FUN WAYS TO ENGAGE YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING

LANGUAGE

*Make your name & letters out of play dough. (Make long skinny snakes and
form letters from these)  Remember to only make the first letter of your
name capital, the rest should be lowercase!
*Put shaving cream on the bathtub wall and write & draw in it.
*Put salt or sand on a small tray, cookie sheet or pie pan to where it
covers the bottom of the pan.  Have your child write letters, name, etc.
with his/her pointer finger in the sand/salt.
*Look for numbers & letters in the grocery store or on signs while driving.
*Look for letters we are studying in the newpaper or in magazines.  Use a
highlighter to go on a "letter hunt."
*Purchase letter & picture flashcards at Wal-Mart or the Dollar store and
play memory matching the letters to a picture that starts with its sound.
*Spread out flashcards or magnetic letters on a table.  Say a letter sound
to your child and have him/her find the letter that makes that sound. 
*Build three letter/ short vowel words with magnetic letters. 

MATH
*Count how many times you can jump on a trampoline, jump rope, or dribble a
basketball!
*Sort laundry, silverware, cups, coins, rocks, beads, etc.  The way I
explain sorting at school is "putting things in piles of how they are the
same."
*Go on a "shape hunt" or a "color hunt" around your house or neighborhood. 
*See how high you can count while driving to the grocery store.
*Count how many people are eating dinner, then set the table for that many
people.
*Look for numbers & letters in the grocery store or on signs while driving.
*Play "war" with regular playing cards.  Divide the deck in half, each
player turns over one card at a time.  The player with the biggest number
gets to keep both cards.  Keep playing until one player has all the cards
(or whoever has the most wins when time is up).  I usually take the Jack,
Queen & Kings out when playing this game at school.  And we use the Aces as
a number 1.  This helps with number recognition, greater than/ less than and
number concept.



**Please come with your child on August 13th.  We will have our parent meeting, a scavenger hunt, and a guest speaker.  Please bring your child's school supplies on this day.

     First Day Poem
Every one has a “First Day”
When they feel sad and all alone.
It can be so scary
When you’re out on your own.
Take my hankie, dry your tears.
You’ll find lots of things to do
And you’ll probably make new friends.
I promise we’ll be together
When the school day ends.
Here comes the teacher,
Blow your nose and be brave.
Come on now wipe your eyes,
This is no way to behave.
“Well, good morning teacher.
We really must beg your pardon.
No, my MOMMY doesn’t always act this way.
But it’s my first day of “PRE-KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!




                 Thoughts at the Bottom of a Beanstalk

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jack who was about to climb
his very first beanstalk. He had a fresh haircut and a brand-new book bag.
Even though his friends in the neighborhood had climbed this same beanstalk
almost every day last year, this was Jack's first day and he was a little
nervous. So was his mother.

Early in the morning she brought him to the foot of the beanstalk. She
talked encouragingly to Jack about all the fun he would have that day and
how nice his giant would be. She reassured him that she would be back to
pick him up at the end of the day. For a moment they stood together,
silently holding hands, gazing up at the beanstalk. To Jack it seemed much
bigger than it had when his mother had pointed it out on the way to the
store last week. His mother thought it looked big, too. She swallowed. Maybe
she should have held Jack out a year ...

Jack's mother straightened his shirt one last time, patted his shoulder and
smiled down at him. She promised to stay and wave while he started climbing.
Jack didn't say a word. He walked forward, grabbed a low-growing stem and
slowly pulled himself up to the first leaf. He balanced there for a moment
and then climbed more eagerly to the second leaf, then to the third and soon
he had vanished into a high tangle of leaves and stems with never a backward
glance at his mother. She stood alone at the bottom of the beanstalk, gazing
up at the spot where Jack had disappeared. There was no rustle, no movement,
no sound to indicate that he was anywhere inside. “Sometimes,” she
thought, “it's harder to be the one who waves good-bye than it is to be the
one who climbs the beanstalk.”

She wondered how Jack would do. Would he miss her? How would he behave? Did
his giant understand that little boys sometimes acted silly when they felt
unsure? She fought down an urge to spring up the stalk after Jack and maybe
duck behind a bean to take a peek at how he was doing. “I'd better not. What
if he saw me?” She knew Jack was really old enough to handle this on his
own. She reminded herself that after all, this was thought to be an
excellent beanstalk and that everyone said his giant was not only kind but
had outstanding qualifications. “It's not so much that I'm worried about
him,” she thought, rubbing the back of her neck. “It's just that he's
growing up and I'm going to miss him.” Jack's mother turned to
leave. “Jack's going to have lots of bigger beanstalks to climb
in his life” she told herself. “Today's the day he starts practicing for
them ... And today's the day I start practicing something too: cheering him
on and waving good-bye.”

                                                       ~ Author Unknown

Here are a few GREAT books to share with your little ones before the first 
day of school!! The list with prices comes from amazon.com.  This is an 
awesome website or just visit the library to check out a few titles.

~Mrs. Peters

    The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn    
Used & New from: $6.95  
I always read this one on the first day of school.  WAY COOL!!  Before you 
leave your child on the first day be sure to kiss them on the palm of their 
hand.  I will do the rest!!!
  

    David Goes To School by David Shannon    
$10.37   Used & New from: $4.79  
Great book for talking about rules.
  
 
 

    If You Take a Mouse to School (If You Give...) by Laura Numeroff    
$10.39   Used & New from: $4.44  
      Great cause and effect book!
 

    Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes    
$11.55   Used & New from: $3.95  
      Wemberly is worried about her first day!
 

    Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes    
$6.99   Used & New from: $2.92  
      Poor Crysanthemum!  Everyone makes fun of her name except her teacher!