Fun ways to do Homework:
Name Writing:
We need to practice writing our names using an uppercase letter at the
beginning and lowercase for all the rest. You can also practice writing last
names as well.
Journal Writing: Picture above the line and sentence below the line.
Thanks for all the wonderful help at home with journal writing. I have seen
some great stories. Please remember to encourage your child to sound out
words or at least label their picture with sounds.
Sorting
- Buttons, dried beans/noodles, keys, shells, beads, etc. are all great
items to have your child sort. Have your child place the items into various
groups/piles and name how the group was formed. For example, the groups can
be sorted by shape, color, size, thickness, types of objects (cars and not
cars), characteristics (animals that have wings and animals that do not have
wings).
Patterning
- Many of the same items that you collected to have your child sort make
great items to pattern. Have your child physically place various items into
a pattern and then name the pattern that was created. For example, red car,
blue car, red car.
- You create a pattern and have your child complete the pattern (repeating
at least two more times). Again, have your child name the pattern.
- Have your child look for patterns in the world around him/her. One example
is the stripes on a shirt.
- Every pattern can be named with letters. Red car, blue car, red car would
be an ABAB pattern. Blue car, blue car, red car would be an AABAAB pattern.
You begin with the first item and call it A. When the item changes, you call
the next item B. If two items are the same, they will have the same letter
name. Once this is introduced to your child, you can name a letter pattern
and your child should be able to reproduce the pattern with a given set of
objects.
Graphing
- When children first begin exploring graphing, it can be very basic. A mini
bag of M&Ms can be used to create a real life graph. Have your child sort
the M&Ms into piles by color. After the M&Ms are sorted, he/she can place
the M&Ms in columns or rows by color. For example, all of the red ones would
go in the same column or row. Graphing should be done in one of two ways
(left to right or top to bottom). Other items to use for creating a real
life graph could include different colored or shaped noodles, buttons (how
many holes, the color, or shape), crayons, the color eyes of each member in
your family, etc.
Numbers 0-20
- The children need to be able to identify the numbers 0-20 as well as
represent the number with objects. To incorporate both number recognition
and counting objects, fill a baggie full of small objects such as beans and
write the numbers 0-20 on individual index cards. Each number should have
its own card. For example, the number 7 would be written very large on its
own index card. Shuffle the index cards and have your child pull one card
from the pile. Using the beans (or whatever item you have collected), have
your child count out the appropriate number of items. For example, if your
child pulls out the number 13, he/she will count out 13 beans and place them
on the number card. Continue in the same manner until your child loses
interest. Please do not have your child do this for every number in the
stack. We want your child to enjoy learning and not become bored with the
activity.
- Another skill that your child should be able to do independently is count
a given set of objects to 20. To do this, take a random number of objects
from 1-20 and place them on the table. Have your child count the objects and
state how many are in the set.
- The index cards can also be used to practice placing the numbers in order
from 0-20. Have your child place the cards in a line on the floor starting
with the number 0 and ending with the number 20. By the end of the year,
your child should do this without using a number line or other source as a
reference.
Shapes
- Find shapes around your house or neighborhood. For example, count how many
times you find a circle or oval.
- Collect various objects from around the house and sort the objects into
piles by their basic shape.
- Practice recognizing squares that are turned on their sides. A square
turned on its side will look similar to a diamond. Also, practice
recognizing different kinds of triangle. The three types of triangles are
triangles with all sides being equal, triangles with two equal sides and one
side unequal, and triangles with all sides unequal.
