Posts Tagged ‘Free Printables’

Trees and Forests

Posted on September 20th, 2018 by Carolyn Hart

Tree and Forest Picture Books for Preschool, Kindergarten and Primary Grades

Picture books and free printables highlighting trees and forests

Sharing a selection of picture books about trees has led to some wonderful discoveries. The books we have included are respectful of trees and their impact on our environment, some using them metaphorically.

These picture books about trees and forests often include references to the seasons and to the cycle of life. Use these picture books about trees and forests in preschool, kindergarten and primary classrooms to share information and create environmental awareness.

Elsewhere on this site ~
– Children’s books about the environment
– Gardening Fun with Kids
– Children’s books about recycling

Storytime Standouts looks at picture books about trees including A Grand Old Tree

A Grand Old Tree written and illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma
Picture book about trees and ecosystems Published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic

“Once there was a grand old tree. Her roots sank deep into the earth, her arms reached high into the sky. She was home to many creatures.”

Lovingly written and illustrated, A Grand Old Tree is a wonderful tribute to an ageing fruit tree. We watch as squirrels scamper, birds chirp and bees buzz in the branches of the tree. Through the seasons, we witness her bloom and produce seeds to blow from her branches. We consider how many leaves she has produced.

One moonlit winter night, she falls. Snow covers her weary trunk and branches. When spring arrives, we can see her offspring growing nearby and we know her decaying trunk is still home to raccoons, insects and lichen. We appreciate her legacy and understand that her children and grandchildren are now growing, flowering, and sowing.

Both informative and quietly reassuring, this is an eco-friendly picture book children will enjoy again and again.

Note: there is a concrete poem (the text is printed to represent the trunk of a tree) in the book.

Teaching suggestions from the author’s website

A Grand Old Tree at Amazon.com

A Grand Old Tree at Amazon.ca


Storytime Standouts highlights picture books about trees including The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni

the alphabet tree written and illustrated by Leo Lionni
Picture book about letters, words and a remarkable tree published by Dragonfly Books

A lovely tribute to the idea that there is strength in numbers. the alphabet tree opens with individual letters living happily in a large tree. When a very strong windstorm hits, some letters are blown out of the tree. The remaining letters retreat and huddle together. It is a word-bug that encourages the letters to work together to form words. Feeling stronger and more confident together, a caterpillar suggests forming phrases and, eventually, creating an important message for the president. An outstanding resource for encouraging print awareness, this picture book could also be interpreted as encouraging social or political activism.

The Alphabet Tree at Amazon.com

The Alphabet Tree at Amazon.ca


Leo's Tree by Debora Pearson and Nora Hilb

Leo’s Tree written by Debora Pearson and illustrated by Nora Hilb
Picture book about trees, seasons and family published by Annick Press

A lovely picture book to share with preschool-age children, Leo’s Tree begins when Leo’s parents plant a tree just after Leo is born. We watch as both the tree and the baby grow, changing through the seasons. Gentle watercolor illustrations follow Baby Leo, Toddler Leo and, eventually Big Brother Leo, playing nearby as the tree grows tall and strong. Rhymes, repetitive text, and alliteration all contribute to a rich text that will appeal to young children.

Leo’s Tree at Amazon.com

Leo’s Tree at Amazon.ca


Storytime Standouts highlights picture books about trees including The Magnificent Tree by Nick Bland and Stephen Michael King

The Magnificent Tree written by Nick Bland and illustrated by Stephen Michael King
Picture book about problem solving and creativity published by Scholastic

Bonny and Pop love creating things. Bonny takes a simple, straightforward approach. Pop is less conventional. they would both love to have birds stop and stay for a while but, instead, they just fly past. Bonny and Pop agree that the solution is to make a tree. In keeping with their personalities, Bonny approaches the tree problem simply. By contrast, Pop makes an elaborate plan and works day and night. Finally, Pop’s creation is ready and, on the first day of Spring, dozens of birds check it out before landing in Bonny’s project.

An exuberant tribute to finding more than one way to approach a challenge. Fun illustrations have lots of details that will have a special appeal for tinkerers.

The Magnificent Tree at Amazon.com

The Magnificent Tree at Amazon.ca

Storytime Standouts shares a quote - The good man is the friend of all living things.
Storytime Standouts highlights picture books about trees including The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree by Anne Shelby and Cor Havelaar

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree by Anne Shelby and Cor Hazelaar
Tall Tale about a man who decides to live in a tree published by Simon Says Kids

Beautifully illustrated and richly told in a storyteller’s voice, it is easy to imagine hearing this tall tale while sitting fireside on a winter evening. Harlan Burch lived in Appalachia long ago. He worked as a carpenter and spent time in the woods, choosing trees for his projects. Apart from cutting trees down, he also planted them – replacing each one that he cut with two saplings. One day, he came across a sycamore that was so large, there was room enough inside for Harlan to create a comfortable home.

Not long after moving into the sycamore, something strange happened. It was as though time had stopped and reversed. Harlan became more and more youthful. He soon married and had a family. The family thrived and grew, eventually populating all of Appalachia.

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree at Amazon.com

The Man Who Lived in a Hollow Tree at Amazon.ca


Storytime Standouts shares a selection of picture books about trees including Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf created by Lois Ehlert
Picture book about a Sugar Maple Tree published by HMH Books for Young Readers

Featuring dazzling collage illustrations, great for a group setting/read-aloud, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf shows readers real maple tree seeds (samaras), burlap, twine, wire, plant tags, and tree roots. Beautiful Fall colors are highlighted in the cover art and elsewhere in the book. The main text is large and tells the story of the origins of a maple tree, from the moment a seed falls in a forest through transfer to a garden center and eventual planting in a garden. In addition to showing readers the tree growing from seed to sprout to sapling, the illustrations also include unobtrusively labelled creatures that might live in and around a tree (squirrels, birds, earthworms) as well as other details that will promote learning.

A four-page appendix provides background information that will be helpful to young scientists and inquisitive researchers. An outstanding resource for kindergarten and primary-grade classrooms or for homeschool.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf at Amazon.com

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf at Amazon.ca


Storytime Standouts highlights picture books about trees including Tess's Tree by Jess M. Brallier, pictures by Peter H. Reynolds

Tess’s Tree written by Jess M. Brallier and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Children’s book about coming to terms with loss published by Harper Collins Children’s Books

Tess loves the tree in her yard. She loves to sit under it and read, she swings from it and, in Fall, she plays in the leaves beneath it. On a dark, blowy night, two of the large branches are damaged and fall to the ground. There is no choice, the old tree must be taken down.

Tess’s emotions are strong. She is angry and sad. She knows that she must do something to honor the tree. She plans a funeral service to celebrate the life of her tree.

It is not long before Tess learns that the tree is not just hers. There are others for whom the tree was important.

Tess’s Tree provides an opportunity to explore important themes of love and loss with children. I have read some reviews that suggest that the story ought to have ended with Tess planting another tree. My personal perspective is that might be an obvious “solution” to Tess’s grief, in some ways, this particular tree was irreplaceable. Much like the loss of a friend, family member or pet, dealing with loss is not always as simple as finding a replacement.

Tess’s appears to be part of a single-parent family.

Tess’s Tree at Amazon.com

Tess’s Tree at Amazon.ca


We Planted a Tree and other picture books about trees and forests

We Planted a Tree – written by Diane Muldrow and illustrated by Bob Staake
Picture book about trees and ecosystems published by Golden Books an imprint of Random House

Young families in Brooklyn, New York and in Africa each plant a tree. As their trees grow, We Planted a Tree takes us to visit beautiful trees budding in Toyko and gorgeous bright, pink blossoms in Paris.

