• peacefully reading
     
    Reading
    There are many ways you can help your child progress, and many do not require a great deal of time.  Kindergartners need to be exposed to all types of reading: identifying letters and words in a text and in their surroundings, being read to daily, "pretend" independent reading, and finally independent reading.  Please believe me when I say that your participation at home shows in the classroom!  Plus research has shown that children that are read to regularly and see their parents reading benefit greatly from this experience.
     
    - Help your child identify letters/words on billboards, at the grocery store, and on the food containers in your home.
     
    - Provide your child with a newspaper or magazine and a pair of scissors.  Choose a letter and let your child find and cut out as many of that letter as they can.  They can also do this with the High Frequency words.
     
    - Form letters using play dough, sand, whip cream or shaving cream.
     
    - Practice letter sounds, isolating the first sound of a word, or making up rhyming words while in the car.
     
    - When reading with your child, begin by taking a "picture walk" (only look at the pictures).  Discuss what they see.  Then discuss the characters, setting, and make predictions.
     
    - Allow your child to look for words they know how to read in the story.  Remind your child to look at the picture and think about what would make sense.  Look at the word again and get your mouth ready for the beginning sound.  Finally, have your child reread the sentence to figure out what word would make sense that has that certain beginning sound.
     
    - When finished reading, ask your child to retell the story in his/her own words.  Revisit your predictions to see if they were correct or if they were a surprise.  Ask what he/she liked/disliked about the story.  Did they have a favorite part or character? 
     
    Math
    Kindergarten math curriculum is learned through exploration using manipulatives.  Helping your child to identify flat and 3-D shapes, colors, and numbers will reinforce what they are learning in the classroom.  Students learn to: count to 100 by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's,  identify and create patterns, sort by size, shape and color, measure with standard and non-standard measuring tools, tell time, count money, as well as basic addition and subtraction up to 5.  The big question to always ask is.... How do you know?  Always have your child explain how they got their answer.  Knowing how to get the answer is just as important , if not more, than the answer itself.  Here are some fun, easy ways to provide practice at home.
     
    - Have your child identify colors, shapes, and numbers in their surroundings.
     
    - Use blocks, pom poms, butons, beads, m and m's, cereal or golfish to practice sorting, counting, and making patterns.
     
    - Use play dough to make numbers and cut the correct amount of shapes to match.
     
    - Give your child a small amount of change to sort into groups.  Introduce the names of each coin.
     
    - Identify the clocks in your home.  Show them what time their favorite shows are on.
     
    -Have your child help set the table.  Ask them to count the forks, plates, napkins.  Ask them what would be one more or one less.
     
    -Have them practice writing their phone number.