Kindergarten Handbook for Parents
Prepared for Parents by Mrs. B. Tyndall, Lambton-Kingsway JMS
Introduction
The Kindergarten Handbook has been created to acquaint you with the major components of my program as well as to provide activities which will help your child prepare for and succeed in Kindergarten. Please keep this as a reference guide for the entire year.
Mission of the Kindergarten Program
I would like to welcome you and your child to our kindergarten program at Lambton Kingsway Junior Middle School. I am looking forward to an exciting year of new experiences and lots of fun! It is during the first years of life that children form attitudes about themselves, others, learning, and the environment. These attitudes last a lifetime, so I work very hard to find ways to help children develop positive attitudes.
Educating a child is most successful when families and schools work together in the best interest of the child. I welcome your input and assistance in educating your child. After all, you are your child’s first teacher! Valuing education and the opportunities it provides are important first steps. I am hopeful that you will find time to participate in some of our school activities. I am always in need of parents to help in the classroom and in many other capacities.
The goal of my program is to meet your child's needs not only intellectually, but also physically, socially, and emotionally. Going to school is one of the most important experiences in a child’s life. School can be an exciting place where children meet new and different people and participate in many new and different experiences. I promise to work diligently to provide the children with wonderful experiences that help them to feel good about themselves and their school.
Communications
Contacting the Office: School Phone Number: 416-394-7890
My Blog: mrstyndallslksblog.blogspot.com. Please check my blog for weekly updates about classroom activities. I try to not send paper notes home and will post most information on my blog.
My email: betyndall@rogers.com
Overview of the Curriculum
Reading and Language Arts
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following communication arts areas: Pre-reading and reading activities • Letter identification • Letter-sound relationships • Letter formation (printing upper and lower case letters) • One-to-one correspondence • Determining real and make-believe Writing activities • Drawing a picture to convey meaning • Holding a pencil correctly • Copying words • Identifying and writing sight words • Writing words and sentences • Revising writing in a group setting
Speaking and listening activities
• Telling stories • Dictating lists, stories, and descriptions • Listening to others • Listening to stories • Story retelling • Reciting poems • Participating in class discussion • Show and Tell
Knowing and using basic library terminology (author, title, illustrator, Title page) • Identifying parts of a book (spine, cover) • Making predictions and drawing conclusions • Selecting appropriate reading materials • Demonstrating respect for others using library materials • Participating in author studies • Using visual structure to communicate ideas • Developing organizational skills in association with art activities
Mathematics
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following mathematics areas: • Counting forward from 0 to 100 • Color Recognition • Recognizing and writing numerals 0 to 100 • Skip counting by 2, 5, and 10 • Counting backwards from 20 to 0 • Reading numerals to 100 • Estimating time on an analog clock • Naming the value of a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, loonie, and toonie • Performing simple data collection and graphing • Patterning • Naming geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, cone, sphere, and cube) • Showing Addition and subtraction facts to 10
Science
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following science areas: • Five senses • Weather elements • Production processes involving plants and animals
Social Studies
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following social studies areas. • Identifying and locating places and regions • Identifying landforms and bodies of water • Identifying people in places and community helpers • Recognizing the Canadian flag and singing the national anthem • Discussing sources of conflict and possible solutions • Identifying reasons for rules and routines in the classroom/playground
Health, Physical Education, Safety
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following health, physical education, and safety areas • Large muscle activity through outdoor play including running, sliding, skipping, and other games • Basic rhythms of walking, running, marching, skipping, and jumping • Fire drills and other safety drills (earthquake drills; drop and cover; Stop, Drop, and Roll )
Music
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following music areas: • Singing alone and in groups • Movement to music
Helpful Reminders for School
Starting Times: AM Kindergarten 8:30-11:20 PM Kindergarten 12:30-3:05
Before your child comes to school, please make sure he/she has had a good breakfast or lunch and also plenty of rest (ten to twelve hours is recommended for this age.
Snack Program: I have provided you with a Snack Schedule for the months of September/October. Please remember to send in snack for each of the children on your child’s Special/Snack Day. This is also your child’s Show and Tell day. If you forget to bring snack, I will provide snack and will send home a reminder to bring non-perishable snacks for each of the children to store for future use. Children will be provided time to eat their snack in a relaxed social setting. All snacks must be nut free.
