I’m Excited to Share Something New

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Wow, it’s been a while since there’s been a post here,” you’re right — it has.

Life, teaching, and everything in between have a way of shifting priorities, and this little space sat quietly in the background longer than I ever planned. I never stopped thinking about instruction or creating resources, but I did step away from writing here for a while.

Until now.

Because every once in a while, you create something that feels too important not to share.

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Why I Felt Compelled to Write Again

As I worked on this new resource, I kept thinking about how useful it would be during phonics instruction — the kind of practice that supports decoding, reinforces skills, and keeps students engaged without sacrificing instructional integrity.

That thought stayed with me throughout the entire process.

This wasn’t about making something “cute” or quick. It was about creating meaningful phonics practice that truly supports how students learn to read.

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A Different Kind of Color-by-Code Resource

Let’s be honest — color-by-code activities can be fun, but they don’t always support strong instruction.

Too often, they:

• encourage guessing

• allow students to color without reading

• focus more on the picture than the learning

I wanted this resource to be different.

Every worksheet was intentionally designed so instruction comes first.

Students must:

• read each sentence

• identify and write the target phonics word

• and then apply their learning through color-by-code

This structure ensures that students are decoding and thinking, not just coloring.

This resource is designed to grow with students, from early phonics skills to more complex word patterns, all within a consistent, student-friendly format.

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Thoughtfully Aligned to the Science of Reading

Each sentence in this resource was carefully written to include:

• the target phonics skill

• age-appropriate sight words

• and only phonics patterns that have already been taught

Students are never asked to decode unfamiliar patterns. Instead, previously taught skills are revisited intentionally, allowing for spiral review and stronger retention.

This approach aligns with the Science of Reading and structured literacy principles, supporting explicit, systematic phonics instruction.

Here is a list of all the phonics skills included:

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Who This Resource is For

This resource was created with first-grade students in mind, but it is also highly effective for:

• Advanced Kindergarten students who are ready for more challenging phonics practice

• Any student who needs review, intervention, or reinforcement of foundational phonics skills

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Two Options, Same Instructional Philosophy

Because classrooms and needs vary, this resource is available in two formats, both following the same phonics progression.

Color-by-Code Phonics Practice Pack

This option includes 51 worksheets and provides meaningful practice for each phonics skill with fewer pages per pattern. It’s a great fit for teachers looking for high-quality phonics practice in a streamlined format.

👉 (Link to the Practice Pack)

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Color-by-Code Yearlong Phonics Resource

This option includes 102 phonics worksheets, more practice per skill, and 4 bonus rhyming review pages. It’s designed for extended instruction and consistent spiral review across the year.

👉 (Link to the Yearlong Phonics Resource)

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Tested with Real Students

These worksheets weren’t created in isolation. They were used with students, adjusted based on what worked, and refined with classroom realities in mind.

They’re:

• kid-tested

• teacher-approved

• low-prep

• and designed with non-seasonal images so they can be used any time of year

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Why Choose This Resource

ü  Covers a full year of phonics instruction

ü  Systematic progression of skills

ü  Includes multiple worksheets per skill

ü  Uses explicit, decodable sentences, allowing students to focus on decoding rather than guessing from pictures

ü  Avoids phonics patterns that have not been taught yet

ü  Provides built-in spiral review

ü  Consistent and predictable routine builds independence

ü  Supports Science of Reading / Structured Literacy practices

ü  Keeps students engaged without sacrificing instructional quality

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Why This Felt Worth Sharing

Coming back to blogging after a long break wasn’t something I planned — but this resource made it feel worthwhile.

When instruction is intentional, thoughtfully designed, and engaging for students, it deserves to be shared.

If you’ve been looking for phonics practice that supports real decoding, reinforces skills, and keeps students motivated, I’m proud of what this resource offers.

Thanks for being here — If you’re reading this, I’d love for you to say hello. It’s been a long time since I last posted here, and it would be wonderful to know this space is still reaching teachers.

