Hari o Reyna, Prinsipe o Prinsesa

     Hari is King, Reyna is Queen, Prinsipe is prince and prinsesa is a princess.

     Well who wouldn’t want to be one someday?

     Sam loves to pretend play as a princess. So after her request of superhero crowns, I thought maybe if I added crowns in my Alpabetong Filiipino series, that would be the perfect for the little one. So I have made a crown set for the patinig or vowels and the katinig or the consonants. Ask your students or kids to answer and color the crowns before cutting and gluing.  They will absolutely have fun with these crowns!

    Here is how it looks like:

Alpabetong Filipino Crown Wearables

    You can find the Alpabetong Filipino crowns here.

Workbooks - Katinig and Patinig (Consonants and Vowels

       Oh my its been awhile since my last blog entry. I was sick for awhile and had to slow down to recover. Before getting sick, I was able to finish the katinig or the consonant series, which are available at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mrs-Graders

      
       Sam, our daughter has finished the patinig or the vowel series, completing all the interactive alphabet cut out picture dictionaries and the worksheets. I had a brilliant idea of making the worksheets into a workbook by using a manual coil binder which I bought online and mind you way too cheap including the customs tax compared to the one available locally. The coils for the binder was purchased online as well, all the way from Australia. It was cheaper than shipping it from the US and I wanted a different colored coil and bought the clear one. It was a great buy!

        So here's how it looks like:

Patinig E page 

Patinig Workbook Cover

      Sam would just grab it during the day, flip through and read it. If you wish to have yours printed and made into a workbook, similar to the pictures above, just drop me an email at mrsgraders@gmail.com. This offer is only available in the Philippines.  

Ang mga Katinig – The Consonant Series

      I have finally finished 6 katinig or consonants out of 15! Still a long way to go I know but hey I am doing it in between mum and wife duties, not to mention being a host to guests coming over from the city!

      There are two things that make it quite difficult to finish the katinig series. One is making sure that the words included are easy for kindergarteners or beginning Filipino learners to remember. I also want the words included to be used on daily conversations or simple sentences. The other difficulty I encountered is the translation from Filipino to English. There are some words that do not have direct translation or have double meanings. Other words, on the other hand do not have clipart that are readily available so I have to look for the best clipart that will fit the word.  

      What makes doing the worksheets and picture dictionaries a fun process is Sam’s interest in the language. When I am at my laptop editing the katinig series, Sam loves to peek and read the words listed on the picture dictionaries. One time she said to me, "Bata." I asked her, “What’s bata?” She answered back, “Kid.” And then she said, “Ang mga bata go the eskuwela.” (The kids go to school.) And I was extremely surprised that she was able to make use of our lessons!

      So every time she thinks and reads a word, she would always say to me, “Apple is…” which means, “Mama what is apple in Filipino?” And I am one proud teacher mama!

      Here are some examples of the worksheets and picture dictionaries:

Katinig Bb Picture Dictionary - Just print, cut and glue!

Katinig Hh Worksheet Sample 

        Here are the links for the Katinig/ consonants worksheets and picture dictionaries B, D, G, H, K and L. Wait for the next katinig sets!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Katinig-B-D-and-G-The-Consonants-B-D-and-G-2863811

   

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Katinig-H-K-at-L-The-Consonants-H-K-and-L-2863816

       Happy teaching!

         

Superheroes!!

     When I was teaching in the kindergarten, the only reward that I normally give my students would be stamps on their hand. Sweeties or stickers are seldom and saved for very special occasions.

     
     It was so cute that at the end of the day, they would line up and wait what kind of stamp will be given to them. Not all days would be a good one for some. So what I do is, if one of my students have done something not so good during the day, I explain to him or her why he or she won’t be getting a stamp. When they go home and their parents ask why they didn’t get any, they would be able to explain to them why. So every day, they make it a point to do a good job to be able to get that coveted stamp.