“The sun kept shining.
The pink blossoms dropped off,
But soon there were green leaves,
Green, green shiny leaves,
Which had food inside for the tree.

This joyous celebration of trees and the impact of planting just one, highlights that they can be a source of food and shade, they help to clean our air and they can prevent soil erosion. As well, readers learn that trees are home to birds and animals.

We Planted a Tree at Amazon.com

We Planted a Tree at Amazon.ca


Free, Printable Tree-Theme Writing Paper for Home and Classroom

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Tree with bluebird

Tree theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Tree including roots

Tree theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Supporting a Child With Delayed Speech or Language Development

Posted on April 1st, 2014 by Carolyn Hart

My experiences working with a child with delayed speech

Great ways to support a Child With Delayed Speech or Language Development



Since September 2013, I have been working twice a week with a four year old boy who has delayed speech. He lives in a bilingual household and he has one older sibling – a girl who also had delayed speech. It has been enormously rewarding to help this child find his voice. He is unfailingly happy and is always excited to welcome me and my “bag of tricks” into his home.

Here are some of the items that have been particularly helpful as we find ways to engage him verbally.

Alphabet by Matthew Van FleetAlphabet by Matthew Van Fleet has been our go-to alphabet book.

At almost every one of our sessions, my student has touched, lifted flaps and pulled the tabs of this cheerful and engaging alphabet book and accompanying (pop up) poster. Whether feeling the alligator’s scaly tail or the yak’s shaggy head, this is a book that children love to explore through touch.

Phonemic awareness is also supported as the author effectively uses alliteration, ‘Wet waddling Warthogs,’ rhyming and onomatopoeia, ‘Furry Lions roar, Whiskered Mice squeak, Hungry newborn Nightingales – cheep, cheep, cheep!‘ while introducing a variety of animals. Older children will notice that extra details have been added to the illustrations but not the text. Termed, Safari Sightings, these animals and plants are illustrated and listed in an afternote.

Alphabet won the following

2008 National Parenting Publications Gold Award
Parenting Favorite Book of the Month, April 2008
Top Ten Children’s Books of 2008, Time.com
A New York Times Children’s Bestseller (2008)

Alphabet at Amazon.com

Alphabet at Amazon.ca

Ravensburger See Inside Puzzle

I can’t tell you how many times we have solved this Ravensburger See Inside Puzzle together. My young student happily turns the puzzle upside down, and together we turn all the puzzle pieces over. We chat as we start with the corners and work towards the middle of the puzzle. There are so many ways to enrich a child’s vocabulary, understanding and problem solving as we talk about the puzzle pieces and their attributes while noticing the plants, insects, animals, birds and structures featured in the puzzle itself.




Echo Mic Used With Delayed Speech or Language DevelopmentRather than focusing on the enunciation of specific sounds or words, I want to encourage playing with sound and making a variety of sounds. It is amazing how an inexpensive plastic toy ‘Echo’ microphone can encourage a child to sing, make sound effects and speak. I pick up an Echo Mic and put the other one on the table. Before long, we are both singing The Alphabet Song or The Wheels on the Bus or Happy Birthday. I hate to think what we sound like but progress is progress and the plastic ‘Echo” microphone has helped us along the way.

Download Song Sheets

image of PDF icon  The Wheels on the Bus

Free printable lyrics for The Wheels on the Bus


image of PDF icon  The Alphabet Song

Free printable lyrics for The Alphabet Song


image of PDF icon  Monkey Fun Alphabet Song

10″ Echo Mic (Colors may vary) at Amazon.com

Magic Mic Novelty Toy Echo Microphone-Pack of 2 at Amazon.ca

Using Lego to support a child with delayed speechAs we work toward improved verbal communication, I want to ensure that my student has a rich listening or receptive vocabulary as well as a large speaking or expressive vocabulary so I want to provide him with repeated meaningful encounters with words. I want him to hear and know colors, numbers, positional words (over, under, beside, inside) and nouns (windows, doors, wheels, roof, trees, flowers, bricks, fences, house, car, truck, steering wheel). Of course, I turn to my favourite toy. Each day I arrive with a bucket of Lego . We build houses and towers, we look for small bricks and blue bricks and yellow, white, red, and black bricks. We add windows and doors, stairs and roofs. And I talk about everything we do. I chat constantly and now he chimes in.


Playing Tic Tac Toe with a Speech-Delayed ChildFrom the start, we have played Tic Tac Toe. I made a laminated game board (that includes a letter of the alphabet in each square) and I use Xs and Os from a dollar store game. When we first played, his job was to say, “Your turn,” after he played his “O.” Now, he says the letter name in the box and a word that begins with the letter, “C is for Cat.” He also says, “Your turn, ” and “I win!” He has never tired of this simple game. When we first started, he said very little. Now, it is a constant exchange of short sentences and the joy of communicating about a shared activity.

Spot the Dot by David A Carter is a great book to use with a speech delayed childSpot the Dot created by David A. Carter
Novelty book published by Cartwheel Books, an Imprint of Scholastic

Spot the Dot is an appealing, brightly colored, interactive pop up book that includes flaps to lift, a wheel to turn and tabs to pull. Visual clues and predictable text encourage children – even those with delayed speech – to venture into ‘reading.’ My student thoroughly enjoys this book and now points to the words as he ‘reads’ each page and then pretends to ‘search’ for the dot.

Spot the Dot at Amazon.com

Spot the Dot at Amazon.ca

Welcome to the Storytime Standouts Community

Posted on April 20th, 2012 by Carolyn Hart

Welcome to Storytime Standouts. We have free printables and book suggestions for parents and teachers

We hope you will enjoy Storytime Standouts’ free early childhood learning printables for preschool, kindergarten and homeschool.

Please also check our book recommendations for topics that are important to children, families and communities.

We regularly add new content to Storytime Standouts and we are proud to say that we offer more than two hundred free learning downloads for teachers and parents to use with children. As well, we have written hundreds of posts about special children’s books.

We are especially interested in
anti-bullying picture books,
picture books about caring for our environment ,
wordless picture books and
picture books that celebrate diversity.

We hope you will enjoy StorytimeStandouts.com and we are especially grateful for referrals. Please let your friends and family know about this website.

Thank you and happy reading!

Carolyn Hart

Storytime Standouts
Raising Children Who Love to Read
Twitter @StoryStandouts
Facebook facebook.com/StorytimeStandouts/

Free printable alphabets for homeschool, preschool and kindergarten

Free Printable Alphabets for Preschool and Kindergarten

Storytime Standouts offers a variety of free alphabets in PDF format for children in preschool, kindergarten and the early primary grades. We have grouped the alphabets together and you will find all of the free alphabets here. We suggest using the alphabets to make matching games, help a child to learn alphabetical order and/or letter sounds or decorate a bulletin board.

Free printable writing paper for homeschool, preschool and kindergarten

Free Printable Writing Paper for Children

Storytime Standouts offers free writing paper for children who are learning to print and write, visit our Writing Paper for Kids page to see the entire collection. We hope you will use the interlined paper to inspire young writers.

We have tried to match seasonal themes and the sort of topics a kindergarten or grade one child might write about. We regularly add writing paper to the website.

Free printable nursery rhymes for preschool, homeschool and kindergarten

Free Printable Songs, Rhymes, Chants and Fingerplays for Preschool and Kindergarten

Use these songs, rhymes, chants and fingerplays with children in preschool, kindergarten and early primary grades. We have grouped them together on our Songs, Rhymes, Chants and Fingerplays page. We regularly add new songs, rhymes and chants to the website. We try to anticipate your interests and early childhood classroom themes.

