Bag of Tips and Tricks for Parents

A teacher's desk is a very interesting place!  So many things happen in a day...this day happened to be a day of no power at our home.  The beginning of the year...I was always so organized (thanks to my daughter and visiting mother-in-law).

People were always donating craft supplies and such.  The cabinet was full of helpful things and I did not have to purchase much.  I often made do with what I had or adapted a project based on what I already had.  Creativity and imagination must run strong through a Kindergarten teacher's blood!

At the end of the year, things were put back in wrong places or hastily thrown back into the cabinet each day/week, creating a new mess to re-organize.  With all the stuff...came some great tools and ideas to give to parents who were asking for ideas of how to help their student at home.

What can parents do at home to help a Kindergarten student?  

Do not focus on paper and pencil activities!  Get their body moving...show them how to play to build...

Fine motor skills- playdough, baking, Legos, stickers, dumping and pouring in sink/bathtub/pool (hand-eye coordination) zipping, buttoning, tying shoes, lacing, clothespin or tweezers to move small parts

Letter and Number recognition- tracing in salt or flour, watercolor, sidewalk chalk, road signs as you drive places, cars or dolls tracing numbers on floor/sidewalk (using big paper or masking/painters tape), markers, coins to sort and count, time, fractions (pizza/pie/cake/candybars...getting parents to understand all the ways to make connections)

Sequencing and Following directions- give 2-3 step directions for daily habits and chores, play games, play board games, repeat after me