Rhyming words

• Exercise, Rhyme, and Freeze Dance

• Give your child 2 words and ask them if they rhyme.  For example: (hat/sat) Do the words rhyme?   (sit/ jump) Do these words rhyme?

• Read any Dr. Seuss book and have your child listen for the rhyming words.

• Read a list of three words. Have your child identify the one word that does not rhyme

  • Example: run/fun/stop

• Say a word, have your child repeat the word, and take turns naming words that rhyme.

  • Example list: cat, bug, big, dog, day, pin, pan, red, go, seat, dish

Read and Write CVC Words

• Sound boxes help children learn to hear individual sounds in words. By using sound boxes it helps children connect sounds with letters and write them.

  • Here is a video explaining sound boxes.

• Use chalk and draw sound boxes. Call out a CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) word and have your child write a sound in each box. 

  • Example: hot, sit, get, cap, run

• Lay out three hula hoops and have your child practice CVC words by stepping into each hoop, saying each sound they hear in a given word.

• Play CVC Word games on this website.

• Have your child watch this video and practice blending sounds.

Reading Comprehension

• Read or listen to a story and ask your child 1-2 questions about the story.

• Listen to a story on Storyline Online.

Letter Formation

• Use the letter formation guide to practice forming upper and lower case letters. 

• Use a pencil, a golf pencil, or a crayon to form uppercase and lowercase letters.  A golf pencil is sometimes easier for smaller hands.

Practice writing first and last name

• Have your child practice writing a capital first letter and all other letters lowercase for their first and last name, or with correct capitalization rules.

Pencil Grip

• Use this video to help your child learn the correct pencil grip.

• If your child is struggling with their pencil grip, try using small or broken crayons, golf pencils, or small pieces of chalk. 

• Using tools such a tweezers and clothes pins to pick up small items and move them will help build hand strength, which will help your child's pencil grip.

• Stages of pencil grips with ages

Read or Listen to a Story

• Draw a picture about the story

• Label a picture that relates to the story

• Write 1-2 sentences about a story

Write and Recognize Numbers to 20

• Writing Numbers 0-10 Chant (video)

• Writing Teen Numbers Chant (video)

• Recognize numbers with subitizing cards and write the number you see. (Subitizing means the ability to look at a small set of objects and instantly know how many there are without counting them.)

• Trace numbers 0-20 with expo marker.  Place around the house and find a given number.

Rote Count from 0-100

• Use a 100s chart and point and count each number.

• Orally count from 0-100 (video). Use the 100's chart above.  Students tend to get stuck on numbers ending in 9.

• Counting from any given number (video). Give your child a starting number and give them a handful of objects (Legos, Cheerio's, goldfish, etc.).  Tell them to one-to-one count from the given number until their objects are gone.

One-to-One Counting Objects from 0 to 20

• Count objects around the house  touching and moving each object while counting out loud (example: coins, cereal, toys, etc.)

• Use snacks or small objects to fill in a double ten frame.  Tell a parent how you know what the number represents using your ten frame. For example: I know this is 14 because 10 and 4 is 14.

• When counting, recognize that the last number said is the total amount.  For example, if the child counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, they are able to pause and tell you there are 5 objects because 5 was the last number they said aloud.   If they recount they did not hold on the counted number in their head.  Try this with smaller numbers then move to larger numbers.