Birthdays-individual special snacks
Monday-washed and cut vegetables
Tuesday-cheese and crackers
Wednesday-washed and cut fruit
Thursday-your choice of a healthy snack
Friday-cookies, muffins, rice krispy squares etc.
Label, Label, Label: Please label your child’s coats, sweaters, backpacks, lunch pails, thermos, etc… Please label everything and anything sent to kindergarten.
Shoes: For safety reasons, I ask that all children wear closed toe shoes to school. Please provide your child with a pair of indoor crocs or slippers if/when they wear boots to school.
When your child is ill: When your child is ill, please call the office at 416-394-7890 and report your child’s absence. All absences must be verified. If your child becomes ill at school, he/she will be sent to the office and you or one of the names listed on the emergency card will be contacted. Please notify us immediately if any contact numbers change.
Targeted activities you can do at home to help your child in Kindergarten:
Practice writing his/her first and last name
1. Have your child practice writing his/her name using a variety of tools such as a Magna Doodle, crayons, pencils, and markers. Check that your child is gripping the writing utensil correctly. You may even consider having your child practice writing his/her name using different items around the house such as pudding, rice, sand, or shaving cream. *** Be sure that your child uses a capital letter only at the beginning and lowercase letters for the rest of the name.
2. Write your child’s name in large letters (or use magnetic letters). Say each letter aloud as you write or place it so your child can associate the name of the letter with the shape of the letter.
3. Cut apart the letters of your child’s name (or use magnetic letters) and have him/her put them back in the correct order saying the name of each letter while doing so. (Start with just the first name, adding the last name only when they have mastered this.)
4. Label your child’s door or other objects so his/her name can be seen in print.
Practice recognizing and writing the numbers 0 to 10 (or higher)
1. Read and enjoy counting books together.
2. Point out numbers in license plates, in the store, in your home, and all around you. 3. Use magnetic numbers to have your child practice naming them. Have your child put the numbers for your phone number in order saying each number while doing so.
4. Practice writing numbers using a variety of materials such as pencils, crayons, markers, and sidewalk chalk, etc. (see number formation sheet in folder).
Practice counting orally and practice counting objects (to 10 or higher)
1. Have your child count his/her own snacks such as pretzels, goldfish crackers, grapes, etc....
2. Count each item as you pick up 10 things to put away in the house or bedroom.
3. Count the number of stair steps in your house or the number of steps from your car to the store.
Practice naming and correctly writing the letters in the alphabet
1. Read and enjoy alphabet books together.
2. Help your child recognize letters of the alphabet in everyday life (ex. Restaurants, road signs, store signs, cereal boxes, etc...).
3. Practice recognizing and writing both upper and lowercase letters. (see letter information sheet in folder).
Practice book handling skills
1. Discuss how to open the book from the front. Point out the front of the book and the back of the book. Discuss that the front of the book is where the story begins and the back is where the story ends.
2. Discuss how to hold a book so it is not upside down and show where to start reading. 3. Read with your child on a daily basis.
Practice recognizing the eight primary colors
1. When your child is coloring, ask what colors were used.
2. Have our child draw objects on paper and ask him/her to color the objects in certain colors.
3. Have your child sort objects or food by colors. Use items such as clothes, blocks, Skittles, M&M’s, or Fruit Loops. Have your child name the colors.
4. Discuss colors of things in the world around you such as the sky, the grass, cars, clothing items.
Practice your phone number and address
1. Have your child practice his/her phone number on a play telephone.
2. To help your child remember his/her phone number, make up a rhyme or song to go along with it.
Practice naming and drawing the four basic shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle) 1. Point out objects in your house or environment that have the basic shapes such as doors, windows, clocks, can tops, kites, etc...
2. Read and enjoy shape books together.
3. Have your child draw the shapes on chalkboards, paper, etc....then cut them out naming each shape while doing so.
Practice coloring within the lines and cutting on the lines
1. Have your child cut out coupons.
2. Have your child cut out pictures from old magazines of things that he/she is interested in.
3. Have your child draw simple objects with some detail (including “self, family, house, and pets).
4. Explore coloring with a variety of resources including markers, crayons, chalk, and paint.
Some Tips to Help with Beginning Reading and Writing
The greatest benefits of reading are obtained when your child is an active participant engaging in discussions about stories, talking about meanings of words and the story, predicting outcomes, and relating the story matter to other texts and his/her own life. 1. Read to your child daily.
