Integrated Preschool Family Handbook · child in clothes suitable for preschool activities. We encourage rubber-soled, closed-toe shoes. We paint frequently and use other “messy”

Exceptional Student Services 8700 S. Kyrene Road

Tempe, AZ 85284

Integrated Preschool Family Handbook

1 Kyrene Integrated Preschool Family Handbook

Fall 2018

KYRENE INTEGRATED PRESCHOOL

There are 12 Integrated Preschool locations within the Kyrene School District.

Information about locations can be found at:

https://www.kyrene.org/Page/1023

Dr. Sandra Laine, ESS Director……480-541-1150

Amy Dill, Integrated Preschool Coordinator……480-541-1180

Sue Hummell, Integrated Preschool Secretary…….…..480-541-1156

District Office….………..480-541-1000

Transportation…….…….480-541-1717

The Kyrene Integrated Preschool follows the school district calendar.

KYRENE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

Children are unique and diverse with individual strengths and needs.

Each child’s diversity is embraced and valued.

High quality early education programing and planning is vital to children’s

development and success.

Interactions that are meaningful and rich occur between the teachers, the

children and their parents foster learning opportunities.

Learning through rich language and play opportunities as well as hands on

experiences are crucial to children’s development and growth.

Dedicated professionals help children reach their fullest potential by

providing access to and facilitating a variety of learning opportunities.



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KYRENE INTEGRATED PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

DESCRIPTION

The Kyrene Integrated Preschool is an integrated program where children

with differing abilities play and learn together in the same classroom. Our

program is designed to serve preschoolers aged three to five (not eligible age

for kindergarten) who display a range of developmental skills and abilities.

Some children may be delayed in one or more of the following categories:

speech/language impaired, hearing impaired, vision impaired, or

developmentally delayed. These delays may affect the following areas of

development 1) cognitive abilities, 2) motor abilities, 3) sensory abilities, 4)

psychosocial skills, 5) language skills, and 6) adaptive behavior. Our typically

developing children (those not displaying delays) come from the school

community and pay tuition to attend the program. Typically developing peers

need to be potty trained before entering our program. Every effort is made to

place typically developing peers at the school of choice. If the school of choice

is full, a spot will be offered at another site, or the child will be placed on a

waiting list for the preferred location.

The Kyrene Preschool adheres to the Program Guidelines for High Quality

Early Education as developed by the Arizona Department of Education:

https://cms.azed.gov/home/GetDocumentFile?id=5879561caadebe0c98a8050

9

In order to support children’s development and facilitate learning our preschool

programs are play-based, child centered, and language-rich.

Preschool Day

Our preschool programs meet four days a week. All sessions meet three hours

per day. During the preschool day the children participate in a rich variety of

activities during which they experience many opportunities for learning. We are

strong advocates for play! Our staff views play as a natural avenue through

which children learn. Each day the children may participate in circle time, small

group activities, independent work time, snack, and movement activities. The

children are given opportunities to make choices and then given a chance to

talk about their activity choices.

In the area of guidance and discipline our ultimate goal is that each child

develops self-control and appropriate ways of solving problems. Within the

classroom setting we set clear, consistent and fair limits. We listen to the

children and help them find ways of resolving their conflicts. We model

problem-solving skills and regard mistakes as opportunities to learn. As part of




Fall 2018

this learning process, we always look for ways to redirect children to

appropriate activities, take opportunities to teach the appropriate skills and

help them make alternative choices. In some instances, a child may be

removed from a situation for a short period of time. The child is then given the

opportunity to rejoin the group and appropriate behavior is modeled and

encouraged. At all times our emphasis is on using positive guidance, teaching

and treating all children with dignity and respect.

CURRICULUM

Arizona Early Learning Standards

Our preschool programs use the Arizona Early Learning Standards to guide the

skills we teach in our classrooms. This document is also referred to when

writing Individual Education Program objectives and needs. You can view a copy

of the document at this website:

https://cms.azed.gov/home/GetDocumentFile?id=5ba5462a1dcb2507f8788ea1

Scholastic Big Day for PreK

This program is a comprehensive curriculum. There are eight themes that

deliver learning in an integrated manner to address all domains of

development. These domains include oral language, literacy, mathematics,

science, social studies, art and physical development. Lessons and concepts

are taught through intentional play experiences and teacher led activities.

