"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
What an amazing year we have had together! Your little ones have grown so much in so many ways. I give thanks to God for the privilege to teach along side you. I pray that you all have a safe, relaxing, joy filled summer. I am going to miss your precious children more than you know! I love them with all of my heart!
**Please send your child to school on Thursday with an EMPTY backpack, a full water bottle, snack, and a lunch**
Attire: Students may wear spirit shirts and uniform bottoms or jeans. We have several outdoor activities planned (weather permitting) so shorts would be best.
Now that we are at the end of the school year, many parents have wondered what they can do to keep skills and knowledge up over the summer. Here are some optional suggestions for the summer months, but remember to have fun, enjoy your family time, and relax over the break!
**Please send your child to school on Thursday with an EMPTY backpack, a full water bottle, snack, and a lunch**
Attire: Students may wear spirit shirts and uniform bottoms or jeans. We have several outdoor activities planned (weather permitting) so shorts would be best.
Now that we are at the end of the school year, many parents have wondered what they can do to keep skills and knowledge up over the summer. Here are some optional suggestions for the summer months, but remember to have fun, enjoy your family time, and relax over the break!
- Read aloud daily. Choose a story that the whole family would like to listen to. It is great to read a few levels above your child's personal level so they are exposed to rich vocabulary. Let your child narrate the story or act it out using their stuffed animals to make sure they understood what they heard.
- Reading - READ, READ, READ...have your student read passages from the OPG book as well as books on their reading level. First grade will pick up where we left off in Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading next year. Review the lessons that we covered this year and have your child read on a regular basis. Here are some online books that your student can practice with over the summer. You can print them and have your student color them or they can read from the computer screen. This website https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/ has free e-books as well that have full color pictures. Work through the simple stories encouraging them to read with fluency instead of one-word-at-a-time and sounding out words in their head :)
- Spelling -Keep reviewing the phonogram cards AND key cards. They will forget them if they don't review them for 3 months! Make it fun by having them jump, squat or do a jumping jack for each sound. Dictate words, phrases and simple sentences that cover the spelling rules we have covered this year. Use dry erase boards, chalk on the sidewalk, handwriting paper, etc.
- Handwriting - Write more complex sentences on handwriting paper and have them copy it using proper spacing, punctuation, and letter formation. Have them copy scripture straight from the Bible if they are ready! Use the website, https://worksheetworks.com/english/writing/handwriting.html to make your own copywork. Use the setting for print handwriting practice, 1/2 inch tall lines, remove the descender line, and use double spacing.
- Math - Continue oral counting and reading and writing numbers to 100 with gentle correction on backwards numbers. Count large groups of items by making groups of 10. Work on place value - tens and ones (p.143). Tell number stories - "John has 7 cats and 3 birds. How many pets does John have?"/ "Sam has some puppies. His mom gave him 3 more. Now he has 11. How many puppies did Sam have to start with?" Encourage them to use their addition and subtraction skills, as well as the tools we have introduced (number bonds, number lines, ten frames). Have them count objects by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's. Practice ways to make 10. 1st grade will start the year with this. HERE is a link to some addition flashcards and HERE is a link to some subtraction flashcards (print them front to back). Play lots of card games and dice games to strengthen flexibility with numbers and to bond with your child!
- Review all of the geography songs that we have done this year, especially Continents and Oceans.
- Go outside and enjoy God's beautiful creation!
You have all been so amazing to work with! Thank you so much for all of your hard work and your support!
