Yes, all our kindergarten children enjoy books and are learning to read. By taking home nightly the many class books we have made in school, the children are able to read each others names and many of the titles, labels, and sentences included in these books. The children shop for five books each Monday from baskets of books on each child's reading level. These books are read in a variety of ways all week, and then are replaced by self-selected books next Monday.
In addition, Mrs. Kiernan and I meet with the children individually and in small groups to work on reading skills. Learning to be a successful reader is so much more than just being able to read words from memory. We are practicing word decoding skills by sounding out the letters and by deciding what word would make sense in this sentence. We are looking at picture clues to help with unfamiliar words, too.
Successful reading also includes predicting outcomes, being able to remember the story, and retelling the story in your own words. We will also be practicing reading silently to ourselves, reading orally with expression, and observing punctuation. We read from a variety of materials, including fiction and non-fiction.
Yes, much is involved in being a successful reader, and our class is well on their way to begin their exciting journey into the wide world of reading. One of the key factors is enjoying a variety a reading experiences and incorporating reading into one's daily life. As adults, our modeling of this will assist our children to become life-long readers.
On a different note, I returned Sunday from Detroit where I was taking care of my grandson, Jaxon. He is doing very well, and now weighs 6 lbs 11ozs. We are thrilled with his progress; however, he is still very small for his age. We continue to feed him every three hours around the clock. He likes to be held a lot! I return to Michigan after school Friday for the week of Thanksgiving. Fortunately, I will not be missing school until after the New Year. Thank you to everyone for your interest, concern, and patience while I have been out. A special thanks to Mrs. Kiernan for carrying out our plans in my absence. I return to a well-run classroom!
