Now that your child is in kindergarten, there are new ways you can help them learn. Try these activities, then visit your library to check out a book about it. Click here to print this list.
We are learning Language and Literacy
Do it!
Pick a letter of the alphabet and help your kindergartner write it on a piece of paper. Make an outline of the letter with glue and let it dry and harden. Have your child trace the letter with their finger first, then have them write the letter using a crayon. Draw pictures of words that begin with that letter of the alphabet. Kindergartners can further develop fine motor skills by practice writing in sand, tracing letters with a stencil, or using tracing plates. Introduce the sign language gesture for each letter and the braille symbol for each letter. Play I Spy games at home or around town to continue finding letters everywhere.
Read it!
A Mountain Alphabet by Margriet Ruurs. ABC Mystery by Doug Cushman.
We are learning Language and Literacy
Do it!
Play Simon Says with your kindergartner using directional words and a ball. Give directions such as, "Simon Says put the ball on your head," or "Simon Says put the ball behind your back." Teach your kindergartner to take turns by allowing them to give you the directions. Manipulate a ball on their body and review the directional words as you do. Continue to incorporate directional vocabulary words throughout your kindergartner's day. For example, the train track is next to the road. Demonstrate the directions for your child or use an app to manipulate objects. Allow your child to feel where the object has moved. Use descriptive vocabulary to describe how to move in a direction. You can say, "The ball is above your head, you have to stretch your arms up high to feel it."
Read it!
Rhinoceroses Tap: 15 Seriously Silly Songs by Sandra Boynton. Flamingos on the Roof by Calef Brown.
We are learning Language and Literacy
Do it!
Talk with your kindergartner about sleeping words. A nap is a short sleep. What other words describe what happens when we sleep? (Like snore, snooze, doze, etc.) Help your kindergartner find pictures of people sleeping in books and family photos. Demonstrate what each sleep word looks like or sounds like. Use the sign and braille word for each. Explain why their body needs to sleep, and that they grow and recuperate while they sleep.
Read it!
Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton. It's Time to Sleep, My Love by Eric Metaxas.
We are learning Mathematics Thinking and Expression
Do it!
Help your kindergartner draw or build a house using only the following shapes: square, rectangle, triangle and circle. Develop fine motor skills by practicing manipulating fabric pattern or wooden blocks to create a house with shapes. There are several apps that allow children to manipulate shapes with their fingertip or even eye movements where mobility is a concern. While your kindergartner is building the house, describe the characteristics of each shape. For example, "I see you used a rectangle for the door. The rectangle has four straight lines and is long and narrow." Continue adding to your child's vocabulary by including the sign or braille word for each of the shapes.
Read it!
Shape by Shape by Suse MacDonald. A Circle Here, A Square There by David Diehl.
