Hands-On Learning

Hands-on Learning Experiences to Consider for Practice at Home:

*Students will not be ready for some of these activities until later in the school year.

• Practice sight words as they are introduced. I included the full list of sight words from the "Sight Words" link on the "Resources For Home" page. I encourage you to go beyond my list of words if your child is ready to do so, especially towards the end of the school year.

• The monthly calendar activities (They will be posted on my website for each month .)

• Rhyming-If you have any books that use rhyming words (Dr. Seuss books are the best.), have your child identify the rhyming words heard while reading aloud to him/her. You can also, simply ask him/her to tell you a word that rhymes with different examples you say.

• Work on adding and subtracting within ten. (Your child can use his/her fingers, any type of manipulative available at home (uncooked pasta or beans, Legos, cereal, etc.), the number line, or whichever way works best for he/she.) If you have flashcards, you can use those to practice adding and subtracting fluently w/in 5.

• Work on having your child read and write CVC words independently. (Examples of CVC words are: jam, map, hat, bed, net, pen, top, log, sun, bug, wig, fin, etc.) They can be written on paper, a dry erase board, a chalkboard, or in shaving cream/sand. If you have enough water bottle caps saved, you can have your child build CVC words with those. Write each vowel in one color and the common consonants used in a different color on the tops of the caps.

• Reading to your child and asking him/her questions about the text/story.

• Writing in a journal, on dry erase board, or even just a piece of paper. You can just have your child write about something that happened that day or pick anything he/she wants to write about. Depending on your child's readiness, he/she does not have to limit writing to 1 simple sentence. I often push my stronger writers to elaborate on their writing, especially this time during the school year. (Ideas are included in my "Writing" link on my "Resources For Home" page.)