Phonetically speaking, we are not only listening for the beginning sounds but have now started identifying the middle (especially the short “a”) and ending sounds of words. This is a difficult skill because the children have been so trained to hear the first sound of a word, as well as the fact that most middle sounds are the vowels. Vowel sounds are tough and require a great deal of practice. It is no coincidence that when we are using kindergarten or phonetic spelling (writing down the sounds of the letters we hear) it is usually the middle or vowel sounds that are omitted. This is a good skill to practice in the car. Remember, too, that you may wish to use a slinky to s-t-r-e-t-c-h out words and put them back together. The visual movement helps reinforce the auditory skill. And it’s more fun!
In our pursuit of preparing not only beginning readers but also confident writers, we have been teaching the children about action words and describing words. The use of adjectives in both our writing and speaking allows for vocabulary enrichment and more accurate and interesting story details. Labeling items requires thoughtful reflection. This month in addition to labeling our Ready Gen writing pieces we will label pumpkins (with the visual assistance of our donated class pumpkins…thanks, moms!) and also other seasonal pictures. These activities reinforce letter identification, fine motor and spatial relationships as well as letter sound correspondence. It also provides a gradual introduction to writing for most of our children who lack the experience and confidence to attempt more formal writing tasks. Even our better readers need these interactive and modeled writing lessons.
We have started studying the “tricky teens”! We are thinking of them as a bridge that connects 0-10 to 20-100. We are showing them that the teen numbers all begin with the numeral 1 and that 11 means “10 plus 1 more”; 15 means “10 plus 5 more”, etc. It is important that the children not only recognize the numerals but also understand how many they actually represent. As with most rules there are always the exceptions…eleven and twelve do not have the word teen in their names and thirteen and fifteen should by all kindergartner standards be called “three-teen” and “five-teen”. These specific numerals will simply just have to be remembered. As you play number games it would be beneficial to now include numbers 0-20.
P.S. I hope you are enjoying our daily Halloween jokes and riddles! If you have not heard any, just ask your child. We already know quite a few!
Children laugh an average of three hundred or more times a day.
Adults laugh an average of five times a day.
We have a lot of catching up to do.
Heather King
In our pursuit of preparing not only beginning readers but also confident writers, we have been teaching the children about action words and describing words. The use of adjectives in both our writing and speaking allows for vocabulary enrichment and more accurate and interesting story details. Labeling items requires thoughtful reflection. This month in addition to labeling our Ready Gen writing pieces we will label pumpkins (with the visual assistance of our donated class pumpkins…thanks, moms!) and also other seasonal pictures. These activities reinforce letter identification, fine motor and spatial relationships as well as letter sound correspondence. It also provides a gradual introduction to writing for most of our children who lack the experience and confidence to attempt more formal writing tasks. Even our better readers need these interactive and modeled writing lessons.
We have started studying the “tricky teens”! We are thinking of them as a bridge that connects 0-10 to 20-100. We are showing them that the teen numbers all begin with the numeral 1 and that 11 means “10 plus 1 more”; 15 means “10 plus 5 more”, etc. It is important that the children not only recognize the numerals but also understand how many they actually represent. As with most rules there are always the exceptions…eleven and twelve do not have the word teen in their names and thirteen and fifteen should by all kindergartner standards be called “three-teen” and “five-teen”. These specific numerals will simply just have to be remembered. As you play number games it would be beneficial to now include numbers 0-20.
P.S. I hope you are enjoying our daily Halloween jokes and riddles! If you have not heard any, just ask your child. We already know quite a few!
Children laugh an average of three hundred or more times a day.
Adults laugh an average of five times a day.
We have a lot of catching up to do.
Heather King