Shape and Sight Word Scavenger Hunt

Sometimes, we get cabin fever and just need to get out of the house. Especially during those rainy weeks where we cannot get out and play as much as we would like. This isn't usually a big issue - if you have extra disposable income - but we do not.  Everything seems to cost something - and that adds up. 


One day, when all my patience was gone by 9:00am, I knew we had to do something. That is when I decided to create a "shopping mall scavenger hunt."  I ran to my computer and created a 3x3 "tic-tac-toe-like" square and inserted a few sight words and 2-dimensional shapes. I printed them out and we were gone.

It worked like a charm. The kids had fun. I had fun. You can use them "tic-tac-toe" or "cover-all" style -- we used cover all. It really lightened the mood for the rest of the day. I have uploaded the two scavenger hunt grids to my website www.insightfulbrain.com. Please feel free to download (they're free!)

Sight Word Fun

We try to make rote learning as fun as possible. I created these hand-shaped flash cards for my children as one way to have fun memorizing those words that do not fit in the normal phonetic structure. I post two or three hand-shaped sight word cards on the door of a room.

 As we leave a room/house, I'll ask that we give "the" a high five, or "on" a high five. I'll even raise them a little higher than their normal arm span so they can have a little fun jumping to reach them.

 I have these hand-shaped sight word cards already pre-printed in my language section of Insightful Brain: Free Downloads. I have a set for the pink, blue, and green levels.

I also created rectangular flash cards for the children to practice sight words.
We use them in many ways:
1) As shown in the picture, I print 2 copies of the words and we play a concentration game with the sight words.
2) I will hold them up and they get to keep in a "treasure box" the ones that they memorize. They love seeing their cards stack up.
3) I will use 2 sets of words and place one set in rows/columns on the living room floor. I will hide the other set around the room. As they find them, they place them on the correct match. 

They get to put the ones they can read in a separate pile.
4)We play go fish or any other type of traditional card game with them we can think of playing. 

You can download the sightword flashcards (rectangular) shown here and other sight word materials for free at Insightful Brain: Free Downloads. The hand-shaped flashcards are downloadable for subscription members.