"Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet.."

     I am absolutely thrilled to be apart of this Trick or Freebie blog hop that A Class*y Collaboration is hosting. If this is your very first time visiting Mommy & Me Creations, I would like to welcome you.  I hope you find this little blog of mine cozy, and that you like what you have seen here so far.

 

     Today, I have a little Happy Fall Ya'll Memory Game that I'd like to share with you. This game set would be perfect for those of you who teach Preschool and Kindergarten. The pictures inside this packet include: leaves, pumpkins, apples, scarecrows and even a few Fall themed sight words. I have used memory games several times before. I have used them while I was a nanny, teaching, and now as a mother of two little ones. When I was teaching, I used them in my centers. Sometimes, I would even let my kids play them during their free time. Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I play memory games all the time. My 4 year old loves them! 

If you have never played a memory/match game before, here are the few simple instructions:
1) Lay out your cards face down.
2) Turn one card over, and  then pick up another card to try to make a match.
3) If there is no match, turn the cards back over. (If there are multiple players, it's the next person's turn to play)
4) If a match has been made, the player gets another turn.
5) Repeat the same steps, until all of the matches have been made.   
6) Play again, if the players want to.

 **If you decide that this printable is for you, please be sure to print your pieces on card-stock or any other thick pieces of paper. Regular printing paper will have the ink shown through to the back of the paper.**

     I know I've already posted my Terms of Use inside this packet, but I wanted to kindly remind you before downloading that:
* This printable is for personal and single classroom use only.
*Please do not alter, resell, redistribute, or claim this printable as your own.
Thank You!

Download this Freebie

     Before I leave, I would like to let you know about my giveaway on Teacher's Notebook. Two lucky winners will receive my Teacher Binder Covers. This giveaway ends tomorrow. If you would like to enter, please do so by clicking here.

     Thanks for stopping by Mommy & Me Creations. Please remember to keep visiting A Class*y Collaboration, each day until the 31st, to grab as many treats... oh I mean freebies as you can!  Thanks again!

 

Set the Table

   Teaching your kids how to properly set the table, doesn't necessarily have to be during meal times. I made a simple game that will allow my kids to practice setting the table, by matching the shapes to their outlines. All I did was cut out the necessary shapes for my utensils, cup, napkin and plate. I then used a pencil and traced around each shape inside my file folder. That's it! My kids were ready to play!
     When playing this game, each child is required to look at each of their shapes, and match them accordingly to their outline shown on their file folder. While matching, I would always ask my kids to name each item. Once my kids were done playing and learning, they could easily store their cutouts inside their individual file folders. And voila, the games were cleaned up. 
When teaching preschool, I used this activity in my centers during my health and nutrition themed week. All of them loved matching the pieces so much that they would do it over and over again.
In what ways have you taught your kids, how to set your table?

Newspaper Clipping Names

     I have an awesome idea to share with you today. It's an activity that will help your kids learn how to spell their names. It's called, "The Newspaper Clipping Names" activity! I have done this particular activity a lot, when I taught preschool. It's a really simple activity to do. All you need are some newspapers, a pair of scissors, a pen or marker, and it wouldn't hurt to have a piece of paper with each child's name written on it. This will help serve as a reminder to your kids, in case they forget what a certain letter looks like. 

     To start, ask your kids to look for letters in their name inside their newspaper. Once they have found a letter, ask them to circle it using their pen or marker. Repeat this until all of the letters have been found.

     When all of the letters have been found, and circled. You and your kids may go through, and cut each letter out. After all of the letters have been cut out, make sure to ask your kids to spell out their name using these newspaper clipping letters.
     Below is my daughter's name made out of her clippings. She had such a great time doing this project that she asked to do it over and over again. Just like my preschoolers that I had taught years before. 

Match the Shapes

     I am a big fan of matching games. Kids truly enjoy playing games. I especially love it when children can learn from the games that they play. Today, I have a Shape Matching Game to share. I placed basic shapes on this set, so preschoolers can begin to recognize their shapes. My suggestion is to review the names of each shape, before starting the game. Make sure each child recites the name of each shape that they turn over, while playing the game. That way, they can all learn the names of each shape.

If you have never played a matching game, here are some real simple instructions to follow.
1) Lay out your cards face down.
2) Turn one card over, and  then pick another card to try to make a match.
3) If there is no match, turn the cards back over. (If there are multiple players, it's the next person's turn to play)
4) If a match has been made, the player gets another turn.
5) Repeat the same steps, until all of the matches have been made.

 If you would like to download this matching game set, please remember:
* This printable is for personal use only.
*Please do not alter, resell, redistribute, or claim this printable as your own.
*If you would like to re-post this printable online, credit must be given to Mommy and Me Creations with a link back to my website.
** Please remember that this freebie is sole property of Mommy and Me Creations. I am sharing some love, all I ask that you send some back to me.

Download the Shape Matching Game

Also, Teaching Blog Addict is turning two. As most of you know, I too am a blog author of TBA. I cannot believe that this amazing website will soon be turning 2.  To celebrate, there will be an ultimate freebie celebration on April 5th.

This celebration will give educators a chance to link up their freebies.TBA will be hosting multiple link parties for the following grade levels:

- Preschool and Kindergarten
- 1st and 2nd Grade
- 3rd and 4th Grade
- 5th and 6th Grade

This will be a celebration that no one will want to miss out on. 

Homemade Puzzle Matching Game

     Matching games are always really fun for little kids, but I always recommend adding a learning concept to each one. With this matching game, I cut animal figures out of paper. I then used the actual cut-out and silhouette, as my game. (Cricut machines are amazing for helping making die-cuts, and are especially handy for preschool teachers. They saved me so much time, while I was teaching)
     The learning concept that I would like to see achieved is: Looking at one solid object, and match it to its shape. Some children can match these items easily, while other young children may not. If a child does not grasp the concept quick yet, bring it back down to their level. Take away the silhouette cut-outs, and only show the child the animal figures. Talk about each animal individually. Ask the child if he or she knows what sounds a duck makes. Practice those basic concepts, and build up from there. Before you know it, this child will be able to master this game!

Counting and Matching Numbers Game

     Math has always been one of my favorite subjects to teach kids! I know a lot of kids, who love to play matching games. Brooklee, my 3 year old, loves to play these games. I definitely enjoy taking advantage of this interest. I have done this by adding a learning concept to the game. In this case, I have decided to let Brooklee count and match numbers.

 

I have made some matching cards with:
1) The actual number sitting on top (i.e. 5)
2) The written word of each number. (i.e. five)
3) I placed the correct number of stickers on the card (i.e. five stickers)

Of course; I made matches for each card, from 1-10. Making a total of twenty cards, in all.

Why did I go through all the trouble of adding the number, the written word, and stickers? I wanted my daughter to become familiar with the number, and written word for each number. I also wanted her to continually practice counting each number.

If you have never played a matching game, here are some real simple instructions to follow.
1) Lay out your cards face down.
2) Turn one card over, and  then pick another card to try to make a match.
3) If there is no match, turn the cards back over. (If there are multiple players, it's the next person's turn to play)
4) If a match has been made, the player gets another turn.
5) Repeat the same steps, until all of the matches have been made.

But... with my game:
You will want to lay out the cards face down. The player will turn over a card, but he or she will need to count and/or recognize the number written on the card. He or she will then flip over another card, and have to count and/or recognize what number is on that card. This player will then need to determine if their number cards match. If there is no match, he or she will need to place the cards face down again. Then it's the next person's turn. If a match has been made, the same player will get another turn. Repeat the same steps, until all of the matches have been made.

Below are the pictures from Brooklee and I playing our number matching game. As you can tell, the first picture is a match and the other is not.

I have more fun and exciting math games. If you are interested, you can click here to check them out.

Fun Math Games for Kids

     I love using visuals to teach children, especially when it comes to math. When I taught preschool, I would always use empty egg cartons and cereal to sort and count. The treat would always draw children into the activity, but there was one rule: the child couldn't eat the cereal until the learning activity was over. Today, I would like to share with you just how I taught math using an egg carton and cereal.

     For the counting activity, I would cut out and place numbers 1-6 (one number for each hole in the carton). Once the numbers were placed, I would ask the child to look at each number. Then count out the same number of cereal, and place them into each carton hole. To make it a little more challenging, I would mix up the numbers. For example: Instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; I would change it to 5, 3, 4, 1, 6, 2. If the child did well with both challenges, I would add more numbers to the carton. For example: instead of 1-6, I could add 7-12. Then ask the child to count, and place cereal to match the written number.

     Another great way to test a child's math skill is to have them sort their cereal. I would always ask kids to sort by color. If he or she mastered this concept, I would ask the child to sort the cereal by size. To make it a little more challenging, I would switch the cereal out for one that has different shapes (i.e. Lucky Charms) and ask the child to sort the cereal by their shapes. This is a terrific way to test your child to see where they stand in learning their colors, sizes, and shapes.

     These small math activities could be used in any math center, or just as a fun activity to do at home with your spare time. Kids really enjoy these activities, especially getting that tasty reward at the end!