New Links:

If you are looking for some kindergarten-level, age-appropriate books for your child to read at home, then please see the links below.

http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do

This website is simply amazing!  You can find books based on level, genre, author, subject and more!  The BookAlike feature is the best.  Type in a book that your child enjoys reading and a list of other similar books will be provided.  You can then save books that you choose to a list and then print it out.  You can order the books directly online or take the list to your local library or bookstore.  The List Exchange feature is a way to find other teachers’ book lists that they use in their classroom.  Every time I visit this site, I find something new!

http://home.comcast.net/~ngiansante/kindergarten.html

This site includes a list of some books for Kindergarten students.  It was put together by a fellow Kindergarten teacher.

Great resources:

http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.php?gclid=CIm-4_fpiJ8CFY915QodwUp7lA 

This site has different ways to explore letters, sounds, numbers, shapes, etc.

http://www.primarygames.com/reading.htm

This site has games for a variety of topics and subject areas.  You can send postcards, solve puzzles, and print out all sorts of items.

http://www.teachers.cr.k12.de.us/~galgano/klinkslit.htm

The site above has a comprehensive list of links relating to kindergarten literacy skills.

 http://www.abcya.com/kindergarten_computers.htm

The above link has some really great games for all sorts of skills.  Be sure to check out the Alphabet Match, Upper and Lowercase Letter Match, and the Connect to Dots…just to name a few.

http://www.zoodles.com/

The above site offers a free web browser to use with children that prevents ads from popping up and helps with safe computer use.  It makes using learning games on the computer fun, easy, and safe!

http://www.sightwordswithsamson.com/sw/sight_words.asp

The above link explores a variety of sight words with sounds, spelling, and sentence use.

http://www.mes-english.com/phonics.php

The above site provides free printable phonics materials.

http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooey.html

The above link is a funny one about phonics topics, such as letter-sound correspondence, spelling, antonyms, etc.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/flash/phonics/Index.htm

The above link leads you to a game for matching letters, sounds, and pictures with Clifford the Big Red Dog.

http://www.hwtears.com

The above website is the homepage for the Handwriting Without Tears program we use at St. Matthew’s.  You will find some helpful information about the philosophy of the program, as well as materials used.

http://www.child-1st.com

The flashcards at this site are wonderful!  They provide great picture cues along with sight words for early readers.

http://www.tomie.com/main.html

Tomie dePaolo is a very talented author and illustrator.  Which of his classic books have you read? This is his official website.

Edbydesign.com

The above site has many different features for children and parents alike. I particularly like the Kids Art section. It has some great info on famous artists. The Eye Bogglers are tricky!

Reading is Fundamental: Reading Planet

The above site has some really neat features that encourage writing and reading. Go to the Game Station and check out Poetry Splatter, where you can make your own funny poems online. The Super Sorter will help you find books to read based on your answers to some silly questions. When you visit the Activity Station, you could learn how to make your own fortune cookie or illustrate a story. Even the online coloring book is fun!

Some new links:

Visit http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/ for an enormous amount of different games to play, including math games, word fun, arcade classics, and pre-school activities.

Visit http://www.sabine.k12.la.us/zes/kindergarden%20math%20games/default.htm for a variety of kindergarten math games addressing many different skills.

Visit http://franklincountyschools.k12tn.net/CMKwebsites.html for a plethora of kindergarten websites addressing a variety of skills, including:  sorting, number recognition, counting, rhyming, and more!

Visit http://www.mathsisfun.com/worksheets/kindergarten.php for some kindergarten math worksheets if you looking for some extra reinforcement materials.

Visit http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/matching/matching_addition.htm for a challenging addition matching game.  How well do you know your numbers?

Visit http://www.prongo.com/match/ to play a fun memory matching game.  You can pick a theme and use your thinking skills to win!

Below is a list of some activities you can do at home to improve your child’s small motor skills:

Fine motor skills require movement of small muscles, usually in co-ordination with the eyes, but also include movements of the tongue and lips, wriggling of the toes and foot-eye co-ordination.

1. Manipulation activities:

1.1 Manipulating playdough: rolling it into small balls, long rolls etc.

1.2 Tearing paper into fine strips – use them for collage or crumple them into balls.

1.3 Screwing up whole pieces of newspaper in one hand at a time to develop strength.

1.4 Threading beads or macaroni onto string.

1.5 Lacing activities.

1.6 Cutting out with scissors, using the correct grip. (Ex. Cut coupons)

1.7 Manipulating clothes pegs to pick up small objects.

1.8 Performing fingerplays.

2. Sensory activities

2.1 Finger painting or manipulating other liquids with the fingers and hands e.g. slushy mud, tomato sauce (ketchup) on a plate

2.2 Picking up small objects with the fingers, like pegboard pegs, rice grains etc.

3. Activities to develop stability

3.1 Wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, hanging on playground apparatus to develop strength of the upper body.

3.2 Working on a vertical surface such as a blackboard or easel which requires the wrist to be bent back is good for developing fine motor skills.

An upright surface encourages a stable wrist position to develop good thumb movements, strengthen fine motor muscles and encourages the use of both the arm and shoulder muscles.

If you don’t have a blackboard or easel, tape some newsprint to the wall and have your child draw and scribble on that.