If you would like to suggest a song, rhyme or fingerplay, please contact us using the email link.

Free word family printables for homeschool, kindergarten and early primary grades

Free Word Family Printables for Beginning Readers

These word family printables are great for young children who are learning to read. We have grouped them together on our Word Family page.

For a beginning reader, discovering that cot, dot, hot, pot and rot are related is exciting. Children who are just learning to sound out words will be thrilled to learn that they can substitute the beginning sound and read three, four or more related words. We view word families as a great springboard for beginning readers.

Free sight word printables and picture dictionaries for homeschool, kindergarten and early primary grades

Free Printable Picture Dictionaries for Home and School

Helpful for beginning readers and writers, these picture dictionaries are all together on our Picture Dictionaries page. We know young children get a great sense of satisfaction from using pictures to help them decode words. With these picture dictionaries, they can read a series of related words or they use the words to write a story.

Earth Day Printables For Children Promote Environmental Awareness

Posted on April 12th, 2012 by Carolyn Hart

Free Earth Day Printables from Storytime Standouts

Free Earth Day Printables to Help Children Learn About the Environment, Recycling and Other Ways to Care for Our World

Elsewhere on this site ~

– Picture Books about Caring for Our Environment

– Read About Recycling

– Celebrating Trees


We recommend reusing paper or cardstock when deciding to print. We choose to use file folders made from recycled materials and recycled cardstock.

We also use rubber stamps quite a lot.

Let's help children gain environmental awareness! Storytime Standouts shares some terrific recycling picture books.
Earth Day resources for classroom and home use including picture books and printables.
Picture books highlighting trees from Storytime Standouts

To access our free Earth day printables, please do the following:

Step 1 – Our early childhood printables, including our Earth Day printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the free PDF downloads.

Step 2 – Pin this page, bookmark this page, share this page or “Like” us on Facebook.

Step 3 – Choose from any of our 250 free downloads, including these free printables.

image of an Earth Day printable for children

Earth Day Recycling Domino Game and Board Game Cards

Print these game pieces onto cardstock and them cut them apart. For the board game, recycle paper scraps to create a fun file folder game board. Playing pieces promote recycling and environmental awareness as players race to the end.

image of PDF icon  Green Domino Game

Uses a variety of "green" symbols

image of PDF icon  Green Board Game Cards

Make your own board game and use these cards with it


image of an Earth Day printable for children

Earth Day Writing Paper for Children

– beginning writers can use our writing paper to tell stories about Earth Day

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Children Love the Earth

Green theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Recycling Boy and Girl

Green theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Tree with bluebird

Tree theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Tree including roots

Tree theme interlined paper for beginning writers.



Free Printable Riddles about the Environment for Children

Earth Day Riddles

– print the questions and the answers. Cut them apart and then challenge children to match the questions with the answers.

image of PDF icon  Green Riddles - Part 1

image of PDF icon  Green Riddles - Part 2





Have a look at our Earth Day and Environmental Awareness Pinterest Board

Follow Storytime Standouts’ board Earth Day and Environmental Awareness for PreK and Kindergarten on Pinterest.

Free St. Patrick’s Day Printables for Preschool and Kindergarten

Posted on January 28th, 2012 by Carolyn Hart

Free St. Patrick’s Day Printables for Preschool, Homeschool and Kindergarten from Storytime Standouts

Sharing some fun Prek and Kindergarten St. Patrick’s Day Learning Resources
 
Picture Book Suggestions for St. Patrick’s Day
Free printable St. Patrick’s Day Fingerplays for Preschool
Free printable Pot of Gold Writing Paper for Beginning Writers
Free printable St. Patrick’s Day Picture Dictionary for Kindergarten
Free printable St. Patrick’s Day Wordsearch for Early Primary




May Your Blessings...Irish quote from StorytimeStandouts.com

Picture Book Suggestions for St. Patrick’s Day

Storytime Standouts looks at The Leprechauns GoldThe Leprechaun’s Gold written by Pamela Duncan Edwards and illustrated by Henry Cole
Picture book featuring leprechauns published by Katherine Tegen Books An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers



Old Pat and Young Tom decide to compete for the title of ‘Finest Harpist in Ireland.’ They know each other well, Tom learned to play the harp from Old Pat and he is certain that his musical ability has surpassed that of his teacher.

He was much given to boasting and bragging and charging the villagers great amounts of silver for his skills. Old Pat was humble and willing to play his music for free for those who he knew had not the means to pay.’

As the teacher and protege journey from their small town toward the Royal Palace, it occurs to Tom that Old Pat could indeed win the contest so Tom decides to sabotage Old Pat’s harp. Not long after, while camped for the night, the two musicians hear a cry for help. Young Tom is not willing to investigate the problem but Old Pat cannot ignore the plea. Cautiously, he walks through the dark forest to see how he can be of assistance.

In a clearing, he saw a tiny many with his foot down a rabbit hole. Old Pat’s nighttime encounter with a leprechaun leads to all sorts of wonderful magic and an opportunity for Young Tom to learn.

Luminous illustrations enhance this engaging look at two characters and how, when challenged, their decisions impact outcomes. Highly recommended for youngsters aged four years and up, boys and girls will enjoy looking for the sixteen four-leaf clovers hidden throughout the book.

The Leprechaun’s Gold at Amazon.com

The Leprechaun’s Gold at Amazon.ca


Storytime Standouts Looks at Too Many LeprechaunsToo Many Leprechauns Or How the Pot o’ Gold Got to the End of the Rainbow Written by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by Dan Andreasen
Picture book featuring leprechauns published by Simon and Schuster Kids

Finn O’Finnegan looked like a rogue and walked like a rascal, so it was widely thought that he was at least one of the other. And his shadow, which followed him closely and knew all of his secrets, might have said he was both.

Finn returns to his hometown only to discover that leprechauns have taken over! They are making shoes day and night in order to earn gold and the tap, tap, tapping is keeping everyone in the town awake. Finn comes up with a clever plan. He angers the leprechauns by finding fault with their creations until they feel they must show him their enormouse pile of gold. Once he knows where they keep their gold, Finn finds the perfect place to hide a pot o‘ gold and eventually restores peace to Dingle.

Delightful illustrations are done with oils and compliment a very enjoyable folklore tale.

Primary School resource – using Too Many Leprechauns to teach making predictions

Too Many Leprechauns at Amazon.com

Too Many Leprechauns st Amazon.ca

Our Free St. Patrick’s Day Printables for Kids

Our free early learning printables, including our free St. Patrick’s Day printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already have Adobe Reader, you will need to download it to access the free printables.



Free printable Five Little Leprechauns fingerplay for St. Patrick's Day Preschool Kindegarten from Storytime Standouts

Our St. Patrick’s Day Fingerplays for Preschool and Kindergarten

image of PDF icon  Five Little Leprechauns




Free Happy St Patricks Day printable from Storytime Standouts

image of PDF icon  Happy St. Patrick's Day

Free printable St. Patrick's Day fingerplay for circle time or storytime.




Free Printable St Patrick's Day Interlined Paper from Storytime Standouts

Free Printable St. Patrick’s Day Writing Paper for Kids

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - St. Patrick's Day Pot of Gold

St. Patrick's Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


image of PDF icon  St. Patrick's Day Fun Writing Paper

Free printable St. Patrick's Day theme writing paper.


Storytime Standouts offers writing paper for (almost) every occasion, check out the entire collection by visiting our Writing Paper For Kids page.

