Helping children learn to read must be a dual effort with teachers and parents.  My granddaughter is in the first grade this year, and she is learning to read.  As a result, I’m constantly searching for books, printables, games and anything else I can find to help her.  My grandson is an honor student, and he loves word search puzzles.  I purchased books for him and developed printables so he could learn word recognition.  I must admit, there were times I needed to occupy him as well.  Learning always comes to mind when I need to occupy the grandchildren.  There are times that I choose fun, but reading is truly fundamental so I turn to books or create printables for them.

I’ve decided to use the same method of teaching my granddaughter to read that I used with my grandson.  They are attending the same elementary school, so the educational concepts are the same.  I love word search puzzles because they assist children with word recognition, context clues and help with spelling.  Additionally, learning Context Clues is important. For example, snow, cold, coats and gloves are associated with winter. Word search puzzles help with spelling too.  So, I developed first grade educational activities to include all of the above.

So, I mentioned choosing between fun projects or educational activities for the children when I needed to occupy them or help with homework.  I have learned that it’s important to make learning fun for children.  If successful, children will want to learn and will stick with it.  I strive for fun activities when I’m working on printables for my granddaughter.  When I do, she wants to complete the goal.  I also strive to keep the printables simple and not drawn out.  Children ages 6 and 7, have short attention spans.

To help with Context Clues and spelling, I developed a series of first grade educational activities.  The series includes winter word search puzzles.  My granddaughter loves cold weather, snow, and hot chocolate.

You can download the winter word search puzzles here.