Thoughts on Week 2

Last week went by so fast! It always does with short weeks. We practiced writing letter A. I was impressed with how well some of the kids picked it up. Others will need a little more work. I see this often, especially with the 3 year olds. Sometimes when we start writing letters, the kids struggle at first, usually because they aren't making the connection that the markings I have them make on paper mean anything. To them, it's just busy work-I'm having them write when they'd rather be playing and it can be boring for them. Then one day, a month or two in the year, they'll make that connection and it's a like a light will go on. I see them suddenly make big improvements and they get more excited about writing.

On Friday we made an Animal Concentration Game for them to take home. Some of the kids were excited about that, others weren't sure what a concentration game was. To play it, they should mix the cards up and lay them face down. Each player will take a turn turning over two cards and seeing if they can find a match. This kind of game is excellent for honing memory skills. If kids are new to concentration games, don't put all the cards down at once. Make it a bit easier by just selecting 1/3- 1/2 of the pairs to use at a time.

This week we'll be learning letter B. Today/Tuesday we'll start off by playing with bubbles and tracing letter B. I'm looking forward to it, it should be fun. I'll try to take some pictures and get them posted this week.

Hope you all have a great week!