Free Printable St. Patrick’s Day Wordsearch for Kids

image of PDF icon  St. Patrick's Day Word Search

Free printable St. Patrick's Day Word Search for children.

Free printable St. Patrick's Day Picture Dictionary from Storytime Standouts

Free Printable St. Patrick’s Day Picture Dictionary

image of PDF icon  St. Patrick's Day Picture Dictionary

Free printable St. Patrick's Day picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.



Some related themes to explore

Spring Theme Printables and Picture BooksAll Easter Theme Printables and Picture BooksGardening Theme Printables and Picture BooksGreen Theme Printables and Picture Books




Follow Storytime Standouts’Board: St. Patrick’s Day Fun for Kids on Pinterest. 7 Stories for St Patrick's Day

ST Patrick's Day printables for kids from StorytimeStandouts.com

Christmas theme printables for preschool and kindergarten

Posted on December 13th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart


Free Christmas Printables for Young Readers and Writers from Storytime Standouts

Christmas-theme preschool and kindergarten early learning printables for home and school


Free from Storytime Standouts!



All of our early learning printables, including these Christmas-theme printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to download it to access the files.



You will find our entire selection of printable alphabets here, our writing paper for kids here and all of our preschool, kindergarten and teacher printables here. You will find our posts about special Christmas books here.


Free Printable Christmas Rhymes, Fingerplays, Songs

Christmas-theme printables for preschool and kindergarten

Enjoy these Christmas songs, rhymes and chants in your preschool or kindergarten classroom

image of PDF icon  Santa's Spectacles

Fun finger play for a Christmas theme preschool or kindergarten circle time: Santa's Spectacles

image of PDF icon  Five Little Bells

Adapt Five Little Bells as a preschool or kindergarten felt board activity or fingerplay for circle time

image of PDF icon  The Lights on the Tree

The Lights on the Tree is a fun Christmas song for preschool or kindergarten

image of PDF icon  Gingerbread Theme - Poem and Song

image of PDF icon  Winter Snow Fingerplays

Winter snow theme fingerplays for preschool and kindergarten

image of PDF icon  Five Little Snowmen

Use as a fingerplay or felt board story

image of PDF icon  Frosty the Snowman


Twas the Night Before Christmas Crossword Puzzle

image of PDF icon  'Twas The Night Before Christmas Crossword Puzzle

Challenge older children with this crossword based on the traditional Christmas poem by Clement Moore

Free Printable Winter Word Search Puzzle

image of PDF icon  Winter Fun Word Search

A free printable Winter theme word search for children

Free Printable Snowman Theme Writing Paper for Children

Christmas Printables- Writing Paper for Kids

Young writers love our free, printable interlined paper

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Christmas Tree

Christmas theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Gingerbread

Gingerbread theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer

Christmas theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Snowman

Snow theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Free printable Christmas word list for ESL and Homeschool

Christmas Picture Dictionary


image of PDF icon  Christmas Picture Dictionary

Free printable Christmas picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  Winter Picture Dictionary

Free printable Winter picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.



Free 
Winter-Theme Prinable Alphabet

Free Printable Alphabets for Homeschool and Classroom

image of PDF icon  A Christmas Alphabet

An attractive free printable Christmas-theme alphabet

image of PDF icon  A Winter Alphabet

Free printable wintertime theme letters for preschool or kindergarten



Free Fall-theme homeschool, kindergarten and preschool printables

Posted on October 23rd, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

Free Halloween, Thanksgiving and Fall-theme printables for homeschool, kindergarten and preschool.

Free Fall-theme homeschool, kindergarten and preschool printables for beginning readers and writers




We love pulling together free preschool and kindergarten printables for young children to enjoy. We have many free Halloween, Thanksgiving and Fall theme kindergarten printables and hope you will check them out. Young children love our colourful Fall theme writing paper and those who are just starting to read and write will have fun with our Fall and Halloween picture dictionaries.



For your convenience, we have grouped some of our printables according to season and holiday. Follow these links to find our early learning printables grouped by subject –
Spring, Summer, Winter
Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Earth Day, Christmas





Our early childhood literacy printables, including our free Fall kindergarten printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.
Step 1 – Make sure you have Adobe Reader. If you don’t have it, please click on the ‘Get Adobe Reader’ button to install it for free.
Adobe Reader
Step 2 – Pin this page, bookmark this page, share this page or “Like” us on Facebook.
Step 3 – Choose from any of our 250 free downloads, including these free printable alphabets.





A large selection of free Fall-theme writing paper for young children

Free printable Thanksgiving Writing paper for kids

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Back to School

Free printable Back to school theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Fall Theme incl. Tire Swing

Fall theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids- Scarecrow

Fall, scarecrow theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Witch Hat

Halloween, Witch theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Pumpkin

Fall theme interlined paper with pumpkins for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Apple

Apple theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Remembrance Day Poppy

Remembrance Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Thanksgiving Cornucopia

Thanksgiving theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Today I am Thankful for...

"Today I am Thankful for..." interlined writing paper - great for Thanksgiving.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Squirrel with nuts

Squirrel theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Thanksgiving Day Crossword Puzzle

Free printable Thanksgiving-theme crossword puzzle for children.

image of PDF icon  Thanksgiving Word Search

image of PDF icon  Thanksgiving Picture Dictionary

Free printable Thanksgiving picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

Discover Fall-Theme Picture Books

Fall-Theme Picture Books for preschool and kindergartenPumpkin patch theme picture books and printables for homeschool and kindergarten









Printables for a Halloween-Theme Circle Time or Storytime

For teachers, we have Five Little Ghosts and Five Little Pumpkins – these Halloween rhymes are perfect for circle time. You can easily make a seasonal felt board story with spooky ghosts or bright orange pumpkins.

image of PDF icon  Five Little Ghosts

Use as an action chant or a felt board story

image of PDF icon  Five Little Pumpkins

Use as a action chant or a felt board story

image of PDF icon  The Wheels on the Halloween Bus

Halloween flannel board story for preschool and kindergartenCheck out Squeak Went the Door – A fun flannel board story for Halloween












Free Halloween and Fall-theme Picture Dictionaries and Writing Paper

Free printable Halloween picture dictionary for homeschool, ESL and kindergarten

Reading and Writing about Halloween and Fall
Autumn Poem

image of PDF icon  Autumn Leaves

Use this free printable Autumn Leaves poem with kindergarten students or for homeschool


Fall theme picture dictionary

image of PDF icon  Fall Picture Dictionary

Free printable Fall picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.


Halloween theme picture dictionary

image of PDF icon  Halloween Picture Dictionary

Free printable Halloween picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

Fall leaves alphabet

image of PDF icon  A Fall Leaves Alphabet

Attractive free alphabet printable features multi coloured Fall leaves

Free Halloween-Theme Writing Paper

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Witch Hat

Halloween, Witch theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Pumpkin

Fall theme interlined paper with pumpkins for beginning writers.




Halloween theme Crossword Puzzle and a Halloween theme Wordsearch

Halloween Crossword Puzzle

image of PDF icon  Halloween Crossword Puzzle

Halloween Word Search

image of PDF icon  Halloween Word Search


Free printable Remembrance Day writing paper for childrenRemembrance Day Writing Paper

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Remembrance Day Poppy

Remembrance Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


Follow these links for lots more interlined paper, rhymes and picture dictionaries.






Reading and Interpreting Pictures Supports Reading Comprehension

Posted on August 31st, 2011 by Carolyn Hart


Storytime Standouts explains how reading and Interpreting pictures bolsters reading comprehension

Reading Readiness: Comprehension for Preschool and Kindergarten Can Involve  Reading and Interpreting Pictures

What could your child tell you about this picture? Would she say that it is Fall? Would she predict that the family is choosing a pumpkin for Halloween?

Two of the components of a child’s reading readiness are her comprehension and her interpretation. We can assist a preschool or kindergarten child with reading readiness by providing opportunities for him to read pictures and interpret them, including understanding the sequence of events.

Reading and interpreting pictures includes noticing what is in the picture, what the characters are doing, the weather or time of day and other details (i.e. the color of a character’s clothing). A child could be asked to interpret the scene and confirm comprehension by telling or retelling the narrative.

For the first picture, we could ask questions such as what do you think these people are doing? or why do you think the man is pushing the wheelbarrow? or Why do you think these people are visiting a pumpkin patch?

Reading Readiness: Comprehension for Preschool and Kindergarten Can Involve  Reading and Interpreting Pictures

How would your child interpret this picture? Would your child notice the old oil lamp?






Why does one man have gold coins in his hand? or Do you see anything that looks usual in this picture?














Wordless Picture Books Encourage Children to Interpret and Comprehend

Wordless picture books provides opportunities for reading and Interpreting Pictures Wordless picture books are great tools for helping children to develop good comprehension and interpretation skills. We invite you to visit our Wordless Picture Books page to discover why great wordless picture books make narratives easily understood. Once a child has ‘read’ a wordless picture book with an adult, he should be encouraged to share the book with someone else. Making an opportunity to reconstruct and retell a story is valuable for a young child because reconstructing and retelling a story is a way to confirm comprehension.








Sequencing Activities = Reading and Interpreting Pictures

Children who have learned to ‘read’ and ‘interpret’ pictures will benefit from sequencing activities. These provide children with the opportunity to ‘read’ pictures and determine the correct order of events.
Free printable Building a Snowman Sequencing Activity from Storytime StandoutsHere are links to three printable sequencing activities from my website and three from elsewhere on the internet.

image of PDF icon  Building a Snowman Sequencing Activity




Free printable Planting a Flower Garden Sequencing Activity from Storytime Standouts

image of PDF icon  Planting a Flower Garden Sequencing Activity






Free printable Making a Valentine Sequencing Activity for PreK Kindergarten from Storytime Standouts

image of PDF icon  Valentine's Day Sequencing Activity

Cut this Valentine's Day Sequencing Activity apart and have children put it together in the correct order or print two and use as a matching game.





British Council Goldilocks and the Three Bears Sequencing Printable

DLTK’s Story Sequencing Activities

Early Learning Printables

For additional information about comprehension and reading readiness, follow this link to our page about reading comprehension.


Free Printable Sight Words — Dolch, high frequency or whole words

Posted on August 27th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart


Free printable high frequency sight words from Storytime Standouts

There are many, many ways to support young readers with these free, printable sight words. Homeschoolers, classroom teachers and parents will love using them with beginning readers.

We want all readers to aquire the skills they need to decode unfamiliar words so that most words become sight words. This aspect of learning to read is also referred to as aquiring ‘Instant’, ‘Whole’, ‘Look & Say’, ‘Dolch’, &/or ‘High Frequency’ words.

We know readers with large sight word vocabularies read more rapidly and more fluently than readers whose sight word vocabularies are small. It is logical that a reader who is able to ‘instantly’ recognize and understand the words he or she reads, will be faster and more fluent than a reader who must often pause in order to decode unfamiliar words.

We also know that some English words are not appropriate for ‘sounding out’ – they occur much too often and are not necessarily phonetic (for example ‘there’ does not sound anything like /t/+/h/+/e/+/r/+/e/).

Our free early literacy printables, including our sight word printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already have Adobe Reader, you will need to download it to access the printable sight words.


You will find our entire selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.

On our “Printables” page you will find links to printable sight words, that is, lists of high frequency words. We also refer to these as whole words. We have organized the sight words in groups of ten (per page) and a total of sixty sight words per link. (#1-60, 61-120, 121-180 & 181-240). Here is a shortcut…

image of PDF icon  Sight Words 1 to 60

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the first set.

image of PDF icon  Sight Words 61 - 120

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the second set.

image of PDF icon  Sight Words 121 - 180

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the third set.

image of PDF icon  Sight Words 181 - 240

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the fourth set.

The printable lists can be used for flash cards (I don’t call them ‘flash cards’ with children. I prefer something a bit zippier) but the real fun is in finding creating ways to introduce these words and make them ‘instant.’

There are dozens of ways to make learning sight words fun – especially if you have access to colored paper, attractive stickers, cardstock and/or file folders. Adding authentic game pieces (like dice, markers, spinners, and penalties (for example “go back two”) will help to engage your child in the activities. In all likelihood, he or she will be glad to help you create board games, memory games, special tic tac toe squares or bingo cards.

Note, we also have sight word dominoes, practice sentences and special PDFs (i.e. seasonal, vehicles, and activity-related sight words) that include words and pictures.

image of PDF icon  Sight Word Domino Game Part 1

Download and print Part 1 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

image of PDF icon  Sight Word Domino Game Part 2

Download and print Part 2 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

image of PDF icon  Sight Word Domino Game Part 3

Download and print Part 3 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

Important Note: Please limit the number of sight words you introduce at any one time – five or ten at most.

You will be interested in our Sight Word board on Pinterest

Fall Printables – Back to School, Autumn Leaves and More

Posted on August 22nd, 2011 by Carolyn Hart


Highlighting our Fall Printables…

We have all sorts of goodies lined up for September but thought we would give you a taste today. Our Fall printables include interlined paper (Back to School and Fall themes), a special alphabet, “school” vocabulary and some “Squirrel” goodies.

Free fall theme homeschool and classroom printables including writing paper We are currently pulling together our favourite picture books for autumn – colourful leaves, and crisp, cool days are not far away.

Our early literacy printables, including our Fall printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already used Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.


Please note: some of our early literacy printables are available to Storytime Standouts members only. To become a member of the website (without cost or obligation), please click on the “Members” tab and register as a user.

You will find our selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.


If you appreciate our free early literacy printables,
including these Fall-theme early learning materials,
please support this site by visiting and purchasing from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca
.






Enjoy these Fall printables and be sure to let your friends and colleagues know about Storytime Standouts.

image of PDF icon  A Fall Leaves Alphabet

Attractive free alphabet printable features multi coloured Fall leaves

image of PDF icon  School Picture Dictionary

Free printable school picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one. Also a great resource for ELL / ESL

image of PDF icon  Brown Squirrel

An action rhyme celebrating squirrels

image of PDF icon  Five Little Squirrels

Use Five Little Squirrels as a fingerplay or a felt board story (or both)

image of PDF icon  I'm A Little Acorn Brown

A fun addition to a squirrel circle time

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Back to School

Free printable Back to school theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Fall Theme incl. Tire Swing

Fall theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Remembrance Day Poppy

Remembrance Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Fall Picture Dictionary

Free printable Fall picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

Beginning to Read – Day 2

Posted on August 16th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart


Today was our second Beginning to Read class and our theme today was “Shoes.” During our storytime, I used felt pieces to tell the story of The Elves and the Shoemaker. This is a traditional story and it has been retold many times. The version that I used was written by Paul Galdone. I explained to the children that, if they visit the library, they might find as many as ten different versions of this story (filed in the Fairy Tale section, J398). If you have a chance, it would be great to find the story at the library and share it with your children. If you can find two different versions, ask them which they prefer. The illustrations and the storytelling will vary. Reading different versions of a familiar story is a great way to encourage your children to think about and compare authors and illustrators.

