Also, every child is different. Archer has been learning to read since he was an infant. That definitely makes our choices look different than other families. He absolutely loves all things letters. Therefore, we have a lot of letter toys and we plan to do a lot of letter related activities. He also benefits from being the younger sibling, so we have lots of materials left over from big brother. When I typed this all out, it seemed like a lot. However, we won't do very much every day or for very long at a time. The vast majority of his time is still free play. Most things on this list will be rotated, so not done weekly.
I made these letter materials that go through the alphabet in animals. They provide a theme and structure to the weeks, as well as help with letter and case recognition, phonics introduction, matching, reading, fine motor, etc. We may or may not do every activity every letter. Some things I'm sure he will really like and want to do every time, others will probably only be done every few letters.
Letter Supplements
- Build a Letter Templates
- Cut and Paste Phonics Hunt (only because he loves phonics, not a typical 2 year old thing)
- Letter Mazes - I was going to have him try them with Do a Dot Markers
- Sign Language Cards I found these from And Next Comes L.
- Alphabet pattern blocks templates from Confessions of a Homeschooler
- Kumon Write and Wipe Flashcards Uppercase
- Kumon Write and Wipe Flashcards Lowercase
- Dot Letters from Confessions of a Homeschooler
- Beginner Spelling Cards
- Sand Paper Letters (I made my own)
A lot of the random letter objects will go in a sensory bin.
- Letter Construction Set
- Alphabet Soup Cans - I wasn't going to buy these, then found them super cheap used. Of course he loves them and wants to carry around all the pieces.
- Various letter puzzles
- Letter Dough Stamps (similar to these)
- See and Stamp Uppercase and Lowercase
- Letter Magnets
- Cookie cutters
- Peg Letters
- Alphabet Train
- Lacing Letters
- Magnetic Letter Kit
- Non-Fiction Alphabet Readers
- Meet the Phonics Letter Sounds Readers
Brain Games Workbook
UPDATE: Since I purchased and updated, it seems like Brain Games has switched to "Preschool Prep." I think they're pretty similar.
Another thing for us to go through together while Xander does his schoolwork. I see it mostly as a way to practice asking and answering questions, and using sentences.
Art, Coloring, Tracing and Workbooks
Both my kids have been resistant to coloring and tracing, so I will present these as an option. I do not plan on requiring them. He's obsessed with the "Meet the" series, so I'm hoping those will draw his interest. For the workbooks, I will only pages I think he can do, one at a time, in a dry erase sleeve.
- Crayons, stamps, colored pencils, markers, paint, etc.
- Pre-school training scissors
- Meet the Phonics Letter Sounds Coloring Book (made into dry erase book)
- Meet the Sight Words Coloring Book (also made into dry erase book)
- Crayola Dry Erase Activity Tablet Construction Mazes and More
- Tracing Trails Pre-Writing Skills Workbook
Tech Time
- Leapfrog Talking Word Factory
- Your Baby Can Discover DVDs
- Letter Factory - I use this sparingly because he absolutely loves it. It is the magic bullet that solves all problems.
- Meet the Phonics Blends or Digraphs videos
- Numberblocks on Netflix
- Osmo, specifically Words and Costumes. Part way through the year I think he will be ready for and really enjoy Sticks and Rings
- Math 3-5 App from One Billion (Not an aff link. It has gone up in price since I first bought it, but both kids have liked it).
- Splash Math Kindergarten - with Mommy's help
- Duck Duck Moose Games - We have a few. Some he does independently, some with my help.
- Dragonbox Numbers - with Mommy's help
- Preschool Prep Apps - These are too easy for him, he can read all his letters, digraphs and sight words, but he loves them, so I haven't deleted them all
Like his brother, Archer LOVES books and reading. He spends as much time reading or playing with magnetic letters as he does any other type of play. He knows all of his sight words, and he LOVES them, so actually reads them in books. He still has trouble if a book has too small of text or too many lines of text on a page, it makes him lose his spot when he goes down to the next line. 2-3 lines seems to be the sweet spot. We've run into the problem of finding books that fit his reading level while simultaneously fitting his interests.
I tried hard to hold off on phonics (preferring to stick to the whole word approach), but he is obsessed with letters and their sounds. Obsessed like some kids are obsessed with trains, cars, animals, etc. where they want ALL things related to that theme. So we talk about letter sounds, A LOT. I also let him watch phonics movies. Luckily, it has not seemed to impede his ability to learn new words with the whole word method.
- Reading lots of books together or on his own. This is pretty much accomplished by having lots of books around.
- Little Reader Lessons and Vocabulary Cards - Little Reader lessons are the fastest way for him to learn new words. However, they take me a while to make each lesson. I'm hoping that once I get in a good groove with big brother's homeschool work, I can get back to making more lessons.
- Sets of Readers - These tend to have big, clear words, few lines and be easy for him to read. Or he just loves them
- Animal Antics
- Non-Fictions Sight Words - Levels C and Level D
- Meet the Phonics Blends & Digraphs
- Baby University Books (he LOVES these right now)
I'm sure there will be more that we do than what is listed here, mostly presented on his toy rotation shelves.
- Learning links and pattern cards (from Childcareland)
- 100 Number Board
- Inchimals
- Block Building Templates
- Craft Stick Pattern Cards
- Block Buddies
- Various manipulatives
No comments:
Post a Comment