Summer Reading

As I mentioned in my last post, it is super important to keep those literacy skills fresh over the summer. The best way to do this is to keep on reading daily with your child. Here's an easy way to do just that. Check out the summer reading program at the Mill Valley Library. This year it's called Chill Out and Read. As usual it is chock full of fun programs and activities. Program sign-ups start for Mill Valley residents on June 11th, and you can pick up your summer reading log on June 18th. Kids who read or listen to read-alouds for 3 hours per week can collect prizes and stamps all summer long. Happy summer reading everyone!

Summer Packets

It really is hard to believe that summer is almost here and that kindergarten is coming to an end. First grade will be here before you know it, and it is important to keep those literacy and math skills fresh over the summer. I have put together a packet for your child to work on this summer. Look for it in those backpacks this week. Please help your child complete the packet over the summer. Then sign the front cover and return just the front cover to me in the fall. Happy summer everyone -- I look forward to seeing you in the September!

Word Chain

You can play this game anywhere -- all you need is your voice. You and your child can create a chain of words that are linked together by their beginning and ending sounds. Start with one syllable words and move on to longer words when you feel ready. It's just like the name game...

1. Say a word and ask your child to repeat it slowly and identify the ending sound. For example, cat ends with /t/.
2. Ask your child to think of a word that begins with the ending sound of the first word. For example, top starts with /t/. Now say this word and identify the ending sound, top ends with /p/.
3. Continue adding words to your word chain, having your child say each word aloud and identify beginning and ending sounds.

If you happen to be at home, extend the game by writing the words down as you go. An easy way to link the words by their beginning and ending sounds is to write the first word horizontally, the second word vertically, the third word horizontally and so on. Think of a crossword puzzle!

Article on Reading Aloud

I just read this great article on PBS by Pam Allyn, Raise a Lifelong Reader by Reading Aloud. Check it out -- I think you'll like it!

Starfall

Here's a great website for your kindergartens: starfall.com. They can work on their letters, letter sounds, numbers and phonemic awareness. Check out the sections titled "ABCs" and "Learn to Read," and let me know what you think.

Tell Me a Word

Here's a game you can play just about anywhere, anytime. It's called "Tell Me a Word," and you can play with categories of words like animals, types of foods or any other category that your child might like. For example, ask your child to tell you an animal that starts with the sound /m/. They might respond with monkey, mouse, mountain lion or any other /m/ animal.

Next ask some follow up questions:
What other sounds do you hear in the word monkey?
How many syllables are in the word monkey?
How many sounds do you hear in the word monkey?
Can you think of any words that rhyme with monkey?

Continue on with more questions. Use the same category and a new sound or switch it up and try a new category.

More Number Sense

So here are some more ideas to help kids develop their number sense:

1. Count objects when you are out and about. Count the number of driveways, yellow houses or red cars while you are on a walk. Count the number of stop signs you see on your way to school. The possibilities for counting are endless!

2. Read number books. Be sure to talk about the numbers as you read, and count the objects in the pictures. I've added a new list to this blog with some of my favorite number books -- it's over on the right, just under the list of ABC books.

3. Count items around the house. How many apples are left in the fruit bowl? How many forks do we need to set the table?

You can extend these counting activities by asking additional questions. What if we saw one more stop sign, how many would we have seen then? What if I ate one of the apples, how many would be left? There are lots of things to count out there and lots of questions to ask. Have fun with it!

Number Sense

So we've already talked about recognizing numbers up to 30. Now it's time to talk about number sense. According to Wikipedia, number sense is "an intuitive understanding of numbers, their magnitude, relationships, and how they are affected by operations." Kindergarteners need to understand the value of each number and it's relationship to other numbers. For example, they should know that the symbol 5 stands for exactly 5 items and that 5 is more than 4 but less than 6. The best way to develop good number sense is to play with numbers! Here are some ideas:

1. Play board games that use dice.

2. Play dominoes.

3. Practice counting real objects. Use pennies, buttons, paper clips, whatever you have around the house. Ask your child to count out different sets and then compare the sets. Which has more than this set? Which has less than this set? Which has the most? The least?

