Who Knew Humpty Dumpty Could Be So Educational?

The ability to recognize rhyming patterns in language is an essential skill for emergent readers. A child should be able to manipulate words and sounds to create a rhyme. This skill will assist a child in recognizing word and letter patterns later on.

It is important that children have a strong understanding of spoken language prior to learning written language. If you are looking for a playful and engaging activity to expose a child to the sounds of language, look no farther!

Teach your child the nursery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. The story is noted above. Your child can color and then cut the pages. Assist your child in compiling the book and then sit down and enjoy reading the book together. After reading this book several times, let your child finish the sentence. For example, “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great ____”. You could also ask your child what else rhymes with wall (e.g. ball, call, fall, hall, mall). Another activity to promote phonemic awareness is to ask your child to identify those words that rhyme.

Another great concept to introduce while reading Humpty Dumpty is directional or positional words. Children need to be able to describe the location of objects. The Little Book of Humpty Dumpty provides a great opportunity for children to learn directional or positional words (e.g. above, below, after, before, over, under, on, off).

Ask the following questions:

Is the bird is above or below the tree? The wall?

What was Humpty Dumpty doing before he fell off the wall? After?

Does Humpty Dumpty have his hat on or off?

Source: Montgomery County Public Schools Kindergarten Summer Packet

Helpful Homework Tips

Homework assists your child by reinforcing both new and previously learned skills. Homework also informs a parent about what their child is currently learning in school. Your child should be responsible for the completion and timely delivery of their homework assignments. Our school provided us with suggestions for helping our second grader meet homework expectations:

Empower your child with organizational skills.

They recommend having a designated place where all materials to be taken to school are placed (e.g. box or basket).

I created homework folders for each child and put them on their homework table, which quickly became cluttered. I then purchased this plastic wall organizer and nailed it to the inside of our coat closet. If you do not have issues about putting a nail into a closet door, this is a great way to organize your child’s homework assignments without cluttering a room with papers.

My children place all homework assignments in these bins (completed and uncompleted). Every morning when they obtain their jackets and shoes they check their folders.


Assist your child in establishing a routine.

Assist your child in determining where and when homework is to be completed.

We have a children’s table with two chairs in our kitchen. We also have this pencil holder on the table which contains sticky notes, pencils, scissors and glue (crayons and markers are close by in a drawer). These are the tools both of my children need to complete their homework. Having these tools readily available, allows my children to complete their homework efficiently.

My children prefer to go outside and play right after school. They typically complete their homework in the evening; while I am getting dinner ready. This works best for our family but it may not for another.


Encourage your child to work independently.

Parents should not volunteer to assist their child in completing homework assignments. Rather, parents should wait until the child requests help. If your child needs assistance, reread the directions and do an example together. If your child is struggling with their homework assignments, contact their teacher.


Prevent parental intervention.

This is probably the most difficult task for me as I want to shield my children from mistakes and promote their success. What mother wouldn’t? However, our school recommends not delivering homework to your child’s school when he forgets to turn it in timely. They want a child to experience the consequences of his actions.

I remember my son forgetting to bring in his library book and he was very upset with me. At the time, I made sure his book bag contained all necessary items for school (homework, lunch, library book, etc.). I apologized to him and made a few changes to our morning rituals. Now both of my children are responsible for all items that need to be taken to school. I assist by offering feedback about their day (e.g. today is library day).

Kindergarten Homework - 1st Marking Period

As stated in my previous post, homework assists students in achieving academic success; a correlation exists between the amount of time devoted to learning and achievement in a subject. One of the many benefits of homework is that is serves to reinforce concepts learned in the classroom.

Kindergarten homework should be completed in pencil and all pictures should contain color and detail. A child should do their best and be proud of their accomplishments. Using a composition book, our kindergarten curriculum instructs students to complete the following tasks:

Monday - write the assigned sight words 5-10 times in your journal.
Tuesday - complete the sentence by drawing a picture. If possible, label your drawing. We do this five times.
Wednesday – sort objects
Thursday - math related assignment (worksheets reinforcing positions of objects and sorting)
Everyday - read for 20 minutes

Homework did not begin until week the beginning of week 4.

Week 4:
Sight words: I, am
Sentence: I am _____.
Sort: Upper and lower- case letters

Week 5:
Sight words: see, a
Sentence: I see a ______.
Sort: Upper-case letters that are in your name from those that are not in your name.