By the way, in each of the classes, the children responded very enthusiastically to the felt story format. They love watching the story unfold and touching the pieces of felt. Using felt pieces is a great way to encourage children to be creative and invent their own stories.

Today’s word family was the “it” family – bit, fit, hit, pit, sit, split and quit. In today’s class, we made a word family flip book. These easily made books are very helpful for young readers. They help children to notice that “bit”, “fit” and “hit” are related and, once you manage to decode/read “bit”, it is quite easy to decode/read “fit” and “hit”. Today our tricky words were split and quit. Here is a picture of a Dairy Queen Banana Split.

We have many word family printables on this website, follow the link for more information.

Today we also did a page about colours. Some of the children are able to read the words, some are not. Just as a gentle reminder, some of early ‘reading’ is actually memorizing. When children offer to ‘read’ a story that they have heard many time, we may be tempted to dismiss their ‘reading’ as ‘memorizing.’ Keep in mind that we want to encourage reading behaviours (holding a book, turning the pages, etc.) and picture clues are very helpful to young readers. Be sure to celebrate your young reader’s success – even when you suspect that s/he has memorized a story.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Elves and Shoemaker

Elves and Shoemaker theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Just for fun, here is The Muppet’s version of The Elves and the Shoemaker

The Elves and the Shoemaker at Amazon.com

The Elves and the Shoemaker Book & Cassette at Amazon.ca


Chester’s Masterpiece – laughter is the best medicine for writer’s block

Posted on August 16th, 2011 by Jody


Storytime Standout's review of Chester's Masterpiece by Mélanie WattI don’t know if it’s typical for adults to love picture books as much as I do. Many of the adults in my life; my husband, best friend, and co-workers, love them, but we’re all teachers, so maybe it’s just us. However, I think that children’s books are one of the best stress releases ever. The best ones are those that literally make you laugh out loud.

Chester’s Masterpiece written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt
Picture book published by Kids Can Press






For me, this week, that laugh out loud book was Chester’s Masterpiece by Mélanie Watt. I’ve had writers block all week and just happened to read this to my girls and their two friends. I had read Chester, but not his Masterpiece. If you haven’t read either, Chester is a cat that thinks he is much more capable of writing a great book than his creator, Mélanie Watt.

In this particular book, Chester appears to be struggling with some writer’s block as well! His was much funnier than mine. He hides Mélanie’s writing tools so she cannot do her work. They have a witty back and forth through post it notes and sketches. Chester tries hard to create a Masterpiece with Mélanie trying to offer him helpful hints and strongly suggesting he return her tools so she can actually get to work.

This book is truly funny. I am in awe of authors that can create such rich characters without a lot of back story. I am working on a couple of children’s books myself and I always find myself adding in details that don’t need to be shared. Mélanie’s talent for jumping into the story and attracting you to the larger than life characters is inspiring. You can’t help but love Chester, or Scaredy Squirrel, another of her awesome characters. You jump into these books, laugh out loud, and feel better just for having read them.

So, if you need to laugh out loud this week, or just distract yourself from your own writer’s block, pick up a Mélanie Watt book and you won’t be disappointed.

Kids Can Press Chester’s Masterpiece Free PDF Download learn how to draw Chester plus storytime ideas and a wordsearch

Chester’s Masterpiece at Amazon.com

Chester’s Masterpiece at Amazon.ca


Summer, Camping and Beach Theme Picture Books and Printables for Kids

Posted on July 23rd, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

Summer Learning Made Fun for Kindergarten, Preschool and More


Highlighting Great Summer and Camping Theme Picture Books for Children

Summer and Camping Theme Picture Books including A Camping Spree with Mr. MageeA Camping Spree with Mr. Magee – written and Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
Camping theme picture book published by Chronicle Books

An absolutely irresistible adventure story for young children. A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee is one of my all-time favorite picture books. When Mr. Magee and his small dog begin their camping trip, they have no inkling that a near-sighted, marshmallow-fancying bear will soon have them staring down a fifty foot waterfall.

They were snoring and snoozing, enjoying a dream, When splash went the camper right into the stream! The splash shook the camper. They jumped out of bed. “Now what in the world was that?” Magee said.

Both adults and children will thoroughly enjoy the rich and dramatic illustrations as well as the delightful rhyming prose. Don’t miss it!

36 pages, Ages 4 to 7

A Camping Spree With Mr. Magee at Amazon.com

A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee at Amazon.ca


Summer and Camping Theme Picture Books for Preschool and Kindergarten including Heat WaveHeat Wave – written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Betsy Lewin
Summer weather picture book published by Harcourt, Inc.

What a sizzling combo! Eileen Spinelli and Betsy Lewin have teamed up to create the perfect bedtime story for a stifling hot summer day. Set in an era before air conditioning was commonplace, everyone in Lumberville is seeking relief from the oppressive heat:

Butchy Bezwick and Charley Pappas squirted each other with garden hoses and lay on the cool linoleum listening to the radio.

“Take me to the drugstore for an ice-cream soda, please,” Abigail Blue begged her father. “Please!”‘

Whether you and your child are experiencing hot, humid summertime weather or just wishing for one more blast, Heat Wave is a delightful summer-theme picture book that will evoke long-past lazy summer days and much simpler times. Ms. Spinelli’s prose and Ms. Lewin’s illustrations are a perfect match, evoking a strong sense of community and family.

Good fun for youngsters aged four and up, the is a picture book that adults will thoroughly enjoy sharing with children.

Note – Heat Wave begins on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday. If desired, extension activities could include learning about the days of the week.

Heat Wave at Amazon.comlink to purchase from Amazon.com

Heat Wave at Amazon.calink to Heat Wave from Amazon.ca


Summer and Camping Theme Picture Books for Preschool and Kindergarten including A Pod of OrcasA Pod of Orcas: A Seaside Counting Book written by Sheryl McFarlane and illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin
Ocean and beach-theme concept book published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Preschoolers will love the sailboats, harbour seals, sandcastles and magnificent orcas. Written and illustrated by residents of British Columbia, the gentle rhymes and striking illustrations encourage closer examination of a beautiful day at the seaside.

Highly recommended

24 pages and suitable for children 2 to 5

A Pod of Orcas at Amazon.com

A Pod of Orcas at Amazon.ca


Summer and Camping Theme Picture Books for Preschool and Kindergarten including In the Tree HouseIn the Tree House written by Andrew Larsen and illustrated by Dušan Petričić
Picture Book published by Kids Can Press

One of my favorite parenting memories involves snuggling with my sons and watching the Perseid Meteor Showers. When they were young, we scheduled an annual camping trip with friends so that we would be away from city lights and able to watch for shooting stars. I will never forget the experience of sitting beachside in a folding chair with one of my sons on my lap. We would wrap a blanket around us and wait. Most years there were eight of us searching for the dramatic streaks of light across the night sky. Each time a meteor appeared, there would be squeals of delight, “Oh, did you see THAT one?”

Andrew Larsen’s In the Tree House tells of a young boy who is feeling the changes that time brings. He and his family move into a new house and, instead of sharing with an older brother, he has his own room. He misses having his brother in his room and he has trouble falling asleep. He uses his wakefulness to plan treehouses. He’s excited when his brother starts drawing treehouses and he’s thrilled when his dad agrees to make his dream a reality. It is not long before Dad and sons are perched up high, gazing at the night sky.Storytime Standouts looks at In the Tree House

“Why aren’t there any stars?” I asked between gulps of lemonade.

