Friday, March 29, 2013

Print"able"Palooza!!!!

I have been gearing up for this post, for awhile. I LOVE printables. From single worksheets, to lapbooks, to full printable packs! In fact, printables enabled me to "get started" with pre-k at home. It was the jumping off point for me. I was casually collecting ideas and information on pinterest, and suddenly, I found myself hooked on the world of printables! There are amazing and talented people out there, who share their gifts on their websights and blogs. I am a thankful recipient! For us, printables have enriched and awakened the world of learning. What kid doesn't want to draw, write and play games with their favorite characters and themes? My kids are always excited (genuinely excited) to do school work involving fun themes! (Uhm, we like to dress up too!) I will say this though, you can jump in... and find yourself printing WAY more than you need to. Thus, running out of ink and paper and motivation..! I have started looking ahead, and ONLY printing the pages, I want or need (not every page applies to our age level.) In some cases, it's just print and GO! Worksheets at the ready. Others, take a bit of work and preparation on your part (but, it's worth it!) Printable themed packs, have been so fun for us. From Angry Birds, Star Wars, Pinkalicious, Tangled, Brave, Super Hero's, Princesses, Ponies,.....so on, and on. Most packs cover several subjects in the context of the theme.(EX. numbers, phonics, logic, shapes, sequence, reading, etc.) Typically, I will print my desired pages, do any trimming needed prior to laminating, laminate, do any post laminate trimming, and then apply magnetic tape strips or velco dots to needed areas. I keep our themed units in either, binders with a three ring pencil bag attatched (to keep the small bits in.) Or, an expandable file. The ladies over at overthebigmoon.com give a detailed description on "how to prepare a pack." Just go to their sight and click on Pre-K packs in the right side bar. You will see all of their pre-k packs, and their pre-k prep. info! Let's get real for a sec. Printing, especially 100's of colorful pages, can get pricey. I have started re-filling our ink cartriges at co$tco. It's quick, savvy, and green! Laminating, is a great money saver! You can use your pages over and over again, with dry erase markers. If you don't have a laminator, you can just slip the pages into page protectors! Here are some suggested prep. products: Now, the fun part!! Finding your printables. As I mentioned, I found my faves on pinterest. I will, however, tell you my favorites (aren't you lucky!) As they say, one good thing leads to another. Once you find a few good sources, you will find SO many more! Jolanthe at homeschoolcreations.net is a wealth of information on all things homeschool! She has a drop down printables menu, including all of her printables A to Z (amazing!) AND, if that wasn't enough, she has even MORE! Overthebigmoon mentioned above, has great pre-k packs! 3dinosaurs.com has a TON of printable packs (even En Francais,) AND lots of worksheets..math, reading, writing, colors, shapes, etc. I can't leave out confessionsofahomeschooler.com and 1+1+1=1 , great printables of all types. More specifically, we love their daily learning notebook and calendar printables! We use a hybrid mix of the two, every day. Okay, enough out of me! Explore, print, learn....love. Tiffany (taffygrinch) *Disclaimer* kindersomething may contain affiliate links. I make a small commission on purchases made through these links. I will only post links to products I have personally used, or believe will be helpful to readers. See my diclosure policy in pages.

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