January 16, 2020

Literacy Parent Meeting

Thank you so much for joining us for our monthly parent meeting! This month we explored different activities and strategies you can use at home to teach letter names and sounds, writing skills, and hand strength. Here is a break down of what you and your child were learning together in our classroom:

What is Literacy?

Literacy is a lot of things! In preschool we focus on:

• Speaking
• Writing/drawing
• Letter/Sound Recognition
• Beginning Reading Skills

Today we explored:

• Letter/Sound Recognition
• Beginning Reading Skills
• Writing/drawing

What is Letter Sound Recognition?

Letter recognition is the skill of seeing a letter and knowing it’s name.

Ex. Seeing the letter “A” and knowing it is an “A”

Sound Recognition is the skill of knowing the sound a letter makes.

Ex. A says “Ah”

How many letters should my child know by the end of preschool?

Research suggests that we should set a benchmark of children naming 18 upper case with letter sounds and 15 lowercase letters by the end of Preschool. This provides a strong foundation for knowledge growth in Kindergarten.

Beginning Reading Skills

All children can read no matter how young they are! Preschool children can read a story by…

• Talking about the pictures
• Retelling a familiar story (ex. The three bears)
• Finding familiar letters/words

The most important thing you can do to help your child grow their reading skills is to read together every night!

Here are some ideas of things to talk about while you’re reading:

• Concepts of Print (Cover, Title, Author, Pointing to the Words)
• Talking about the Parts of Story (Characters, Setting, Plot)
• New words
• Finding Letters
• Point out Rhymes
• “What do you  think might happen next?”
• “Tell me what you remember about the story?”

Beginning Writing Skills

Children learn to write by having access to (and using) many different types of writing materials such as:

• pencils
• crayons
• markers
• paint

You are most likely familiar with pencils, markers, and crayons, but water color painting also helps children develop writing skills. Children strengthen their finger muscles while holding the brush, and the fluid motion of applying paint on the paper mimics the motion of making lines and curves in letters.

Did you know that playdoh, hot wheels cars, and Legos also help children develop writing skills?! Using small toys like cars to “drive” on letter roads helps children who like to move focus on the lines and curves in letters, as well as recognizing letter names. Using a sensory material like playdoh promotes finger/grip strength. Children squeeze and push to form shapes in the dough. These motions exercise the same muscles children use to hold a pencil and write.

Odds and Ends

DNR Outdoor Adventure Center Field Trip

Permission slips went home last Thursday for our next field trip to the DNR. Please return these permission slips to school no later than Tuesday, January 21st so we can get an accurate count for the bus. I can take two parent chaperones with me for this trip, if you are interested please let me know by the end of the day today, January 16th. I will be putting all interested parents’ names in a hat and choosing during the school day in front of the children. To be a chaperone you must have an ichat clearance on file with the office.

You can let me know you are interested in chaperoning by messaging me on the Remind101 app, or through email at stortij@dearbornschools.org.

Drop Off Time

Children should be hanging up jackets, backpacks, etc by themselves as well as turning in folders and library books independently. This is a skill that will be necessary for them in Kindergarten next year. Starting Tuesday, January 21st no more parents in the coat hooks or at the tables! Sign in, hug and kiss, bye Mom and Dad! 

Upcoming Dates

• No School- Monday, January 20th (MLK day)
• Half Day- Tuesday, January 21st
• Field Trip to DNR – Thursday, January 23rd (I can take two parent chaperones)
• Field Trip to Michigan Science Center-Thursday, February 13th (I can take one parent chaperone)
• No School – February 17-21st (Mid-Winter break)
• Parent Meeting – February 27th 8:45am

Have a great weekend!

~Mrs. Stortini and Ms. Thabet