Early Learning Preschool
Family Newsletter 9
7 way to boost your child's literacy skills without a book in sight!
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of early literacy? For most people, it’s books. But storybook reading is not the only way to help your chid learn reading skills.
Surprisingly, one of the best ways to teach literacy is also the simplest: talking! Children need to say or hear about 21,000 words each day to develop their vocabulary, and a good vocabulary increases kids’ chances of completing both high school and college.
Play with hi & bye.
Teach your child different ways to say hello and good-bye — in English and other languages. (Here are some examples: good morning, buenos dias, allo, konnichiwa, zao, aloha, good-bye, ciao, see you later, buh-bye, adios, later alligator, hasta lluego, bai bai la). Practice different greetings every day. Even the physical act of waving helps children learn these expressive statements at an early age. Not comfortable speaking other languages? Try stringing words together to make longer and longer sentences: Good morning. Good morning, Monica. Good morning, Monica, with the big pretty eyes. Good morning, Monica, sitting on the blue blanket.
Play storyteller and listener.
Use stories to introduce new words your child might not encounter in everyday conversations, such as the names of planets, flowers, or animals. If your child is a little older, you can switch off who is telling the story. Be sure to add questions while telling a story (e.g. What do you think the boy should do?). This gives your little one a chance to be creative and practice both speaking and comprehension skills. Plus, the bonding time helps children’s brains make important connections between emotions and words.
Hit pause regularly.
You’re probably already watching TV and movies (Frozen, again?). If so, make it a habit to hit pause to share your reactions. Was that surprising? Funny? When a program or movie is over, talk about what happened in the story and how it ended. For example, How else could the movie have ended? For preschooler-appropriate TV, Sprout and PBS Kids are great channels.
Do chores and errands together.
Tackle grocery shopping and laundry as a team. While creating your grocery list, ask your child what to add. At the store, ask questions like Where do you think we’ll find the milk? In the produce aisle, let your child touch the rough outer layer of a pineapple and compare it to the smooth skin of an apple. Ask questions that get your little one using descriptive words, like How do these feel different?When you’re doing laundry, name different items of clothing (like socks, shorts, skirt) and talk about separating the clothes into groups, such as by color. As you sort, ask your child questions like, Which pile does this shirt go into? Why?
Sing!
Listen to music and sing along. Whether it’s the ABCs and nursery rhymes or T-Swift, listening to — and singing along to — songs helps your child develop an ear for different words and sounds. Singing, chanting, and rhyming help kids learn new words, practice telling the difference between sounds, and even boost thinking skills. When it comes time to learn how to read, all of thee skills will help. Try age-appropriate rhyming games and songs you may remember from childhood, such as “This little piggy,” “Itsy bitsy spider, “I’m a little teapot,” “The wheels on the bus,” and “Pat-a-cake.”
Play make-believe.
The more your child uses his imagination, the better. Games such as follow the leader, dress up, and make-believe (with dolls or household items) help your child set goals, stay on task, and avoid distraction. Model pretending by saying things like, Let’s pretend we’re on a pirate ship or Now you be the mommy. As your child grows older, continue to add more complex and exciting twists. For example, What might be Goldilocks’ next adventure?
Ask your child open-ended questions.
Parents often try to make things easy for children by asking simple questions that only require a yes or no answer. Did you have fun at the park? Yes! Can you eat your broccoli, please? No. But yes or no questions fail to promote language development. Flip the switch on your conversations by asking questions that require your child to use more and more words, starting with nouns, then adjectives and nouns, and then full sentences. For example, The legos go in here, what is this? At first, try to get your child to give the basic answer, shoe box, then see if your child can build on that over time. For example, blue shoe box, or, even better, answering with a full sentence: The legos go in the blue shoe box.
Pumpkin Sensory Play
Pumpkin Volcano
Try this super fun and simple experiment with a few ingredients from your kitchen!
Pumpkin Activity Squish Bag
Pumpkin Stamping
Simply cut the top of the pumpkin and let your child paint and stamp the pumpkin on white paper!
Picture Day Reminder!
Tuition
Costume Party!
Our first seasonal party is our Costume Party on Tuesday, October 31. If your child is dressing up, he/she should wear the costume to school for the entire class period. Costumes should be comfortable and allow your child to sit and move easily; costumes may not be too scary and or include any type of weapon, masks, or facepaint.
Parents are invited to come and watch a costume parade! Any adult attending, MUST bring a photo ID and stop by Marie’s (our school secretary) desk to receive a visitor’s badge.
Session 1/Extended Day: Parade will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.. If you plan on joining us, please arrive, park, receive a badge and be seated in the gym between 9:45-9:55.
Session 2: Parade will begin promptly at 1:25. If you plan on joining us, please arrive, park, receive a badge and be seated in the gym between 1:10-1:20.
Students will be dismissed to parents immediately following the parade so cars can exit the parking lot before buses and other traffic arrives to take home students. Students taking the bus home will depart at the regularly scheduled time.
Classroom activities vary based on the needs of the students. Teachers will be in touch about the specific activities planned for their classrooms.
Next Week
Dentist Visit
Tuesday October 17
Picture Day
Wednesday October 18
Thursday October 19
Evening School Board Meeting
Friday October 20
Early Release Day
TUITION DUE
Looking Ahead:
Tuesday October 31st Costume Party and Parade
Tuesday November 7th Election Day No School
We would LOVE to hear from you!
Email: msurso@scsmustangs.org
Website: www.strongnet.org
Location: 19543 Lunn Road, Strongsville, OH, United States
Phone: 4405727046
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrongsvilleEarlyLearningPreschool/
Twitter: @MrsSurso