READING
Books
We have recently begun reading decodable books. Our first books, The First Day of Kindergarten and Apple Pie have already gone home As you noticed, these books were wordless. We have been practicing the strategy of ‘taking a picture walk’ where children are encouraged to use the good reader strategy of using picture clues and details to help understand stories. Encourage your child to tell you the story that they see!
Recent and future books focus on sight words. Each book will come home and will have a paper stapled to it. Please have your children read it to three people (or pets or dolls!) and then sign the paper. Return the book to school for a treat!
You will see many books like this coming home throughout the year. They will get progressively more difficult, but the basic procedure will be the same at home. I encourage you to have your child decorate a ‘book box’ to store the books in to practice throughout the year.
Routines
Your children have been learning and practicing nursery rhymes. You will notice some activities coming home corresponding to these rhymes. There are many more that your children know well and are happy to sing for you! Having your child practice these at home will greatly assist in rhyme and rhythm, which will in turn strengthen their foundation in the language arts.
Letters/Sounds
We have introduced the letters and sounds A, a (long and short) B, b, C, c, D, d, E, e (long and short) and now F, f. We have also begun the formation of these letters and segmenting (stretching out) sounds that we hear in words. Practice at home will give that needed reinforcement for success. (FYI, we are using Handwriting Without Tears for formation.)
MATHEMATICS
In math, we are beginning numeral recognition, rote counting out loud, counting one to one (touch and count), AB patterns, exploration and observations with materials and manipulatives.
Our class has been practicing with buttons to compare and contrast them. Button Match-Up is an introductory game into the practice of sorting items. Students are encouraged to verbalize the connecting feature in the items they have sorted. (ie, color, number of holes, shape, size, texture) AB and ABC patterns involve items being patterned using 2 (AB) or 3 (ABC) attributes. (ie. red, yellow or square, circle or red, yellow, green or square, circle, triangle). We name them in as many ways as possible including letters. All activities are practiced using the left to right, top to bottom technique.
TIDBITS
Please encourage your child to follow directions each day.. Following rules is important to do to make sure we have safe, productive days!
As the days become chillier, I ask that you label the tags of your child’s sweaters or coats. Surprisingly, our lost and found pile continues to grow as students don’t always remember what they wore to school or recognize their clothing.
Also, If your child wears rain boots to school, please send a change of shoes in with them, as they have become a distraction throughout the day.
SUPPLIES
If you can help, we are in need of:
snacks,
black paper plates,
small plastic, clear plates,
white bags with handles,
and a bag of cornstarch.
Thank you!
Books
We have recently begun reading decodable books. Our first books, The First Day of Kindergarten and Apple Pie have already gone home As you noticed, these books were wordless. We have been practicing the strategy of ‘taking a picture walk’ where children are encouraged to use the good reader strategy of using picture clues and details to help understand stories. Encourage your child to tell you the story that they see!
Recent and future books focus on sight words. Each book will come home and will have a paper stapled to it. Please have your children read it to three people (or pets or dolls!) and then sign the paper. Return the book to school for a treat!
You will see many books like this coming home throughout the year. They will get progressively more difficult, but the basic procedure will be the same at home. I encourage you to have your child decorate a ‘book box’ to store the books in to practice throughout the year.
Routines
Your children have been learning and practicing nursery rhymes. You will notice some activities coming home corresponding to these rhymes. There are many more that your children know well and are happy to sing for you! Having your child practice these at home will greatly assist in rhyme and rhythm, which will in turn strengthen their foundation in the language arts.
Letters/Sounds
We have introduced the letters and sounds A, a (long and short) B, b, C, c, D, d, E, e (long and short) and now F, f. We have also begun the formation of these letters and segmenting (stretching out) sounds that we hear in words. Practice at home will give that needed reinforcement for success. (FYI, we are using Handwriting Without Tears for formation.)
MATHEMATICS
In math, we are beginning numeral recognition, rote counting out loud, counting one to one (touch and count), AB patterns, exploration and observations with materials and manipulatives.
Our class has been practicing with buttons to compare and contrast them. Button Match-Up is an introductory game into the practice of sorting items. Students are encouraged to verbalize the connecting feature in the items they have sorted. (ie, color, number of holes, shape, size, texture) AB and ABC patterns involve items being patterned using 2 (AB) or 3 (ABC) attributes. (ie. red, yellow or square, circle or red, yellow, green or square, circle, triangle). We name them in as many ways as possible including letters. All activities are practiced using the left to right, top to bottom technique.
TIDBITS
Please encourage your child to follow directions each day.. Following rules is important to do to make sure we have safe, productive days!
As the days become chillier, I ask that you label the tags of your child’s sweaters or coats. Surprisingly, our lost and found pile continues to grow as students don’t always remember what they wore to school or recognize their clothing.
Also, If your child wears rain boots to school, please send a change of shoes in with them, as they have become a distraction throughout the day.
SUPPLIES
If you can help, we are in need of:
snacks,
black paper plates,
small plastic, clear plates,
white bags with handles,
and a bag of cornstarch.
Thank you!