Author Links

This week, EK's class is beginning a study of authors. I have scoured the web to find a few appropriate links to enhance our at-home connections to what is happening in her classroom.

Dr. Seuss:
Seussville: An interactive playground with information about Dr. Seuss and his works

Eric Carle:
The Official Eric Carle website: Biography, book list, and art links
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: Virtual tour and exhibitions

Jan Brett:
Jan Brett's Homepage: Information and activities
Teacher resource file for Jan Brett: Resources, biography, lesson plans

Leo Lionni:
Leo Lionni: Author information and books

Artist Links

EK's class has been studying a variety of artists since the new year. I did a quick web search to locate a few resources so that I could share in her studies. Here is what I found:

• Paintings by Wassily Kandinsky
• Biographical information about Michelangelo
• Michelangelo on Wikipedia
  
• A collection of Joan Miro's work
• Art by Mary Cassatt
• Claude Monet on Wikipedia
• Art by Claude Monet
  

Math Skills Review

After assessing where the kids are currently, Mr. B suggests that we review the following math skills:

• Counting by 1s and 10s to 100
• Recognizing and writing numbers 1-30
• Describing the likeness and difference of two objects
• Creating sets, focusing on making one more and one less
• Creating math stories (for example, you have 5 pennies and give your brother 2, how many pennies do you have left?)
  

Easy Reader Books

A few tips for reading easy reader books at home with your child:

• As your child reads, ask questions about the text (have her make predictions, summarize what has happened, etc.)
• Encourage your child to read easy reader books to a sibling or stuffed animal
• Use index cards and have child copy one of the sentences from the reader onto the cards, one word at a time. Then shuffle the cards, and ask her to rebuild the sentence.

Suggestions for easy reader books to use at home:

• Animal Antics series: these books come in a set and include fun, interesting stories that provide an appropriate sequence of phonetic sounds and site work skills
• Brand New Readers sets: these books also come in a set (with several sets available) and features stories with simple sentences and nice illustrations
  

"Under the Bowl" Game

"Under the Bowl" is a great game you can play at home to help your child begin to grasp the concepts of addition and subtraction.

Here is how to play the game:
Choose counters (e.g., cereal, pennies, pasta, etc.). Show your child the total number of counters. Then, hide some of the counters under a bowl. Have your child "guess" how many are hidden based on the number that are showing. Gradually increase the number of counters you use.

Letter Formation

Emma Kate's class is working on forming letters the correct way using the Handwriting Without Tears program. Practice forming letters with your child. Use the Handwriting Without Tears letter formation chart as a guide: http://www.hwtears.com/parents/parentextras

A few letter formation ideas:

• Have child create labels for items found in the home
• Have child write a story with simple sentences, using correct letter formation and using capital letters appropriately
• Check to ensure child is writing left to right and top to bottom appropriately
  

Ten Frame Activity

In class, the kids are exploring the use of ten frames in math to count and compare numbers. The ten frame helps children to think of numbers in relation to ten, which can be a helpful way for kids to learn basic number facts and to develop addition and subtraction skills.

Check out this site from NCTM for a fun ten frame game: http://illuminations.nctm.org/tools/tool_detail.aspx?id=75