There are simple things that parents can do to easily prepare their child for kindergarten success. Summer is a wonderful time to help young children get ready for September, by doing a fun academic activity each week.
In the next few weeks I’ll share with you kindergarten Language Arts or math activities that align with Common Core State Standards.
A reading/foundational skill for kindergarten is to recognize and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Here is a simple activity to help your child learn this skill.
You will need:
26 index cards
A black or brown crayon (I use a crayon, rather than a marker, so the ink does not bleed through the other side)
A pair of scissors
Directions:
On the left side of the card print one capital letter. On the right side of the card print the same letter in lowecase, leaving a 1- to 2-inch open space in the middle.
When the printing is complete, you will need the scissors. Working with one card at a time, make a different and distinctive zigzagged, curved, or shaped cut in the middle of each card, between the uppercase and lowercase letters. You are essentially creating an individual puzzle piece for each partner letter.
To play the game:
Help your child match the upper and lowercase letter puzzle pieces together. When together, line them up from A-a to Z-z and practice saying the letters. To increase the difficulty, randomly pick letter pairs out of sequence to identify. Let him play often until he can easily match and recognize both upper and lowercase letters.
These cards can be stored in a ziplock bag to be used again and again. They can also be taken to the beach, park, or pool for a quiet activity after swimming or playing.
Connie McCarthy is passionate about her work as a teacher of young children. She has devoted her entire career to making sure that her students do well at school, right from the start. Connie has an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. She has been teaching first grade in East Providence, R.I. for 23 years, where she received the distinction of “Highly Qualified Teacher” by the Rhode Island State Board of Regents. Connie also taught nursery school for four years, and published numerous articles on early education in East Bay Newspapers in Bristol, R.I. She’s also been published in PTO Today Magazine. She lives with her husband, Brian, and has a daughter and a son, both young adults. Connie enjoys reading, writing about elementary education, and taking long walks with friends. During summer vacations, she likes to travel with her husband. She also loves reading readers’ comments on her weekly blog posts.