CVC Words Digital Resource

I've been creating resources for primary teachers for many years and I'm so excited to present my very first interactive resource!

Interactive games make learning fun, and students who are having fun while learning, are more motivated to pay attention and stay focused on the subject.

This highly engaging CVC word game will definitely engage and motivate your students. To play, students look at pictures of CVC words and choose the word that names the picture. There are two separate PowerPoint presentations, each with 6 different games, for a total of 12 games. There are a whopping 230 interactive slides!

These games can be played on any device that has PowerPoint installed, like desktop computers, iPads, smart boards, etc. PowerPoint is a free app. The games include fun sound effects and transitions that will only display properly when viewed in PowerPoint.

Once you have the game opened, students will see the landing page. Here is the landing page from the first show.



Students can choose to play a game with only short a words, only short e words, only short i words, only short o words, only short u words, or, a game with a mix of all the vowels. They will hear a clicking sound effect when they click on one of the games.

Let's check out some of the slides in the short a game.



Students read the three words and click on the word that names the picture. They will hear a chime if they click on the correct word and be taken to this slide:



Then, they click on the arrow to go to the next slide. They will hear a clicking sound effect when they click on the arrow.

But, what if they made a mistake and clicked on the wrong word?



They will hear a clank and be taken to the Oops slide. They will hear a click when they click on the mouse and be taken back to the slide with the words so they can try again.

The children work their way through the games. Each game has 115 interactive slides. They can go back to the landing page at any time by clicking on the home button.



They will have so much fun looking at the cute pictures, reading the words, transitioning through the different slides, and listening to the different sounds, that they won't even realize they are learning!

I included 12 different recording sheets, just in case you want your students to document their learning. They are also great for extending the activities and maximizing learning. But, they are optional and do not need to be used.

For those of you who have never used interactive PowerPoint presentations with your students, I included step-by-step directions on how to get the games onto your student iPads, as well as, directions on how the children play the games. Picture support is included.

Now that you've seen the games in detail, it's time to grab them for your students and give them the opportunity to learn and practice reading tons and tons of CVC words in an engaging, motivating, and interactive way!

Click here or on the image below for more information!

CVC Word Family Booklets...perfect for back to school!

Are you ready for the new school year yet? 

It's almost time for some of us!

If you are ready to start planning, then you may want to check out these brand new CVC Word Family Booklets!

Teaching word families is a year long journey, and these books are more than ready to take that journey with you!

I'm all about hands on learning, but, you also need to have plenty of printables, as well. That's where these books will really come in handy!

There are 24 different books, one for just about every short vowel word family. And, each book comes with a whopping 16 DIFFERENT fun and engaging activities. 

The activities range in level of difficulty, making it very easy for you to differentiate learning. Some students may be ready for the challenge of putting words in ABC order, or reading and writing sentences, and some may not.

Children LOVE to make books! If you're a book maker, like me, then you'd use the covers. The one shown below is an example from the -at family. You can also treat these pages like any other printable, and not make books. It's totally up to you!

So, let's say you decide to assemble books...

Just print the cover and any of the 16 DIFFERENT activities for the word family you are teaching. I print them front to back to save paper. Then, staple the books and hand them out. It's that simple!

Let's take a peek at all the activities included for each of the 24 books.

Configuration Station

Students write the words in the correct boxes.

Break the Code

Students use the code to figure out the words. Then, they write the words on the lines.

Word Search

Students find and highlight the words in the word search.

Unscramble Me

Students unscramble the words and write them on the lines.

Word Fluency

Students color in the words and then read them five times.

Read it, Rainbow Write it, Write it Fancy

Students write the words using different colors and fancy writing.

What's Your Word Worth?

Students find the worth of each word, using the scrabble tiles. Then, they write the word(s) that are worth the most and the least.

Fill it In

Students fill in the missing letters of the words.

Find and Highlight

Students highlight the words in each row that are spelled correctly.

Word Family Houses

Students write the words to match the pictures, plus one bonus word on the lines. Then, they write the words in the house.

