Kindergarteners Writing At Home

Last week we started having kindergarteners write at home, as part of our homework assignments. I believe writing at home, several times a week, helps students grow as writers. In half time kindergarten, we don't have as much time to sit and write as the full day kindergarten students. Writing at home, to help make up for lost time, is incredibly helpful as kids develop as writers. Over the past few years, I have observed, that having one on one support, in the home environment, has made a HUGE impact on confidence and ability of our kindergarten students.

Here are some examples of the writing kids have turned in this week.


"I had fun in the snow week."

"I built Legos in my room."

"I made 2 baskets at basketball today."

Kids should write at home, at least 3 times during the week.  As your child writes, try to encourage him/her to say the word slowly and write the sounds they hear.  In class, we use our letter sound cards for support.  Often times, kids will ask, "What does an 'm' look like?"  They may know the sound, but they are not able to recognize the letter.  Proper spelling is not as important as being able to sound out a word, the best they can, and writing the sounds they hear.  Sight words, on the other hand, ARE important to spell correctly.



I will send home 3 writing papers at the beginning of each week.  They need to be turned in at the end of each week.  (The first week, the papers were delayed in coming home because the printshop was backed up after the snow storm.)  Don't worry if your child hasn't turned any papers in yet.  Just turn them in as they go.

The goals of sending writing home as a homework assignment are to have consistent practice,  receive one on one support if your child needs it, and learn to enjoy the writing process.  If this isn't fun, FEEL FREE TO WRITE SOMETHING THAT IS FUN.  Have your child draw a picture and write a sentence to send to Grandma.  Write a mini-book and illustrate it.  Take photos on a walk around the neighborhood, glue the pictures into a book, and write about it.  It is important to keep writing fun!  If your child enjoys writing on their "homework sheet" and it makes them feel like a big kid, keep it up!  If your child would rather do their chores, brush their teeth, or pick up their room, please change up the assignment and do something your child enjoys.  You can send their assignment to school, or just write a note.  It's up to you!

Happy writing!

Practicing Numbers

Workbooks are great for practicing letters and numbers. The grocery stores even carry workbooks for young children. Here are a few ideas for your kids to try, when they get tired of practicing letters and numbers in workbook pages.

 

Write letters or numbers on a piece of paper and glue Cheerios to the top.

 

Practice in shaving cream on a table or the shower wall.

 

Practice with Play-Doh snakes. Make sure kids are forming letters and numbers properly.

 

Practice with markers or paints.

It's amazing how excited kids get when you just change things up a bit!

Favorite Things for Learning Letters and Sounds

I'm in love with the Leap Frog brand! The people who work at Leap Frog simply KNOW KIDS! There are a few items that I have purchased for my kids that I can't live without. With the Holidays approaching, keep these ideas in mind for gifts for your kids.

 

First up, the Letter Factory DVD is an absolute "must have" if your child is still working to solidify their letter sounds. (Which is most kindergarteners at this point in the year.) This DVD was only $9.00 at Target and it was the best $9.00 I've ever spent. It has catchy little songs to help kids learn letters and sounds. I actually purchased the whole series of Leap Frog DVD's for my own kids. The skills addressed in the DVD's get progressively harder, but are always taught in a developmentally appropriate way.

 

The best part about the DVD's is how they connect to the hands-on learning games made by Leap Frog. I purchased this game for my kids a few years ago. Leap Frog has stopped making the board game, although you can still purchase it on Ebay. You can also buy card games, Leapster game cartridges, Fridge Phonics, and many other games that use the same catchy songs as the DVD. It's brilliant! The kids learn the songs when they watch the DVD. Then they play the hands-on games to help solidify the concepts.

 

Here's my latest purchase. I bought a tag reader, some books, a carrying case, and headphones for each of my kids. Again, this is a brilliant invention. Kids can touch the book and just have the story read to them, or point to each word individually and read the book on their own. There are also several learning games incorporated into each book. The books and Tag reader are available everywhere. I often buy books at Target. I purchased the original set from Leapfrog.com. I found that buying the initial set on their website was less expensive.

I hope you'll keep some of these ideas in mind for Holiday gifts. There are so many wonderful learning games made by Leap Frog. They haven't even paid me to say these nice things about them! I'm just a huge fan of the products. (Although, if Leap Frog wanted to purchase a class set of Tag Readers for my class, I'd gladly review their product for them!!!)