I occasionally assign homework to reinforce what your child is learning at school. I understand that families are busy, so please take up to a week to send the completed work back to school. Your comments about how your child did with the work would be helpful (i.e. completed independently; needed help; had difficulty maintaining focus; proud of finished work). If you would like more or less homework, please let me know.
A few 'homework' ideas for families:
1) Enjoy reading every day with your child! Explore the words and pictures together. Ask your child to find a particular letter, such as the first letter of their name, in the books you read. Talk about who is in the story, what happens, where it takes place, etc.. Help your child to make connections to their own life by making links between what happens in the stories you read and your own family experiences.
2) Look for letters and numbers everywhere you go! Make a game out of searching for particular letters on road signs and license plates, on food packages in your kitchen, in stores, etc.. Focus on the letters in your child's name first, then the other letters of the alphabet and numerals.
3) Have fun making silly sounds. Imitate animals, create sound effects and exaggerate the movements of your mouth. Speech development is encouraged by exercising the muscles of the mouth and face.
4) When your child uses incorrect language, correct them by repeating what he/she says using the proper form.
Example: Child says, "John won't share her car with me."
Parent says, "John won't share HIS car with you? Let's think about
how we can solve this problem."
5) Choose games and toys that require:
- counting and/or identifying numbers (i.e. dice, cards, board games)
- matching (i.e. memory games)
- using the small muscles in the hand (i.e. games with small pieces, Play-Doh, blocks that snap together)
- imagination (i.e. dolls, kitchen set, figurines)
- cooperation and turn-taking
6) Be an active family to develop healthy habits for life.
7) Count, count, count! You can keep your child busy counting macaroni or Cheerios while you prepare dinner. Count tires on vehicles, teddy bears on stores shelves, buttons on your television, people in your family, etc..
8) Make Catholic teachings a part of your family life. Celebrate together! Prepare for holidays using an Advent wreath or a reflection book designed for Lent. Become part of your local parish. Encourage your child to solve problems or conflicts by thinking about what God would want them to do.
9) Sing together. Some of the songs we sing at school are The Wheels On The Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Alphabet Song, I'm A Little Teapot, Hey Diddle Diddle, Hickory Dickory Dock, 5 Green And Speckled Frogs, Row Row Row Your Boat, BINGO, and If You're Happy And You Know It.
10) See your everyday activities as opportunities for learning. Look for items of a particular colour in your fridge or living room. Point out the signs of changing seasons as you walk through your neighbourhood. Discuss water safety in the bathtub or on the way to camp. Check the weather together before choosing clothes for the day. Children with developmental disabilities need you to help them discover the world around them!
11) So far, we have learned to draw straight and curved lines, shapes (triangle, circle, square), faces, and the letters F, E, L, H, T and I. You can have fun creating these together at home with chalk, paint, markers, crayons, pencils, etc.. Try to think of new ways to make letters and shapes, such as making marks in dirt with a stick or wetting your finger in a puddle and drawing on rocks.