Hand Writing Without Tears

This is a multi-sensory, developmental approach to teaching prewriting shapes

and letter formation. This program is used to supplement writing in the Big Day

for PreK curriculum.

PROGRESS REPORTING

Progress Reports for All Students

All students in the preschool program will receive progress reports two times a

year. Once in January and once in May. The skills reported on correlate with the

Arizona Early Learning Standards.

Report of Progress for Students with an Individual Education Plan

In addition to the progress reports above, students who have an Individual

Education Plan (IEP) will receive a Report of Progress two times a year. Once at

the end of each semester. This report will be to report progress on IEP goals.

https://cms.azed.gov/home/GetDocumentFile?id=5ba5462a1dcb2507f8788ea1


Fall 2018

KYRENE INTEGRATED PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM

PROCEDURES

Registration

All preschoolers preparing to attend the Kyrene Integrated Preschool must

complete a registration packet before entrance. This packet may be picked up

at any school office but must be turned in to the school office where the child

will attend preschool classes. At the time of registration, parents will need to

provide the original or a certified copy of their child’s birth certificate, proof of

residence (utility bill that shows your name and address) and their child's

immunizations record.

Tuition

Children attending our preschool as typical peers pay a monthly tuition. Full

tuition is paid each month, July through April. A nonrefundable yearly

processing fee of $50.00 will be required at the time of registration. Tuition for

the 2018-2019 school year is $325.00 per month. Payment options are

available.

You may pay in person at the District Office, mail in your tuition with child’s

first and last name on check, arrange an automatic credit card withdrawal or

pay online by simply logging into your account. Tuition is due on the 1st

of

each month. A $35.00 late fee will be assessed to all payments not received

at the District Office by the 5th day of each month. Cash is accepted if you

pay in person at the District Office with the exact amount.

Tuition may be mailed or delivered in person to: Kyrene School District,

Customer Service, 8700 South Kyrene Road, Tempe, Arizona 85284. Please DO

NOT send tuition payments into the classroom or school office.

If it is not possible for you to pay tuition, your child will not be able to remain

in the program. The tuition money is essential in maintaining a quality

program. Therefore, partial refunds will not be given if your child does not

attend a full month. Also, a full month’s tuition is paid during months when

breaks from school occur.

The Kyrene School District tax ID number is 86-6000494.

Arrival/Dismissal

Parents are asked to bring their children to the preschool classroom no earlier

than five minutes before the start of class. All children must be signed-in and

signed-out by an adult each day. Each classroom will provide a sign-in/out

sheet for this purpose. This sheet requires (first initial-last name) signatures


Fall 2018

and arrival/pick-up times. Each preschool site will develop an arrival and

dismissal plan to meet the site’s specific needs. Please park in designated

areas, not in the bus zone. Please be on time to pick your child up after class.

The staff has many duties and responsibilities that begin as soon as students

leave.

Attendance

Regular preschool attendance and being on time for class are both appreciated

and expected. If it is necessary for your child to be kept home, please call and

report the absence to the school attendance number in the front of this

handbook.

Transportation

Transportation by the school district is provided only to students receiving

special education services who require transportation in order to be able to

receive specialized instruction because their parents are unable to transport.

This is in accordance with the law. Transportation is provided only within the

district boundaries. We always appreciate parents providing transportation at

the preschool level in that it allows for daily verbal communication between

staff and parents.

Parents of our typical peers are responsible for transporting their children to

and from preschool. Parents may form carpools at their convenience.

Appropriate Dress

At preschool, we play actively and do a lot of moving around. Please dress your

child in clothes suitable for preschool activities. We encourage rubber-soled,

closed-toe shoes. We paint frequently and use other “messy” materials, and

although we try to keep clothes clean, accidents do happen. We appreciate

your help in selecting appropriate clothes for your child to wear. When the

weather changes and the children start to wear jackets and sweaters, please

mark their name or initials on the tag.

Spare Clothes

Please send a set of spare clothes for your child to be kept at school.

Backpacks

Each child will need to bring a backpack to school each day. A full sized

backpack is preferred as the back pack will be used to transport items between

home and school. Art work tends to get crumpled in a smaller pack. Please

mark the pack with your child’s name.


