Parents of students for the 25-26 school year will receive information via email on a  social skills to work on each week.   New information will be added here each week in the summer.

Kindergarten Skill for the week of June 23. 

Listening to stories for at least 15 minutes:

Your child should be able to listen to an adult read to them for at least 15 minutes.  They should sit beside the reading adult where they can see the pictures.  They can help turn the pages and make comments, but should be able to stay in one spot for the duration of the story.  It is a great idea to discuss the story as you go, but make sure that the child does not interrupt you as you read the text.  If this is difficult for them, you may need to teach them what interrupting means and why they can’t always do it.  This will help your child develop listening skills that are needed to be successful to learn new skills.  You can also show them the text you are reading by saying, “I start here and when I finish the next line, this is where I go.”  Also talk about the title and the author.  When you are finished, have them talk about their favorite parts or retell some of the story.  If you ask questions, make them very open ended, such as, “Have you ever felt like the boy in the story?”  or “Has anything like this ever happened to you?”  “What would you change about the book?”

If your child can’t sit for 15 minutes, don’t worry.  Start with a reasonable time for them and work up to it.  If your child is already doing this, work towards 30 minutes.  

Week of July 7

Listen to others talk

There are several different areas I would like you to work on:

1. Listening to adults talk to a group 

2. Listening to adults give individual directions

3. Listening to other children

4. How to politely interrupt adult conversations

Skills to develop for large group listening

Go with your child to a place where they will be expected to listen such as story hour, church, Sunday School, or an entertainment event.  Are they able to sit relatively still?  Observe how long they can do this.  Do they look at the person talking?  Do they refrain from talking to you when someone is presenting?  Do they refrain from raising hands to ask questions if the presenter has not asked for that?  If your child has trouble with any of these, then you can instruct them about how to listen to a presenter.

Skills to Develop when listening to individual directions. 

There are many skills that a child can develop to listen to you and others in authority when they are given directions.  However, the way adults give directions can either be a help or a hindrance to your child’s ability to respond.  Watch this very short video for some help:

Dr. Becky Bailey Answers, "How Can I Get My Child To Listen To Me?"  

When your child successfully listens to your requests and follows them, be sure to point out what they did correctly by saying things like, “I noticed that you were looking at me when I talked to you.  You stopped what you were doing and came to the table.  You followed my direction the first time.  Thank you.”  

Listening to other children

Observe your child interacting with other children.  Do they look at the child they are talking to?  Do they stop their talking when the other child talks?  Do they ask or answer questions with the other child?  Do they refrain from behavior such as covering their ears or pretending not to listen?  Are they able to compliment another child?  The more conversations they have with you to practice these things, the better they will do with children.  

Politely Interrupt Adult Conversation

Teach your child that they need to wait to speak when you are talking to another adult or child.  Teach them to approach you and wait quietly for you to acknowledge them.  You do not need to respond to them immediately.  You may also want to teach them to say, “Excuse me” and then wait.  This is a good time to talk about when you should be interrupted and when you should not.  If there is an emergency, the child should interrupt you, otherwise they need to learn to wait.  

Kindergarten Skill for the Week of July 14

School Tools:  Scissors  -  Glue  -  Crayons  -  Markers  -  Pencils

Kids get very excited about getting their new school supplies!  So do teachers!  Here are a few general concepts to talk about concerning our supplies

1.  They are tools - What does the word tool mean?  It is something you use to help you do work.  That means it is not a toy and it has a special purpose.

2. We are responsible for taking care of our possessions.  Respect for possessions is a VERY important part of learning the whole idea of showing respect for the Lord and other people.  The way a child treats his possessions is often the way he treats others.  Make sure your child understands that all we have is a gift from God.  We need to use things carefully and the way they are designed to be used.

Here are some activities to do:

Scissors - Put your thumb up and then grab your scissors.  Have them cut on lines you have drawn on a blank piece of paper - some straight and some curvy.  In kindergarten, we only use scissors on paper.  Scissors always point straight ahead.  Turn the paper as you cut.

Gluestick - Set the cap down so it won’t roll.  Push the glue stick up only a little bit. (This is the biggest mistake kids make.) Put glue around all the edges and make an X throught the middle.  After glueing, move the glue back down into the holder and firmly put the top back on.

Crayons - Hold them with a pencil grip (tripod grasp) near the tip.  The heel of your child’s hand should move across the paper.  Work on moving just the fingers and wrist as you color, not the whole arm.  Color a small section at a time.  Try not to break crayons by using them gently.

Markers-  The same things apply to markers as crayons.  Put the cap on the bottom of the marker and put the cap back on as soon as you finish using it.  Listen for a click to make sure the cap is on tightly.

Pencil - If your child has trouble using a pencil (incorrect grasp, pushes too hard, doesn’t push hard enough, etc) spend more time having them write with crayons and markers.  Children need to learn to keep pencil in good shape (no chewing or breaking eraser or tip on purpose)

Encourage your child to draw with their crayons, markers, and pencil.  Drawing is more motivating than writing letters.  It is something you can do together.  They can draw shapes and cut them out and practice gluing.