Let her draw large circles, using each hand respectively. Let her draw lines right across the sheet from top to bottom, diagonally and horizontally in both directions, using each hand respectively.

Math Resources

There are so many great Math resources on the Web!

Visit http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/ if you want to explore the Everyday Mathematics program at a more in-depth level.  This website coordinates with our math program at St. Matthew’s.  You can find grade specific information pertaining to Kindergarten, as well as, a Frequently Asked Questions section that provides some great insight.

Visit http://www.teachers.cr.k12.de.us/~galgano/klinksmath.htm for different math games and review at the Kindergarten level.

Visit http://www.kidport.com/Gradek/math/mathIndex.htm for some more fun Kindergarten math games.

Visit http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/math.html if you want to explore loads of different math topics in fun ways!

Visit http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/mathquiz/mathionaire.htm to play a math game based on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire!

Visit http://www.schooltimegames.com/Mathematics.html for a wide variety of math games, ranging from tangrams to math facts to logic!

Visit http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html if you want to play some awesome games that review all sorts of math concepts. This place is loads of fun! The Pumpkin Multiples, Math Millionaire, and Balloon Invaders are just a few of the great games to explore!

Visit http://www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/Mathmagician/cathymath.html if you want to be a Math Magician and review math facts!

Visit http://mathforum.org/students/elem/probs.html if you enjoy solving math problems and puzzles. Work those brain cells!

Visit http://www.mathfactcafe.com/default.aspx to make various math worksheets based on grade level and skill. You can also print out flashcards and play a few games here.

Visit http://www.coolmath-games.com/ to play some fun math games and solve some tricky math puzzles for all ages.

Language Arts Resources:

http://www.katedicamillo.com/

Read the above site to find out about the wonderful author who wrote Mrs. Buck’s favorite book, The Tale of Despereaux.  Also, Kate DiCamillo has a new book coming out!  How exciting!

http://www.andrewclements.com/

Visit the above site to find out about the author of Frindle and many other great books!  His latest one, Lost and Found, is in bookstores now.

http://www.savethemanatee.org

If you want to learn about manatees and even adopt one, go to the above site. We even listened to a baby manatee calling its mother! It is so cool!

http://www.gamequarium.com/

The above site has some really great games for all kinds of topics, including: math, grammar, phonics, Black History, and Charlotte’s Web!

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/quizzes/

The above link is a great one for different grammar skills review by grade level.

http://www.mape.org.uk/startower/menu.html

The above link has some fun games to review a variety of skills, including vocabulary (Word Drop), punctuation (Star Punc), and order (Orderly Owl) just to name a few. You will also find some games related to math and social studies here.

http://www.readingrockets.org

http://www.kidsreads.com

This site has some great info on cool new books, trivia, and author birthdays!

http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-read.html

http://www.funbrain.com

http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/preview/harcourt_language/grammar_park.html

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

http://www.roalddahlfans.com/index.php

http://www.roalddahl.com

Dolch Word List - Kindergarten

From 50-75% of all words used in school books, library books, newspapers, and magazines are in the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 words (preschool thru Grade 3).

The Dolch word list is made up of “service words” (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures.

You can put these words on flashcards.
Here are a few ideas for how to use the flashcards:

Ideas for Using the Flashcards:The flashcards can simply be held up, giving the child the opportunity to read each one.  But if you’re looking for a more engaging activity, try combining the Dolch flashcards with the noun picture flashcards for a variety of activities (I’ve listed some suggestions here from simplest to hardest).

• ACTIVITY ONE:

     

  • have an adult arrange the flashcards to form a sentence.
  • Read the sentence with/to the child
  • Remove one of the dolch words from the sentence and put it back in the pile (you may want to make the pile smaller in the beginning to make the activity easier).
  • Give the pile to the child and have them find the correct card to place back in the sentence.
  • Re-read the sentence.
• ACTIVITY TWO:

          

  • have an adult arrange the flashcards to form a sentence, leaving one card out.
  • read the incomplete sentence with/to the child.
  • present between 2 and 5 cards to the child (one of them should make the sentence complete)
  • have the child chose which is the correct card
  • re-read the sentence with the card chosen.  Talk about whether it makes sense or not.
• ACTIVITY THREE:
  • provide the child with all or part of the pile of flashcards
  • allow them to create their own sentences using the cards
  • read the sentences with them and talk about what they’ve created.
  • OPTIONAL:  Have them glue their completed sentence to the bottom of a piece of construction paper and draw a picture of their sentence on the top.  (author/illustrator of their own story).

This can all be found on http://www.kidzone.ws/dolch/kindergarten.htm

Dolch Kindergarten Sight Words

all	am	are	at
ate	be	black	brown
but	came	did	do
eat	four	get	good
have	he	into	like
must	new	no	now
on	our	out	please
pretty	ran	ride	saw
say	she	so	soon
that	there	they	this
too	under	want	was
well	went	what	white
who	will	with	yes

Dolch Pre-School Sight Words

a	and	away	big	blue
can	come	down	find	for
funny	go	help	here	I
in	is	it	jump	little
look	make	me	my	not
one	play	red	run	said
see	the	three	to	two
up	we	where	yellow	you

For more information about the Dolch Sight Words please visit the below links:

http://www.dolchsightwords.org/

http://lickitysplitlearning.com/Dolch-Sight-Word-Flash-Cards.html