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Hand Washing

One of the most important routines at preschool is helping the children learn to

wash their hands with soap when entering the classroom, after using the

bathroom, blowing noses, returning from outside play, and before eating.

Having a hand washing routine not only helps in limiting the spread of germs

but helps build a good lifelong habit. We appreciate your help in reinforcing

this routine at all times.

Individual Education Program

As required by law, every child who qualifies for special education services, who

is placed in our program will have an Individual Education Program (IEP). The

IEP is written collaboratively by parents and the preschool staff. The IEP

contains important educational information including goals that are reviewed in

writing semi-annually, and the IEP is revised annually if the child continues to

qualify for placement in the program.

Diapers/Wipes

If your child is in diapers, you will need to be provide diapers and wipes. You

may send a supply to be kept at school or may send them daily in the backpack

Parent/School Communication

The preschool staff will communicate with you via written notes, phone calls,

email and personal contacts when the child is dropped off or picked up, and at

pre-established conference times. Newsletters will be sent home to keep

parents up to date on preschool activities. Twice a year a progress reports will

be sent home. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or

concerns/compliments.

Parent Events

Throughout the school year we will plan several events for our parents and

families. Required events that all teachers provide:

Meet the Teacher Night in conjunction with the district

Curriculum Night in conjunction with the elementary school

Parent-Teacher Conferences-two times a year for each child in

conjunction with the elementary school. For students with IEPs, the IEP

meeting may count as one of your conferences.

Optional events that will vary by teacher:

Programs/Performances

Class Celebrations

School Wide Events


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Toys/Objects from Home

Specific guidelines in this area may vary from site to site and your child’s

teacher will share his/her preference with you. We do have two requests for all

school sites 1) toy weapons are not allowed at any time and 2) we discourage

your child from bringing an valuable or breakable items because the preschool

staff are not be responsible for lost or damaged items.

Wednesdays

Our preschool classes are not held on Wednesdays. The preschool staff spend

Wednesdays meeting many different responsibilities. Those responsibilities

include:

preschool staff meetings

team planning at school sites

parent meetings

trainings or in-services

data review

writing student reports

Accident/Illness Emergency Medical Procedures

In the event of a medical emergency, a staff person will stay with your child to

provide care and comfort. If needed, the school health office will be contacted

and if necessary 911 will be called. You will be notified of any medical

emergency as soon as possible. Posted in the classroom are all necessary

emergency numbers, along with the preschool and school staff certified to

perform CPR and First Aide.

Evacuation Drills

Unannounced evacuation/fire drills are conducted at least once every 30 days,

as required by law. Emergency Evacuation plans are posted in each classroom.

Withdrawals

We ask that when possible you give a two week notice if your child will be

leaving the program. Please notify your child’s teacher, the school office and

the preschool office. You will need to complete a withdrawal form in the school

office.

Field Trips

Class field trips provide educational experiences for children in settings outside

of the school. Field trip planning and organization is up to the discretion of the

preschool staff and will follow school board policy. Parents/guardians will be

informed in advance when children will be going on a field trip. A Field Trip

Permission Form and a Field Trip Emergency Medical Information and Consent

Form must be completed and signed by the parent/guardian, phone calls


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granting permission are not sufficient. This is a requirement of our insurance

carrier. Kyrene Preschools carry liability insurance.

Health Screening

All children in the preschool program will be screened annually for vision and

hearing. Should a problem be suspected parents will be notified.

Lice checks may occur at different times during the year if: 1) a parent or

teacher suspects a problem, or 2) a classmate or sibling of a classmate has lice.

In the case that a child is found to have lice, the parents will be notified to pick

the child up so that they can begin treatment.

The Department of Health Services requires public notice of any outbreak of

communicable diseases or infestation. Parents will be notified and a notice will

be posted in the classroom.

HEALTH INFORMATION

Liability Insurance

Per the DHS regulation R9-5-308, documentation of our liability insurance

coverage is available for review on the facility premises.

Inspection Reports

Inspection Reports are available on-site at each location. The specific location

on the inspection reports can be found posted at each site.

