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“How you do anything, is how you do everything.” Dr Rick Rigsby

Phonological & Phonemic Awareness

“Phonological awareness,” “phonemic awareness,” and “phonics,” are literacy terms we often hear used simultaneously, and maybe even interchangeably! However, as we work with children, helping them to develop a strong foundation of literacy and language skills, we must realize the important distinction between these terms.

What is Phonemic Awareness?

Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate parts of spoken language. Skills are at a listening/auditory and spoken/verbal, level – NO print – spoken words requiring ears only!

It is a broad term and comprised of a group of skills that progress developmentally, but of course, overlap as children mature. As phonological awareness skills develop, children will begin to attend to, discriminate, remember, and manipulate (segment/blend) words and sounds at these levels or chunks:

  • Sentence
  • Understanding that the sentence they hear, “Thecatisfat” is comprised of four separate words “The cat is fat”.
  • Word
  • Understanding the words “cat” and “fat” rhyme.
  • Understanding two words become one in a compound word: cat + fish = catfish
  • Syllable
  • Understanding the word “cat” as one syllable.
  • Phonemic Awareness
  • Understanding and manipulating the three sounds in “cat” = /k/ /a/ /t/

Let’s take a closer look at phonemic awareness. It is a specific skill under the broad category of phonological awareness. If we put phonological awareness skills on a continuum, phonemic awareness is the most sophisticated and last to develop.

The following is a list of specific phonemic awareness skills. Keep in mind, all of these are done at the auditory/spoken level, NO print:

  • Recognize words in a set begin with the same sound (cat, cake, kite all begin with the /k/ sound)
  • Isolate and say the first/last/middle sound/s in a word (cat begins with the /k/ sound and ends with the /t/ sound, etc.)
  • Blend separate sounds (phonemes) into words (/k/- /a/ - /t/ = cat)
  • Segment words into sounds (cat = /k/- /a/ - /t/)
  • Delete/manipulate sounds in spoken words (What is "cat" without the /k/? - "at"

Basically, phonemic awareness skills include learning how to break apart (segment) and combine (blend) the sounds in words. Phonemic awareness should begin in Pre-K with the focus on the simpler phonemic awareness skills of isolation and identifying beginning and ending sounds. Because phonemic awareness is a more advanced phonological awareness skill, development continues into kindergarten and early elementary.

Why are phonemic awareness skills so important?

Well, children who cannot hear and manipulate the phonemes of spoken words will have a very challenging time learning how to relate phonemes to letters when they see them in written words, Phonics. Therefore, Phonological Awareness skills are foundational for Phonics.

What is Phonics?

Phonemic awareness, however, is not phonics.

Phonics skill development focuses on helping children understand the relationship between sounds of written letters, letter combinations, and words. Phonics deals with written language, therefore we need to use our ears AND eyes, where as Phonological Awareness (and phonemic awareness) involves NO print, just listening and saying sounds and words. To keep this straight in my mind, I think about phonological awareness activities as those which can be completed with the eyes closed, while phonics activities require us to see the written letters and words, so, eyes need to be open.

Both phonemic awareness and phonics are interrelated, foundational skills and necessary for reading. However, it is important to understand a foundation of all phonological awareness skills should built before intense concentration is given to phonics.

The Benefits of Phonemic & Phonological Awareness

PreK is the time to begin to lay the foundation for strong reading skills, and it is important to begin by concentrating on phonological awareness skill development. In addition, if we do not help children gain the foundational understanding of sounds that phonemic awareness brings, phonics (assigning a letter a sound, spelling, and reading) will make little sense. And research supports this. 

In summary, Phonemic Awareness is critical for reading. It primes readers for mapping speech to print, connecting sounds with written symbols, and also gives children a way to approach sounding out, blending sounds to make and read new words.

Phonological Awareness Activities & Strategies

In Pre-K, Phonological Awareness skills most certainly need to be taught explicitly, but fun extra practice can be woven in anytime.

