Spring
is coming and we are glad!
We love to look forward to spring by dreaming of flowers and creating imaginative gardens. Join the caterpillars & butterflies as they introduce letters of the alphabet and a garden of fun reading ideas! Pictured here: astilbe, asters, bluebells, carnation & daisy!
From my kitchen table to yours . . . tips to bring colorful flowers into your Butterfly School.
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surprise a child by taping a colorful paper "I love you" flower over his or bed! What a nice way to wake up!
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collect garden catalogs from neighbors and friends. They're great to cut up for collages.
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look through old magazines and gift catalogs for flower pictures.
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make a tissue paper flower! add a tissue paper butterfly!
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splurge on a small fresh flower plant. Introduce it during Butterfly School and draw it! Everyone can draw as he wishes -- just a leaf, the whole plant, just capturing the color of the plant!
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watch your newspaper for information about local garden shows, flower shows or special classes from an extension service!
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make a rainbow bouquet -- one red flower, one orange, one yellow, one green, one blue, one indigo & one violet.
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For more great ideas, check out the activities at our parent site www.shininghours.com.
Next week, we'll help caterpillars rest & take good care of themselves to get over a cold!
You are ready for the Activity Sheets now; you can print them from here (Get Sheets), or go back to the Butterfly School home page.
From Butterfly Central,
Seeds of learning!
Teacher Tips
from Corinne Steigerwald
Learning to read takes time. Grow your child's lifelong love of reading: share reading fun every day!
This month, our garden planning theme includes lots of simple games for readers at any stage. Our special focus is letter recognition: names, shapes and sounds.
1. letter names:
Introduce your child to each letter by saying it out loud. Say the
letter's name when you point to it on the page, trace it with your finger,
circle it or write it. Check our basic alphabet sheets
for your youngest children.
2. letter shapes:
Trace the letter with your finger. Describe the shape. Draw
the letter while you describe what you are doing ("First I make a
circle and then I add a line on the right side...").
3. letter sounds:
To read, children must know a letter's name and sound. Introduce one
letter each day. Focus on the letter's sound by telling your child,
"This is a "b" it sounds like "buh" Say
"buh" with me -- "buh!"
Blended sounds, like "spr" in "spring" are very difficult for a child to articulate. Practice gently! Don't expect them to articulate these double or triple consonants until later. It will be easier for your child to put these together after he has mastered single sounds, like "sss" "puh" and "errrr."
Questions for Corinne: corinne@shininghours.com
Coordinated resources:
Check our posters section!
Print an alphabet: lowercase
Print an alphabet: uppercase
Print a counting sheet: 1-10