Let’s explore the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds-specific to letter sounds.

In this blog and video series, I’ve been comparing pairs of literacy terms to help you as you teach your learners. For example, voiced and unvoiced sounds. What are they? Does it even help to know the difference? {My answer is, “YES!” in case you were wondering.}

Find all the videos and posts in this series by clicking one the images at the very bottom of this post.

The following text in this blog post is part of what you’ll find in my video.
Watch the full video on my YouTube channel.

Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds: What’s the difference?

Let’s start with voiced sounds. Voiced sounds require your vocal folds (or vocal cords) to vibrate.

Just so we’re on the same page in our understanding, your vocal folds are thin flaps of tissue located in your larynx. When air travels through your larynx, your vocal folds can vibrate together to create sound, which allows you to speak or sing.

This is a quick drawing and close up of the vocal folds.

Some examples of voiced sounds are /m/, /v/, and /a/. When you make a voiced sound, you can place your hand on your throat and feel your vocal folds vibrating. Another way you can know if a sound is voiced is if you can sing on it.

More examples of voiced consonant sounds are the sounds represented by these letters: b, d, g, j, l, m, n, r, v, w, y, and z.

All of these require the vocal folds to vibrate, which you can feel when you make the sound.

Something to keep in mind is that all vowel sounds are voiced sounds. As a matter of fact, when you sing, the voiced vowel sounds are what you mainly use.

Unvoiced sounds, on the other hand, are sounds that DO NOT require your vocal folds to vibrate.

Some examples of unvoiced sounds are /k/, /s/, and /t/. Notice, when you make an unvoiced sound, you do not feel your vocal folds vibrating.

Some examples of unvoiced consonant sounds are the sounds that are represented by these letters: c, f, k, p, s, t, and ch. None of these sounds require the vocal folds to vibrate. And remember, we won’t have any vowels in the unvoiced category.

The symbols you might see in some of my resources, like my spelling folder, are the sound icon to show voiced sounds and the mute icon to show unvoiced sounds.

Do voiced and unvoiced sounds even matter?

I bet you can guess again that my answer is, “YES!” While there are several reasons, I’ll just cover one in this post/video.

And that is understanding voiced and unvoiced sound pairs. These are pairs of letters that are articulated the exact same way, EXCEPT one makes the vocal cords vibrate and one does not.

Here’s one example. /d/ and /t/. Both sounds are produced the same way in the mouth but /d/ makes the vocal cords vibrate while /t/ does not.

Here are some more voiced and unvoiced pairs. All the sounds in the first column are voiced while the matching pairs in the second column are unvoiced.

The last pair is an interesting one though. Most people make both sounds, /w/ and /hw/, voiced. Instead of /window/ and /hwale/, we typically make both of the initial sounds voiced: /window/ and /wale/.

Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds in Relation to Spellings

Where this understanding of voiced and unvoiced sound pairs comes into play would be when you look at the spellings of young children. They’re often not as random as you might think.

For example, if a child is writing in a group setting and they are whispering the sounds to themselves to figure out the spellings, more than likely, their vocal folds/cords won’t vibrate, even on the voiced sounds. It makes sense to see why frog could be spelled FROK.

Because /g/ and /k/ are a voice and unvoiced sound pair, when a child is whispering, their vocal folds will probably not be vibrating. Hence, /g/ will feel like /k/.

If a child was whispering the sounds in bird, why might it be spelled BIRT? Again, we have a voiced and unvoiced sound pair, which is /d/ and /t/. So, /d/ will sound like the unvoiced /t/ when it is whispered.

Be sure to download our updated Spelling Folder, with voiced and unvoiced sounds included!

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky

More Posts in this Series

The post Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds appeared first on This Reading Mama.

DIY Fabric Lampshade Cover (No Sew Tutorial!) is a post from Confessions of a Homeschooler. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Erica on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Also be sure to stop by her Community to join the discussion or her Store to see her latest items!

Ready to customize your sewing room with this cute fabric-covered lampshade? it’s such an easy project, and has a huge payoff! It really gives my sewing space a cozy and custom feel, and I couldn’t be happier!

Watch my DIY Fabric Lampshade Cover tutorial here!

Supplies

1-yard fabric (1 yard fits most shades, but measure first to make sure! I used Figtree Stitched Aqua Floral)

Fabric Adhesive

Rotary Trimmer

Optional:

Hot glue gun

2 yds Ribbon (depends on the size of your lamp shade)

Oliso Pro Smart Iron

The post DIY Fabric Lampshade Cover (No Sew Tutorial!) appeared first on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Today, we’re talking about the difference between continuous and stop sounds.