Activity 1: Games to Play While Lined Up

Here are a few ideas for some simple games to play while children wait in line:

  1. Sentence game: say a sentence, “The cat is fat”. Tap the first 4 children on the head as you say each word of the sentence. Ask, “How many words?”, four! Repeat the sentence, or say a different sentence, as you go down the line of children.
  2. Rhyme game: Say a few words that rhyme, “cat, fat, bat”. Prompt children to join in the game. You may need to prompt by saying some initial sounds: /p/ - at, /s/ - at, etc. Include silly words (/z/ - at) and blends (/th/ - at)!
  3. My Turn/Your Turn syllable count game: (My Turn) Model clapping/stomping/tapping the syllables for objects you see in the classroom (Ceil-ing, floor, ta-ble, com-pu-ter). (Your Turn) Prompt children to imitate you. Ask after each word, “How many syllables?”
  4. Repeat the beginning sound game: /c/ - /c/ - cat, /c/ - /c/ - cake, /c/ - /c/ - car. Prompt children to join in with other words.



Here are some additional sample activities and products to explicitly instruct young learners in some key Phonological Awareness skills. 


Activity 1: Discriminate rhymes

Bob Books feature rhyming verses and they can help children discriminate and learn about rhyme.



Activity 2: Rhyming songs. This can help with discriminating between environmental sounds and speech sounds. Children learn important social, math, literacy & language concepts as they move and sing to upbeat songs. Rhymes can be taught in a fun playful way, include verses with rhyming words!



Activity 3: Develop early language, literacy, motor, and social skills

Picture Cards can be used for phonemic awareness activities as children name each picture and identify those that begin with the target sound. For example:

  • Show picture side of Letter Card A. Name each picture.
  • Alligator begins with /ă/. Say it with me, /ă/, alligator.
  • Does violin begin with /ă/? No, violin begins with /v/.
  • Does astronaut begin with /ă/? Yes, /ă/, astronaut.
  • Continue with banana and apple.
  • Let children circle beginning /ă/ pictures.


Talking With Young Children: How Teachers Encourage Learning

Everything teachers say—questions, comments, guidance—can influence what children learn. Intentional, purposeful conversations support children’s cognitive, language, social, and emotional development.

Talking With Young Children

Educational Outdoor Activities


Children need time outdoors to run, jump, and play to release some of their energy, but outdoor activities can also be meaningful educational opportunities. When educators can tie outdoor play to preschool learning objectives, children can learn in an engaging way while spending time connecting with nature.

According to a survey by Outdoor Classroom Day, 88% of teachers reported that children were more engaged in learning when taking lessons outdoors. There are also numerous physical, social-emotional, intellectual, and mental health benefits for children that are linked to outdoor activities. 

The health and educational rewards that come with outdoor learning are compelling reasons to prioritize outdoor activities for preschoolers. In this article, we will share creative ideas for preschool outdoor activities to try with your children and corresponding learning objectives for each. 


The importance of outdoor learning activities

Learning outdoors has physical, social-emotional, and cognitive benefits for preschoolers.

Physical benefits

Social-emotional benefits

  • Playing outside helps children learn to interact with one another through things like sharing play equipment and taking turns, and helps them form healthy relationships.
  • Exploring outdoors can improve children’s sleep and moods.
  • Learning to care for plants, animals, and insects in nature fosters a sense of responsibility and independence.

Cognitive benefits

  • Spending time outdoors gives children opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom. Children are able to connect concepts to practical, hands-on experiences and understand their place in the world. 
  • Outdoor play encourages children to use their imaginations and develop problem-solving skills as they discover properties of natural materials.

How to incorporate outdoor learning activities for preschoolers

You can create custom lessons and lesson plans in minutes. As you prepare your curriculum, follow these tips below when incorporating outdoor activities.

Get out in nature regularly

You don’t have to take your children to a special location to experience nature. Children can experience the benefits of the great outdoors by playing in a school playground or taking a walk around the playground. Even something as simple as bringing storytime outside can be an opportunity to expose your children to the natural environment around them. 

