Welcome back from Fall Break and mahalo for picking up your keiki’s Fall Packet. You may have noticed that we started Letter of The Week activities this week. Wednesdays will change from “What’s Good Wednesday” to “Write It Wednesday” and our Wednesday activity going forward will be to focus on one letter and its sound. I have to confess that I’ve never explicitly taught the alphabet for reading/writing before; letter of the week activities for us in the past have been more exploration than instruction. However, many conversations during parent conferences revolved around keiki learning the alphabet and you know what? Many seem ready and interested so we figured, why not? For our youngest keiki who aren’t quite ready yet, this year will be good exposure for them and may help them grasp it better next year.
Our alphabet/phonics/reading curriculum is based on Learning Dynamics’ Four Weeks To Read system (maybe some of you are already familiar with it) and the repetitive nature of the scripts and songs are designed to give keiki maximum exposure to the letter sound (while also connecting it to its written format) in less than 15 minutes a day. We can only fit the letter lesson in once a week so we are asking YOU to supplement your keiki’s learning by reviewing the lesson TWICE more through our Virtual Classroom link before the following Wednesday. Wednesday’s Seesaw activity will be letter/sound activities that you can work on and return to over the course of the week.
Also, in the Fall packet there is an Alphabet Collage book and three envelopes with letters written on them. The letters correspond to the collage materials in the envelope that go with each letter. Please do this activity with your keiki any time after the Letter of the Week is introduced. Ask keiki to find the pictures in the envelope that start with “mmmm” (or whatever the letter sound is that week) and have keiki cut them apart (with supervision). Have keiki follow the direction of the arrows and trace over the dotted lines of the letter of the week with the glue or glue stick then place the collage pictures on top. Leave the book open to dry and snap a picture to send us in Seesaw (add to journal). Be sure to return all materials to the pahu pono kula or packet bag to keep it all together.
So on Wednesdays, here’s what the Letter of the Week lessons will look like in class:
- The Alphabet Song
- Lesson, Story, Letter Song
- Letter Sound Activity
- Model Letter Formation
- Keiki writing in the Letter of the Week Journal (pōkiʻi use markers, kuaʻana use pencil) while listening to the letter song again. When the journal page is pau, snap a picture to send us in Seesaw (add to journal).
- Final Check
To supplement at home, here’s what else you can do:
- Revisit the letter lesson on the Papa Honu Virtual Classroom TWICE more (at least).
- Complete Seesaw letter activities that will be assigned each Wednesday.
- Alphabet Collage activity
- READ BOOKS with your keiki!
Okay? Okay. Make your learning time together fun and relaxed, but be in charge. Say, “It’s time for Letter of the Week now.” Do not say, “Do you want to do your Letter of the Week now?” Be consistent yet responsive. If keiki is not having a good day, cut the lesson short (maybe skip the letter formation part at the end). Stay positive, be motivating…best part of all this is the time you get to spend together.
One more thing…in the Fall packet, there was a ziploc bag of cardstock paper cut into strips with a number on the bottom and held together with a paper clip. Those are four separate number strip puzzles and feel free to play with those whenever.
Don’t forget to reply to Kumu Kimi’s email about whether or not you choose to commit to our hybrid learning model. Mahalo nui for your kākoʻo (support), we could NOT do this without you.