Spin and Color

On the lines, students write the words for the pictures in the spinner. Then, they use the color code to color in the words that are already written in each gumball.

Roll and Write

Students roll the dice and write the words for the numbers they roll. Then, they write which words they rolled the most and the least.

Color, Write, and Highlight

Students color the picture, trace the word, write the word, and highlight the letters that form the word.

ABC Order

Students write the words in ABC order.

Read, Draw, and Write

Students read the words on the book, draw a picture of each word, and then use each word in a sentence.

Sentence Match

Students read each pair of sentences and put a check mark next to the sentence that describes the picture. Then, they write that sentence on the line.

As you can see, the activities vary in difficulty. There's plenty of choices for every single learner in the classroom.

I created 16 different activities for each word family because I wanted to be sure to have enough choices for those who need more practice. Also, you can use some for morning work, some for station work, some for independent work, some for small group instruction, some for homework, etc. 

I am super excited about these word family booklets and I hope you are too!

Click here or on the image below to see them in my store!

Early Literacy Practice Pages

Do you have students who need help with some early literacy skills? Or students who have mastered most of the skills, but have some difficulty following directions, so they often answer questions wrong, even though they understand the concept?

I do! I do!

I needed a way for them to practice general readiness, phonemic awareness, phonics, and structural analysis skills, so they would feel more confident when taking tests and learn to analyze directions so they didn't get questions wrong because they weren't paying attention to the key words in the questions.

So, I came up with these early literacy practice pages.

I've been using them in small groups and they are really helping students to think about what the questions are asking and to look at each answer choice carefully. Many of them contain answer choices that are similar and look correct.

Here are all the skills included...

Most of the skills contain 2 different activity sheets, and there are some that contain more. Blends has 3 different sheets, mixed review has 4, and word families has 5 different sheets.

Here is an example of one of the sheets. See how some of the wrong answers look like they could be right, if you don't pay close attention to the question?

  

This one is all about rhyming. I came up with quite a few different ways to test the children's understanding of rhyming.

When I complete a sheet with an individual or small group, we go very slowly. I help the children read the questions and identify the pictures with them. These sheets were not created for children to complete independently. So many teachable moments would be missed!

Once an answer has been chosen, we discuss why it is the right (or wrong) answer. It is very interesting, and very telling, to hear the children explain why they chose an answer. It is during this conversation that children usually figure out if they chose the wrong answer. I tell them that they fell for my trickery and to be super careful not to let that happen. They love the challenge!

Answer keys are included for teachers to refer to. I highly suggest using it because it will tell you what each picture depicts, just in case you can't figure it out on your own.

If you are looking for a great way to help students who have difficulty with a few or many early literacy skills, or students who don't read or listen to directions very well, then you may want to check these out. You can find them by clicking here or on the image below.

CVC Word Family Mats...a GREAT Independent Activity!

Once your young learners know their letter sounds, it is time to introduce CVC words. And it is so exciting watching them when they realize that they can read!

These CVC word family mats were created with our youngest learners in mind. They want fun. They want to play games. You want them to be engaged and challenged. You want them to work independently.

If you want all of the above, then check these out!

There are a total of 39 CVC word family mats.





Each mat contains six words for the children to read and write.

Here is an example from version 1. This version contains six words that are all from the same word family.

First, the children read the words.

Then, they find the matching pictures and place them over each word.

Once all of the words are covered, they write the words on the lines, hopefully, without peeking. But, if they get stuck, they can peek at the word.

When they are finished writing the words, they can use the answer key to check their work. 

Here is an example from version 2. All six words contain the same vowel, but are from different word families.

And, here is an example from version 3, which contains a mix of all CVC word families on each mat.

These mats are perfect for independent work time, station work, working with a partner, interventions, and reading groups.

Just prep them once and they will last a long, long time.

If you're like me, you like having plenty of hands-on learning activities for your children to utilize every single day. Since these mats are differentiated, you will be able to meet the needs of all your students.

Just click on the image below to see these mats in my store!