Phonics and Phonemic Activities We introduce letter and sounds in the first month or so of kindergarten and quickly transition to blending sounds to make CVC words /c/ /a/ /t/ = cat), We focus a lot on rhyming and word families (-at, -am, -an). We also will learn Digraphs (th, sh, ch, wh, ph, ck), Blends (bl, br, sk, st), CVCe (silent e) words, Bossy r (ar, or, er/ir/ur), and Vowel teams (ee, ea, ai, oa). Other skills taught include syllables, segmenting words into their individual sounds (big= /b/ /i/ /g/), and nonsense words (e.g. mip).
Popcorn Words There are the 100 “sight words” that we will teach throughout the year. We call them popcorn words because they “pop” up everywhere! (books, signs, cereal boxes, TV, etc.).
Reading We will read fiction and non-fiction books in shared reading and work on comprehension skills such as main idea, retell, character and setting.. Children will individually read predictable and decodable books on their level. We will also learn and recite lots of rhymes and songs to better develop the understanding of the rhythm and rhyme of language. You will create a “Book Box” with your child to keep books I send home in. It is important to practice the books again and again!
Name Activities In order to introduce and reinforce letter recognition, we will manipulate letters to build the names of each child in our room. This is a great way to discuss letters and their sounds as well as writing.
Writing We will be working on “writing” everyday through the developmental stages of writing (scribble writing, random letters, using beginning sounds, phonetic spelling). We will start our sentences with capital letters, use spaces between words, and punctuation at the end. We will correctly spell the popcorn words and write the “sounds” we hear in all other words.. Our “Morning message” will model these letters, words, sentences and punctuation.
Math We use a lot of hands on math stations to practice math skills in kindergarten. Several math topics are covered during “Calendar Time.” This is a way to cover several topics at once including problem solving skills. The children will be adding and subtracting by the end of the year!
Science/Social Studies Science and Social Studies will be Integrated into our day. We will cover areas such as our senses, life cycles, historical holidays, and more!