Showing posts with label English for children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English for children. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Phonics Flashcards (R-Controlled Vowels)

Today I would like to share the set of the R-controlled Vowel Sounds Flashcards.


The set consists of 20 flashcards. Cards №№ 133-136 present words in which the letter a followed by the letter r makes the sound [a:]. Card № 137 presents words where the letters o and r give [ɔː]. Cards №№ 138-140 present the sound [ɜː] made by the phonograms ir, ur, er.

Cards №№ 141-145 include phonograms -er, -or, -ur which produce the schwa sound [ə]. It should be noted that the card №143 gives the words with the British spelling of the phonogram -our like in colour, favour; the card №145 gives the same words with the American spelling -or like in color, favor.

Cards №№146-148 display such phonograms as -eer, -ear, -ere which make the sound [ɪə]. Card № 149 contains the words where the phonogram -ir meets one more vowel resulting in the sound [aɪə] like in fire, iron. Cards №№ 150-151 demonstrate the phonograms -our, -ower that give the sound [auə]. Card № 152 shows cases where the phonogram -ur meets one more vowel making the sound [juːə] like in cure, during.

english phonics flashcards r-controlled vowel sounds
Phonics Flashcards: r-controlled vowel sounds

Monday, January 11, 2016

School Song for Children

Today I would like to present you my School Song.


School years are the most important part in a child’s life. School provides academic knowledge children need for the future and promotes a child’s mental and psychological growth. School also helps a child learn other important life skills such as teamwork, good manners, unity, sharing, and responsibility.


My song is about everyday school life, the activities students do in the classroom and school objects necessary for the successful learning.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Phonics Flashcards (Long O Vowel)

Today I would like to share some new cards from my long sound phonics flashcards series.
This post is dedicated to the long sound [ɔʊ].


Cards №№ 109-111 present the words where the letter Oo gives the long sound [ɔʊ].
Cards №№ 112-116 include such phonograms as: ow, oa, ou, oe, old.

phonics flashcards, long O vowel
Phonics flashcard: long o sound

phonics flashcards, long O vowel


Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Phonics Flashcards (Long I Vowel)

I continue sharing with you my long sound phonics flashcards and today my post is dedicated to the long sound [ai]. This set consists of 16 cards.


Cards №№ 93-101 include such phonograms as: -ice, -ide, -ike, -ime, -ine, -ive, -ild, -ind, -igh-. Cards №№ 102-104 present the words where the letter Ii gives this sound, while cards №№ 105-106 show the same sound in the words with the letter Yy. Cards 107-108 present such phonograms as ie, ui.

phonics flashcards long i sound
Phonics flashcard: long i [ai] sound

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Phonics Flashcards (Long E Vowel)

Referring to my previous posts dedicated to the series of phonics flashcards I continue publishing other phonics sets. Here is a set of flashcards including the words with the long E sound [i:].


There are not many words with such phonograms but I've done my best to collect them. Cards №№ 85-92 include the following phonograms: e, ee, ea, i, ie, ei.

phonics flashcards long e sound
Phonics flashcard: long e [i:] sound







phonics flashcards for children long e sound

Enjoy teaching phonics to your young learners!



Monday, September 30, 2013

Fruits and Berries Song for Kids (+ Counting to 10)

Summer is a wonderful season of harvesting fruits, berries and vegetables. Lots of people around the world celebrate the harvest and the end of the field work season in late summer and in the beginning of autumn. It's an important event and a great topic for English lessons with kids. After all, the majority of children adore fruits and berries, so learning their names in English could be really exciting for them. That's why I decided to create a “Fruit and Berries Counting Song”. Singing this song, kids can fancy themselves gathering fruits and berries in a garden. And this is kind of a song with the added value as it teaches not only the fruits and berries vocabulary but also counting to ten. And as usual I asked my husband to create an animated cartoon for this song for me to make learning fruits and berries more engaging. This is the third song where you can here the voice of my 3-years old son who also learns English using my teaching materials. So here is the resulting video:

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Phonics Flashcards (Long A Vowel)

I continue sharing my series of phonics flashcards. In my previous phonics post I publishing the last set of flashcard dedicating to the short vowel sounds. Today I start focusing on the long vowel sounds. So in this post I would like to share my long A sound [ei] flashcards.