Pesticide Application

Parents are notified at least 48 hours before a pesticide is applied on a facility’s

premises by any of the following including but not limited to: posting the notice

on the main door to the facility, posting the notice at the parent table, in-

person communication, via e-mail, over the phone, etc.

Immunizations

Arizona Department of Health Services requirements for children enrolled in

childcare or preschool programs calls for proof of ALL immunizations in order

to attend. Parental recall or verbal history of any disease is not accepted. A

child who is missing vaccines required for his age can start, but must get a

dose of each vaccine due within 15 days of enrollment and bring a copy of the

record completed by the clinic to the school office.

Additionally, we require that current copies be provided annually for re-

enrollment. For further information about immunization requirements, please

contact your physician or the Arizona Immunization Program at 602-364-3630.

http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/immun/


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Families may also refer to Kyrene’s website for links and information.


Medication

A Medication Consent Form is available at the program site for the

administration of medication and must be completed by the parent/ guardian

and will remain on file. A staff member is responsible for administration of all

medications, including storing, supervising a child’s ingestion of a medication,

and documenting all medications administered.

Illness

DHS requires that program staff inform families of potentially infectious

illnesses. To assist our compliance with this regulation, please notify the

teacher when a child’s absence is due to a potentially infectious illness.

Children who are ill with diarrhea, continuous cough, vomiting, red throat,

unexplained rashes, swollen glands, head or stomach aches, have had a fever

within the last 24 hours, or who did not attend school that day should not

attend a licensed program. If a child becomes ill while at school, the

parent/guardian will be promptly notified and asked to pick up the child. The

parent/guardian will need to pick up the child within one (1) hour of receiving

notice. After one (1) hour, authorized individuals listed on the DHS Emergency

Information Card will be contacted to come pick up the child.

In the case of an emergency and/or serious injury, as determined by the school,

paramedics may be called and the parent/guardian will be notified immediately.

The parent/guardian will be responsible for all costs incurred in such

emergencies.



Fall 2018

KYRENE PRESCHOOL VOLUNTEER GUIDELINES

Volunteering in the Classroom

We always welcome parent volunteers. Volunteers are very helpful and the

children really look forward to having family members in the classroom. Your

child’s teacher will work with you to develop a volunteer schedule. Volunteer

activities in the classroom may vary, tasks may include: reading to a small

group of children, facilitating play, completing prep work (cutting, copying,

etc), assisting in small group activities, or helping with an individual child.

If you can’t volunteer in the classroom you can still be a part of the classroom

by helping the staff with prep work at home.

Due to DHS requirements if you are working in the classroom you will not be

able to run a group or play area unless there is a DHS licensed preschool staff

member in the same location.

Requirements for non-parent volunteers

Fingerprinting by the Kyrene School District is required for all non-parent

volunteers. Non-parent volunteers are held to the same requirements as

parent volunteers

General Tips for Volunteers

Confidentiality is extremely important when working in a classroom.

Please don’t share information about other children with anyone outside

of the classroom.

In accordance with Department of Health Services (DHS) volunteers will

not be alone with children. This includes alone at a table or in a play area

with any child other than your own. A staff member will always be in the

same location as you and the child(ren).

If a child is having difficulty with a task, we try not to do the task for

them but assist them in doing it.

If in doubt about the wisdom of an activity a child is engaged in, redirect

the child or check with a staff member.

When conversing with a child, we try to draw attention to the process of

the activity, not the product. (Example: “You are rolling the play dough,

it is long.” rather than, “You made a snake.”) as well as ask open-ended

questions (“Tell me about your tower,” rather than “How many blocks

are there?” )

Don’t worry if your child acts differently with you in the room. This is a

common occurrence. The staff will deal with this as the need arises.

Dress comfortably - you may need to play on the floor or sit in small

chairs.

Please relax. Enjoy yourself and have a great time!


Fall 2018

Etiquette While Visiting:

Please make arrangements for times and days to visit with your child’s

teacher.

Please do not direct questions or conversation towards the adults

working with the children. This allows us to maintain our routine with our

students.

If you are visiting with another person, please refrain from conversations

as this may disrupt learning and teaching.

If you have questions, please make arrangements to talk with the teacher

at a mutually agreeable time.

Please make child care arrangements for siblings; as is required by

Kyrene District guidelines. Siblings are not allowed to visit classrooms.