Use your children’s interests as a guide

Incorporating outdoor activities that reflect your children’s interest will get them excited about outdoor play. Most classroom activities can be adapted to an outdoor setting. For example, if your children love arts and crafts, there are plenty of ways to use natural materials like twigs and leaves in art projects.

Encourage safe exploration

It’s important for children to have access to safe and age appropriate outdoor playground equipment. Remind your children of ways to play safely, like using play equipment in the intended way (e.g. going feet first down a slide) and how to be respectful towards nature. Have children wash their hands before and after outdoor activities. Check your local forecast before going outside, so children can dress appropriately.


Engaging Ideas for Outdoor Activities

Full STREAM Ahead!

Why is STREAM important in early childhood education?

Think about how much the world has changed from 20 years ago; smartphones and online video-based education didn’t exist. Likewise, we don’t know what the world will look like in 20 years or what type of technology and jobs will exist. STREAM education prepares children for the future job market and opportunities with foundational skills like critical thinking and problem-solving. 

report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects growth in STEM/STREAM-related occupations of 10.8% over the next decade. However, STREAM skills can greatly benefit all children and their future learning, even if they don’t choose a career in a STREAM-related field. 

STREAM education gives children basic knowledge and a firm foundation for more complex concepts in future learning. An early start is highly beneficial because children have a natural disposition toward science with their sense of curiosity and creativity. The earlier they get comfortable with STREAM concepts, the easier it gets for them as they grow. Also, the hands-on approach makes it fun and exciting. For example, observing different objects in a glass bowl sinking or floating is more exciting than simply reading about them in a book.



How to teach STREAM

Here are some things to consider when teaching STREAM concepts to preschoolers:

Facilitate and guide

The teacher’s role in STREAM education is a facilitator, guide, or nurturer of thinking. Encourage children to wonder, ask questions, and make discoveries. Don’t give away answers or do experiments for them. Instead, let them be responsible for their learning to help them become self-sufficient.

Use STEAM vocabulary

Use STEAM language in the classroom so children can incorporate it into their communication. For example, use words like “observe,” “predict,” “compare,” “test,” “experiment,” and “record.” Also, praise the children with STREAM language. For example, instead of saying “Good job,” try saying “Good thinking” or “You’re a great problem-solver.”

Connect lessons to real-life experiences

By connecting STREAM lessons to real-life experiences, these concepts become not only accessible but immensely engaging for young learners. Take, for example, the phenomenon of a solar eclipse. This natural marvel provides a perfect backdrop for a hands-on STREAM activity. Teachers can begin by explaining the basics of the sun, earth, and moon's positions in space in a simple, story-like format. Then, leveraging everyday materials, such as balls to represent the celestial bodies and a flashlight as the sun, children can actively engage in reenacting the solar eclipse.

Master your questioning technique

To nurture children’s thinking and increase engagement, you must ask questions correctly. For example, questions that prompt discussion include “What happened?” or “Why do you think that happened?”. Observation questions include “What do you see?” or “How are they the same?”. When you keep asking these questions, the children get familiar with them and can answer them successfully.

Increase collaboration 

Get the children comfortable with teamwork through collaborative projects. STREAM works best with collaboration rather than individualized learning. As a result, children can learn skills like cooperation, listening to others, and taking turns.

Help them to embrace failure

Sometimes, we learn more from what we do wrong than what we do right. When engineers build something that fails, they learn what didn’t work and try again. Children should feel safe taking risks and embrace failure to learn and grow. They should know that sometimes their predictions might be wrong. Ask them questions like “What went wrong?” or “What could you do differently next time?”


25+ Easy and Awesome Science Projects for Children

12 Fun and Easy Deep Breathing Exercises For Children


From time to time, children can find themselves up against big emotions. Whether it’s a squabble with a friend or not being allowed to have a cookie, frustration and anger can bubble to the surface, and chances are it won’t be at the time or place of your choosing. 

And while these situations might be unpleasant for you, imagine how difficult it is for someone who doesn’t know how to handle them. When tempers begin to flare, breathing exercises are one of the most effective calming strategies for children who are dealing with difficult emotions. 