Week 6:
Sight words: can, we
Sentence: Can we ____?
Sort: Items found in fall from items not related to fall (e.g. rake, apple, ice cream cone, snowman)

Week 7:
Family fun week: Decorate a scarecrow

Week 8:
Sight words: the, in
Sentence: We can see the ____ in the ____.
Sort: Beginning sounds sort - M and B. Pictures (e.g. bike, bell, bag) with the sound /b/ from pictures (e.g. mittens, mouse, mop) that begin with the /m/ sound).

Week 9:
Sight words: and, go
Sentence: We can go in the ____ and the ____.
Sort: Beginning sounds sort - S and T. Pictures (e.g. socks, snake, sun ) with the sound /s/ from pictures (e.g. ten, tent, tiger ) that begin with the /t/ sound).

Homework is not just Busy Work

Homework assists students in achieving academic success. Research studies have shown a correlation between the amount of time devoted to learning and the achievement in a subject. Which makes me think of the proverbial saying, things worth having don’t come easy. Educating oneself certainly qualifies as worth having and requires work (at least for me it does).

Homework serves the following purposes:
Reinforces concepts learned in the classroom
Promotes independent work
Bolsters concept and skill development
Provides opportunities for enrichment
Develops initiative, responsibility, and self-confidence

Honestly, in the past I viewed homework as busy work for my children. They are both in elementary school and after a long day of learning I thought riding bikes or going to the park should be a priority after school. My six year old daughter attends full day kindergarten with a vigorous curriculum; my son’s second grade curriculum is no different. However, after reading our school’s homework policy and the purpose of homework, I am now a proponent of homework. I still whole heartedly believe children should play after school. However, instead of watching a cartoon while I am getting dinner ready, they should spend 10-30 minutes a day reinforcing concepts learned in school.

The time allotted to homework should increase gradually from grade to grade. Our school provided the following homework guidelines:
Kindergarten – Second Grade – 10 to 30 minutes
Third – Forth Grade – 30 to 45 minutes
Fifth Grade – up to 60 minutes

The above guidelines pertain to homework. Our school also recommends a student spending an additional 15-20 minutes of reading per night. One final note, our school encourages us to be supportive coaches. Your child should do their homework and you provide assistance when needed.

Kindergarten Curriculum Night: Math

My previous post gave an overview of our kindergarten math curriculum and briefly discussed the importance of obtaining the ability to think and reason mathematically as well as to use math to solve problems. This post is dedicated to providing you with additional information on the concepts and skills your child should know or be able to do by the end of the first and second semester of kindergarten.

Directional and Positional words.
Using both directional and positional words, a kindergarten students needs to possess the ability to describe the location of an object. The teachers recommended working on the following words:

under

above

between

behind

in front

top

middle

bottom

after

before

They recommended using a stuff animal and putting it in various positions. They also recommended just pointing out items in your home (e.g. the dog is UNDER the table). Many of these words are sight words and are included in our game, Er-u-di-tion .

Sorting & Graphing.
They recommended sorting laundry, toys, stuffed animals and even groceries. They also encouraged our child to tally the number of socks in the laundry or the weather, a first grade concept. Based on their feedback, we decided to tally both the weather and the outcome of our day. At the end of each month, we will use the tallies to create a bar graph.

Patterns.
They suggested making a noodle necklace - if you want to make it colorful, mix vinegar and food coloring together. They also recommended making patterns with cereal. Another fun activity is to draw patterns. Using flower or sugar in a tray, a child can make patterns with their fingers. They also encouraged us to implement higher level thinking. For example, create a pattern with stuffed animals, using front and back or upside and down as opposed to traditional patterns of color and shape.

Odd & Even.
Simply put, odd numbers do not have a partner; even numbers have a partner. They would like the students to be able to count to 31 using a 1:1 matching. Emphasis is not placed on rote counting but rather a child’s ability to match (e.g. place a bean with a number while counting).

Matching sets.
A kindergartener should be able to identify and create groups using more, less, and equal amounts.

Ordinal numbers.
This refers to the position of objects. They would like our children to know first through fifth. If your child is up for a challenge, they suggested going to the tenth position. They recommended lining up the stuffed animals and then ask questions (e.g. which animal is second in line?). They recommended changing the direction the animals are facing so the last one becomes the first. Interestingly, my daughter did her math home work and I thought she made a mistake but she did not. The order is determined by which direction the stuffed animal is facing not the way we read (left to right).

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