2. Talk about the book as you read with your child and after you have finished reading it.
3. Look at the book cover before reading. Point out the title, author, and illustrator. 4. Point out words or phrases that are repeated several times throughout the story.
5. Encourage your child to finish predictable phrases or rhymes.
6. Remember to focus on the meaning of the story. If a child reads something that doesn’t make sense, often he or she will go back and try again. If this doesn’t happen, stop and ask, “Does that make sense?”
7. If your child comes to a word he or she does not know and asks for help, consider asking these questions: • Does the picture give you a clue? • What word would make sense here? • With what letter does the word begin (or end)? If these strategies fail and your child wants you to say the word, go ahead and do so rather than having your child labor over it.
8. Don’t worry if your child memorizes a particular phrase or story. That is an early stage in the reading process.
9. Encourage your child to point to the word with his or her finger as he/she reads. 10. Some helpful questions: • What happened at the beginning, middle, or the end of the story? • What do you think will happen next? • Why do you think the character did that? • What would you have done if you were that character? • What was the best thing about the story?
11. Make sure your child sees you as a reader, (reading a newspaper, enjoying a good book, reading a catalog, etc...)
12. When reading with a child, always sit beside the child with the book between you so that you can both see the text and enjoy the pictures.
13. Consider giving books as presents so they become associated with a pleasurable experience and have special meaning.
14. Make sure your child sees you as a writer, (writing things such as grocery lists, thank you notes, notes to other family members, etc....)
15. Have a wide variety of writing supplies available for your child to write and draw on including various sizes and types of paper, pencils, crayons, markers, chalk, etc... 16. When your child draws a picture, encourage him/her to tell you about it. Then write down what your child says as he/she says it. Let your child see you write down what is said. Read it back. Point to the words as you read.
25 Ways To Use Magnetic Letters At Home
1. LETTER PLAY: Encourage children to play with the magnetic letters on the refrigerator or on a table. Playing with letters allows children to learn more about how they look.
2. MAKING NAMES: A child’s name is the most important word. Have children make their names several times, mixing up the letters, making their names and checking them with their names written on a card.
3. LETTER MATCH: Invite children to find other letters that look exactly the same as a letter in their name (e.g., place an m on the refrigerator and have the child find all the ones that look like it). They don’t need to know the letter name.
4. NAME GAME: Have children make names of friends or family. Have them make the name, mix the letters, and make the names several times.
5. MAKING WORDS: Make a simple word like mom or dad or sun and have your child make the same word by matching each letter below the model (sun – s-u-n).
6. ALPHABET TRAIN: Have your child put the lowercase magnetic letters in the order of the alphabet. Then they can point to them and sing the alphabet song. Have them repeat the process with uppercase letters.
7. CONSONANT/VOWEL SORT: Have children sort the consonant letters and the vowel letters.
8. FEATURE SORT: Have children sort letters in a variety of ways – e.g., letters with long sticks and letters with short sticks, letters with circles and letters with no circles, letters with tunnels and letters with dots, letters with slanted sticks and letters with straight sticks.
9. COLOR SORT: Have children sort all the red, blue, green, yellow letters.
10. UPPERCASE/LOWERCASE MATCH: Have children match the uppercase letters with the lowercase form.
11. WRITING LETTERS: Have children select ten different letters and write each letter on a paper. They can use the magnetic letter as a model.
12. WRITING WORDS: Have children make five simple words (such as dog, fun, big, hat, like, sit) and then write them on a sheet of paper.
13. MAKING FOOD WORDS: Make some words that identify food – e.g., bun, corn, rice. Have children draw pictures of each, mix the letters, and make the words again.
14. MAKING COLOR WORDS: Give children a list of color words with an item made in that color as a picture support (for example, a red ball). Have children make the color word with magnetic letters using the model, mix the letters, and make it again several times.
15. MAKING NUMBER WORDS: Give children a list of numerals with the number word next to each. Have children make the word and mix the letters two or three times.
16. LETTER NAMES: Specify a color and have children take one colored letter at a time and say the letter name.
17. MAGAZINE MATCH: Look through a magazine or newspaper with children, cutting out some larger print simple words (such as man, box, boy). Glue them on a sheet of paper with plenty of space below each. Have children make each word below the printed one. 18. FIND THE LETTER: Make a set of alphabet letters, upper-or lowercase, on a set of index cards. Shuffle the “deck” and take turns drawing a card and finding the magnetic letter that corresponds to it.