If you wish to have an outside provider or therapist visit, please work with your

child’s teacher to have someone accompany the visitor in the classroom. This

ensures that questions can be answered without disrupting the class routine.


Fall 2018

TRANSITION FROM PRESCHOOL TO

KINDERGARTEN

General Facts for all Children

You have a child going to kindergarten in the fall! This page will answer some

common questions.

Who goes to kindergarten? In the Kyrene School District ALL children

who are five by September 1st go to kindergarten.

What about kindergarten readiness? In order to come to kindergarten

in Kyrene, the only expectation is that your child turns five by September

1. It is each school's responsibility to be READY for your child when he

or she comes!

Where do children go to kindergarten? Most children go to

kindergarten at their home school (the school in their immediate

neighborhood and where school boundary lines are drawn). Kyrene does

offer open enrollment for families that prefer to go to a school other than

the home school. Enrollment is granted based on space and capacity by

grade level or program. For open enrollment information, please visit:

http://www.kyrene.org/Page/1202

When does the kindergarten enrollment process start? All Kyrene

schools hold a kindergarten orientation to help familiarize families with

kindergarten and the registration process. Kindergarten registration is

similar to preschool registration, the same forms are required.

What will my child learn in kindergarten? The Kyrene School District

follows the Arizona K-12 Academic Standards. In addition, Kyrene has

adopted curriculum that is followed. For information regarding Kyrene’s

curriculum go to:

https://www.kyrene.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=40951

Information on the Arizona K-12 Academic Standards can be found at:

www.azed.gov/standards-practices/

How do I get specific questions answered about kindergarten? In

addition to talking with your child’s preschool teacher, you can attend a

kindergarten information session at your home school.

What can I do as a parent to support my child as we make this

transition? Talk with your child about kindergarten and their new

school, attend community events at your home school, attend

kindergarten orientation in the spring and attend meet the teacher night

the week before school begins.

What if my child has special needs? We have the answer to this

question! Please continue reading!

http://www.kyrene.org/Page/1202

https://www.kyrene.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=40951


Fall 2018

Process for Children with Developmental Delays

This page describes the process we will follow as we transition children who

have developmental delays, have a current IEP (Individual Education Plan) and

attend preschool in one of our integrated preschool programs.

1) The transition process will involve you, the preschool staff who works

with your child, and a team of people from your child's home school (the

home school team will include the home school psychologist, a special

education teacher, a speech/language pathologist and possibly a building

administrator. A kindergarten teacher will join the team for some of the

meetings).

2) The transition process begins in January when the home school team is

notified that your child will be attending kindergarten starting in the fall.

3) During the January and February we will schedule the first meeting (called

a RED-Review of Existing Data) with you, the preschool staff, and the

home school team. The purpose of this meeting is to make introductions

and walk through the transition process with you. At this meeting we will

answer your questions, review all the existing data we have on your child,

and talk about your child's strengths and needs. We will then determine

if there is other information we need to gather, or if additional testing is

needed. A schedule and timeline will be set to complete the tasks and a

second meeting (called a MET-Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team) date will

be determined.

4) During the months of March and April all tasks related to the transition

will be completed and the MET meeting will be held. At this meeting we

will review any additional data we have gathered and as a team we will

determine if your child qualifies for special education services in

kindergarten. If your child continues to qualify for special education a

new IEP (Individual Educational Program) will be written, and your child's

kindergarten program will be described.

5) The work is done! Have a great summer and come back in August

knowing your child is set for a great start as a kindergarten student in the

Kyrene School District!

It is a celebration when a child is dismissed from special education services! If

your child is dismissed, he/she will be able to remain in the program as a

typical peer with tuition waived for the remainder of the month in which they

are dismissed and the following month. If you wish to continue in the program

longer, the family will have to pay the tuition. Please contact the Integrated

Preschool Secretary within a week of dismissal from special education to set up

an account. Transportation will no longer be provided


Fall 2018

INFORMATION AND ACTIVITIES FOR

DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLS

Reading is one of the best activities you can do with your child. It provides

opportunities for the development of many skills including: language,

vocabulary and concepts. It also builds a love for reading and lends itself to

developing story retell, sequencing skills and being able to answer

comprehension questions.

