March 2020 – Journey into Early Childhood

Learning at Home: Hands-Ons Learning Letters of the Alphabet part II

sorting names learning at home journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Young children learn best through hands-on activities (not from worksheets.) Parents can continue to engage with their children practicing the letters of the alphabet using developmentally appropriate strategies.

Children love their names. Learning will stick with children when we can connect it to something in which they have an emotional connection.

Here is a document to send home with ideas of how to learn the letters of the alphabet by sorting the letters in the child’s name…

Add in some practicing of fine motor skills by providing the child a pair of tweezers to pick up the letters.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Sorting Names Home Learning Activity

Document for sorting names with sorting mats and headings for teachers and/or families that have access to a printer:

Sorting Names

Learning at Home: Hands-On Learning of Letters of Alphabet

learning at home sorting letters journeyintoearlychildhood.com

During this most unprecedented and challenging time in history, we all want our children to continue to learn and families want information on how to support their children.

However, I am dismayed by the number of worksheets that are being shared and ideas that involve lots of needed items such as pompons, playdough, rainbow mats, different colored Solo cups, etc. Don’t get me wrong- the ideas are very cute but they are also unrealistic for many of our families. Our families cannot travel to purchase these items- they should not be in stores and many cannot afford them or afford even the gas.

So here is an idea to share with parents for learning letters through sorting that uses only letters cut from cardboard food boxes or magazines. I have revised this from a document of ideas that I shared with teachers- I removed the colored background, etc. so that it is easier for you to print for parents if that is needed. It can be printed and sent along in food bags to families.

Please feel free to share: FREE DOWNLOAD

Sorting Letters of the Alphabet to send home to families

Here is the original that includes lots of sorting mats for teachers

sorting letters of the alphabet

Building Friendships through Interactive Read Aloud with Purposeful Talk

Aristotle once stated, “who would choose to live, even if possessed with all other things, without friends.”

Many of our students struggle with the basic components of building friendships such as asking to join in play, suggesting play “Let’s…”, sharing, taking turns, changing perspectives, cooperating, and using respectful language.

We, therefore, must directly teach friendship skills through intentional, deliberate discussions and opportunities throughout the day. These opportunities can be embedded into the activities and work that is already occurring in the classroom setting.

Intentionally Choosing Literature to Discuss Friendships during Interactive Read Aloud with Purposeful Talk:

Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Compelling Questions to Explore:

Do we always need to share to have friends?
Why does sharing help us have friends?
What are ways that we can share in the classroom? How does it make our friends feel when we share? How does it feel when we don’t share? (have students show the feelings on their bodies and discuss how our bodies feel physically when we are happy and when we are upset)

Set up intentional opportunities for students to share such as limited supplies in small group activities, math and literature centers and free choice play centers.

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel

Compelling Questions to Explore:

What are the qualities of a good friend?
What qualities of a good friend do you think we should demonstrate in our classroom? How can we use those qualities?

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah