Top 15 of 2015: Deceptively Educational's Most Popular Activities

What a year it's been! I published 77 deceptively educational activities, games, and ideas in 2015. Here are the 15 most popular.

No. 1
Equivalent Fractions Missing Numerator Game

No. 2

Roll and Make Whole - Adding Fractions Board Game

No. 3

Color Theory for Kids (free printable color book)

No. 4

Button it Up - Beginning Addition Practice

No. 5

Climbing Mountain Climbers (Learning about Everest)

No. 6

Mean-Median Match-Up (free printable game)

No. 7

Simple Machines: DIY Pulley

No. 8

DIY Parachutes (and the Science Behind How they Work)

No. 9

DIY "Cave Paintings" (a Lesson on Lascaux)

No. 10

Why You Need to Use Soap (a Germs Simulation Experiment)

No. 11

Complete-a-Caterpillar (Phonics Game)

No. 12

Butterfly Garden (a Comparing Fractions Game)

No. 13

Egg Drop Experiment (Newton's First Law of Motion)

No. 14

Magic Linking Chain (the Science of Force)

No. 15

Beginning and Ending Sounds Word Elimination

I can't wait to see what deceptively educational ideas and activities await us in 2016!

Thanks to all who continue to follow our journey!

Tic-Tac-Toe Phonics Practice

Posting this activity almost seems silly. It's sooooo simple. But sometimes those kinds of activities are truly the best.

Each week our kindergartner is learning five new phonics sounds. To help him review last week's letter sounds, I whipped up a quick tic-tac-toe game.

I made the cross-hatch tic-tac-toe out of wooden craft sticks and hot glue. It's totally unnecessary, though. Just draw the lines on paper if you'd prefer.

On two different colors of sticky notes, I wrote the letters he'd be practicing. (You'll need to cut the notes to fit.)

When he got home from school, he and I played - him with one color of notes and me with the other (instead of Xs and Os). 

Each time we played a letter, we had to make the letter sound. 

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. 

Phonics to the Finish Free Printable Game (A, I, P, S, & T sounds)

The schools here use the Jolly Phonics program to teach kids letter sounds. I'm sure there are loads of alternatives, but I'm a fan of how the program combines a catchy tune, memorable song lyrics, representative object, and hand actions to make phonics really stick in kids' heads.

Our youngest son had his first introduction to the Jolly Phonics program in his alternative kindergarten class (aka Pre-K) last year. This year in kindergarten, he's getting it again. With the first few weeks of class underway, I wanted to test his knowledge of the first five sounds his kindergarten teacher had explored. 

Out of that curiosity, this game was born. Download a PDF of six game boards and playing cards free on Google Drive here.

All you'll need is the printed game boards, 3-4 pages of the cards printed and cut apart, and about seven game pieces per player.

The objects I used on these cards correspond with the Jolly Phonics program for the letters A, I, P, S, and T.

How to Play

Shuffle the playing cards well and put them either in a pile between the players or in a stack face down. 

The first player draws a card and reads the letter on the card. They look at their game card. If the first object on their card starts with that letter, they can cover the picture with a game piece. If they don't have an object that starts with that letter, they discard the card and play continues with the next player drawing. 

Players can only place game pieces on objects in order. Once the card is filled and the final object (inside the star) is covered, the player has won the game.

Beware! There are lose a turn cards. There are also "You Choose" cards that are like WILD cards, and allow a player to place a game piece on the next object on their game card.

NOTE: You may need to remind your child when reading the letter on their playing card, that the red line on the card should be on the bottom. This will help your child correctly orient the card so as not to confuse the "p" with a "d."

Not familiar with Jolly Phonics? Query YouTube to view videos of the songs!

CVC Words Hunt

Those little consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words are a great way for kids to practice phonics, listening for beginning and ending sounds, early reading skills, and spelling.

I snapped some photos and made several cards for my son to hunt, sound out, and spell.

The words I used are:

hat

pot

pen

car

jar

box

map

can

Download the cards I made for free from Google Drive here.

How to Play

I cut the cards for four words and scattered the cards throughout our living room, using scotch tape to secure them to the tv cabinet, ottoman, fireplace mantel, etc.

Here's the instructions I gave our 5-year-old.

You'll be making four words. Each word has four cards, one of which is a photo. Find a photo first, then find the letters in the word by looking at the color on the cards.

Once you find four cards of the same color, try to put the letters in order to form the word for the object in the picture.

Listen to the beginning and ending sounds to put the letters in the correct order.

Note: The pink- and red-bordered cards may look similar, depending on how your printer ink. To avoid confusion, don't use those words together.

When my son was done, I gave him four of Trader Joe's sour gummies. Our kids rarely get candy so this was a special treat, and because the gummies come shaped like the letters T and J, they seemed to be the perfect prize for all his word work!

Find the Missing End Letter (with Alphabet Magnets)

This week I dug out some of the pre-reader phonics books we used with our oldest son. Our five-year-old was ready. Once I realized that he could fairly easily listen for the ending sound of a word and then recall the letter that makes that sound, I wanted to further test his skills.

I pulled out the trusty slide cards that I used with our now 9-year-old when he was learning to blend sounds. I picked through the deck and found CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. Then I used some post-it note page markers to cover the ending sound of each word on the cards. To ensure he couldn't see through the note, I used two or three.

The page markers worked beautifully. He could see the beginning two letters of each word and the graphic representation of that object (e.g. a rat picture).

With our alphabet magnets attached to the refrigerator, I was ready for him to practice.

He tacked up the cards with magnets, identified the object in the picture, and then said (or listened) for the ending sound. Lastly, he looked for the letter that makes that sound and added it to the card to finish the word.

He didn't always get it right. So we sounded out the word he made (e.g. pik instead of pig). After listening carefully to the difference, he usually knew which letter to replace the incorrect one with.

This was a simple exercise that took just 10 minutes. It was great phonics practice and fun too!

Want the books that inspired this activity? Check out the Wheel Finders set of five books from DK Publishing. These fun interactive books are wonderful for enhancing pre-reading skills and confidence!

Short Vowel Sounds Board Game

So I've noticed something. When I work with my son and volunteer in his alternative kindergarten class, those darn vowel sounds are tough for kiddos to remember. Since the teacher has been working on letter sounds using Jolly Phonics, I thought a little game might help reinforce what he's been learning in school.

This game uses the short vowel sounds only. I had the five Jolly Phonics songs (and tunes) written down to help me remind my son as we played. 

If you're unfamiliar with Jolly Phonics, simply search YouTube for "Jolly Phonics a," "Jolly Phonics e," etc. Each letter sound has a short song to sing to help remember its sound, along with an action to complete while singing. It's terribly effective for kinesthetic learners. And let's face it, music is a great way to memorize things (just think of the alphabet song!). 

To play the short vowel sounds board game, you'll need two pages of heavyweight cardstock, onto which you'll print my free 2-page PDF (download it free from Google Drive here). 

Cut, fold, and glue the 10-sided die together (I scored the lines with the backend of a butter knife and used a hot glue gun). 

The die features two pictures for each vowel:
A - apple, anchor
E - egg, envelope
I - igloo, ink
O - octopus, ostrich
U - umbrella, underwear

Find small but different items to use as game pieces. We used two oversized buttons. LEGO minifigures, a penny and a dime, or Monopoly pieces would work perfectly too.

How to Play
The youngest player rolls the die. Whatever picture lands up, they must identify the object, and listening carefully to the beginning sound, identify the first letter of the word. Once this is accomplished, they move their game piece to the first occurrence of that letter on the game board. 

The next player takes a turn. The first player to get to the last letter on the board is declared the winner!

Complete-a-Caterpillar (Phonics Game)

I'm really trying to reinforce what my five-year-old son is taught in his alternative kindergarten class. With so much emphasis on phonics and the beginning sounds of words, I'm trying to find an assortment of different ways for my boy to practice that seem fun.

The Complete-A-Caterpillar game is a modified BINGO game, which if you've been following my blog for awhile, you've seen how much my kids love them!

This game was no different.

I made six caterpillar game cards. And call cards with words starting from A-Z. Download them free from Google Drive here. Print on heavyweight cardstock and cut apart.

We used those flattened glass baubles as our game pieces. Each player will need up to eight.

How to Play

Each player selects a game card of their choosing (the caterpillars are different colors).

An adult or older sibling will draw a card from the call cards and say the word aloud. It's up to each player to listen to the beginning sound, identify which letter makes that sound, and then search on their card to see if their caterpillar features that letter. If so, place a game piece over it.

The first player to get their whole caterpillar filled is the winner!

Our oldest son (age 9) willingly played this with his younger brother and I. Even he thought it was fun!

Beginning and Ending Sounds Word Elimination

My son's PreK alternative kindergarten teacher is really working with all the four- and five-year olds on listening to beginning and ending sounds. Combined with their Jolly Phonics practice, many of them are getting REALLY good and identifying what letters words start with. 

Ending sounds are a little tougher for my son.

I worked up some fun practice cards. I said, "Let's work on reading."

He looked at me like I was crazy and reluctantly sat down at the table.

I handed him one of the picture cards I'd made. I asked, "What's in the picture?"

"A top," he replied.

"So what is the beginning sound?"

"Tah, tah, tah," he said. "That's a t!"

I pointed to the letters on the card. "What word DOESN'T start with t? Cross through it."

"Now what is the ending sound in top?"

"Pah, pah, pah," he replied. "It's p!"

"What word DOESN'T end in a p? Cross through it."

"Now circle the word that's left. That's the word top."

He was SO proud of himself. This exercise is great at helping kids really listen, put their phonics knowledge into practice, and start to see how sounds mix to make words.

Download the four pages of cards I made from Google Drive here. If you want to reuse them, either slip the pages inside plastic sheet protectors or laminate and use fine-tip dry-erase markers so the pages can be wiped clean afterwards.

What Color Will Win? (Spin & Graph Activity)

My youngest son is really working on phonics but listening for beginning sounds still needs practice. This activity might not seem like a phonics activity but, believe it or not, it is.

What You Need

Small toy spinning top (ours came from the Dollar Tree)

Jelly roll (or other baking pan with sides) or a flat,shallow tub/box

2-page PDF of colors and graphing sheet

Paper

Marker or crayon

Prep

Download the PDF for free from Google Drive here. Print. Place the page of colors in your box/pan.

Play

Have you child spin the top and watch to see where its point lands on the color page. If your top doesn't move around much, try spinning it from high above the pan.

Wherever the top lands, your child must color in a box at the bottom of the graph. Here's where the phonics come in. When it lands, it's up to them to figure out which column to color - they do this by listening to the beginning sound and looking for the representative first letter in the color words on the graph.

I purposely did not put the words on the color page and make the words on the graph colored. In doing so, this activity is not just about learning colors and some simple math skills, it's also an exercise in phonics.

My 5-year-old had so much fun with this that his 9-year-old brother wanted to do it when he was done!

Beginning Sounds Match Up

My five-year-old's alternative kindergarten teacher has been working with the kids on phonics and I'm blown away by how fast my son is picking them up. While he's pretty good at remembering each letter's sound, I wondered how he'd do identifying the beginning sounds of words.

To test him, I grabbed 12 household items (e.g. iPad, apple, scissors, puzzle pieces, LEGOs, etc.) and placed them around the edge of our round kitchen table.

Then I grabbed the letter cards I made for the Alphabet Blackout game (the link to download them free from Google Drive is in the blog article). I only gave him the twelve letters that started the words for each object on the table.

It was up to him to circle the table and place the correct letter card next to each object. He worked so hard to get them right, slowly saying the words out loud and then looking through his small stack of cards.

He only struggled with the orange (O) and yarn (Y). All the others came to him fairly easily.

We'll definitely be doing this activity again. It's cheap, simple, and requires 5 minutes of prep, which is perfect for a busy parent!

File Folder Phonics and Letters

Learning letters has been a challenge for my little guy and while he's getting a fair amount of practice in preschool, it just isn't sticking.

Since I think it's equally important for kids to recognize the letters as it is to begin to associate the sounds they make with them, I decided we'd do a little extra work at home.

My mom, a retired elementary school teacher, supplied the idea for this genius file folder game. It's geared toward kindergarteners, but with some assistance can be ideal for PreK application too.

Before we got busy playing our "letters game," my son watched a great phonics DVD from Leap Frog. I'd recommend this for kids ages as young as two and as old as six.