Gross Motor Skills

Create an obstacle course using outdoor spaces, furniture or other

household items that includes climbing under and over, jumping or

hopping. Include special movements (ie: walk around the tree, crawl

under the rope or table, hop to the chair)

Promote balance by having your child walk on a line or a curb

Practice going up and down stairs

Use a balloon or beach ball to practice catching and hand-eye

coordination

Play ball

Go to the park

Ride a bike

Wheelbarrow walk (your child has his/her hands on the floor supporting

their weight, you pick up their feet and they use their hands to walk

across the floor)

Make games out of motor movements (ie: hop all the way to the car,

move like animals)

Dance

Fine Motor Skills

The bathtub is a great place to work on building muscles and coordination

needed for writing. Activities you can do in the tub include:

Using a turkey baster, syringe or eye dropper to squirt water or fill

container with water

Have your child draw in shaving cream on the walls of the tub

Use a spoon to fill containers with water

Use tub crayons to draw in the tub

Other Activities:

Use an upright surface for drawing (such as an easel or chalkboard)

Use a spray bottle to squirt plants, the wall or sidewalk

Use tongs or tweezers to pick up cotton balls or other objects

Play with play-dough


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Hide small toys in play-dough for your child to find

String noodles, cereal or beads

Tear paper and magazines

Build with blocks and Legos

Puzzles

Sidewalk chalk

Paint with water on the sidewalk or outside walls

Attach clothes pins on a container or ribbon

Cutting straws, play-dough, ribbon, cardstock

Cognitive Skills

Start collections with your child (leaves, buttons, shells, lids etc.). Use these

collections to

Count

Sort

Pattern

Compare

Describe

Put in order by size

Measure things using a ruler and non-standard units of measure, you can use a

shoe to measure how long your kitchen is, or block to see how long your arm

is.

Hide objects in a bag and describe them by how they feel.

Put out a few objects, have your child close their eyes while you remove an

object and then they tell you which one is missing.

Around the House and Self Help

Involve your child in cooking. Not only is it fun, but it reinforces many skills

including counting, language, health, measuring and fine motor skills. Be sure

to talk about what you are doing using words like shake, roll, measure, more,

less, first, next, etc.

Helping around the house:

Set the table

Put the dishes in the dishwasher

Sort the laundry

Wipe the tables

Water the plants


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Clean up. You can make it a game or more fun by breaking the task into

smaller chunks or making it a competition (clean up all the shoes, clean

up all the cars, I’ll do the blue ones, you do the green)

Feed the pets

Pull up covers on the bed

Self-Help

Get dressed independently/pick out own clothing

Use the toilet and wash hands

Clean up spills

Use a spoon and fork to feed self

Pour drinks and serve food

Number Sense

Subitizing: This is the ability to see a group of objects and instantly know how

many there are, such as on a dice.

To help your child with this skill play lots of board games or games with

dice.

Counting with tagging: Being able to count objects and keep track as they

count (ex: counting the number of cars they have by saying one number for

each object-not counting an item more than once or skipping an object)

To help your child with this skill count various things in their life (how

many gold fish crackers you are giving them, count out how many forks

you need for dinner, number of cars that are blue, green, etc). You might

need to help them with strategies for keeping track such as moving the

items as they count them, putting them in a line or other organized

fashion to count them.

Knowing one more and one less:

To help your child with this skill ask them real life questions such as, “I

see you have 5 blocks. How many would you have if you lost one?” “You

have 3 pieces of candy, how many would you have if I gave you one

more?” You can use objects (manipulatives) such as counters or beans to

help your child figure out these problems if they can’t do them in their

head.

If your child asks you for 5 crackers, give them four. If they don’t figure

out right away that you need to give them one more. Ask them leading

questions such as, “How many do you have?”, “How many do you want?”,

“Did I give you enough?”, “How many more do you need?”

Counting on: The ability to know what number comes next in a sequence.

To help your child with this skill you can have them add to the counting

sequence. You would say, “what number comes after 5?” “What number


Fall 2018

comes before 3”. As your child gets proficient with smaller numbers you

can move to bigger ones. You can have your child ask you the questions

too. Sometimes give the wrong answer to see if they know you are

incorrect and can help you get the correct answer.

