Santa's Sled Rhyme

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to share a couple of fun Christmas activities with you.  Both are based on a little rhyme I made up about Santa's sled.  The first version is a beginning letter sound activity.  It goes like this:

 You select a letter card and place it in the candy cane frame.  Then together with the child, you say the rhyme together.

I typically display three or four picture cards for the child to choose from.  Together we say the names of the items on the cards, emphasizing the beginning letter sound of each.  The child selects the one that matches and puts it on the sled picture.

This is what the sled will look like with picture cards placed on it as the rhyme progresses.

We repeat the sequence using other letters until Santa's sled is full.

The other version is a matching version, which is great for younger preschoolers.  The rhyme is slightly different:

Instead of letters, you place a toy picture on the elf's list.  Display three or four picture cards and let the child find the one that matches and put it in the sled.

These are great activities for promoting early literacy skills.  I hope you enjoy using them as much as I do!  The picture card set I created for the matching game were chosen specifically for a few of my kids working on bilabial sounds and CVC words.  They look like this:

You can download a copy of both activities here.  I printed mine on photo paper again, which I really prefer.  The colors are much more vibrant than they are on card stock, and I don't have to laminate them, which saves a bunch of time.  In the past,  I've stuck Velcro dots on the sleigh to hold the toy pieces in place.  It's not necessary, but it also gives the child visual cues to assist with placement of the toys.

I hope you like it!  Leave a comment if you do.  Credit goes to Scrappin' Doodles (again!) for the darling graphics.  Where would I be without them???

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Pam

Mailbox Match Ups Downloads

You're never too old to learn new things, right?  Today I am giving adding downloads to my blog a try.  My son, who is a webpage developer, has rolled his eyes at me more than once during the process of trying to teach me how to convert a Boardmaker file into a PDF, but I can actually do it now!  Baby steps, right?  He calls me a Tech Toddler for a reason!

Update:  Since I first published this post, I've discovered that Boardmaker files can only be shared through the Boardmaker Share website, and can only be accessed by using Boardmaker.  The following files have all been posted to Boardmaker Share.  You can find them all easily by searching for my username:  pamdahm.

I have created several activities to go along with the mailbox theme that I talked about in my last post.  I started with my blank letter template,  which you can download here.

Mailbox Matchup 6 Letter Blank Template

Just make multiple copies on cardstock, cut them out and laminate them.  You can use this template for a variety of different activities.  I made a rhyming activity which you can download at Boardmaker Share.  Just look for my folder called Mailbox Match Ups and browse through the files you want.  Here's one to get you started:  http://www.boardmakershare.com/Activity/1777225/Rhyme-Set-Envelopes-1

Rhyme Set Template

There's a Beginning Letter Sound Set, too.  Download these files at Boardmaker Share as well.  You'll find them in the Mailbox Match Ups folder again, but here's a link to get you started.

Beginning Letter Sound Set

I use Velcro dots to attach the little cards to each envelope, but you could still use these activities without the Velcro.

I also have a set that I'm using with my /r/ carryover kids.  All of these kids are readers, so they just write target words in the boxes on each envelope.  You could use pictures if you wanted to.

You can download these from Boardmaker Share here.

Nice chatting with you!

Pam