4. Make number art. Ask your child to write a number from 1 to 30 and then draw simple pictures to represent their number. For example, write a 5 and then draw 5 stars. You can also do this activity with stamps or stickers.

More Letter and Number Recognition

Today let's revisit the topic of letter and number recognition. I have a few more activities to help children develop these skills. As with any of the letter recognition activities, children can practice both the letter names and sounds as they work.

1. Play with alphabet and number puzzles.

2. Play with alphabet and number stamp sets and stamp pads.


3. Placemats! Use them as actual placemats during mealtimes or as activity mats. Make your own and laminate them or purchase something like these:

Visit the Library

Here's another tip to help kids grow their love of reading. Visit the public library, and let your child get his or her very own library card. The librarians in the Children's Room at the Mill Valley Library know just how to make this a special event. Your child will go home with a new library card and a new book! Plus he or she will get their picture taken for a personalized bookmark. Click here for some more information from the Mill Valley Library. Once your child has a new library card, put it to good use and visit the Children's Room often!

More Phonemic Awareness

Let's talk some more about phonemic awareness, okay? Today I'd like to focus on phoneme isolation -- the ability to single out just the beginning, middle or ending phonemes or sounds in a word. If your child is making good progress with rhyming and counting syllables, it's probably time to move on to phoneme isolation. Start by working with beginning sounds. Then move on to working with ending sounds, and lastly focus on those tricky middle sounds. The activities below are explained with beginning sounds -- just substitute different words and sounds in order to focus on middle and ending sounds. Mix it up and try these activities with lots of different sounds, focusing first on consonants and short vowels.

1. Say a word. Ask your child to tell you the beginning sound of your word. "What's the beginning sound of ball?"

2. Play "I Spy" with pictures in books or objects around your house. Say "I spy with my little eye something that starts with /s/." Ask your child to guess the object that starts with /s/.

3. Play "Which word doesn't match?" Say three words, two of which have the same beginning sound. For example: sun, sock, map. Ask your child which word begins with a different sound?

4. Make a sound collage. Have your child cut out pictures of objects that begin with a certain phoneme. Glue the pictures onto paper to make a collage. Draw some additional pictures on your collage for a mixed-media effect.

Okay? Go have some fun with word play!

World Book

Hi again! I wanted to let you know about a website subscription that is available to you through the Edna Maguire Library: The World Book Encyclopedia Online. It has a section for early learning that has some good reading material and activities. You can listen to nursery rhymes, stories and sing-alongs. Plus there are lots of activities to support letter recognition, number recognition and phonemic awareness.

Click here to go to the Edna Maguire Library website and look for the section "Online References." Click on the "World Book Encyclopedia Online" link. You'll need a user name and a password which I'll send to you in a separate email. After logging in with Edna's user name, click the "Early World of Learning" button towards the bottom of the page. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Please let me know if you need the user name and password. I can always send another email or send a note home with your child.

Phonemic Awareness

I'm back - this time to talk about phonemic awareness, a skill that your kindergarteners have been developing in their classrooms. So, what in the world is phonemic awareness? It is the ability to identify, hear, and work with the smallest units of sound known as phonemes. For example, the ability to recognize rhyming words; to detect syllables; to blend individual phonemes into a word; to identify beginning, middle and ending sounds of a word; to count the number of phonemes in a word; to segment a word into its individual phonemes; to substitute phonemes in a word and to omit phonemes in a word. It is essential in learning to read because letters represent sounds or phonemes, and it is a strong predictor of reading success.

So you may now be wondering how you can help your children develop their phonemic awareness. Let's start with rhyming and detecting syllables. Here are some activities, most of which can be done just about anytime and just about anywhere.