“They’re up there,” Dad said. “We just can’t see them,”

He explained how the lights from the city make the sky too bright for us to see the stars shine.

The boys love spending their summer in the tree house. They play cards and read comics and watch their neighborhood.

The following year, circumstances have changed. The older brother has new friends and they keep him busy. The tree house that was once magical now seems empty until a chance power outage transforms the neighborhood. In the darkness, the older brother returns to the tree house and the boys’ special relationship is revealed once again – just as the utter darkness reveals a sparkling night sky.

In the Tree House is a shining tribute to the special relationship between siblings and the small, meaningful moments that make a world of difference.

Nominated for a (Ontario Library Association) 2014 Blue Spruce Forest of Reading Award

In the Tree House has also been nominated for a 2013 Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Award.

In the Tree House at Amazon.com

In the Tree House at Amazon.ca


For more summertime-theme reading fun with children,
please visit our post about beach-theme picture books
and our page about gardening fun for children

Free Summer-Theme Printables for Homeschool, Preschool and Kindergarten

Free Summer and Camping Theme Printables for Homeschool, Preschool and Kindergarten


If you are spending your weekend at a beach, having a picnic or camping, why not follow-up with a learning activity or two? We offer more than 200 free printable PDFs for all sorts of occasions. For summer, we want to highlight our sandcastle interlined paper and our beach vocabulary printable. When used together, young writers will be inspired by the vocabulary and will feel confident when writing about a great day at the beach.

Step 1 – Make sure you have Adobe Reader. If you don’t have it, please click on the ‘Get Adobe Reader’ button to install it for free.image for Adobe Reader


Step 2 – Pin this page, bookmark this page, share this page, “Like” us on Facebook or sign up for our newsletter.
Step 3 – Choose from any of our 250 free downloads, including these free summer-theme printables.


Storytime Standouts Free Beach Vocabulary Picture Dictionary

image of PDF icon  Summer Word Search

image of PDF icon  Beach Picture Dictionary

Free printable picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  A Camping We Will Go

Free, printable traditional children's song about camping.




Storytime Standouts Free Printable Sandcastle Interlined Paper

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Camping

Camping theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Canada Day

Canada- theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - July 4th, Independence Day

Independence Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Picnic

Picnic theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Roadtrip

Roadtrip theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Sandcastle

Beach theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Sunflower

Sunflower theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Watermelon

Watermelon, Summer theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


Follow Our Summer Theme Pinterest Board for Homeschool, Preschool and Kindergarten

Follow Storytime Standouts’s board Summer For Homeschool, Preschool and Kindergarten on Pinterest.

Father’s Day Wordsearch Printable

Posted on June 18th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart


Here is one of our many free PDF printables for children – a Father’s Day Wordsearch PDF. Enjoy!

image of PDF icon  Father's Day Word Search

Free printable Father's Day-theme wordsearch for children

Our early literacy printables, including our Father’s Day Wordsearch are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.


You will find our selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.


We’ve Just Added Free Printable Summer Writing Paper

Posted on May 25th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

Storytime Standouts offers interlined paper for (almost) every occasion, check out the entire collection by visiting our Interlined Paper page.

Our early literacy printables, including our interlined paper, are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.


You will find our selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids

Interlined paper for beginning writers. Use with children who are learning to print and learning to handwrite.

image of PDF icon  Half Interlined Paper

Plain, half interlined writing paper for beginning writers.


Free Printable Snowman Writing Paper for Homeschool and ClassroomWinter Interlined Paper for Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade One

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Christmas Tree

Christmas theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Snowman

Snow theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Groundhog Day

Groundhog day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Valentine's Day Swirling Hearts

Valentine's Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


If you appreciate our interlined paper printables, please support this site by visiting and purchasing from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.


Free Printable Sandcastle Writing Paper for Homeschool and ClassroomSummer Interlined Paper for Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade One

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Canada Day

Canada- theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Camping

Camping theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - July 4th, Independence Day

Independence Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Watermelon

Watermelon, Summer theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Sunflower

Sunflower theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Sandcastle

Beach theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Roadtrip

Roadtrip theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Picnic

Picnic theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and Kites – it must be May

Posted on May 2nd, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

Free printable kite theme writing paper for kidsWe’ve just added three new downloads to the site to help youngsters celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and kite flying.

image of PDF icon  Things You Can Learn From Mom

Wordsearch

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Mother's Day

Mother's Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Kite

Kite theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Storytime Standouts offers writing paper for (almost) every occasion, check out the entire collection by visiting our writing paper for kids page.

Free printable planing a flower garden sequencing activityYou will also be interested in our new page about gardening with children. It highlights our Planting a Flower Garden sequencing activity and many other great resources for enjoying Spring with young children.

image of PDF icon  Planting a Flower Garden Sequencing Activity

Our early learning printables, including our spring theme printables for kids are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.


Some of our early learning printables are available to Storytime Standouts members only. To become a member of the website, please click on the “Members” tab and register as a user.


You will find our selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early learning printables here.

If you appreciate our early learning printables, please support this site by visiting and purchasing from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.

Free Word Family Printables

Posted on April 6th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

We offer almost two hundred free early literacy printables on Storytime Standouts. Today, we decided to feature our free word family printables. These are available for website members*. There is no cost to become a member, simply sign up and you will have access to all of our free downloads.

Our early literacy printables, including our word family printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already use Adobe Reader, you will need to use it to access the downloads.


Please note: some of our early literacy printables are available to Storytime Standouts members only. To become a member of the website (without cost or obligation), please click on the “Members” tab and register as a user.

You will find all of our early literacy printables here.

If you appreciate our free word family printables, please support this site by visiting and purchasing from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.


We have twenty (two page) printables, each showing words and pictures for one word family. Print the PDF (I prefer printing onto cardstock), laminate if you wish, and use with beginning readers.

image of PDF icon  The "All" Word Family

Free - all word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "An" Word Family

Free -an word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ap" Word Family

Free -ap word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "At" Word Family

Free -at word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ed" Word Family

Free -ed word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ell" Word Family

Free -ell word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ig" Word Family

Free - ig word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ip" Word Family

Free -ip word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "It" Word Family

Free -it word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Og" Word Family

Free -og word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Op" Word Family

Free -op word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ot" Word Family

Free -ot word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Am" Word Family

Free -am word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "En" Word Family

Free -en word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Et" Word Family

Free -et word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ill" Word Family

Free -ill word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ock" Word Family

Free -ock word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ub" Word Family

Free -ub word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Ug" Word Family

Free -ug word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  The "Est" Word Family

Free -est word family printable for young readers in kindergarten and grade one.


We also offer ten word family flip books and printable (how to) instructions.

image of PDF icon  10 Word Family Flip Books

10 printable Word family flipbooks, great learning resources for children in kindergarten and first grade. Printable PDFs for the an, at, ed, ell, ick, ing, op, ot, ug and uck word families

image of PDF icon  How to Make a Word Family Flip Book

Instructions for assembling a word family flip book for beginning readers. Great for kindergarten and first grade.

We’d love to hear about how you use these printables with young children.


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Spring Theme Printables for Preschool and Kindergarten

Posted on April 3rd, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

Storytime Standouts shares free printables for preschool and kindergarten

Easter and Spring theme free printables for children that you can download and use at home or in a classroom right away.



Step 1 – Make sure you have Adobe Reader. If you don’t have it, please click on the ‘Get Adobe Reader’ button to install it for free.image for Adobe Reader


Step 2 – Pin this page, bookmark this page, share this page or “Like” us on Facebook.


