Recently, we sent home two sets of sight word cards with each child. These cards are for you to keep at home. This is the list of 42 words that we expect our kindergarten students to know at the end of the year.
At my house, when the kids were in kindergarten and first grade, we would use these cards to play Memory. Remember that game when you were little? I would encourage you to start with a smaller number of cards. Having 84 word cards on the floor in front of you seems quite overwhelming. I would suggest choosing 10 words, to start, and finding their matches. That way you only have 20 total cards staring at you. (By the way, I have found that my memory must be declining as I get older. My kids would always beat me, even when I was truly trying.)
Another thing you may want to do, is use these cards as flash cards. You can keep one set at home and one set in the car. I found that this ended whining in the car. As soon as my kids started to whine about being bored, I said, "Hey, let's practice those sight words!" Voila! No more whining!
One last tip for practicing sight words.
(and I LOVE this idea)
Write all of the words on your child's pillow case, with a permanent marker. (Buy a cheap pillow case first!) Then, every night at bedtime, ask your child to pick a handful of words to read. It's quick and easy, and you'll also have a visual reminder to practice the sight words every single night! My kids loved this!
By the way, the green folders that were sent home are yours to keep. We thought they would be a good place for you to keep your child's work. The name cards are for practicing first and last name with proper letter formation. The sight word practice sheets are something we are going to use in the classroom, but I accidentally copied a whole bunch. Rather than recycle them, I thought you might want to have your child practice the words at home. No need to return these two items.
Also, if the writing homework is too much, please feel free to modify! You are your child's first and best teacher! You know how much is too much for them. Kindergarten homework should not be torture! Have them do what they can and then set a new goal for the following week. We will only have this writing homework for a few weeks. That being said, I would certainly encourage writing at home even when the homework ends! Kids love to write cards, books, notes to friends, and even grocery lists.
Happy reading and writing!
At my house, when the kids were in kindergarten and first grade, we would use these cards to play Memory. Remember that game when you were little? I would encourage you to start with a smaller number of cards. Having 84 word cards on the floor in front of you seems quite overwhelming. I would suggest choosing 10 words, to start, and finding their matches. That way you only have 20 total cards staring at you. (By the way, I have found that my memory must be declining as I get older. My kids would always beat me, even when I was truly trying.)
Another thing you may want to do, is use these cards as flash cards. You can keep one set at home and one set in the car. I found that this ended whining in the car. As soon as my kids started to whine about being bored, I said, "Hey, let's practice those sight words!" Voila! No more whining!
One last tip for practicing sight words.
(and I LOVE this idea)
Write all of the words on your child's pillow case, with a permanent marker. (Buy a cheap pillow case first!) Then, every night at bedtime, ask your child to pick a handful of words to read. It's quick and easy, and you'll also have a visual reminder to practice the sight words every single night! My kids loved this!
By the way, the green folders that were sent home are yours to keep. We thought they would be a good place for you to keep your child's work. The name cards are for practicing first and last name with proper letter formation. The sight word practice sheets are something we are going to use in the classroom, but I accidentally copied a whole bunch. Rather than recycle them, I thought you might want to have your child practice the words at home. No need to return these two items.
Also, if the writing homework is too much, please feel free to modify! You are your child's first and best teacher! You know how much is too much for them. Kindergarten homework should not be torture! Have them do what they can and then set a new goal for the following week. We will only have this writing homework for a few weeks. That being said, I would certainly encourage writing at home even when the homework ends! Kids love to write cards, books, notes to friends, and even grocery lists.
Happy reading and writing!
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Love the pillowcase idea!! I sent the words home, but one card said "BAM! so they could play the Bam game. Didn't think about sending 2 copies -- thanks for sharing.
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