In this blog and video series, I’ve been comparing pairs of literacy terms to help you as you teach your learners.

Find all the videos and posts in this series by clicking one the images at the very bottom of this post.

Continuous and Stop Sounds: The Difference

First, let’s talk about continuous sounds. As the name implies, these are sounds (or phonemes) that can be stretched out or elongated.

Some examples of continuous sounds are /f/, /m/, and /s/. Notice, all of these sounds can be stretched out for as long as you have breath.

More examples of continuous sounds would include the sounds represented by these letters: f, h, j, l, m, n, r, s, v, y, and z. All of their sounds can be stretched out or elongated.

Something else to keep in mind is that all vowel sounds are continuous sounds.

Stop sounds, on the other hand, are sounds that CANNOT be stretched out or elongated.

That’s because the flow of air is blocked and then released, making the sounds short and quick.

Some examples of stop sounds are /b/, /t/, and /k/. Notice, all of these sounds are not elongated.

One of the dangers with stop sounds is that we might try to elongate them by adding /uh/ (or schwa) to the end. This leads us to distort the sounds like: /buh/, /tuh/, and /kuh/, which we don’t want.

More examples of stop sounds would include the sounds represented by these letters: b, c, d, g, k, p, and t. All of their sounds are quick and short.

The text in this blog post is the text from my video.
Watch the full video on my YouTube channel.

Continuous and Stop Sounds: Why Does it Matter?

Now that we know about continuous sounds and stop sounds, why does it matter? And while I’m sure entire books could be written about this, here’s one reason knowing the difference helps.

The answer? Blending sounds to read words! In general, continuous sounds can help our beginning or struggling readers blend the sounds together easier.

Take for example the word man. Because the m, the a, and the n all represent continuous sounds, sounding through or sounding out a word like man can be made easy for beginning readers because they can blend the sounds together.

The sounds kind of run into or “bleed” into each other because the voice is never stopped: /mmmmm/-/aaaaaa/-/nnnnn/

A word like mat is a little trickier because the /t/ at the end is a stop, but it is made easier by the continuous sounds of the first two letters. Just remember not to distort the last sound by adding schwa. {We don’t want /tuh/.}

Let’s compare using continuous sounds in blending to using stops with the word bat.

Bat starts with a stop sound. So, instead of being able to run right into the /a/, learners might be tempted to elongate the b, therefore distorting it into /buh/.

Bat may get sounded out like /buh/ -/aaaa/-/t/ or worse yet /buh/-/aaa/-/tuh/, leading students to think it’s a completely different word.

If you’d like some more tips and tricks for helping kids sound out words, I’d encourage you to visit my blog post, Helping Kids Sounds out Words.

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky

More Posts in this Series so Far…

The post Continuous and Stop Sounds appeared first on This Reading Mama.

.wp-block-image img {max-width: 100%;}
img {height: auto;}

2023 Sew With Me | Block #2 is a post from Confessions of a Homeschooler. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Erica on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Also be sure to stop by her Community to join the discussion or her Store to see her latest items!

It’s time for Block #2 in our 2023 Sew With Me series! Join me as I teach you how to make some of the most fun and classic quilt blocks!

Throughout this series, I hope to teach you some new skills, tips, and tricks, and at the end of the series, we will have a fun selection of blocks to sew together into a sampler quilt! 

The blocks will release on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Each block will have a video tutorial and free PDF download.

Are you ready to join in on the fun?

–->>Download the 2023 Sew With Me Block #2 Pattern here!

Watch the Sew With Me – Block #2 video tutorial here! 

2023 Sew With Me Details

Are you just joining in on the fun?

Visit our 2023 Sew With Me Launch Post for fabric requirements and sew-a-long details!

The post 2023 Sew With Me | Block #2 appeared first on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

.wp-block-image img {max-width: 100%;}
img {height: auto;}

Quilty House of the Month: March! is a post from Confessions of a Homeschooler. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Erica on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Also be sure to stop by her Community to join the discussion or her Store to see her latest items!

It’s time for the February House of the Month series! Last year we did an adorable Truck of the Month series, and I thought it would be fun to do a Quilty House of the Month this year! 

Each month will feature a cute house design including a seasonal quilt! 

I will be releasing the patterns on the 15th of each month so you have some time to get started before the new month arrives. The individual house blocks will be available in PDF format. Once they are all released I will bundle them together in PDF and PRINT formats!

These mini-quilts finish at 20″ x 24″ and are perfect for beginners and seasoned quilters alike!