Cards №№ 73-78 include the following phonograms: -ake, -ame, -ate, -ale, -ane, -ace. Cards №№ 79-82 introduce different cases of the long A vowel in the middle of words. Cards №№ 83-84 demonstrate the occurrence of the long A sound in digraphs ay, ai.

phonics flashcards long a vowel words
Phonics flashcards: long A sound

Monday, July 29, 2013

Deep in the Ocean, Deep in the Sea - Song for Kids

Summer is a wonderful time for relaxing somewhere at the seaside or on an ocean beach. Children love having fun and playing on the sand and in the water. But the most fascinating thing about sea is the underwater world with all amazing sea creatures and seaweeds. That’s why I've created a song entitled "Deep in the Ocean, Deep in the Sea" for your children or young students to learn the ocean animals vocabulary and admire the life under the sea. This song can be useful for teaching English as the second language to children of all ages. Preschool and kindergarten kids can enrich their knowledge about the sea by learning the names of sea animals and training their spelling in English while primary school children can improve their English speaking skills by doing the different tasks that I would like to share with you in this and some future posts.


In this post you can find the song lyrics, some flashcards featuring sea animals and other vocabulary from the song as well as a few sea-related games for kids.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Phonics Cards (Short I Sound)

I continue sharing sets of phonics flashcards. This time the set is dedicated to the short sound [ɪ].


The set includes 20 cards with different cases where this sound occurs. Сards №№ 25-36 contain such phonograms as -in, -ip, -it, -ig, -id, -im, -ill, -ick, -ink, -ing, -ish, -age. Cards №№ 37-44 contain words where different vowels represent the short [ɪ] sound. These are the cases where the letter Yy is read as [ɪ] at the end and in the middle of a word; the letter Ee and the vowel digraph ey, the letter Ii in the beginning and in the middle of a word, and the letter Uu and the vowel digraph ui.

phonics flashcards short i sound
Phonics flashcard: short i [ɪ] sound

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Phonics Cards (Short E Sound)

Two days ago I started publishing my new series of phonics flashcards with the first set dedicated to the short A sound. And here is another set of flashcards. This time they are designed to help young students remember the  short E sound [e]. This sound can be a little bit tricky for English learners because the name of the letter doesn't correspond to the sound it represents. In addition non-native English speakers can confuse letter Ee with letter Ii because in some languages such as Russian and Ukrainian, for example, there is no difference between long and short vowels and it's difficult for children to remember that the letter Ee is read as [e] and not as [i:] while the letter Ii is read as [ɪ].


This set of flashcards allows practicing in reading the short E sound. Cards №№ 13-20 contain the following phonograms: -ed, -en, -ent, -ell, -est, -et, -eg, -end. Cards №№ 21-23 present different cases of short E sound. And card № 24 contains words with the vowel digraph ea which is read as a short E sound [e].

phonics flashcards short e sound
Phonics flashcard: short e [e] sound

Monday, December 17, 2012

Arctic Animals Song for Children

Winter is the most wonderful season, especially when you are a child. I think all children look forward to the winter coming so that they can play in the snowy fairytale. Many kids even dream of the fascinating trip to the North country covered with deep snow to see Santa Clause, reindeer and elves on the Christmas Eve.

When the holidays are over we can continue exploring this marvelous land with deep snowdrifts, huge icebergs in the frozen sea and the magic shining of Northern Lights. Children can also learn what animals live there and how they can survive in the environmental conditions which seem to be harsh for human beings.


All these things you can find in my song “Far away in the Arctic” which will help your children to discover this fantastic land.

Far away in the Arctic


Here are the song lyrics


Every time winter comes
And days are getting short
I remember the Arctic land
Somewhere in the North
At the pole it’s freezing cold
There’re neither flowers nor trees
Only icebergs made of ice and snow
Floating in the sea.

Refrain:
Far away in the Arctic
On the top of the world
Miles and miles of frozen sea
The wind is bitter cold.
Far away in the Arctic
Northern Lights
Shining brightly in the sky
All through the night.


This remote icy land
Is the home for noisy seals,
Reindeer and walruses
With tusks and chubby cheeks,
Small and hardy arctic foxes
With the warmest coat,
Strong and bold polar bears,
The rulers of the North.

Refrain:
Far away in the Arctic
On the top of the world
Miles and miles of frozen sea
The wind is bitter cold.
Far away in the Arctic
Northern Lights
Shining brightly in the sky
All through the night.

Arctic Animals Worksheets


To practice the Arctic vocabulary I would like to offer you the Arctic Animals Adventure Pack of worksheets and activities which was specially designed for young learners of English as a second language to help them penetrate deeply into the language while exploring the far away land in the North. The assignments are based on the lyrics of the Arctic Animals Song, but you can use them in any discussion about winter and the Arctic. You can download the preview here.

The educational pack includes a variety of worksheets for different levels of language proficiency. Using these worksheets, children will have the opportunity:

  • to practice in spelling and writing;
  • to develop the skills of scanning the English text to find the necessary information;
  • to learn the English sentences building rules;
  • to develop the ability of creating their own expressions in English based on their thoughts and ideas.







There are also flashcards, coloring pages and interesting games you can find in the pack. Please contact me if you would like to purchase this pack as well as the mp3 of the Arctic Animals song (including the version without vocal).

