:
✨ Purple Kinetic Sand (doesn’t dry out 🎉)
✨ Black beans and purple fish tank gravel
✨ Black beans

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The sensory fillers/bases that we used are:
✨ Play dough (homemade)
✨ Black beans
✨ The Sensory Mess Halloween “Mess in a Bag” from last year

All stored in the Target 3-drawer storage bin that’s perfect for sensory activities.

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Adding light and shadow creates wonder and curiosity for kids. It’s a perfect way to make some magic this Halloween. Here are just a few fun ways to add light to your Halloween activities.

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This is such a fun Halloween game! It was easy to make too, my kids even helped with our Makedo kid-safe cardboard tools. Save this one for your next Halloween party.

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The perfect toddler travel toy this Halloween! Choose from Ghost, Frankenstein, or Pumpkin…or all 3!

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My First Sewing Kit makes a great gift for a 5-8 year old!

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3 spooky finds for kids this Halloween!
There’s a Ghost in This House book
Crayola Lights Ups reusable color light
Magnetic tiles haunted housee

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Easy and fun activity for your toddler for Halloween

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Are you a fan of puzzles? I have found the coolest one!

I have been doing puzzles long before kids. It’s one of my favorite ways to connect with my kids now. And this puzzle by Large as Life Puzzles has so many unique features.
It is the actual size of the animal featured in the puzzle, has trivia on the backside of each piece, has some hidden special shapes, and has a color coded hint guide.

My kids already know much more about the King penguin than they did before and now I want to get the other animal puzzles.

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Fall letter recognition activity using a sensory bag of hair gel and food coloring on the lightbox.

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Here are 5 reasons why teaching this is a game-changer for your child 👇
1.PREVENTS MELTDOWNS BEFORE THEY START
2. BUILDS STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS
3. HELPS KIDS FEEL UNDERSTOOD
4. ENCOURAGES INDEPENDENCE & CONFIDENCE
5. REDUCES STRESS & ANXIETY
Sensory bins are a great way to practice skills of sharing space and toys, taking turns, communicating with others, expressing oneself, talking through emotions and situations, plus so much more! This bin is perfect for the Fall season

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A fun way to practice pre-writing skills this Fall and Halloween seasonn

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Sensory bins perfect for the Fall and Halloween season

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I’ve been raving about these products to all my friends and I am legit impressed with the quality and ability to keep my 3 and 5 year olds entertained.

Most of my Halloween decor is actually just toys and I’m totally ok with that. I love functional decor and items that can be used for more than one purpose. So, ya my kids are pretty excited when I say we don’t have to clean up the haunted houses they make.

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A pair made for spooky season! These haunted house magnetic tiles are so fun! They are double-sided, some pieces glow in the dark, and come with spooky figurines. The Battat light table adds a little more magic especially with its color changing feature.

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I’m particular with which sushi I eat, mostly the fancy rolls, but my husband isn’t a fan so we don’t eat it much as a family.

I was completely surprised how excited my 5 year old was to try real sushi (I got her a veggie roll to start with) after playing with the Educational Insights Playfoam Sushi Shop set. So now I just want our pretend broccoli, carrots, and Brussels sprouts to do the same 😂

Besides inspiring her to eat new food, this activity also works on shapes and visual discrimination (matching the picture from the “order” cards to what they create).

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Are you a Little Blue Truck fan like us? This toy truck matches so well! We just took it back out with Little Blue Truck’s Halloween book.

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We are loving this $25 light box for an easy after school wind down activity! It comes with the translucent shapes, transparent design cards, and it changes colors.

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I’m shocked how much my 3 year old now knows about numbers by watching Numberblocks and playing with these toys!

If you have a little math lover too, I highly recommend these blocks from hand2mind. Something I liked about these blocks is that you could use them as plain math linking cubes without the character faces (even though those make them way more fun!) Math linking cubes were a staple in my preschool and kindergarten classrooms. They are great for counting, sorting, patterns, simple addition and subtraction, and more math concepts.