Get the 2023 March Quilty House of the Month PDF Pattern here!

Finished Size:

Quilt finishes at 20” x 24”

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS:

Background fabric: 1/2 yard

Green 1: 1 F8

Green 2: 1 F8

Green 3: 1 F8

Pink: 1 F8

Brown: 1 FQ

Low Vol: 1 F8

Binding: 1/4 yard

Batting/Backing: 2/3 yard

(Note: F8 = 9″ x 18″, FQ = 18″ x 21″)

Fabric Used:

Variety of Greens from Lori Holt and FigTree Fabrics, Brown Gingham from LellaBoutique for Moda

Watch the March House of the Month video to see both the quilty and stitchy versions up close!

The post Quilty House of the Month: March! appeared first on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

What’s the difference between final blending and successive blending?

The main goal of this blog and video series is to help you understand the similarities and differences between some terms or strategies we use in the field of reading and apply this knowledge to your teaching.

*Find all the posts/videos in this series so far by clicking on the images towards the bottom of this post.

Quick Tip: Using continuous sounds {versus stop sounds} when possible makes blending much easier. If you’re not sure what these terms mean, I encourage you to watch my video or read my blog post.

The text in this blog post is the text from my video.
Watch the full video on my YouTube channel.

Final Blending and Successive Blending

First, let’s talk about final blending. This is more of a traditional view of blending and is the way I was taught to blend words.

In final blending, you say each sound in the word, then wait to blend all the sounds at the very end. Sometimes you’ll see this called sound by sound blending.

Examples of final blending would be: /m/ – /a/ – /t/ = mat or /r/ – /u/ – /n/ = run

As you can see in these two examples, all three sounds in the word are held in the brain and then blended at the end to create the entire word. This is called final blending.

With successive blending, you say and blend the sounds in the word as you go. Successive blending is different than final blending because you don’t wait until the end of the word to blend. Sometimes successive blending is called cumulative blending.

Let’s use the same two words to see successive blending in action.

With the word mat,

We’ll begin with the first sound: /m/
Then we’ll add on only the short a and blend the m and a together /ma/, it can help to stretch out that vowel sound a bit like this: /maaaa…/
Then finally tack on the ending sound /maaaa/ – /t/

With the word run,

We’ll begin with the first sound: /r/
Then we’ll add on only the short u and blend the r and u together, stretching out that vowel sound a bit like this: /ruuuu…/
Then finally tack on the ending sound /ruuuu/ – /n/

Final or Successive Blending?

Both kinds of blending are important to reading, but I strongly recommend teaching successive blending to beginning or struggling readers. Why?

If you’ve taught a struggling or beginning reader for very long, you’ve probably experience this. A child successfully sounds out the entire word, but then calls the wrong word after blending. What is going on here?

One of the reasons kids struggle to correctly decode words using final blending is they lack the executive function skill of working memory.

What exactly is working memory? Working memory is what allows you to hold information in your head while you perform a task.

For example, you use working memory when you jot down your “to do” list. You must hold information in your head (the things you need to do) while you write down your list (the task). Working memory is used when you dial a phone number. You must hold information in your head (why you’re calling) while you dial the number (the task).

For beginning and struggling readers, it’s very difficult to remember the three letter sounds (or phonemes) while they try to blend the sounds to create the whole word. And if three sounds is tricky, can you imagine the taxing effect final blending can have on longer words like plant or stump?

You can also find more free resources on my blog below to help you teach blending.

Enjoy teaching!
~Becky

More Posts in this Series so Far…

The post Final Blending and Successive Blending appeared first on This Reading Mama.

Erica’s Top 10 Knit and Crochet Supplies! is a post from Confessions of a Homeschooler. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Erica on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Also be sure to stop by her Community to join the discussion or her Store to see her latest items!

Join me for today’s video where I’ll be sharing my TOP 10 Favorite Knitting and Crochet Supplies!

Are you just starting out? There are a ton of knitting and crochet supplies out there, but which ones are the best? Today I’ve compiled a list of my all-time favorite knit and crochet supplies. I use and LOVE these, and in today’s video, I’ll share why I love them and why I think you will too!

Just a side note, I prefer to get good quality supplies. Think quality over quantity. You don’t need a lot to get started, but the tools can really make or break your experience. So I prefer to get something I know I will love, rather than buying multiple less expensive items and ending up with useless piles of notions I won’t use. I also encourage you to shop for your supplies one pattern at a time. Just get what you need, and you’ll soon discover what works best for you!