Also, I would like to share some free Arctic animals worksheets from the above mentioned educational pack.

For preschool children there are some coloring pages where they can color the North animals as well as their names that will help them to remember the spelling. There is a polar bear, a seal, an arctic fox, a walrus and, of course, a reindeer.

polar bear coloring
Polar Bear Coloring Page

Friday, November 16, 2012

I'm a Happy Snowman - Winter Song for Children

Winter is coming. And who is one of the most popular winter characters all children love? Yes, it’s a snowman! Since the times of the “Frosty the Snowman” cartoon and song the snowman has been very popular with kids in English speaking countries. I decided to write my own snowman song adapted for little children who only begin to study English as their second language. My song is called “I’m a happy Snowman” and you can listen to it in the video below.

Snowman Song Lyrics



I’m a happy Snowman,
Big and fat.
Here are my mittens,
My scarf and my hat.
I’m a happy Snowman,
Here is my nose.
I am all made of snow
From my head to my toes.
I am all made of snow
From my head to my toes.

esl snowman song lyrics for children
Snowman song lyrics

Winter is a season when we can talk about many things with our children. The first thing is ,of course, playing in the snow. Here are some ideas and worksheets you can use during your English lessons.


Worksheet 1: This task aims at practicing the winter clothes vocabulary. Children should help the Snowman, the main character of my song, match the pictures of winter clothes with the letters they begin with. This is a very simple task which can be done even by preschoolers.

winter clothes match worksheet
Snowman Stuff Worksheet

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Africa Song for Children

I think Africa is the most wonderful continent on Earth. The diversity of its landscapes amazes a traveler to the depths. There are deserts and rainforests, savanna grasslands and the snowy summit of Kilimanjaro. That’s why Africa inspired me to write a song for children telling about beautiful nature and different kinds of animals living there. You can use this song for English and geography lessons.

Here are the lyrics:

Refrain
Africa, Africa,
Faraway land.
Africa, Africa,
Miles of burning sand.
Africa, Africa,
Low scattered trees.
Africa, Africa,
Amazing herds of beasts.

1
Once I went to Africa
To see the wildlife.
The whole day the desert sleeps,
At night it comes alive.
Fennec foxes, ostriches,
Scorpions are there,
Oryxes, jerboas,
Caravans of camels.

Refrain
Africa, Africa,
Faraway land.
Africa, Africa,
Miles of burning sand.
Africa, Africa,
Low scattered trees.
Africa, Africa,
Amazing herds of beasts.

2
Savanna meets me with gazelles,
Antilopes and gnus,
Meerkats and hippoes,
And some zebras, too.
Elephants, rhinoceros,
Elegant giraffes,
Lions and leopards
Hunting in the grass.

Refrain
Africa, Africa,
Faraway land.
Africa, Africa,
Miles of burning sand.
Africa, Africa,
Low scattered trees.
Africa, Africa,
Amazing herds of beasts.

3
Then in tropics was my journey
Down the river Nile.
There live a lot of snakes,
And big crocodiles.
Pink flamingoes at the lake,
Thousands of birds,
Gorillas and colobuses,
Chameleons and frogs.

Refrain
Africa, Africa,
Faraway land.
Africa, Africa,
Miles of burning sand.
Africa, Africa,
Low scattered trees.
Africa, Africa,
Amazing herds of beasts.

Enjoy the song and lovely African views while watching the video:


See also:

Printable African Animals Dominoes
Forest animals song

Sunday, July 24, 2011

About This Blog

Hi, there!

My name’s Olha. I’m an English teacher from Ukraine. I’ve been working with little kids for over 20 years and I really enjoy it. Children are very curious and sincere, and the process of teaching and communication with them is so rewarding. There are no words to describe the feelings which you experience when working with a kid for some time and then you observe the result, and comprehension, and happiness. It’s just great!

But this joy has nothing in common with the fantastic delight of bringing up your own child!!! The miracle you’re holding in your arms relies on you. His future life completely depends on the moral values and knowledge you’ll give him. You ought to help your child to bring out the best. That’s why we started to develop both mental skills and emotional intelligence in our son to give him the opportunity to fulfill himself in life. One of our goals is also to provide him with creative learning. Every day we try to do something new to expand the horizons of imagination and to develop our son’s creativity by means of arts and crafts.

English is an important part of our life, too. Although it's not our native language, but we try to speak English in our everyday situations as much as possible. I strongly believe you should teach your kids English from the early childhood so that they could communicate in English like native speakers.

I would like to share my feelings and ideas with you. In my blog you can find a lot of my worksheets for teaching ABC, phonics and vocabulary, craft ideas and lessons. You can use them for a single child or in a group. Also I’m a big fan of learning through songs and movement activities, so you can listen to my songs and watch videos.