Step 3 – Choose from any of our 250 free downloads, including these free printable Easter and Spring theme printables for kids.
Be Sure to Read About Spring Too!



Elsewhere on this page

It is Spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.- Rainer Maria Rilke

Free Printable Spring and Easter Theme Writing Paper
Some of our Most Popular Spring and Easter Theme Posts
Free Printable Spring and Easter Theme Rhymes, Chants and Fingerplays
Free Printable Spring Picture Dictionary




Spring and Easter Theme Interlined Writing Paper for Preschool and Kindergarten

These are just a few of many free printable writing paper downloads available on this site. Please be sure to check out our Writing Paper for Kids page for many more.

Free printable kindergarten Spring Writing Paper for homeschool and classroom

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids- Spring

Spring theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Spring Flowers

Spring theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Seedling in Flowerpot

Plant theme interlined paper for beginning writers.


Free printable Pussy Willow Writing Paper for Preschool and Kindergarten

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Pussy Willow

Spring theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Smiling Flowers

Garden theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Free printable Easter interlined paper for homeschool and classroom

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Easter

Easter theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - Easter Basket

Easter theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Some related themes to explore

Explore all St. Patrick's Day Theme Printables and Picture Books

Click Here to Explore All Easter Theme Printables and Picture Books

Click to explore all Gardening Theme Printables and Picture Books

Click to Explore Green Theme Printables and Picture Books



Some of our Most Popular Spring and Easter Theme Posts

Hover over the photo for a description. Click on the photo to link to the post.

Five Little Ducks illustrated by Ivan BatesSplish Splash SpringEaster egg letter matchAlphabet Go Go Go Stop Learning GameSpring theme picture books Highlight Alliteration, Rhyming, Onomatopoeia and Repetition




Free printable Five Little Easter Eggs for preschool

Spring and Easter Poems, Songs, Chants for Preschool and Kindergarten

Adapt these Spring and Easter theme chants and poems as felt board activities and/or use them at preschool or kindergarten circle time.





Spring Poems for Preschool and Kindergarten

image of PDF icon  Pussy Willow Poem

image of PDF icon  Springtime Fingerplay and Song

image of PDF icon  Little Rabbit

image of PDF icon  The Rain

image of PDF icon  I Love the Flowers

image of PDF icon  Tulips

image of PDF icon  A Little Seed

Free printable chant about planting a seed. Great for preschool, kindergarten and homeschool.

image of PDF icon  Little Peter Rabbit

image of PDF icon  Five Little Ducks

image of PDF icon  Little Robin Red Breast

Easter Poems for Preschool and Kindergarten

image of PDF icon  Five Little Easter Eggs

image of PDF icon  Easter Bunny

image of PDF icon  Five Brown Eggs

image of PDF icon  Easter Everywhere

For the Five Little Easter Eggs chant, ask your child, “What color is left over after Mommy, Daddy, Brother and Sister eat their eggs?”

Easter Crossword Puzzle for Children –

image of PDF icon  Easter Crossword


Free printable Spring Picture Dictionary printable for children

Picture Dictionaries for Easter and Spring

– Easter and Spring pictures together with words

Our free vocabulary printables are great and so versatile. Print onto cardstock. Laminate if you wish. Then, cut apart and create a matching activity or encourage your child to “read” the words (using picture clues). As well, beginning writers love to practice printing the words.

You can create your own categorized picture dictionary if you print more than one. We have many available. Check out our Picture Dictionaries page.

image of PDF icon  Spring Picture Dictionary

Free printable Spring picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  Easter Picture Dictionary

Helpful for children who want to read and write about Easter, this picture dictionary is also suitable for English Language Learners.

Free printable planting a flower garden sequencing activity for preschool

Gardening Sequencing activity –

Sequencing activities are great for building comprehension skills

image of PDF icon  Planting a Flower Garden Sequencing Activity

Follow Storytime Standouts’s board Spring and Easter for Preschool and Kindergarten on Pinterest.

We would love to hear about great Easter and Spring resources, please let us know what you have discovered!

Enjoy our Free Spring Theme Printables for Kids

Reading Readiness – Tips For Working With Very Young Children

Posted on March 28th, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

7 Reading Readiness Tips For Working With Very Young Children

The process of learning to read begins long before children begin kindergarten. Learning to read begins when children are babies.

Very young children love to learn new words and they especially like to use their voices to play with sounds. When spending time with very young children, chatting, sharing rhymes and reading aloud all contribute to reading readiness. If we take time to examine what we would like youngsters to know before they start kindergarten, we will be guided in our choices about stories to share and the importance of engaging young children in conversation and wordplay.
  • Before starting kindergarten, we would like children to know some nursery rhymes.  Why not use our printable nursery rhymes or visit your public library and borrow a nursery rhyme book or two?
  • We would also like youngsters to know how to re-tell a favorite story.  I suggest ‘reading’ wordless picture books with your child and then ask her to re-tell the story. Dinner table conversation can also be an opportunity to share stories. As well, rides in the car are a great opportunity for storytelling.
  • Also, before beginning school, we would like to children to understand that when we read a story, it is very much like being able to see the same words we speak
  • Hopefully, before starting school, children to know some or even most of theStorytime Standouts shares a free printable alphabet game board letters of the alphabet. You will find lots of free, printable alphabets on this site for children who are learning to read. Use the alphabets to create matching and memory games, or an alphabet strip or spell your child’s name with them.
  • Ideally, children beginning kindergarten should understand that letters each have at least one sound associated with them. Help your child to learn this by explaining the sounds made by “P,” “F,” “M” and “S” because these sounds are very distinctive.
  •  We’d also like children who are learning to read to understand that books written in English are read from front to back and pages written in English are read from left to right. When enjoying a read-aloud, talk with youngsters about the cover and the spine of a book. Notice whether a book is a paperback or hardcover and point out a book jacket if there is one. Ask your child to open the book and find the title page. Remember to look for information about the author and/or the illustrator.
  • Once you start to read aloud, casually point out the words you are reading and move your finger from left to right as you read a story. This will help your child to gain print awareness. Usually when I read a book that uses LARGE, BOLD letters for some especially great words, I make a point of repeating the best passages and I encourage my audience to “read” the words with me when I read them a second (or third) time!

St. Patrick’s Day Printables for Kids for Home and School

Posted on March 2nd, 2011 by Carolyn Hart

Free St. Patrick`s Day printables for homeschool, preschool and kindergarten

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with Free Printables for Young Readers and Writers

Our early learning printables, including our free St. Patrick’s Day printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already have Adobe Reader, you will need to download it to access the free printables.




Free printable St. Patrick's Day writing paper for kidsSt. Patrick’s Day Interlined paper

image of PDF icon  Writing paper for kids - St. Patrick's Day Pot of Gold

St. Patrick's Day theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

Storytime Standouts offers interlined paper for (almost) every occasion, check out the entire collection by visiting our writing paper for kids page.

Be sure to download Storytime Standout’s free St Patrick’s Day vocabulary printable (eight St. Patrick’s Day words together with pictures) and a wordsearch for young readers and writers:

image of PDF icon  St. Patrick's Day Picture Dictionary

Free printable St. Patrick's Day picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one.

image of PDF icon  St. Patrick's Day Word Search

Free printable St. Patrick's Day Word Search for children.

As well, we found these St. Patrick’s Day resources for you:

ABC Teach St. Patrick’s Day Theme materials

DLTK’s St. Patrick’s Day printables


If you appreciate our free early literacy printables,
including these St. Patrick’s Day printables for young learners,
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