These are in my 3 year old’s top 5 toys currently because he is a big math and numbers guy.

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Do you leave lunchbox notes? And is it an everyday thing or a special day thing?

At first I was thinking, “I’ll send a picture everyday since she doesn’t know how to read yet,” but then second day I was a little more realistic with myself and realized I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it, so now I’m saving this lunchbox idea for special days (birthdays, testing days, first days, etc.).

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Start Back-to-School season with some easy ABC sensory bins. It’s the perfect activity to create a calming transition from school to home.

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I anticipate lots of afterschool meltdowns in the first few weeks. It will be a big adjustment for us going from 4 half days to 5 full days. Something that will help us reset is having a simple activity to go to right after school and sensory bins like this one will be perfect!

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Back-to-School Sunshine gift for preschool or kindergarten teachers. Giving a thoughtful gift at the beginning of the school year can strengthen your bond with your child’s teacher and starts the year on the right foot.

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Get Back-to-School ready…through play!
Honestly, I was naive. I thought because the fancy bento box thing was super easy for me to open and close, it would also be easy for her. Well, I’m so glad I set up this sensory bin/pretend play activity with the actual items she will be taking to kindergarten because she didn’t really know how to close it. And it was easy for me to show her how vs. her trying to figure it out, leaving it open and spilling the leftover contents, or waiting for a lunchroom helper.

I am a worrier but at least this helps to ease one of my (many) worries for my oldest starting kindergarten.

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As we are approaching back-to-school and my daughter starting kindergarten, there have been so many emotions! I’m trying to use books and play to talk about the upcoming transition without stressing her out too much. Feels like a delicate balance 🤪

If you have a sensitive child like mine, I highly recommend these Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles from hand2mindinc they have primary emotions (happy, sad, scared, angry) and secondary emotions (excited, impatient, lonely, nervous) 👈the ones we have.
I gotta admit I was a bit surprised when these sensory bottles became my kids’ favorite toys (you can see the wear and tear in the video for all the love they get).

But I kinda get it. They are so expressive with their faces and the way the fillers move through the bottle. Plus, they are really durable. They treat them like friends and call them by their names (which is just the color of the bottle).

All this to say that they have been a great social emotional tool. It’s easier for kids to talk about their feelings if they are using a stand-in (like a doll, puppet, or in this case a sensory bottle).

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Traveling with a toddler can be super tricky! Here are some ideas to keep little kids busy while traveling.

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I’ve been eyeing this type of vacuum for months now and the Target Circle Week deal pushed me over the edge. We bought the Tineco iFloor 3 Breeze cordless wet/dry vacuum.

I highly recommend this for anyone with hard sealed floors and especially if you have kids. It cuts cleaning time in half by picking up dry stuff (bigger than anything my regular vacuum can pick up) and mops at the same time! It also has separate clean & dirty water tanks so you are cleaning with clean solution/water only.

There are some downsides though. Let me explain…

👉 It only runs for about 20 minutes and the tank empties pretty quickly so it’s better for spills or small spaces. It cleaned about 200 sq feet before I needed to empty the dirty water tank
👉 You have to clean the tank each time and set it to dry so it doesn’t start to stink
👉 Filling the tank with water/solution takes some time so it’s not just a grab and go situation (although it’s not very hard either)

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Our favorite Target Circle Week deals for kids toys, games, activities, and home supplies.

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Shop the look 😂 little girl shopping fit. Styling mini fashionista

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Tumeez is a fun, delicious and effective tummy soothing lollipop made with all organic, natural, and clean ingredients. Perfect to take on the go with kids because you never know when they will come down with an upset tummy.

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Fourth of July art activity for kids

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Monster trucks and oobleck mud truck wash sensory activity! Here’s how I made the oobleck mud: 1 cup cornstarch, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup water. Then I added the soapy water and water dispenser for a fun outdoor summer activity.

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Some great games from HABA for on the go and travel with little kids.

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