Learning actually
starts long before children even step into a classroom. It starts in the most
important place of all - the child's home. Family is an integral part of
learning. Therefore, educators can not afford to neglect inviting parents and
caregivers to take part once formal schooling begins. Positive parental
participation is essential in order to ensure the best education of each child.
Families
can show the importance of education and of learning in a variety of ways -
volunteering at school, discussing the day's events, reading class newsletters,
attending special school events, etc. I would like to encourage families
to participate in the following activities as well.
Letter Recognition
Sounds
READ!
Letter Recognition
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Letters are Everywhere --Draw your child's attention to letters and
words in his/her environment (signs, cereal boxes, toy boxes, menus, etc.)
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Letter Writer--Have your child trace letters on/in different surfaces
(sand, rice, cloth, etc.) Say the name of the letter with your child as
they form the letter.
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Letter Builder--Build letters with different materials such as
macaroni, pipe cleaners, playdough, etc.
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Print the Letters -- Practice printing upper and lower case letters.
(one time each week)
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Tactile Letters – Make a tactile letter for finger tracing.
Write a letter on large paper. Trace with glue. Sprinkle with sand, salt, or
rice. When dry, have your child trace the letter with his/her finger and say
the name of the letter.
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Rainbow Letters -- Write one letter on a large sheet of paper.
Have your child rainbow write the letter by tracing over it with 4 or more
colors of crayons or markers.
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Letter Search -- Name a letter and ask your child to find as
many different sizes, colors, and styles of that letter as possible to cut and
glue onto a sheet of paper.
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Which Letter? -- Write a row of different letters for your child. Say
one of those letters and ask him/her to circle the letter you said.
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Highlights -- Give some of your junk mail to your child and ask
him/her to use a marker or crayon to highlight or circle certain letters.
(exp. Highlight all of the Kk's orange, all of the Pp's purple, all of the
Yy's blue, etc.)
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Sounds
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Flashcards/ABC Picture Chart—Daily do a quick review of letters and
sounds. Show the card and have your child either…say the letter name and the
picture name; say the letter name and the sound; say the sound and the picture
name; or say the letter name, picture name, and another word that would start
with that same letter.
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Sticky Letter--Make 3x5 letter cards. Make several of the same letter.
Work on one sound at a time. Have your child find an object in the house that
begins with that sound and tape the card to it. Keep it up for a few days so
that your child can be reminded of the sound each time they see the letter
card.
- "I
Spy" letter sounds -- "I spy something that begins with the sound of
b." Or, say, "I spy a ____. What letter do you hear at the beginning of
that word." This is great for waiting in line or driving in the car.
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Brainstorm--Give your child a sound and ask him/her to think of as
many words as they can that start with that same sound.
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ABC tub games--Get a butter dish or small bowl. Gather several
household objects that begin with the same letter sound and a few that don't.
Your child must figure out which items begin with the same sound and put them
in the bowl.
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Search the House -- Your child can search around the house for objects
whose names begin with a certain letter. (exp. B- bananas, brush, band-aid,
belt, etc.)
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Picture Sound Collage -- Ask your child to search through magazines,
etc. for pictures that start with a certain letter. Have them glue all the
pictures they find onto one sheet of paper to form a letter collage.
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Tongue Twisters -- Play with tongue twisters-traditional or made up!
They are fun and emphasize the initial consonant. (exp. Pink pigs play with
purple pegs.)
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ABC Memory—Find 1 picture that starts with each letter of the
alphabet. Also, make flashcards, 1 for each letter. Play memory by asking
your child to match each letter to it's corresponding picture. (exp. An
apple with the letter Aa)
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READ!
Why Is Reading With
Your Child Important?
Reading aloud...
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stimulates your child's imagination
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develops your child's interest in reading and in books
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improves your child's listening skills
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builds vocabulary
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helps your child to understand stories and 'book language'
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creates a bond between you and your child
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provides your child with a positive role model
Set aside a time to
read aloud to your child each evening!
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