Week 5

News Flash!!

We are half-way through Term 2 and Monday the 1st June is a Public holiday! Enjoy the long weekend together and maybe explore something special about WA, which the children can incorporate into their news telling.

We have had such a great week exploring the initial phonic sound ‘kicking’ Kk. It was a week of kites, kicking kangaroos, King’s crown, Kids in the kitchen and more. Kk is a ‘tricky’ sound as it can be confused with Cc which has the same initial phonic sound. In Kindy, we use the words ‘curly’ and ‘kicking’ to help the children to distinguish between Cc and Kk.

Show & Tell has had an enthusiastic start with the children bringing in great items and learning from each other about our wonderful country. Fantastic speaking and listening skills are developing. We would like to see the children develop the confidence to speak independently without assistance and prompting. Sharing news is a fun way to build oral language, gain confidence and assist with initial phonic sounds with links to words and vocabulary. Please plan simple sentences about your child’s object/picture and practise news telling before their rostered day. Thank you.

   

Rhyme - Over the past few weeks the students have been exposed to rhyming. When two words sound the same at the end e.g.cat and hat end with at, they rhyme. Children may find rhyming difficult to grasp, so please explain it to them in their home language, if necessary. When students can hear the rhyming sounds in words, they demonstrate phonemic awareness, which is essential for early reading. To teach this skill, books, pictures and games can be used to demonstrate and reinforce rhyming techniques. Children also learn rhyming by listening to stories, poems and songs that are easy and fun to remember. Nonsense rhyming words are acceptable too!

Science - This week we experimented with launching different objects from a catapult! Students made predictions about which objects would fly higher through the air when launched from the catapult. Students quickly noticed that the lighter objects flew higher into the air, while the heavier objects flew much lower to the ground.

HASS - This week students have been learning about Australia! We have been looking at what Australia looks like on a map and where Wattle Grove is located within Australia. To reinforce the phonic sound Kk, we have also been learning about native Australian animals such as kangaroos, kookaburras and koalas. Students thoroughly enjoyed singing along to the Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree nursery rhyme. 

Alphabet and number flashcard sheets will be sent home next week for students to use at home to reinforce their learning. These will replace the ‘brain boxes’ that were used earlier this year. Please keep these flashcards in a safe place and use them as and when they are needed. It is important to remember that initial letter sounds are the focus and NOT letter names. Phonemic awareness is the foundation for early reading and in developing the skills for spelling and writing. If in doubt of the phonic sound, go to starfall.com.au 

Please follow the blog for the letters being taught each week.

Study ladder logins have also been sent home, and tasks have been set. Get started and enjoy reviewing concepts already taught at school.

Next week we will be revising concepts covered over this semester. This will assist students to transfer and reinforce knowledge to their long-term memory. The following are some skills you could revise at home:

Literacy: Initial phonic sounds Ss-Aa-Tt-Pp-Ii-Nn-Mm-Rr-Cc-Kk. Syllables i.e. counting parts in a word. Sight words I, am, a, look, Mum, can, at. Sequencing and retelling stories using a beginning, middle and end.

Mathematics: Numbers 1 to 10. Say a number between 1-10, then ask your child to count on from this number. Order numbers, count objects to match a numeral and identify dots on a dice.

Find the time to relax and have fun over the short mid-term break!