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First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 30, 2007
[ link
to pdf ]
New
Set of School Preparedness Tips for Parents
Tip
3 suggests fun activities parents can do with their children
to help prepare them for school
South Carolina First Steps releases weekly school readiness
tips for parents. This week’s tips inform parents on
activities parents can do throughout the summer to help prepare
their children for school:
School Preparedness
Tip #3: Hands-on FUN You Can Do All Summer
Teaching or reinforcing skills children need for kindergarten
can (and should!) be fun. Here are some learning activities
that both you and your child will enjoy!
Word Play: Have fun with the sounds in words.
Clap out the rhythm of your name and have your child do the
same. Then try other people’s names (Jon-a-thon, La-toy-a).
• Say words that start with the same
sound as your child's name: Sam, soap and sandwich.
• Say the word slowly so that you hear the first sound.
Have your child try to do the same.
• Find the rhyming words in Mother Goose or other
rhymes.
• Say two words and ask your child if the words begin
with the same sound. If your child can do this, then try
words that end with the same sound.
• Suggested books for this activity are “Sheep
on a Ship” by Nancy Shaw, “Hand Rhymes”
by Marc Brown, and any collection of Mother Goose rhymes
or children’s poetry.
You’ve Got Mail: Have your child draw
a picture and write (or scribble) a note to himself or herself.
Address the envelope and write the return address.
• Talk about why you write a return
address and why it is important to know your own address.
• Put a stamp on your letter and explain why.
• Take the letter to a mailbox or the Post Office
and ask: “How long do you think it will take for the
letter to come back to us?” See if you are right.
• To have writing materials ready to use, make a writing
box. Decorate a shoebox and put writing materials in it
such as: pencils, crayons, note pad or scrap paper, scissors,
glue stick, scraps of yarn or cloth, old greeting cards,
stickers. You can keep this in a special place in the house
for writing/drawing projects.
• Take the writing box with you when you travel (by
car, bus, subway, plane).
• Lift the flap on an envelope to make the shape of
a “house.” Write your address on it and have
your child decorate it. Put it on your refrigerator.
• Send a card or letter to a friend or relative.
• Have your child draw a picture of someone they love
and mail it. This is a good opportunity to talk about feelings:
loving someone, missing someone, being sad, being happy
or mad, etc.
• Suggested books include “Letter to Amy”
by Ezra Jack Keats, “Mailing May” by Michael
O. Tunnell, “Dear Mr. Blueberry” by Simon James,
“Loving” by Ann Morris.
Source: Countdown to Kindergarten, Boston.
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