Here’s my list of favorites to help you get started! By the way, these make great gift ideas too!

Check out my Top 10 Knit and Crochet Supplies video!

*** NEEDLES & HOOKS ***

Clover Amour Hooks ChaioGoo InterchangeablesErica’s Interchangeable Pouch Knitter’s Pride Zing DPNs Daisy Pouch Tutorial Susan Bates hands Tool Clover Yarn Needle

*** SCISSORS ***

Omnigrid 4″ Scissors

*** ROW COUNTERS ***

Cocoknits Row Counter Knitter’s Pride Ring Counter (check sizes): Row Counter App Knit Companion

*** NOTIONS ***

Clover Stitch Holder Lori Holt Tape Measure

*** STITCH MARKERS ***

CocoKnits Markers Flower Stitch Markers

*** PROJECT BAGS ***

Erica’s Easy Project Bucket Drawstring Squishy Bag (I forgot to show it in the video!)

The post Erica’s Top 10 Knit and Crochet Supplies! appeared first on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

.wp-block-image img {max-width: 100%;}
img {height: auto;}

2023 Stitchy House of the Month: March! is a post from Confessions of a Homeschooler. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Erica on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Also be sure to stop by her Community to join the discussion or her Store to see her latest items!

It’s time for a new cross-stitch series! Last year we did an adorable Truck of the Month series, and I thought it would be fun to do a Stitchy House of the Month this year! Each month will feature a different house design and a seasonal quilt too! 

I will be releasing the patterns on the 15th of each month so you have some time to get started before the new month arrives. 

The pieces finish at 3-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ and are perfect for beginners and seasoned cross-stitchers alike!

Get the 2023 March Stitchy House of the Month PDF Pattern here!

Materials Needed:

Cloth (14-count Aida)

Size 26 tapestry needle

Optional: Embroidery hoop and needle minder

Optional Finishing includes 1/4″ ric-rac and Peel ‘N Stick Board, and a 5″ x 7″ paddle from Hobby Lobby

Floss Colors

DMC Blanc White

DMC 471 Avocado Green Very Light

DMC 3346 Hunter Green

DMC 434 Brown Light

DMC 938 Coffee Brown Ultra DK

Pattern Details:

The stitch count for the House of the Month is 47w by 63h.

The sample is stitched on 14-count Aida (Wichelt Beautiful Beige) cloth using 2 strands of DMC floss. If you stitch with the recommended fabric, the finished piece will be approximately 3-1/2″w x 4-1/2″h.

Included in Pattern:

Full-color symbol chart stitching instructions

Finishing instructions

The post 2023 Stitchy House of the Month: March! appeared first on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

2022 Year in Review! (All of my Finished Projects!) is a post from Confessions of a Homeschooler. If you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Erica on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Also be sure to stop by her Community to join the discussion or her Store to see her latest items!

It’s time for my 2022 Year in Review where I’m sharing all of my finishes for 2022! This includes quilting, sewing, cross-stitching, knitting, and crocheting! So grab a cup of coffee, and join me for some fun FOs! (Finished Objects!)

Watch my 2022 Year in Review video here

Products mentioned in video:

QUILTING – 28 Projects

Happy Granny

2021-2022 Sew With Me (Sew With Me Blocks 6-12)

Cozy Cabin Quilt

Stars and Stripes (2 made!)

Oh Hey Pumpkin

Just Keep Sewing

Jan-July Trucks of the month (7 mini-quilts)

Jelllyroll Jamboree FQ Friendly

2022 Classic Quilty Ornaments (12 ornaments)

Frannie’s Tree Farm

SEWING – 4 Projects

Weekend Mini Tote

Easy Pencil Case

QAYG Bag for MIL

E-Courses: – 1 Project

How to Quilt 101 eCourse + Patchwork Quilt

Scrappy Stars eCourse + Scrappy Stars Quilt

CROSS STITCH – 19 Projects

Finished Stitchy Trucks of the Month (Jan-July) – 7

2022 Classic Stitchy Ornaments – 12

uil KNITTING & CROCHET – 5 Projects

Twisted Tea Shorts

Granny Square Pillow

Granny Square Bag

Jolly Socks

Sleigh Ride Socks

The post 2022 Year in Review! (All of my Finished Projects!) appeared first on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Want to get more subjects done with more than one-kid-at-a-time—while creating more learning? Go multi-age and multi-discipinary by homeschooling multiple ages and multiple subjects together. Continue reading »

The post Homeschooling Multiple Ages & Multiple Subjects appeared first on TheHomeSchoolMom.