Word Family Eggs
Word families are groups of words that have the same ending sound and combination of letters. For example, it, bit, sit, and kit are members of the “-it family”, with the “-it” letter combination and ending sound. When practicing word families, your honeybee is building phonetic awareness, an important literary component to successful reading.
• In this activity, your honeybee will match the first letter of a word to the appropriate word family. Open your plastic eggs and write a word family on the top half of an egg. For example, you could write “-at”. On the bottom half of the egg, write a corresponding letter (example – “c”). Have your child make as many combinations as possible and record findings. There are multiple matches to be made. Your honeybee could match the letter “s” with the “-it” or “-at” word family and both would be correct. Please see picture for details.
Digraph Eggs
Digraphs are two letters that come together in a word to make a new sound. Typically, your honeybee will begin to recognize and identify digraphs in Kindergarten because many high frequency words contain them. The most common digraphs that are introduced in Kindergarten are th, ch, and sh.
• This quick and fun activity replicates the classic memory game. Open your plastic eggs and write a digraph on the top half of each egg. On the bottom of the corresponding egg, complete a word. For example, the top of the egg could read “sh-” with its match being “-op”. Place eggs on table. Take turns sounding out parts of the word until you find a match. Please see picture for details.
Rhyming Words Egg Hunt
Rhyming words are words with the same ending sounds. They are most recognizable to your honeybee when read aloud. These words are pleasant for children and are often taught through nursery rhymes or lyrics in a song. Unlike word families, rhyming words do not need to have the same letter combination. Example – the word “sea” rhymes with “tree”.
• In this activity, your honeybee will go on an egg hunt for rhyming words. In three bowls, create master words for your honeybee to rhyme with. Label eggs to rhyme with the words on your bowls and hide them. Send your honeybee off to find eggs and return them to the proper bowl. Modify this activity to your honeybee’s ability.
*Busy B Tip – stick with CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) three letter words. See picture for more details.
Addition Fact Eggs
It is important that your honeybee practices their math facts daily. Math facts are a central building block for more advanced mathematical concepts. In early childhood, math facts should focus on developing your honeybee’s understanding of addition, subtraction, and the related strategies associated with their corresponding operations.
• This easy to make learning material will help reinforce math facts for your honeybee! Break apart your plastic eggs. On the top half, create a mathematical equation with no solution. For example, 1+4=. On the bottom half of the egg, write 4 possible solutions, with only one being correct. Have your honeybee rotate the egg to match the math fact. See picture for more details.
Money Eggs
As your honeybee grows and begins to make choices, they understand that most possessions have value and require money in order to be purchased. These concepts form important values related to spending, saving, and sharing money earned. In addition, coin classification is an important skill in early childhood. Activities related to counting coins reinforces your honeybee’s understanding of the value of money, while exercising foundational math skills.
• In this activity, your honeybee will match the value of selected coins with the written amount. Before you send your honeybee off on their egg hunt, place coins into eggs. Create a corresponding written value on a cupcake wrapper. For example, put two pennies and a dime in an egg, then write $0.12 or 12¢ on the bottom of a cupcake wrapper. After your honeybee returns from their hunt, have them open their eggs one at a time. Help them count their coins and match them with the appropriate cupcake wrapper. See picture for details.
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The Busy B 