Anyone who has ever tried it can tell you there’s a lot of power in a deep cleansing breath. For children, deep breathing is a great way to get them to focus on something else in the moment rather than “the thing” (or things) that are making them sad, mad, or frustrated. Moreover, breathing calms children by physically slowing them down. To practice deep breathing, they must stop whatever they are doing to complete the exercise. 

Some of the documented benefits of deep breathing include:

Breathing exercises for children

When it comes to deep breathing exercises for children, the key is to make these exercises fun and easy to remember when things feel topsy-turvy. The following breathing exercises use imagery that appeals to children, and language they will have no trouble understanding. 

Remember that when you introduce these mindful breathing exercises to your kids, be sure to do so outside of an emotionally charged situation. Instead, introduce these breathing exercises during calm moments when your child will be receptive to the information and willing to practice them along with you. Preparing them ahead of time will leave them better equipped to handle situations when they arise — even when you’re not around. 

  • Smelling Flowers - Tell your little one to imagine they are smelling a flower, breathing in deeply through the nose and out through the mouth. Smelling flowers is one of the easiest breathing exercises to master, and a good starting point for your child. 
  • The Bunny Breath - Just like a little bunny in the garden, encourage your child to take three quick sniffs in through the nose, and one long exhale out through the mouth. 
  • Blow Out Candle - Have your child blow out the candles on a make-believe birthday cake, drawing a deep breath in through the mouth, and blowing it out strong through the mouth as well. 
  • The Snake Breath - Tell your child to pretend he/she is a snake and hiss, inhaling deeply through the nose and blowing out through the mouth with a soft and low hissing sound. 
  • Blowing Bubbles - Remind your child how softly they need to blow to get a nice big bubble. Encourage them to take a deep breath in and blow it out soft and long.
  • Smell The Flower And Blow Out The Candle - Have your child pretend that he/she has a flower in one hand and a candle in the other. The first step is smelling the flower, taking a deep breath in through the nose, and filling the lungs with air. Next, have your child exhale and blow out the candle in the other hand. 
  • Bumble Bee Breath - Have your child sit comfortably and inhale through their nose, keeping their mouth closed. Next, with their mouth still closed, have them make a humming or buzzing noise (like a bumblebee) as they exhale. Your child can also cup their hands around their ears to amplify the buzzing sound. 
  • Deep Belly Breath - Have your child place one hand on their belly and one hand on their chest. Let them take a deep breath in for four counts and then exhale slowly (through their nose) for four counts. Remind them to pay attention to the rise and fall of their chest and belly as they complete the exercise.
  • Tumble Dryer - Have your child sit cross-legged and get comfortable. Have them point their index fingers toward each other in front of their mouth. After your child inhales deeply through the nose, have them exhale through their mouth and swirl their fingers around as they do so (like a tumble dryer). The fun part of this is the swishy noise they’ll hear as they exhale. 
  • Dragon Fire Breaths - Have your child interlace their fingers under their chin, and as they inhale, have them raise their elbows as high as they can around their neck and face. On the exhale, have them lower their elbows back down. 
  • Hot Air Balloon Breath - For the hot air balloon breath, have your child sit comfortably and cup their hands around their mouth. Have them inhale deeply, and on the exhale (through their mouth), prompt them to expand their hands outward, as if they are blowing up a giant hot air balloon. 
  • Shoulder Roll Breath - Shoulder roll breaths are a great breathing exercise for kids. They have the added benefit of releasing tight muscles and tension. Have your child sit comfortably. As they take a deep breath in, encourage them to roll their shoulders up toward their ears. Have them drop their shoulders back down on the exhale.

What does Positive Intent Mean?

Are you a mind reader? I’m not, yet I find myself walking through the day attributing intent to other people’s actions and words. There is no way for us to know for certain what other people's motivation actually is and yet, we make up their intent in our minds.


We can choose to see the best in others or to see the worst. Once we’ve judged the nature of another person’s actions or words, we reap a slew of emotions of our own. When we attribute negative intent, the emotions that we experience are equally unpleasant. Attributing negative intent to them creates negative feelings within us and throws us into the lower centers of our brain. If we’re making up the intent, why in the world would we want to attribute an intent that results in negative feelings for us? We can just as easily attribute positive intent to these situations and reap positive emotions.


