READING
Letter sounds we have already learned: a, b, c, d, e, f, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, w, x, z, ar, th, oo, sh, ch, wh
Sound Characters and Actions:
*Always do the letter sounds with the actions!
Annie Actress- Cross your forearms in the form of an addition sign
Baby Barnaby- Bow at waist
Crazy Camel- Make your hand into the shape of the letter C and then open and close the fingers as if crunching cookies
Daisy Dragon- Put arms above your head and wave them back and forth as if dancing
Edgar Elf- Flex your arm muscles
Farley Fox- Extend left arm and make circle motions with the right hand as if reeling in a fish
Gilda Goose- Hold your arms out like wings and pretend to glide
Hippy Hippo- Put fingers up to your mouth in the shape of a harmonica and make the H sound
Ichabod Ichthyosaurus- Scratch your shoulder as if you have an itch
Jenny Jaguar- Pretend to juggle jelly jars
Kimmy Kangaroo- Blow a kiss
Lizzy Lamb and Lonnie Lion- Lay your head on your hands and pretend to sleep
Mimi Mermaid- Move a magic mop back and forth
Nellie Newt- Put your fingers near your mouth and wiggle them as if you are nibbling nuts
Ollie Ostrich- Point your finger towards your wide-open mouth
Polly Panda- Grasp a pretend brush and move your hand up and down as if painting
Quenten Quail- Pretend to throw a football like a quarterback
Rosie Raccoon- Pretend you are on the back of a rhino and rock back and forth while holding the reins
Sadie Seal- Move your hand as if it is starting at the top of a wave and surfing downwards
Timmy Tiger- Tickle your tummy
Uncle Upton- Point up
Vinnie Vulture- Pretend to pull vulture wings over your head and hide behind your arms
Winkie Walrus- Pretend to wash your "whiskers" with your hands
FeliX FoX and MaX the OX- Put your hands on your shoulders and then drop your arms down to your sides as if you are relaXing
Yakety Yak- Pretend to yank a yo-yo quickly from the floor to your chest
Zackary and Zena Zebra- Pretend to zip up a zipper
Blends:
TH= Thick Thorny Thing- Tip your head back and bring your thumb up to your mouth as if you are drinking water from a THimble
SH= Sheriff Shadrack- Move your pointer finger down your cheek as if SHaving
CH= Chauncey Chipmunk- Put left hand out flat and use right hand to pretend to CHop CHocolate
AR= Arnie Aardvark- Raise left forearm up and sideways. Grab left arm with right hand and pretend to hang from a bAR
Home Activities:
Tic-Tac-Toe
Make a Tic-Tac-Toe grid and fill the spaces with letters. On each person's turn, s/he must identify the letter before an X or an O can be placed in that square. *Variations: The letter's sound must be made in order to claim that square. Write sight words in the squares and the word must be identified before it can be claimed.
ABC Follow the Leader
Choose a leader. Have everyone else stand behind that person. The leader starts walking around the room with the others following.
As the leader walks, s/he does actions. The whole line should do those actions AND sing the ABC song while following the leader.
Hangman
Draw a hangman's scaffold on paper or chalkboard. Pick a word and write lines on the paper to represent the number of letters in the chosen word. Child guesses a letter that might be in the word. If the letter is in the word, write it on the correct line(s). If the letter is not in the word, write it in an "out" box on the paper and add a body part to the hangman's scaffold. Child tries to guess all the letters in the word before a complete body is made on the scaffold. *By the middle of the year we write the vowels across the top of the paper because the children have been taught that all words need at least one vowel.
Pudding / Shaving Cream / Salt Letters
Put some pudding, shaving cream, or salt in a container. Show or say a letter to your child and have him/her use a pointer finger to trace that letter into the pudding or salt. *Variations: Make a letter sound and have your child write the letter. Say a word and have your child spell it in the pudding, shaving cream, or salt.