Announcements from Miss Cheryl, Miss Ginger and Miss Kelley’s Class
OUR FOCUS THIS WEEK
This is the final blog for this school year. I hope these have helped to keep you informed about your child’s week at school plus given you some ways to help them generalize the learning they are doing at school when at home. Our last unit is a nursery rhyme unit called “Mother Goose”. We will expose the children to several nursery rhymes that they may or may not currently know. Our focus will be on phonemic awareness. The key concepts will be rhyming, beginning sounds, alliteration, and reciting rhymes.
All of our butterflies have emerged from their cocoons. This week has been exciting to the boys to watch them emerge, start to fly and use their “straws” to drink from the pineapple and orange slices. Monday we will release them in their new home- Andy’s Garden outside the Media Center.
Other scheduled events:
Monday, May 16 starts the ½ price Book Fair. This is a great way to stock up on summer reading at a great price.
Monday, May 23- We will have our End of the Year Party because everyone is scheduled to attend that day. We are doing a breakfast party with doughnut holes and other food plus a craft. This should be a lot of fun. In the afternoon the Center for Puppetry Arts will provide a performance to both SNP classes. We are so incredibly lucky to be able to have this entertainment.
*********I want to thank Sandra for being the best room mother ever. She has done this job for 2 years. I could not have done without her!************
Tuesday and Wednesday , May 24 and 25th --Early Release days. Elementary schools releases on those days at 1:30.
Vocabulary Words:
Instead of listing the vocabulary words for all the nursery rhymes I will list some of the rhymes we will be focusing on—Hey Diddle, Diddle; Little Miss Muffet; Humpty Dumpty; Old Mother Hubbard; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; and Little Bo Peep.
Homework:
1. Say or sing the nursery rhymes to your child. Have them repeat it with you. Can they say/sing it without you? Leave out repeating lines or words and see if they can fill in the line or word(s).
2. Act out the nursery rhymes. If doing Jack and Jill you can first fall down and roll like Jack. Then your child can follow your actions just like Jill. Repeat over and over again. Remember they learn by doing!
3. Make a Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star sandwich. Spread butter on 2 slices of bread. Put cheese in the middle of the bread- buttered slide facing out. Cook in pan until the cheese melts. Once cooled off cut out with a star shaped cookie cutter. Sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Did they think the sandwich was yummy or yucky? Incorporate math, science and language into your food making experience. Let them help as much as possible. Even if they will not eat the sandwich the hands-on experience is a great time for learning
Pre-Academic Activities for the Full Day Students (Letter and Number Time)
We have finished the alphabet. Please practice ALL the letter sounds with your children. This is one of the first steps when learning to read.
We have also finished learning to write the numbers from 0 to 9.
Continue to review the vocabulary sheets with your child. You can make this fun by making up riddles or descriptions about the pictures. Have your child guess which word is the one you are describing. Make an extra copy, cut both up individual pictures, turn over and play Concentration or a matching game. Be creative and have fun teaching your child.
Please review recognizing and writing the numbers. Find numbers in books and magazines. Look for them on mailboxes, on the speed limit signs and in stores that you visit. Count and make sets with your child. To make numbers real and relevant to your child you must create awareness of them in their world.
More activities for increasing letter sound awareness and handwriting-
- Go on a treasure hunt around your house (inside and/or outside) to find items that begin with each letter sound. (Use the vocabulary words I have sent home to help you.)
- Sing songs or nursery rhymes using only the letter sound instead of the words.
- ALWAYS practice writing their names in upper and lower case letters—not just upper case (capital letters).
- Practice writing the letters.
Strategies to use-
a. Using a shortened normal sized crayon or pencil will encourage the correct hand position when they are writing if this is needed for your child. The shortened length requires your child to have to hold the writing instrument using a more appropriate grasp. A crayon helps the writer increase pressure when writing. Pencils tend to slip easily and may not be the best instrument to use for beginning writers. If your child is not a beginning writer use regular length crayons and begin writing with pencils
b. Writing on a slanted surface such a 3 inch binder helps to keep their hand and arm in the correct position if needed.
c. Writing with chalk on an upright easel encourages correct arm and hand position PLUS it increases the need to add pressure.
d. While they are writing say the chants I sent home with your child will help remember the correct way to form the letters.
e. Have your child write while laying prone (flat) on his stomach. This is another way to reinforce the correct position for the arm and hand when writing.
f. Roll playdoh or other modeling clay into snakes and form the letters.
g. Practice writing the letter shapes with their fingers on sandpaper; in rice, sand or flour; or hair setting gel in a sealed plastic bag.
Speech and Language- Miss Allison
Check out the Speech and Language page on the left side of this blog page.
Georgia Pre-K Content Standards Link
Here is a useful link to the Ga. Pre-K content standards. As special needs preschool educators our lessons are planned around these and the individual needs of each student. You may find information on this site helpful when you are working with your child at home and in your community. This site will help you as parents become familiar with the standards your child will need know or be exposed to during their preschool/pre-k years.
http://decal.ga.gov/Prek/ContentStandards.aspx