    
     When I started homeschooling our Sam, I made an alternative reward system, Superheroes! I bought superhero clipart from Teachers Pay Teachers and made a badge. Oh the happiness on her face and how proud she is to get a superhero badge! She was looking at it in front of the mirror and just doing a badge parade inside the house! So that was the first week.

    
      Second week came and I made Superhero Bracelets. Then the third week was Superhero crown. For the fourth week I didn’t have much time and Sam requested for a Superhero mask. She has a collection of Disney Princesses, Frozen and Doc Mcstuffins masks so I wasn’t surprised she would request one. I was lucky that Teachers Pay Teachers had freebies so that was such a relief!

    
      And now for our fifth week is the Superhero watch. It was fun doing it so I decided to share some samples as a freebie. It includes two line art (black and white watches for girls) and two colored watches for boys. Kindly click the link below for the FREEBIE.

    https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Superhero-Reward-Watch-2844817

    Here is a sample of what the watches look like in black and white. I have added a pop art effect to make it a bit more interesting in this post. :D 

Superhero Reward Watches

    If you need to have a custom watch made, kindly let me know I will try to edit it for FREE!   

Filipino-English Picture Dictionary

           
             Teaching Filipino to our dear Sam, who is half British and half Filipino is quite an easy task. Her reading level is for a 9-10 year old,  based on the reading program Eye Level, which we once visited to see an ex colleague. Sam was asked to read the booklet of a student and my friend was quite surprised that she was so advanced! 

          So what I did for her worksheets in Filipino was to make alphabet cut out books and started with the patinig or vowels. I made the first set only in Filipino but as I was teaching her, I was or she was translating it to English! So what I did was to put the English in Italics below the Filiipino words to make it easier for her to remember.

          Here are the snapshots of the interactive alphabet cut out books. 

Filipino-English Picture Dictionary

                               
          I have included two worksheets per patinig or vowel for further practice. Here are some samples:

  Two patinig Aa sample worksheets

                                
          On our first week she was able to spell all the Filipino patinig Aa! She even answered a question I asked in English in Filipino! We were studying salty foods and I asked her give me an example of a salty food. She answered, "Asin!" (salt) I gave a huge laugh!

           Here is a link to my new product:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Picture-Dictionary-Filipino-English-2840381  

          More fun stuff to make..be back soon!

Calendar Journal/Morning Work

   
      I have been out of the teaching mode for quite sometime due to a big move to a newly built house. It has been a tiring, stressful yet rewarding experience. My daughter and I moved from the big city to the province as decided by my hubby and I because everything is CHEAPER. We have a big plot, with a view of the sea, so what more would you want?

      When everything was settled in the house, I was able to sit and do wonders with my laptop again, doing what I love the most as a teacher mama...making fun teaching materials.

      This year is different for me and the little one as she won't be going to a regular school. The academic school year has started and it would be quite a challenge for me and her to change routines and Sam adjusting to a new environment. Moreover, from the Special Education point of view, I wanted to address her delays in fine motor. So this year I've started homeschooling.

      It was quite a daunting task thinking of ways to make her write, do the calendar and a review of the days lesson rolled into one. I did a few searching online and found something quite interesting. In the US, they do a morning work paper with the kids and I said to myself, that might just work. Sam is a very good reader but a very stubborn writer. This worksheet might just be the answer to encourage her to write more and have the correct pencil grip and follow the lines. 

       So this was the product of my editing skills:

       It actually worked! We are now in day 12 and it was a miracle! Not only was she encouraged to write, she has developed her calendar skills and was looking forward to answering it after our circle time! I even added a graph the weather worksheet! 

      Now on to my next worksheets....

Teaching Fluency

    During the course of my teaching years, kids starting to learn how to read often struggle with identifying letters and letter sounds.

    Reading is quite a complicated task for young kids. If we look into phonemic awareness, or the ability to identify  the letter sounds and use these sounds to make words, it would take a lot of practice to be able to master each letter and its corresponding sound. Some kids would be able to do it quickly and quite well, while others would be struggling doing these tasks.

