Help Your Child Become a Reader
1. Read aloud to your child as often as possible. Children of all ages love to hear books read aloud.  Keep reading to your child even after he/she learns to read.
2. Talk about what you read.  Language and thinking skills develop when children talk.
3. Have your child read aloud to you.  Keep it fun and enjoyable!
4. Get a library card for your child.  Make visiting the library a special weekly event.
5. Encourage your child to read to other family members.
6. Let your child see you reading a variety of printed material.  Parents are important role models.
7. Subscribing to an age appropriate magazine will encourage reading at home. The library has issues to take out and read to help you decide which is best for your child.
8. Monitor television viewing. Set time limits and watch appropriate programs together.
9. Provide opportunities to write. Allow your child to make grocery lists, send thank you notes, write cards to friends and relatives, and even keep a journal.
10. Become involved with St. Anne's School. If you show interest, your child will know that the home-school connection is important.
11. Check the St. Anne's homepage and classroom web page. Read what is going on in the classroom and the school, and stay connected. Use the information to begin conversations with your child.
12. Listen to your child. Your attention will build your child's self-esteem while he/she develops oral language confidence.
13. Above all, take time with your child and appreciate your child as a unique individual!!

Manage Time
1. Set a consistent daily routine
2. Help your child to be organized and set priorities 
3. Designate a time and place for homework - Some children want to do their homework immediately after school, and some prefer to have a snack before starting homework. Don't wait till just before bedtime for homework.  Designate a work space for homework that is distraction-free. Have supplies, such as pencils, glue, scissors, and crayons, neatly available.

Home-School Connection
1. Reinforce skills and concepts learned in school with practical application at home. 
2. Encourage proper pencil grip, letter formation, and number formation - begin "at the top" when forming a letter or number. Use a highlighter, if necessary, to help your child with formation
3. When outside, observe and explore with your child. For example, a close look at a flower, tree trunk, snowflake, ladybug, etc. is exciting through the eyes of a young child!
4. Board games, card games, and arts & crafts are great activities to reinforce reading, math, and creativity!

Celebrate Successes
1. Acknowledge your child's efforts - Kindergarten is an important year, and your child will become more independent as the year progresses.
2. Review your child's classwork with them. Taking time to talk to them about their day and what they learned will show your child the importance of their education.
3. Encourage learning - If your child's shows an interest in topics discussed in school, follow-through at home with further exploration of the topic.

Strengthening Kindergarten Skills
Writing
a.  Fine motor skills
1.  play with clay
2.  help cook (make meatballs, bread chicken cutlets, peel carrots)
3.  play cards
4.  play with chalk
5.  paint brush and water on the patio
6.  small Legos
7.  tweezers/eye dropper
8.  laundry or other chores
9.  scissors
b.  Expression of ideas
1.  ask open ended questions when reading a book
2.  create little books based on own experiences 
3.  draw a picture to express an idea from a book
4.  involve your child, within their understanding, in family decisions – 
      vacation, house improvement, movie choice, etc.
5.  magazine subscription
6.  observe and explore nature 
c.  Sticker and Sketch Book
1.  create a picture using stickers
2.  add details
3.  write a caption
d.  Show through Example
1.  verbalize steps to create an image
2.  write a sentence to be used as a model
3.  highlight for special awareness 
e.  Sight/Memory Words
1.  words on index cards and review
2.  review Superkids booklets
3.   write on a whiteboard; guide to show that changing or adding a letter can create a new word
4.   play hangman using words from the Superkids booklets

Reading
a.   read 20 minutes a day – your child reads their reading level book to you; 
      you read to your child their reading level book or a higher reading level 
       book
b.   read fiction and non-fiction books
c.   expand vocabulary – stop to discuss a word and its meaning
d.   investigate further – topics of interest
e.   have a map available to reference when places are mentioned in a book

Consistency/Completing Tasks
a    accountability
b.   complete task before playing/computer/television/video games
c.   quality of work is to the best ability

Following directions
a.   give two or three directions to follow (get the napkins, fold them, put 
them on the table; get your coat, put it on, and zip it up)
b.   give directions with other things going on
c.   locating a page in a book – required to do in first grade

Organizing Work Space
a.   simulate classroom setting
b.   maintain supplies in a supply box; art supplies
c.   retrieve and store supplies
 
Expanding Schema – games that require choices to be made, moving forward with those choices, and thinking how to change strategy if needed
a.   board games – Monopoly, Clue, Trouble, Sorry, Parcheesi
b.   computer games – e.g., Oregon Trail, Roller Coaster Tycoon
c.   card games – search online (card games for children)
d.   checkers
e.   chess
f.   Connect Four

Practical Application
a.   counting, counting on, sorting, patterning (laundry, dinner, parties)
b.   shopping - supermarket flyer – find items needed and make a list
c.   write greeting cards for family members
d.   cooking – measuring spoons, measuring cups, recipes, oven temperature
e.   weather – temperature, seasons, precipitation
f.    home design – ruler, tape measure, color choices, floor plan
g.   travel – maps, map scale, direction (N,S,E,W)
h.   sports – follow a sport or team (stats, standings, positions, location)