Negative intent does more than just flood us with nasty feelings, it also inhibits our ability teach others how to treat us and how to treat each other. Particularly when dealing with children, seeing the best in them is the only perceptual frame that will enable us to teach new skills rather than project guilt, hurt and other negative feelings. Children convey their wants and needs through actions such as hitting, grabbing and fussing. When they don’t get what they want, they tend to fuss louder and bigger. To be effective educators, we must shift from viewing “louder and bigger” with negative intent (she’s being selfish), to viewing it with positive intent (she’s missing social skills).


The habit of attributing negative intent is so ingrained in most of us that it is difficult at times to recognize, much less reframe positively. Yet this shift is 100% necessary if we want to educate children with self-esteem, responsibility and self-control. It is also essential for teaching them a new skill and solving problems. Below are common examples of attributing negative intent followed by possible positive intent for the same situation.


Remember, we are making it up; it is our choice which way to perceive the situation.

Casey is just mean.

Casey wanted the crayon and didn’t know how to ask for it.


Mathieu sure pushes my buttons!

Mathieu is giving me an opportunity to practice staying calm.


Devon is acting crazy!

Devon has a lot of energy and needs help to focus.


Keri is disrupting quiet time just to irritate me.

Keri is having trouble finding her blankie.


“Wait a minute,” you’re saying, “You mean nothing the child does is wrong?” Attributing positive intent doesn’t mean the rules fly out the window and limits don’t need enforcing! Rather, positive intent allows you a frame of mind from which you can better teach the skills the child needs.


First attribute positive intent, then set the limit and teach as necessary.


  1. Step 1 – Breathe and attribute positive intent to the action. You could reframe the situation with the child calling for love, displaying a need for skills, etc. Make the shift to positive intent in your own mind first, and then say, “You wanted_____.” “You wanted my attention.”
  2. Step 2 – Put words to the child’s action. No judging words allowed; just describe the action. “So you_____.” Your verbal description will bring the child’s action into his/her awareness. “So you hit me in the knee.”
  3. Step 3 – Finish speaking the positive intent out loud. Define the child as a worthy person who made a mistake. You might say, “You didn’t know how to_____.” “You didn’t know how else to get me to look at you.” Your child may correct you. If this happens, repeat the correction and reframe. “Oh, you hit me in the knee because you were mad at me. You didn’t know how else to tell me you were angry.”
  4. Step 4 – Assertively set the limit and explain why. Give the child a clear limit and a simple reason why the limit is set. Be assertive. Relate the limit to safety whenever possible. Setting the limit fits nicely into this sentence: “You may not ____, ___ isn’t safe (hurts, etc.).” “You may not hit. Hitting hurts.”
  5. Step 5 – Finally, teach what is acceptable behavior. Once you have taught the appropriate action, ask the child to practice the new skill. It’s helpful to use these words to frame the learning: “When you want ______, say (or do) _____. Say (or do) it now “When you want my attention, touch my arm gently. Try touching my arm gently now.”
  6. Step 6 – You did it! Reinforce the action by telling the child how his/her new skill is successful. Say, “You did it!” and describe the action. “You did it! You touched my arm gently so I would know you wanted my attention.”
  7. With positive intent, we can transform hurtful situations into teaching moments. With negative intent, we will continually punish our children for not having skills that they have not been taught. The choice is ours.
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A teacher's vitality or capacity to be vital, present, positive, and deeply engaged and connected to her/his children and students is not a fixed, indelible condition, but a state that ebbs and flows and grows within the context of the teaching life. Stepping Stone School is committed to a program of professional development devoted explicitly to nourishing the inner and external life or core dimensions that are increasingly important for our educators on their journey.
-Rhonda Paver
The Educator Vitality Journey is a program designed to help our teachers to make a daily, conscious effort to be positive, self-aware, passionate, and fully engaged in their roles, while deepening their understanding of their true potential.