Reinforcing Concepts at Home
These are a few suggestions to help reinforce concepts learned in the classroom at home.
Reading
We cannot stress the importance of reading to your child. Just reading a book every night together is doing so much.
1) Ask your child questions about the story he/she heard or is reading.
2) Have your child count the words in a sentence in the story or count the sentences on a certain page.
3) Find passwords throughout the story and help your child use the pictures on the page to find other words.
4) Have your child find items in his/her bedroom that begin with a certain sound and letter of the alphabet.
5) Use play-doh to make letters of the alphabet.
6) Use foam letters of the alphabet in the bathtub and spell passwords.
7) Have your child count the syllables in words and once you see they have grasped the concept challenge them with larger words.
8) If you read a rhyming story, have your child tell the rhyming words. See if you can think of more rhyming words together, even if they are not real words.
Handwriting
With handwriting homework that comes home, please reinforce to your child the importance of him/her taking his/her time. Encourage him/her and praise him/her for their hard work.
1) Have your child circle or highlight the letter assigned under each picture in its name.
2) Help your child practice writing letters and numbers using fingerpaints, shaving cream, whipped cream, or sand.
3) Play teacher and have your child teach you the formation of the letters/numbers.
Make it fun!
Math
Math can be found everywhere! Help reinforce math concepts with your child anywhere you are.
1) Have your child count cars while driving. (How many red cars can you count?)
2) See if your child can identify numbers on road and street signs.
3) Your child can help you with the laundry by counting the whites or darks.
4) Have your child help you cook and measure.
5) Have your child sort silverware from the dishwasher when its clean into the appropriate home.
6) Have your child help you sort recycling items.
7) Your child can also help put books from tallest to smallest on a book shelf.
8) Make shish kabobs with your child and they can make a pattern with the foods chosen.
Writing
1) Help your child make greeting cards, thank you notes, get-well cards.
2) Make and mail a picture letter to a family member or friend and add a few descriptive words.
3) Make lists together, to-do lists, grocery lists, etc.
Sight-Words
1) Set your screensaver on your computer each week to our new password.
2) Have your child count how many times in a story he/she can find a certain word.
3) See how many sentences you can come up with using the word.
4) Stamp the passwords using letter stamps.
5) Play hangman while waiting in a restaurant for your meals on the placemat.
Fine Motor Skills
Here are some activities to help reinforce your child's fine motor skills:
1) Stringing beads.
2) Picking up small items such as paperclips and counting them.
3) Coloring.
4) Play-Doh.
5) Typing on the computer.
6) Tearing paper (if you need mail or paper ripped up, ask your child to help you).
7) Do bath paints in the tub.
8) Fill squirt bottles up with water and different colored food coloring and have your child spray the snow.
9) Peeling stickers.
Social Skills
1) Arrange playdates.
2) Read stories that propose a variety of social situations and discuss the situations with your child.
3) Team activities or extra-curricular classes are also a great way to build social skills.
Technology
Here are some websites to help with reinforcement: