READING PROGRAM IN CLASS: "WONDERS"
We use Wonders, a comprehensive program teaching print awareness, letter recognition, phonics, phonemic awareness, beginning/middle/ending sounds, sight words, and other tools to help your child get meaning from print. If your children are already reading, that’s great! I will work with them to use their skill in interesting applications. I need every parent’s help at home to make sure their child can instantly recognize and name every alphabet letter, upper and lower case, in random order, and numerals 0-9 as soon as possible. This helps them get the most benefit from our continuing exposure to meaningful print. Instantly knowing letters gives your child a place in the brain to store and connect letter shapes, sounds, and names. This connection helps your child become a competent reader.
READING PROGRAM AT HOME: "BOOK BAGS"
I am so excited about a home reading and writing program that I started in 2001. Children love being read to as they sit close and snuggle with a parent. I will be sending book bags containing 4 books and a journal home weekly on Wednesdays starting in September. Enjoy the books with your child---these are for you to read out to your child, even if your child could read the books by themselves. Talk about the stories. In the journal, go past the written pages to the next blank one, and help your child finish one journal page answering the question in the prompt (the tiny print explanation on the left top of the page). Depending on your child's needs, you may have to write part of the journal entry yourself at first, or write it on another page and have your child copy it. It should reflect your child's thinking and ideas about the prompt on the top left hand of the journal page. This program will give you and your child a chance to share, discuss and expand the ideas of a hundred children’s books over the year; what a wealth of literary experience and opportunity to spend a cozy time together! Return the book bag with the four books and the journal on Monday, and I’ll send a new book bag with your child on Wednesday. If you aren’t quite done with that week’s book bag, or if you and your child did not get the journal page done, please just send it back on time anyway---it needs to be passed on to another child. At the end of the year, I will give you back all your journal entry pages; during the year, just keep them right in the journal for shared reading in class. I read out all the journal pages to the class, they love hearing each other's entries! Treat the book bag as one entity (journal, all 4 books together in the bag) and keep it away from babies and pets!
SCHOLASTIC READING CLUBS
About every month I send home flyers from Scholastic Reading Club. You can purchase books by ordering and paying for them online, or make a note of titles that appeal to your child, and get them at your library. Our code is GQBL8. The PTA sponsors two book fairs a year during SEP conferences.