    As parents and or teachers, we need to help these kids practice, practice and practice and make reading fun. I have made a fluency helper accordion book to practice fluency on CVC A words, simple sentences and simple passages. At the end of each word or passage, the teacher, parent or guardian can check which have been read easily and independently.

    Here is an example of the accordion fluency helper for CVC A Word Families 
-am, -ag, -ab, -ad, -ar, -at, -ap, -an. You can find it in my store here.  Just print and cut!

     

    You can read more on the subject of fluency at the Reading Rockets website.
    
    Have fun reading!

My Mini Short Story Tab Books

``When I was creating stories for our little one so she can practice her fluency and comprehension, i wanted it to be different and interesting for her.

    The first story I made was about our little one Sam, Sam's jam. Finished the story, and I had to think of an interesting format. Sam loves to read books and flip so why not a mini tab book? I showed her the finished product and  asked me to immediately print it. I just had to print, cut and glue and voila I have a mini book! She read the story, answered the 2 sets of reading comprehension questions and still wanted more. So I added another story. 

   The only thing was when I added another story, i had a blank page at the back. And I was like, "What can I put in the last page?" Had to search for ideas and clipart and found it! Why not a Superhero Reader Award to motivate them to read more and make them feel they have accomplished something great! 

14 CVC A short story covers in colored and black and white

with the Superhero Reader Award

   Here is the link for the mini tab books. It has 14 stories, 2 sets of reading comprehension questions on every story. There are two covers available, one for a boy and one for a girl. Kids can even color the clipart in each story!

   Here are some samples of the mini tab books. 

  

Mag's Bag -- An -ag word family story

Matt's cat -- An -at word family reading comprehension

Question Set A

  Happy reading! Share to your teacher and parent friends!

   

Finally back!

    I'm finally back!

    It's been awhile since I have posted something online. I have been quite busy with sorting and packing stuff for moving on our new house next month.

    It is not an easy task sorting our 5 year old daughter's toys, art stuff and books!! Seriously, I had to ask her for every toy she has, "Sam, how about this one? Keep, sell or give away?" And with what other people call rubbish, pre loved or used stuff, I have actually sold loads, getting back a decent amount of money worth more than a month's utility bills!

    After the never ending packing and sorting still, I HAD to find time to upload and edit products online. The newest on the store is the CVC Word Family A short stories/reading comprehension passages. It has 14 stories and 2 sets of reading comprehension questions. Just print, cut and glue and voila! You have 7 new books! Your kiddos and or students can even color the pictures in each 
story!

    Look at the sample mini tab books!

    

   Check out the CVC Short Stories here . Happy reading!   

   

Mrs Graders is OPEN

       It's finally open! 
     
     It was in between coffees, mum errands and sleepless nights that finally I was able to finish my first product.

     I had so many ideas in my mind and every time I plan to upload it, it just wasn't enough! Sam, our 6 year old daughter is the one who tests each and every page. Everytime I tell her, "I'm done, wait for the printer!" Sam would rush and grab her markers, glue and scissors!

Sam having fun with CVC -at Build It worksheet

     If our Sam loves my worksheets, I hope your kids and or students will love it too.  This worksheet is available with the CVC -at bundle here.   

I am Mrs Graders

  What's in a name?

  Well my real second name is Lida, from my parents names Liwayway and Dante. Our 6 year old daughter's name second name is Tala, the Fiilipino term for a star. 
  
   As for Mrs Graders, the name started around 10 years ago, the Single Graders. It was my first few years of teaching in Manila and I was asked what my email was. I didn't have one so I thought of graders, which best describes the job that I had that time, teaching the early grades. 

   Fast forward a few years, I had to leave teaching, with a heavy heart, to start a family.  

   I have no regrets leaving my profession and degree. From the moment our little one, Samantha or Sam was born, I was (and still is) her teacher. 

   And that's how Mrs Graders was born. 

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