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First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2006
[ link to pdf ]
School Preparedness Tips for Parents - 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/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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