A tisket, a tasket... and homework FAQs!

Today, I finally did an activity from the book, I Love Letters by Dr. Jean.   I have had this book for almost 2 years, read it front to back, but haven't found the time to use it.  This school year-  especially after today's reaction-  I'm making it a priority!  The activity is so simple, and the kids did not want to stop practicing naming letters.  Unfortunately, they wouldn't stop singing the song either!  We  drove the teachers next door "bonkers"... but they were very forgiving!

The children sit in a circle as you walk around holding a basket of magnetic letters or letter cards  saying the rhyme (I sang it to the tune "It's Raining, It's Pouring")

A tisket, a tasket
There are letters in my basket.
I'll drop one behind a friend
And see if they can name it!

When the child gets a letter they pick it up and name it.  The activity naturally extended itself into a "making words" activity.  I passed out certain letters to form sight words.  Next time I will plan to have more letters on hand to make more sight words!  The kids just loved it!

To find more quick and enjoyable letter-naming activities, pick up the book I Love Letters!  -OR- just drop by Dr. Jean's website or blog.  She has a ton of resources available!

Kindergarten families...

Here are some FAQs that will (hopefully) help you out with your little learners homework this week.  

Do I return sight word and ABC folders to school everyday?  

NO.  Homework folders are due every Friday.  If you do finish homework early, please keep folder in backpack.  I will collect any work on Friday.

Calendar folders should be returned daily!

Can my child bring home more books?  

Your child will have the opportunity to take home more books very soon!  Right now I am checking for (and teaching) responsible book handling.  Please reinforce this at home.  Teach your child to keep borrowed books on the table away from food and drink, away from pets, and out of the hands of our little baby learners at home (unless they are closely supervised).  

In time, your child can bring home a new book every night!

My child can't read the book he/she brought home.  What should I do?

The books your child brings home are self-selected.  The purpose of this is motivation and reading enjoyment.  It's OK if they can't read every word.  Right now I would just like to build enjoyable reading experiences at home where the adult does most of the reading work.  

To involve your child more, he/she can point to the words, turn pages and point out letters or sight words that they do know!   As we begin reading more books together, your child will be bringing home text they can read independently.   I will also begin teaching children how to pick out books that are just right for their reading level!

What do I do with the math journals?

Math journals are returned every Friday along with any other homework.

My child enjoys doing the sight word and ABC homework activities.  Can they do an activity everyday?

Yes!  The homework schedule calls  for one activity a week, but  I would encourage you to practice daily.  Please see schedule here.  The homework activities are meant to be "self-pacing" so if your child wants to do more PLEASE DO!  Our volunteer will be checking their progress weekly.  We will be able to add more activities based on the progress they make in naming letters and reading sight words. 

Any other questions?  Please leave a comment or contact me at jcabral@pasco.k12.fl.us

M and A PLUS writing the TITLE of a book!

More ABC books and pockets!

I dug out my Dinah Zike book, Foldables and VKV's for Phonics, Spelling and Vocabulary---AND--- oh my goodness, there are a TON of super cute and fancy foldables to incorporate into your teaching.

Here are two of my favorites...

  
Accordion fold pockets made of poster board-  embellished with cute 

duct tape (yes, I spelled it duck tape the first time, I'm sure I will hear it from my principal tomorrow)!

I can't wait to use this ABC book!  Once complete, I plan on sending it home with my little-learners so they can show off all they have learned! 

Our first activity to go along with this book is putting children's     

                                                           pictures in the pocket that goes along with the first letter of their name.

Do you start teaching the alphabet with the first letter of a child's name?  Have you ever wondered why we teach the letters in a certain order?  Here is a very informative and super short article about learning the alphabet.  Thanks Reading Rockets for your insights!

Monday's Must Have... an ABC File!

I like to create alphabet books with my little learners who are struggling with learning their letter names.   To save copies (not because I'm going green, I'm just totally out for the month) I decided to make some DIY alphabet files!

I used legal sized paper donated from last year.  We have a ton of this stuff lying around! 

I folded 8 sheets of paper in half.

Staple, staple, staple...

Add a cute cover.  It's not lined up perfectly, but the file folders are a bit difficult to work with.  They are leftovers from our beginning of the year FLKRS assessment.

Stamp, stamp, stamp!  I used my favorite sound stampers from Really Good Stuff.   NOT for sounds but for a place to write the upper case and lower case letters.  I got the idea for this from Pinterest.  I thought the stamps looked much neater than just drawing boxes.  You can find the original here.

The children will also be using Alphabet Picture Stickers from Lakeshore to add a picture for letter- sound correspondence.  I love these stickers!  A bit pricey, but a good investment for each school year.  I also want to add a pocket in the front for either a pointer or to store their letter stickers.  

If I have succes with this ABC File, I plan on making a Sound-Box File for phonemic awareness and phonics interventions.  

Working with letters

I kind of stole this idea from Ms. Hunter (ok, so she does this with environmental print).  The students I work with are learning the letters in their names along with all the other letters of the alphabet.  I am using this chart to encourage children to connect the letters they are learning about in school are the same letters they use to write their names.  Take a look!

Once they have mastered the letters in their names, I might make some adjustments to the chart.  Maybe keep it as a visual of what letter each student is working on for the week OR a letter they have mastered.  Do you have an idea for this chart?  Let me know!

Here are some more ideas I've been collecting on Pinterest to help the children learn their letters.  I want the activities to be meaningful and enable the children to connect their learning in class with the work they do with me.  My hope is that they will start making connections soon that they carry back to class with them.

Dry-erase board center

Here is a quick and easy way to update your dry-erase board center.  Word lists are great tool for handwriting, letter and word recognition.  They are also super easy to make.  The sight word lists correspond to the Start Smart and Unit 1 in the MMH reading series.  The document includes 7 lists.  The Friends list is intentionally left blank.  Add your student's names to this list.

The lists can be displayed on the board with a magnet or clipped together with a binder ring.  They also make a nice addition to the children's book boxes, writing folders or writing center.