Zoo Phonics

We use Zoo Phonics to teach the letter sounds quickly.  This method allows students to begin blending sounds to read words within the first month of school.  For at-home practice, you can write letters on paper or make letter flash cards and ask your child which animal represents each letter.  Be sure to have your child say the sound and make the motion for each letter. 

In class, we say the animals' names by repeating the first sound twice before each part of the name. This helps students understand the first sound in words quickly.  For example, we say /a/ /a/ Allie /a/ /a/ Alligator. 

Watch this video to see the animals and hear their sounds.  The motions are a VERY important part of this program.  We do the motions for Timmy Tiger and Vincent Vampire Bat differently than this teacher--ask your child to show you what we do.

Letter Names

Students who know the names of the letters are likely to be better readers than those who only know the sounds. Students in Level 0 need to know all of the capital and lower case letter names before moving to Level 1.    Continue practicing the letter sounds, but also practice the letter names every day.  Here is a video that can help.  You do not need a book.  No nececitas un libro.

Starfall.com teaches letter names, sounds, and early reading skills

Kindergarteners love to play games on the computer, and www.starfall.com is a fun site that they can access to play games while learning letter names, letter sounds, and reading skills, too.  You can access this site on your home computer, at the public library, or on a WiFi enabled iPad, iPod, or smart phone.  Here's a short video to tell you about starfall. 

Text Features

As students learn to read, it is important that they learn the vocabulary that helps readers talk about a book.  Students need to know what a title is and where to find it on a book--on the front cover and on the title page.  They also need to know what an author and an illustrator do.  We say, "the author writes the words," and "the illustrator draws the pictures." Last, it is important that students learn to fluently differentiate between letters, words, and sentences. Knowing this helps students know where to start reading on a page and where to stop--sentences start with capital letters and end with periods.  Here is a video to help you learn the vocabulary to teach your child as you read any book.  Your child can also watch the video for practice. 

Addition

Over the years, many parents have asked for ideas on how to teach simple addition. Here is a video from the Kahn Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/) where you can go to learn about any type of math--basic, algebra, geometry, calculus... you name it. No matter what grade your child is in, there is a video to help. For now, enjoy this video on addition.