Month of September 2008

Your child began phonics instruction today.  This week he/she will be learning the letter and sound of the letter Ll.  Please review your child’s papers each night when you look at his/her folder.  Your child will have some handwriting homework on Monday and Tuesday nights in phonics.  He/she should complete the homework and return it to school the following day.

Thank you for helping your child with his/her handwriting homework in phonics.  I am so proud of each child for taking their time and working so hard on the letters L l and O o.  Please continue to have your child practice these letters as they learn new letters.  Be sure to stress the correct letter formation when they write their letters.  New letters for the next two weeks will be the letters H h and T t.  Key words for all the letters studied are: lion-l; octopus-o; hat-h and tent-t.  New learning for the last two weeks include: the number of letters in the alphapet, the two kinds of letters that make up the alphabet (vowel and consonants); same/different words and sounds; rhyming words; definition of a sentence and counting the number of words in sentences, and compound words and knowing the two words which make up the compound word.  Children will begin using letter tiles on Monday  and Wednesday to help them practice manipulating the sounds of the letters learned.

Month of October 2008

Your child will be bringing home another word list on Monday, November 3, 2008.  Please have your child read these words often to you.  Your child will be bringing home their first little reader titled, “Hot, Hot, Hot”.  This little reader needs to be read several times a week.  Reading produces more fluent readers. 

Your child has now learned the following letters and letter sounds- Ll, Oo, Gg, Hh, Tt, Pp, Aa, and Nn.  Have your child give you words that begin with any of these letters.  Have your child give you words that rhyme with the following words:  log, got, top, tan, and nap.  Rhyming words have been on the last two word lists. 

Month of December 2008

Since my last post, children have learned the following letters and sounds: Mm, Ii, Ss, Ff, and Rr.  They have read two little readers and will begin working on their third reader: Frog Ran.  They have continued to work on rhyming words, consonant blends /sp/, /fl/, /gl/ /spl/, words beginning with a specific sound, compound words, and alphabet recognition.  They have learned two phonics rules: a vowel followed by a consonant is coded with a breve and says its short sound, and twin consonants in a word only say the first sound so you cross out the last consonant in the word.

Month of January 2009

This month has been plagued with cold weather, school delays and report card checking.  We have only studied the letters Kk and Bb.  We have also reviewed rhyming words, syllables, and blending and unblending sounds.    Hopefully, we can get back on schedule soon and get down to learning all we need to know before going to first grade. 

Month of February 2009

This month has seen its share of cold and snow.  Because we have missed so many days, we have not been able to cover as many letters of the alphabet as we normally do.  We have studied the letters Bb and Uu and will study the letter Zz the last week of February.  We continue to review the alphabet, work with beginning, middle and ending sounds, review syllables and spell words will our letter tiles.  I am amazed by the progress the children are making in sounding out words and using the skills they have learned to decode words.  As you can tell by the word list I send home on Monday’s, the children are reading five letter words.  Please remember to go over these words frequently with your child.