- Riverview Elementary
- Kindergarten Handbook
- Supporting Your Child's Learning
Supporting Your Child's Learning
-
Speaking
Your child learns to:
- Increase vocabulary.
- Gain confidence in self-expression.
- Express ideas in sentences.
- Relate events in proper sequence.
- Listen for a purpose (specific things, directions or information).
You can help by:
- Encouraging your child to take part in family conversations.
- Giving your child experiences to talk about.
- Encouraging your child to talk plainly and to use correct language. Avoid using baby talk.
- Listening when your child talks to you.
- Teaching them about following directions.
Reading
Your child learns to:
- Develop interest in books and a desire to read.
- Interpret pictures.
- Discover likenesses or differences in form, size, number and ideas.
- Identify beginning sound in words.
- Hear like sounds in rhyming words.
- Follow sequence of ideas.
- Sound out words.
- Read when ready.
You can help by:
- Reading to your child. Talk about what you’ve read together.
- Setting an example by reading yourself.
- Giving your child books of his/her own.
- Visiting the public library.
- Talking with your child about pictures.
- Encouraging your child to notice signs.
Writing
Your child learns to:
- Be aware of handwriting and its purposes.
- Use art materials and puzzles to develop small muscle coordination.
- Write his own name in manuscript form.
- Write letters and numbers in manuscript form.
- Draw pictures to tell stories and begin to create labels to go with them.
You can help by:
- Providing opportunities to cut and color large pictures.
- Helping your child hold the crayon correctly and easily in first drawing experiences.
- Helping your child recognize his own name in print.
- Helping your child write letters in correct manuscript form (refer to the manuscript alphabet).
- Encouraging your child to draw pictures and tell oral stories about their drawings.
Art
Your child learns to:
- Use a variety of art materials and tools.
- Control small muscles used in writing.
- Develop and express his/her own ideas.
You can help by:
- Being enthusiastic – talk about your child’s artwork and display it.
- Providing materials and tools for art activities in the home.
- Developing an appreciation for all of the beauty around us.
Playing
Your child learns to:
- Play appropriately with others.
- Develop large muscle coordination.
- Release emotions through play.
You can help by:
- Encouraging your child to share toys.
- Playing family games at home.
- Praising your child when he is thoughtful of others.
-
Living
Your child learns to:
- Walk safely, cross at crosswalks and obey traffic lights.
- Dress appropriately for the weather.
- Play safely.
- Practice safety on the school bus.
You can help by:
- Encouraging your child to practice good health and safety habits.
- Providing your child a healthy diet.
- Encouraging outdoor activities.
- Helping your child learn the safest way to and from school.
- Teaching your child his name, address and telephone number.
- Seeing that your child receives eleven to twelve hours of sleep each night.
Exploring
Your child learns to:
- Explore and understand scientific concepts.
- Understand needs of living things.
- Care for pets.
- Share scientific discoveries with others.
You can help by:
- Taking your child on trips.
- Exploring the wonders of nature with your child.
- Planning simple experiments at home.
- Encouraging your child to share interesting items at school.
- Answering questions or suggesting ways for your child to find answers.
Counting and math
Your child learns to:
- Enjoy numbers.
- Understand number meaning.
- Appreciate the use of arithmetic in daily living.
- Use arithmetic vocabulary (shapes, large, small, many, few).
- Be aware of early concepts in addition and subtraction.
- Recognize shapes
You can help by:
- Playing simple mathematical games.
- Using the calendar to mark special days.
- Helping your child use money.
- Counting things during play.
- Pointing out shapes, numbers, and math in daily life around you. Make it fun!
Understanding
Your child learns to:
- Respect the community.
- Develop an understanding of neighborhood workers.
- Be responsible for self and others.
- Work, share and play safely.
- Participate as a group member.
- Treat others with respect.
You can help by:
- Letting your child share in family responsibilities.
- Providing opportunities to meet and play with other children.
- Treating every encounter as a learning opportunity.