Dear Parents,

This year, we will be using the iDEAL and Little Learners Love Literacy programs to strengthen your child’s reading and writing skills. Both programs include Heggerty, which helps improve phonological awareness—a key part of early literacy development.

Additionally, handwriting will remain a focus through the Casey the Caterpillar Letter Formation program, which we will continue using this year to support correct letter formation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out!

A Chitter Chatter Chant uses our Speed Sounds and Chants cards to provide mnemonic support for learning phoneme-grapheme correspondences taught in the Little Learners Love Literacy® program. In Stages 1–4 our mnemonics are characters from Milo's Birthday Surprise, from Stage Plus 4 they star Pip, Tim and friends. Chitter Chatter Chants should always be followed by Speed Sounds, as we want children to look at the letter and say the sound automatically.

Watch Fiona as she shows us how to do Speed Sounds and Chitter Chatter Chants for Stages 1-7:

Stage 1-4

Stage 4,5,6

Stage 7.1

Casey the Caterpillar Handwriting Program

In Year 3, students continue to use the Casey the Caterpillar program to enhance their letter . The focus will be on improving letter size, spacing, and fluency. This program supports the development of strong handwriting skills by teaching correct starting points and proper pencil grip.

You can help your child by ensuring they hold their pencil correctly, start each letter at the right point, and practice regularly to develop neat, consistent handwriting.