Here are some neat websites that I ran across that will be helpful in teaching your daughter to learn the letters of the keyboard and a couple of new reading links. I have shared the keyboarding sites with some of the girls and I explained to them that they need to use a special hand "form or shape" just like we hold our fingers in a special way when we "grip" our pencils (keeping an open web).
Pop the balloon
Ghost typing website
Keyboarding Ninja
Cupstacking
Dance Mat Typing
Typing Pal
Reading Bear
Storybird
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Erin Go Bragh! "Ireland forever" and Happy St. Patrick's Day:)
"Every year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick’s Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green." (from the History Channel website)
As I sit by a cozy fire with my family tonight cooking a traditional meal of corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage I am remembering my Irish heritage. My husband and I have dinner plans tomorrow night so I am making this meal tonight:) I am including a couple of links to St. Patrick's day activities and a history of the holiday for your enjoyment. Don't forget to wear green tomorrow to school!
Fun Fact Video (History)
History of St. Patrick's Day and activities
St. Patrick's Day Activities
Friday, March 14, 2014
Happy "Pi" Day!
It is 3/14/14 the day that we celebrate the number "pi" (3.14). Here are a few links explaining the significance of the number pi and some fun activities to do.
History of Pi
How to celebrate pi day
Scholastic Pi activities
Math Goodies pi activities
History of Pi
How to celebrate pi day
Scholastic Pi activities
Math Goodies pi activities
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Tips for helping your daughter become a better reader and speller...
For those of us able to attend Dr. Rene Lee's parent talk last week (2/27/14) we walked away with some great information that we can use with our daughters' (or in my case, students!). We have been lucky to have Dr. Lee as a resource this year at St. Mary's and I am going to share some of her "tips" from her presentation. Please let me know if you have any questions and need any additional information about this or any other topic.
Note: Don't forget to click on the "tabs" at the top of my blog homepage for links to reading and math practice websites:)
Reading Tips from Dr. Lee:
Note: Don't forget to click on the "tabs" at the top of my blog homepage for links to reading and math practice websites:)
Reading Tips from Dr. Lee:
- Read together with your child modeling how you sound out words and pointing out patterns that occur across words. Words can often be "chunked" into syllables or vowel letters. Don't always just automatically "tell" them the correct word.
- As you take turns reading out loud with your child, encourage your child to pretend they are reading to a younger sibling or friend. This will help develop expression and fluency. (I have written several posts about this idea (scroll back among "older posts"for more information) and also have found that my students enjoy using "recording" apps to practice reading the same short passage several times and listening to it for specific concepts, like expression. Two great apps are iTalk and One Minute Reader.)
- Encourage your child to read for accuracy, not speed.
- Help your child select books that match their reading ability. (At SMS we use the AR reading range to help guide them in their book selection. If you need help finding appropriate books please contact me or your child's homeroom teacher.)
- Help your child learn new words by discussing them and having them use them in sentences. Exposing your child to "rich" language throughout the day and in different settings helps improve vocabulary, comprehension, and "knowledge of the world around her."
- Point out words that are related by meaning often by using the same base or root word. For example, "Magician and magic have similar meanings. I see "magic" in "magician" even though I don't hear it in there."
- Help your child make connections between words by associating it with a words she already knows how to spell. Ex. "broach" rhymes with "coach"...
- As your child writes a word, encourage them to say the individual sounds (not the letter names) as she writes the corresponding letter. We say sounds and we write letters.
- Look over weekly spelling test lists for the sound pattern being taught. Please don't hesitate to contact your daughter's teacher or myself for help.
- Spelling is important (even in a world of "spellcheck")!
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