1. Say a word and ask your child to think of rhyming words. Say, "ball" and help your child come up with words like small, wall, hall, etc.

2. Read rhyming books. Just think of all of those classic Dr. Seuss books! After you read, go through the book together to find rhyming words.

3. Sing or say nursery rhymes. At the end of each nursery rhyme, ask your child to identity the rhyming words.

4. Say a word, and ask your child to repeat it and clap out the syllables. How many syllables does each word have? Be sure to mix it up and use some one syllable words and some multi-syllable words.

Number Recognition

Kindergarteners need to recognize whole numbers from 0 up to 30. They will need lots of exposure to these numbers in print and will eventually need to understand the value of each number as well. Spending time on some of the following activities will provide good practice with number recognition. You can also do any the activities in the previous post about letter recognition, substituting numbers for letters.

1. Trace the numbers with stencils.

2. Make the numbers with Wikki-Stix or Bendaroos. Do you know about these things? They're bendable waxy sticks that you can sculpt into just about any shape. They're great - my own kids love them and will spend hours sculpting things with them.

3. Number magnets for the fridge. Kids can play with the magnets while you work in the kitchen.

4. Draw and paint crayon-resist numbers. Write a number in pencil and have your child trace over the number with a crayon. Next have your child paint all over the paper with water colors. The crayon will resist the paint and the number will show through.

All of these activities can be used to work on letter recognition as well. Have fun with your numbers!

Letter Recognition

Kindergarteners love the alphabet, and they need to memorize the letter names. They need to know the letter name that is associated with each letter symbol for all 26 letters, both uppercase and lowercase. Repeated exposures to the letters in print will help them do this. Start with the uppercase letters. And remember, children learn through repetition so you'll want to practice the letters many, many times. Mix it up with different activities to hold their interest. Here are some ideas:

1. Read ABC books. There are lots of these books out there, with many different themes. See the list of alphabet books here on my blog for some specific titles. If you're going to purchase any of these through Amazon, be sure to click the "Amazon School Rewards Program" button and Edna Maguire will receive up to 10% of your purchase total.

2. Make the letters out of clay, play dough or pipe cleaners.

3. Paint the letters with finger paint.

4. Make "light letters" using construction paper and a toothpick. Write a letter on a piece of construction paper. Place the paper on a rug and have your child use a toothpick or thumbtack to punch holes along the lines of the letters. Hold the paper up to the sunlight, or hold a flashlight to the back of the paper to see the letter.

5. Make "shaving cream letters." Spread a layer of shaving cream on a tray and write letters with your finger.

Have fun reading and making those letters! Check back soon for another post on letter recognition.

Read, Read and Read Some More

What's the single most important way you can support your child's literacy development? Reading, reading and reading some more. Really, I can't say it enough. Reading aloud to your child will go a long ways towards growing those literacy skills. Reading aloud allows your child to see you as a reading role model. It promotes language development, builds listening skills, increases attention span, and fosters curiosity and imagination. It is a simple and enjoyable way to spend time together. It can be a wonderful bonding experience, and it's just plain fun!

Wondering what to read? For kindergarteners, I suggest enticing picture books and shorter chapter books. For specific titles, check with the children's librarian at the Mill Valley Library or our own incredible teacher-librarian, Lisa Monge. Or spend some time browsing at the library or bookstore. What looks interesting to your child?

Wondering when to read? Anytime! There is no right or wrong time. Do it whenever it fits into your schedule, but do it everyday. Lots of parents read to their kids at bedtime. But if bedtime doesn't work in your household, try another time. Would morning or after school work better for you?

Now, go grab a book and read, read, read!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog -- I'm so glad you stopped by! I work with kindergartners, providing support in the areas of reading and math. Parents often ask me what they can be doing at home to support their child's learning. So I thought I would gather all of my ideas in one easily accessible place -- this blog. I'll be posting ideas often, so check back soon.