8 FREE Bingo Boards, plus lots of new Youtube videos!

Hi, Friends!

It has been a long time since I've blogged!  But after experiencing a bit of mom burn out (you too, huh?), I remembered that I need time for ME.  And for me, that's creating!  Sometimes I sew.  Sometimes I cook.  Sometimes I write music or books.  But lately, I've been creating free printables for YOU.  

I can't just sit around and make myself happy.  I'm not happy unless I'm serving others in some way shape or form!  And friends, that means I'm here to serve YOU.  

Lots of things are happening behind the scenes of Training Treasures.  My baby and middle boy are both getting ready to have birthdays!  Colin will be 4 in November.  Oliver will be 1 in December.  (Insert tears here!).  That means my middle boy will be in K5 next year, albeit homeschooled.  And my baby will be walking around the New Year!  It is so fun being a mom!

As for me, I'm as busy as can be serving as the music director of my church.  I am in charge of a LOT, and although the first part of the year had me in tears over this huge responsibility (on top of mothering three small boys), I've adjusted just fine.  I've even been taking piano courses and teaching the piano.  One of my students is a very special 6-yr old boy dear to my heart . . . 

I have recently begun videoing more of our homeschool day.  I have really enjoyed keeping a "homeschool diary", if you will, about our life.  Please follow me on my YouTube Chanel!  I want everyone to get to know me and my boys and be encouraged in your journey!  We are NOT experts, but just fun loving people who want to connect with the world.  I recently made a video on How I Taught my 3-yr olds to Read.  Just like any mom, I recorded the video in secret as I hid from my children . . .  Haha!  Two were sleeping, and one was very curious about what I was saying behind my closed bedroom door.  :)  I am very flawed and down to earth.  Hopefully these videos will make you feel a bit more human!  You might enjoy the part in my video where I couldn't even remember the address to my blog . . . :)

I've also just posted our first video of our week in review.  Follow me and my boys in our wonderful (and oh so messy) homeschool journey!  In this video I show clips of highlights from our week including our trip to the pumpkin patch, pureeing 20 bags (40 cups) of pumpkin, and a reward trip to the park (which includes my son chasing the ducks!)  I try to keep things interesting, light, funny, and inspiring.  Watch us in action here!

Also, I will be recording videos of our monthly large library hauls.  My older boys are ages 3 and 6, so if you have young readers, follow us as we share our favorite books that we are using in our homeschool!  There is one awesome picture book I feature in this video that you don't want to miss.  Make sure you comment below or on my Youtube channel and let me know which picks are also your favorites!  We cover about 80 books in this video.  

As my husband suggested, I am going to slip a link in my blog posts where anyone can donate money for the work of this blog.  I would rather offer free printables that people WILL use rather than offer things for sale that just sit there and help absolutely no one.  And I'd love to keep my website ad free.  I hate ads!  If you have been blessed in any way shape or form by the services I've offered on this blog, you may want to send a monetary gift my way.  If so, that would be most appreciated!  I love what I do and am looking forward to helping others educate their little ones.

My Pay Pal Account

Today, I am offering a special game for you to play with your emergent reader.  It is called Color Bingo.  There is an easy version (made specifically with three-yr olds in mind), and a more difficult version.  My three-yr old loves to fill up his entire game board.  We skip all the Bingo rules and just play until every space is covered!  The more advanced version includes 11 colors, and several of them are repeated multiple times.  For both games, I used pretty graphics I found on TpT, but tried to keep everything simple yet pleasing to the eye.  I wanted my son to be able to focus on the colors and not be distracted by the objects.  

Here's what I LOVE about Color Bingo:

1) Easy to play.  Draw a card.  Have your child read the color word (or read it to them and have them repeat after you).  Then, place a gem or rock on the picture that is the same color they drew.  Once they fill a row (diagonally, veritcally, or horizontally), they call out Bingo!  Reward winners with a treat if you wish!

2) You're drilling your child via flashcards and they don't even know it!

3) Low cost!  Simply print the Bingo pages on cardstock.  You can even print double sided to save on paper cost!  Slip into a page protector.  I didn't even laminate the Bingo cards themselves.  I figure if they get ruined, it's easy and cheap enough to print another copy.  Print three copies of the advanced Bingo word cards, and one of the sets of cards for the easy version.

4) Can be used to teach color recognition.  If your child can't read yet, or if you have children of multiple ages, this freebie can teach colors and color words.  Simply call out the color word to your child, and have them find the correct color on their Bingo board. 

5) It really works!  My three-yr old is picking up on those color words!  It won't be too long before he's mastered these words.

Visit my TpT store and download the beginner version here, and/or the advanced version here.  

I'll be back with more freebies soon!  I have some more reading games up my sleeve!

Be sure to subscribe by email and have you liked my page on Facebook?

CVC Tic-Tac-Toe Bundle

It has been a long time since I've blogged.  Not because I don't want to.  I honestly just don't have the energy or the time these days, what with my nannying job, homeschooling 2, plus my four-month-old baby.  Oh, and can't forget the hours of piano playing I do.  Yes, hours.  Every.  Single.  Day.  Usually about two, but four if I'm buried beneath sheet music, and having a blast all the while!  I've also started teaching my five-year old how to play, and that has been fun!  My three boys will learn how to play.  They don't have a choice in the matter!  :)

Anyway, I got off work a little early on Friday and was surprisingly caught up on my piano playing.  That meant I had time to print some new homeschooling resources, and make a few new Tic-Tac-Toe board games.  Let me tell you, I haven't had time to touch my computer, let alone make homeschooling resources for MONTHS.  I've been simply using resources from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Thanks to anyone who has ever given away free resources!!!

If you are teaching a child or multiple children how to read, these Tic-Tac-Toe games are a life saver!  Your little one will be learning how to read in no time!  My son is three and we spend an hour every day playing reading games or taking turns reading books.  

Even though I didn't teach my oldest with reading games, he still loves to read. Today we went to the library and I went down each shelf, realizing that he has read EVERYTHING.  No kidding.  He has read all of the books that are on his level and lower, and that he would be interested in.  I had to go home and research on the library's website, finding books that he can read but aren't on the shelves.  That was an unexpected but GLORIOUS problem!  

I bundled 16 different Tic-Tac-Toe games in BW and Color, and they are for sale in my TpT store here for only $3.  

This week, my three and I will be playing lots of fun FREE games I got from TpT.  They are:

Rainbow Ride CVC Game
Roll and Read CVC
CVC Short A Bingo
I Have, Who Has, Color Words
And my FAVORITE: Pirates!  This one is very versatile.  I will be using this one download to play War, Go Fish, Memory, AND the game included.

Thank you!  May God bless you in your dedication to raising the next generation!

6 Free Short A Tic Tac Toe Games- Color and BW

Where oh where have I gone?  That is the question!

My little babe is now 11 weeks old and sleeping through the night!  Woo hoo!  He is so cuddly, content, and smiley- just as much as my other two were!  Although, he is much more cuddly I think!  

It has been a busy month for us.  I have healed almost 100% from my c-section and have been doing my normal intense but short workouts (kettlebells, sprinting).  Although I can fit back into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes, I still have the mommy belly and about 15 extra pounds.  The pounds can stay or not, but the belly has to go!  That, however, will take a long time to condition.  And that's okay.  :)

We are a couple weeks out from a trip to Disney World.  I.  Can.  Not.  WAIT.  I need a vacation.  

And I'll tell you why.

I learned to play the piano about 10 years ago (I think?).  I've been playing for church for about 8 years.  And now I've been bumped to lead pianist at our church.  Although I absolutely love to serve in the piano ministry, it is a huge responsibility.  To whom much is given, much is required- and I feel the weight of this ministry more than you can imagine.  I just had a new baby.  I am homeschooling 2 little ones.  I babysit in the evenings and on non-school days.  I attend church on Wednesday evenings (choir practice, that I'm now playing for) and on Thursdays evenings for visitation.  That means I don't even go home after work on those days, plus on other days when we have special meetings (next Friday!).  I have to get food on the go for the kids and I (McDonalds), and then come home to put the three littles in bed.  It is a bit stressful for me, all this running around.  But then, juggling practicing the piano?  That's a tough one.  I might love to play, but I'm no composer.  I have to work at it.  And practice.  And practice.  And practice.  I practice at 6am, 10am, and 12pm every day.  I have called on many people to pray for me.  I need that prayer.  And it has truly helped me come leaps and bounds in my playing.  

Sadly, blogging has taken the back burner for now.  I really felt like God wanted me to blog.  I know people need help educating their littles, and that is my gift.  The piano playing is something I do, but it is not what I'm best at.  But it is my biggest ministry, aside from raising my three boys to love the Lord.  

I'm not disappearing completely.  I just need a bit of time to get a handle on all of this new responsibility.

I'll leave you with a fun freebie for teaching short a words- 6 colored and black and white tic tac toe board games!  My 3-yr-old loves to read the whole board (cheat) and place all of his game pieces everywhere, not leaving me a turn!  Fine by me!  He's reading!  Download it from my TpT store here.