Hello KA Families,
As we move into summer, I am sure the students will be so ready to be done with school/remote learning! This is natural, and they deserve a break for sure! However, after the first week or so of vacation, I would highly recommend doing some sort of learning activities to help prevent the “summer slide.” (This can happen any time, but especially since it has been a long time since we have been in the classroom.) Setting aside even just as little as 5-10 minutes a day can make a big difference!
What works best for your child? Do they love books? Learning games? Activities they can do with you or a sibling? Keep it short and fun, and let your child follow their interests. Reading with your child and to your child is truly the best thing you can do at this age. Look for sight words! Sound out new words! Practice comprehension strategies by recalling the events of the story!
There are a few of extra worksheets that we did not have a chance to finish from remote learning packet. If your child is willing to work on these here and there, it could help extend the learning over the summer. There is also a math packet (time and money) with first grade standard skills that would give them a boost for next year. Basic addition and subtraction problems are an easy thing to have students practice. Writing in any form can be a fun activities as well as handwriting and letter practice! Grocery lists, letters to family, thank you notes, labeling drawings, sentences and stories, there are many options!
Here are some other activities you might want to try over the summer with more free time. The school subscriptions (Raz-Kids, Mathletics, Scholastic) should be valid for at least the first month. The others are available at any time (ABCya, Junior Library Guild, Children’s Missalette, education.com)
Raz Kids Reading A-Z
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- Log on by going to www.kidsa-z.com
- Enter teacher username: smmcat
- Click on your name
- Click on the picture password (picture of apple)
Mathletics: Exciting news! We are going to have a new learning opportunity available for KA students! SMM uses a math program for 1st-4th graders, called “Mathletics.” Now that the kindergarten students have been working on addition and subtraction, they can try out this program as well! You will find the log-in and password in the packet when you pick on Friday. (There is also an option to scan the QR code with your device’s camera to log in.) We will use Mathletics as a practice/enrichment activity, so it will be optional.
Junior Library Guild: a great resource for ebooks you can read online with your children. Click on “elementary stream” for a great variety of picture books. No log-in necessary. https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/at-home
Math games and more: ABCya has a lot of great games, just make sure you stay on the “kindergarten” page. I especially like the Marble Math Addition, the Base Ten Bingo (using tens sticks and ones cubes.) There are games here for counting too! Explore and find one that you enjoy and that is a good challenge! Most of the games will increase the difficulty as you go. https://www.abcya.com/grades/k/numbers
Children’s Missalette (videos are free at this time). Short videos to help explain the mass readings. https://mycatholickids.com/childrens-missalette/
There are a lot of great extension activities that go with our Let’s Find Out magazines. You can access current and past editions: www.letsfindout.scholastic.com Click “I am a student” and the password is: smmkinder2020
Hands on activities: https://www.education.com/activity/kindergarten/science/
If you have questions now, or later in the summer, feel free to reach out any time! I pray that your family is safe and healthy, and able to enjoy some down time together over the summer.
Mrs. Katie White
Kindergarten Teacher