Have your child pick a number out of a bag and have them tell you what

number comes next and what number comes before.

Playing board and card games help to develop math skills. Some favorites are:

Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Cootie, Dominoes, Hi-Ho-Cherrio.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual

sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Before children learn to read print, they

need to become more aware of how the sounds in words work. They must

understand that words are made up of speech sounds.

(http://www.begintoread.com/articles/phonemic-awareness.html)

The BEST thing you can do to build your child’s phonemic awareness is to read

aloud to your child.

Rhyming Activities

Read a book with rhyming words and stop just before you get to the word

that rhymes

(ex: from Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss “I do not like them in a

house. I do not like them with a __________” let your child fill in the blank.

Ask your child to hand you a toy, puzzle piece or tool by using a rhyming

word (ex: “Can you please hand me the loon (spoon) so I can eat my

cereal?”)

One person names a word and then you both see who can make the most

rhymes from it. Nonsense words are perfectly acceptable in this game

(ex: people, meeple, steeple, creeple, cheeple).

Read and teach your child Nursery Rhymes. Substitute rhyming words for

words in the poem by deleting the first sound and letting your child

supply the new sound/word. (ex: Hickory, dickory, dock Lickory, Lickory,

Lock The mouse ran up the clock. The mouse ran up the zlock.)

Book Suggestions:

There’s a Wocket in My Pocket by Dr. Seuss

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Is Your Mama a Llama by Deborah Guarino

Down By The Bay by Raffi

Eek! There’s a Mouse in the House by Wong Herbert Yee

I Can’t Said the Ant by Polly Cameron

One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root

http://www.begintoread.com/articles/phonemic-awareness.html


Fall 2018

Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh bySarah Weeks

What rhymes with eel? by Harriet Ziefert

Chicka, Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? By Nancy White Carlstrom

I Knew Two Who Said Moo: A Counting and Rhyming Book by Judi Barrett

Playing with Sounds and Beginning Sounds Activities:

Find a word in a book and see if you can come up with other words that

start with that sound, for each word a person comes up with they get a

token.

Roll a dice and see if you can come up with the number of words rolled

on the dice that begin with the same sound-you can use scrabble tiles to

pick the letter sound you are using (ex: you roll a three and the letter you

drew is a z-come up with zoom, zoo, zebra).

Pick a letter and see what different people’s names would be if their

name started with that sound (ex: /K/ Kori, Kandy, Kara, Kenjamin).

Have a scavenger hunt around the house, at the store, in the yard, at the

park, in the car, or any place at all for things that begin with the same

sound as the child's name, piece of food, toy, parent’s name or some

other sound.

Book Suggestions:

Alliteration

A My Name is Alice by Jane Bayer

Four Fur Feet by Margaret Wise Brown

Six Sleepy Sheep by Jeffie Ross Gordon

Faint frogs feeling feverish and other terrifically tantalizing tongue

twisters by Lilian Obligado

Dr. Seuss’s ABC by Dr. Seuss

Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Some Smug Slug by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Wacky Wedding: A Book of Alphabet Antics by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Rosie’s Roses by Pamela Duncan Edwards

K is for Kissing a Cool Kangaroo by Giles Andreae

Poems of A. Nonny Mouse by Jack Prelutsky

Busy Buzzing Bumblebees and Other Tongue Twisters by Alvin Schwartz

Playing with sounds

The Hungry Thing by Jan Slepian

The Hungry Thing Returns by Jan Slepian

The Hungry Thing Goes to a Restaurant by Jan Slepian

Sing a Song of Popcorn by B. deRegniers, M. White, and J. Carr

Roar and More by Karla Kuskin

Stop that Noise! By Paul Geraghty


Fall 2018

Ook the Book: And Other Silly Rhymes by Lissa Rovetch

Oodles of Noodles by Lucia Hymes

If I Had a Paka by Charlotte Pomerantz

Moses Supposes His Toeses are Roses by Nancy Patz

Slop Goes the Soup: A Noisy Warthog Word Book by Pamela Duncan

Edwards

Documents

Integrated Preschool Family Handbook · child in clothes suitable for preschool activities. We encourage rubber-soled, closed-toe shoes. We paint frequently and use other “messy”