19. LETTER IN THE CIRCLE: Draw two circles and place an (h) in one and an (o) in the other. Have children put letters in the h circle and say how they are like the h. Do the same with the o. This activity will help children learn to look at features of letters. Vary the letters in the circles; accept their explanations about what they are noticing.
20. CHANGE THE WORD: Build several simple words and show the children how to change, add, or take away a letter to make a new word. Examples are: he, we; me, my: at, hat, sat. After the demonstration put the needed letters in a special place in an empty container for them to practice.
21. ALPHABET SEQUENCE: Place the letter a on the table and have the child find the next letter (b) and place the letter c next to the b and have the child look for the next letter (d). Continue through the alphabet with lowercase letters. Repeat the uppercase letters.
22. LETTER SORT: Place a pile of magnetic letters on the table for the child to spread out. Have the child put all letters that are the same together in a pile. Then, if appropriate, have the child give the letter name for each pile.
23. LETTER CHAINS: Make a five letter chain (for example, pfrmo). Have children find the same letters and make the same chain below your model. Then have the children make a chain that you copy.
24. LETTER BINGO: Make two cards with a grid of three boxes across and three down. Trace one lowercase letter in each box. Put a pile of magnetic letters that represent the letters on the cards and some that are not in a plastic bowl. Play a Letter Bingo game. Take turns taking a letter, saying its name, and then placing the letter in the box if there is a match. If there is not a match, put the letter back in the bowl. The first to fill three boxes across, down, or diagonally says, “Bingo” and wins the game. Play the same game with uppercase letters.
25. RHYMING PAIRS: Use a magnetic cookie sheet. Make a simple three letter word such as dog, but, cat, fan, can, hot, man, net, pan, rat, sit. Say the word and then say a second word that rhymes (dog-log, bug-mug, cat-fat, fan-man). Ask the child to make the rhyming .
Quick Assessment Instructions: Have your child point to each letter and tell you what the letter is. Record the letters your child has difficulties identifying. Write each of the difficult letters on an index card and use the index cards as flash cards. Practice with flash cards starting with a few at a time. See “25 Ways to Use Magnetic Letters at Home” This can also be used to practice letter sounds. Have your child name the colors. Have your child point to the shapes (triangle, rectangle, circle, and square) using objects around the house. Have a set of 10 objects . This could be buttons, pennies, cereal, etc… Have your child touch each object and say a number that object. Vary this activity by giving a new number and have your child count out this new set. Have your child cut straight lines on paper using “child-sized scissors.” Have your child write his/her name using an uppercase letter for the first letter, then followed by lowercase letters. Have your child say his/her first and last name.
Lower Case letter names and sounds
Have your child point to each letter and tell you the name of the letter. Record the letters your child has difficulty identifying. Write each of the difficult letters on an index card and use the index cards as flash cards. Practice. Practice with flash cards starting with a few at a time. See “25 Ways to Use Magnetic Letters at Home”. This can also be used to practice letter sounds.
Upper Case letter names
Have your child point to each letter and tell you what the name of the letter. Record the letters your child has difficulty identifying. Write each of the difficult letters on an index card and use the index cards as flash cards. Practice. Practice with flash cards starting with a few at a time. See “25 Ways to Use Magnetic Letters at Home” .
Identifying the Numbers 0 – 20
Instructions:
1. Have your child point to each number in random order and tell you the name of the number.
2. Record the numbers your child has difficulty identifying. Write each of the difficult numbers on an index card and use the index cards as Flash Cards. PRACTICE.
3. Practice with the Flash cards and have your child count out beans, or pennies. Start with the number 0 – 5. Once that becomes EASY, add a few more numbers 1 – 10. Continue to add a few more. Make a matching game: you place 8 pennies on the table. Have your child count them , then find the correct flash card. Keep a progress chart and set goals. 0- 10, 10 - 20. Encourage your child and when he/she meets a goal, do something fun and special together. Number Recognition Practice Sheet Instructions: Have your child point to each number and tell you the name of the number. Alphabet Practice: Directions: Trace the letters in the directions of the arrows
