Recognizing Upper and Lower Case Letters!!!!

Being able to recognize upper and lower case letters is a skill that is essential to future reading and writing success. Below are some suggestions to help your child at home to recognize letters.

1. Letters are made up of curvy and straight lines. Use materials such as straws, pipe cleaners, yarn and toothpicks to form letters.

2. Form letters using playdough. You can trace letters on a paper and your child can cover it up with play dough.

3. When reading a story look for a few letters in the story. We use a fly swatter with a hole cut out in the middle to find the letters in class.

4. Write the letters on index cards and look them over at night.

5. Post 5 or 6 letters around the house. Have your child go on a letter search. When they find the letter and can identify it, have your child put it on the fridge.

6. Make letters in "finger paint" ways. Use pudding, shaving cream, apple sauce. Say a letter and have your child make it.

7. Put magnets on the fridge and put in order and have your child say the alphabet

8. Fridge Phonics is a great toy!!!

9. Place 12 upper and lower case letters on the floor. Make your own or you may have some store bought letters. Play a matching game. Match the upper and lower case letter.

10. Using clothespins (available at the dollar store) write an uppercase letter on the clothespins and a lower case letter on an index card. Encourage your child the clip the clothespins on the matching card and name the letter.

11.  Visit PBSkids.org.  Click on games.  The featured topic right now is Letters.  There are numerous letter games that your child can play. 

12.  Scratch n' Sniff.  Use a new sensation to teach the letters.  Write letters with glue on paper, then sprinkle with Jell-o powder.  Makes a super scratch n' sniff when tracing over the letters. 

PLEASE NOTE:  It is very important to have your child say the letters as they find them or match them, not the adult. 

Working with Letters!!!

We have been practising making our names and letters in creative ways!! Keep practising at home!!!

With water and paint brushes on the chalkboards!!

With shaving cream!

With play dough!

With paint and a long fingernail!

New Light Table!

We have a new light table in our room!! Today we put some of the fall items that we collected yesterday on top. We discovered that if you looked through a magnifying glass the veins in the leaves really show up.

Our Fall Walk!!

Today we paired up with Miss Reive's class and we went on a fall walk around the school yard!! The children will be bringing home a bag full of fall things that they found today!!!

Before we went, we made predictions about what we would and would not see. We thought that we would see red, orange, blue, yellow, gold, brown and green leaves. We also predicted that we would see apples, acorns, squirrels and branches. We didn't think that we would see bears, ice, a lot of leaves on the trees, and coconuts.


This is what we found!!!!!

A pumpkin!!

A pine cone and nuts!!

Apples!!!

Leaves!!

A home for a squirrel??

We came back in and drew pictures of what we saw on our walk!! Ask your child to read the Colourful Fall poem that was sent home!!

Story Retell!!

We have been reading some stories in class and the children are retelling the stories in a variety of ways!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Bill Martin Jr./Eric Carle

The Little Red House With No Doors, No Windows and a Star Inside
Google the Story on the Internet

Caps For Sale!!

Ask your child to tell you the story at home!!

Songs we have been singing:

1. 5 Little Monkeys
2. Hey There Neighbour, What Do You Say
3. Ponchinella
4. 1,2,3,4,5, Once I Caught A Fish Alive
5. 10 In A Bed

Rhyming

The ability to rhyme involves 2 components. The first is rhyme judement. This is the ability to recognize if 2 words rhyme. The second is rhyme production. This is the ability to produce rhymes. If you find that your child is having dfficulty with rhyming begin with 1-syllable rhyming words ( fall, ball) and then progress to 2-syllable rhyming words ( yellow, fellow). Allow your child to invent words to make the game fun!!



Rhyming Riddles

Say the first part of the sentence and have your child fill in the blank word.
Here are some rhyming sentences that you can recite with your child at home:

1.  The black cat is very _________. (fat)

2.  I like to look  in my _________. (book)

3.  The plane can fly up in the _________. (sky)

4.  I like to run in the ________. (sun)

5.  At night I turn on my _________. (light)

6.  I saw a frog who sat on the ______. (log)

7.  The silly goat was wearing a _________. (coat)

8.  The little mouse came out of his __________. (house)

9.  Baby Bear sat on a ___________.(chair)

10.  The hungry pig grew very _________. (big)

11.  I got dirt on my new _________.(shirt)

12.  I saw a the bee fly up in the _______. (tree)


Other rhyming activities:

1.  Choose rhyming books to read with your child and leave out the rhyming word to see if your child can fill it in. 

2.  Play the game, " One of These Things Doesn't Belong." - Put 3 rhyming pictures and 1 that doesn't rhyme together and have your child find out which one doesn't belong

3.  Put 10 objects in a mystery bag and have your child reach in the bag to select an object.  When an object is pulled out have your child create a rhyming word for the object. 

4.  Say two rhyming words to your child.  If the words rhyme your child stands up, if they don't your child sits down. 

5.Use a deck of cards.  Remove the jack, queen, king and ace.  Put the cards face down.  Pick a card and produce rhyming words that rhyme with the numbers.  The rhyming words can be real or nonsense.

Help Us Help Your Child!!!

We stress independence in the classroom to help the children develop self- confidence, accomplishment and independence. If your child is unable to tie shoes, please send velcro. When looking for snowsuits and boots, please choose styles that your child will be able to do independently. Please remember to pack lunches where your child is able to eat independently. This includes already peeling the oranges etc., providing containers and bags that your child can try to open by themselves. Please remember that there are several children in the classroom and it ensures that everyone is able to work independently.