This great file folder game is perfect for reviewing two letters and their sounds at a time. Kids have to decide which shapes contain pictures of objects that begin with a particular letter. It's simple and smart and SO helpful.

Download FREE from Google Drive:

A-M

N-Z + a blank template on page 23

Construction Option #1: 13 file folders

You'll need 13 file folders, 26 sheets of sticker paper (or office paper and glue), 26 sheets of heavyweight cardstock, and sticky-backed velcro. On the A-M file, print the odd numbered pages on cardstock and the even pages on sticker paper. On the N-Z file, do the same, but do not print page 23 (it's blank and you won't need it).

Now cut the letters and all the shapes from the sticker paper pages (or if the pages fit on your file folder, simply peel and stick the entire page, one page per side). Each file folder will have two letters. You can pick and choose whether you put the letters in alpha order (e.g. your folder could have A and B or O and T). Some phonics programs mix the letters, so feel free to do the same.

Now cut out the cardstock shapes and adhere velcro to the back and to the corresponding shape on the file folder.

Construction Option #2: 1 file folder

You'll need 1 file folder, 2 sheets of sticker paper (or office paper and glue), access to lamination, 26 sheets of heavyweight cardstock, and sticky-backed velco.

Print two copies of page 23 on the N-Z PDF file onto sticker paper. Either cut everything out, or if it fits, simply peel and stick to each side of the file folder. Laminate the folder. Now print the odd number pages on the A-M and N-Z PDF file (with the exception of page 23 which you already printed) onto cardstock. Cut out. Attach sticky-back velcro: 10 pieces of the fuzzy side to the shapes on the laminated folder and the hook side of velcro to each of the cardstock shapes.

Write the letters (upper and lower case) on the folder in the handwriting box using dry-erase marker.

To Use:

Give the child one folder and the shapes that correspond to each of the two letters inside. (I put the shapes in an envelope in the folder, which could be velcroed to the folder for storage.)

Remind the child what the letters are and the sounds they make. Have them determine where the shapes belong and attach them. For example, on and A-B folder, the child will have to determine if the apple in the yellow circle or the  baby in the yellow circle belongs on the A side of the folder; "Does it make the aw sound or the ba sound?"

My son really surprised me with this. I'm looking forward to making more of these folders for him.

To keep the letter/phonics work going, we read K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo. This book is a lot of fun for kids who can challenge themselves to find all the objects pictured that start with the letter noted in the text. 

From Phonics to Words with Slide Cards

Have you ever known you needed to do something that no one else knew about, but you still felt guilty? That’s how I’ve felt about posting this activity for months now. Literally months. This should have been my very first post ever. These slide cards are the most useful activity that I’ve ever created for my son.

He did a great job learning phonics in kindergarten. But blending those phonics into words was a little more challenging for him. At the kindergarten curriculum meeting, the teachers shared a nifty little trick to help early readers blend the sounds they learned. Thankfully, midway through the year, I hadn’t forgotten it.

First, I made a few of these … then a few more … and more and more, at my son’s request. I don’t know what the cards were called that the kindergarten teachers shared, but I’ve dubbed these amazingly simple things ‘slide cards.’

The basic principle is that by showing a child one letter at a time, they are able to concentrate on the sound it makes before they see the next letter/phonic. It’s easier for them to blend the sounds gradually rather than 1) feeling overwhelmed and giving up or 2) guessing the word.

Simply download and print the first 15 cards (5 pages) on cardstock, flip over and download and print the next 15 (5 pages) on the back. Then grab 15 regular-size security mailing envelopes and seal them all. Now cut one of the short ends off of each. Insert one card in all the envelopes and you’re ready to work with your son/daughter on blending sounds. Just pull the cards out slowly and make sure your child says the first sound before revealing the next letter. When they’ve blended all the letters/sounds together, reveal the picture and watch your child’s face light up with pride!

TIP: It works best to print the cards so that the type on the back is upside down. That way you can simply flip the card over and immediately practice the next word, without having to reposition the card in the envelope.

Now allow me to apologize for not sharing this activity sooner. Until I switched to new design software, I could not share the original cards I made for my son. I hope a few of you will find these PDFs (or just the idea) to be as helpful as we have.