Letterland
By now you've probably heard about Letterland from your little one. If you haven't, let me enlighten you...lol. Letterland is a special place where letters go and become characters. Only kids can go to Letterland. For example, the letter a becomes Annie Apple. The letter b becomes Bouncy Ben. The character's alliterative name and gesture (ask your child what Annie Apple, Bouncy Ben, or Clever Cat say) helps students associate letter/sound correspondence.
Want to support our goals at home? Ask your child to share and/or draw a picture of all the Letterland characters they've met so far. Drawing the characters will also help with letter orientation (confusing the letter d for a b, or a p for a q) as well. Ask your child if there is anyone in your family who's name starts with the same sound as Annie Apple. For example, does your brother Adam have the same beginning sound as Annie Apple? What about your sister Sam? Or have your kiddo tell you some words that start with Annie Apple's sound? Alligator? Aardvark? What about mouse?
Literacy
In reading, we have been using our Poem of the Week/read alouds to work on our print concepts
-reading top to bottom
-reading left to right
-reading page by page
-pointing to each word as we read (one to one correspondence)
-identifying the title, front cover, back cover, and title page
-understanding the roles the author and illustrator play in a book (ask your child to share with you our saying/gesture)
Want to support these goals at home? It's easy, just pick up your child's favorite book and read with them. Let them take the lead. Ask them where the title is. What does the author/illustrator do? Ask them where you should start reading and where you should go next. For one to one correspondence, you can point to each word as you read, or if it is a familiar book, have them try.
In writing, we have been working on conveying our thoughts and ideas through a combination of drawing, dictating, and labeling. A good portion of our time this quarter will be spent having the kiddos draw pictures to tell about something. The important part being that they can share (dictate) what is happening in their picture. In addition, we will focus on having the kiddos label parts of their pictures with at least the first sound of what they are labeling. For example, if they are drawing a picture of a trip to the beach, they should be able to write an 'S' next to the sun or a 'T' next to the beach toy.
Want to support these goals at home? Have your kiddo draw a picture for their favorite grandma/grandpa, friend, or whomever! They can label it as well. Can your child sound out more than just the first sound of a word? Have them write all the sounds of what they are trying to label.
In Math, we have been working on
-counting orally to 10
-identifying numbers 1-10
-represent numbers with groups/sets
-using one-to-one correspondence (touch counting) to count groups of objects up to 10
-understanding that groups that look different can represent the same number. For example, five squares in a horizontal line is the same as five squares stacked vertically.
Want to support our objectives at home? There are plenty of 'teachable moments' at home. For example, you can ask your child to use one-to-one correspondence to count how many toy cars/babies they have. Ask your kiddo to tell you what one-to-one correspondence is (and have them show you the gesture). At a restaurant? As your little guy or gal to find a specific number and/or have them tell you the names of the numbers they see. The possibilities are endless:-)
A little blurb about 'Gestures'
In our class, I try to associate new concepts and/or sight words with a gesture and visual. Without getting into the science behind it, 'muscle memory' is important in helping kiddos remember and understand an idea, concept, word, etc.. You know the saying, 'It's like riding a bike'? The idea behind it is that you don't forgot how to ride a bike because your muscles have 'muscle memory'. So bottom line, encourage your child to show you the gestures they know. And a big thank you to you in advance from their very grateful teacher for your help with this:-)
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