Jumping Through January

This month, we are learning our letter sounds and how to use them when we read. Students are blending sounds to read 3-letter words(consonant-vowel-consonant) like big and man. After we read a book, we sequence the story, and talk about the order of events.
What's a great way to help your child become a better reader? Read to him or her! Reading aloud to your child while they listen can help them absorb the story. Asking questions about the pictures can build comprehension. We hope to see you at our Smyrna reading night on January 29th! Your family can listen to teachers as they read aloud from books that teach children about the 7 habits of happy kids!

Students made sound collages using pictures and letters from magazines.

Determined in December

This month has been filled with determination! Students finished learning the names of the letters and we started producing letter sounds. We are segmenting letter sounds and listening for the beginning sounds of words. Children who can segment and blend sounds easily are able to use this knowledge when reading and spelling. Segmenting and blending individual sounds can be difficult at the beginning. We are using our arms, fingers, and colored counters to segment individual letter sounds in words. We also slowly say each sound in a word (c-a-t), and then say the sounds quickly together to "read" the word (cat).

Students synergized to put our alphabet letters in order.

Students created sight word snowmen.

Students work on their motor skills using chalk to form their letters.

We had fun making the letter S with glitter snow.

We practice putting the letters in our name in order with snowballs.

Finish Line

We are celebrating the end of the alphabet this week! Students finished identifying letters W-Z. Now we will begin working on letter sounds.

Students use finger lights to practice tracking print.

We used habit #6, synergize, to create the letter Y with yellow yarn.

Students read the book "Playing Dress Up" and then took time to play dress up! They compared and contrasted our dress up time with the costume in the story. 

Sensory Learning

Our reading groups have been using their senses to explore letters. We made the letter W with tasty pretzel sticks. We used our bodies to form the letter U. We even used finger lights to form our letters in the dark!
During guided reading, students are pointing under each word, as they track print from left to right. It is true that children need their fingers to establish one-to-one correspondence. This principle establishes that one word read equals one point of the finger. It doesn't mean that children point to get the words "right." For now, students are becoming more familiar with text patterns.

Letter W is a tasty pretzel treat! 

You can use finger lights to practice forming letters in the air.

Give me a U

Syllables

Our students have been learning how to segment words by clapping the syllables. We practice by clapping our names and our favorite foods.
We practiced forming and identifying the letters M-R. The lowercase p and q look similar, so here's a little trick to help them remember:
 Have your child make two thumbs with their hands. Next, they will place their thumbs so they are pointed at the ground. Then, tell them that p comes before q in the alphabet. This means that the first thumb pointed down is the letter p and the second thumb is the letter q. For students who are familiar with alphabetical order this tricks works well.

We made uppercase M with craft sticks.

Students can match lowercase letters on their magnetic boards. 

Rhyme Time

Did you know that listening to popular children's songs can help your child learn about rhyming words? We have been singing "Itsy, Bitsy Spider", "This Old Man", and many more songs to identify rhyming words. We even change the words and try non-rhyming words in the songs, just for fun!
Students are learning to write and identify letters L-O this week. We are reviewing a few letters that can be tricky too, like Gg, and Kk.
We read the story "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves," and students practiced writing the word "leaf." We are also practicing story sequencing with this book. What did she swallow first? What did she swallow last that made her sneeze?

Students used chalk to practice writing the letter j. 

We play "mix it, and fix it." Can you place the letters in the correct order?  

Matching Letters

Alphabet Matching

This week, students identified, matched, and wrote uppercase and lowercase letters A-H. We read the story "No, David!" and highlighted the letter H. Students made connections to the story and discussed habit 1(be proactive) and habit 3(put first things first).