Kindergarten Lessons

• In our weekly kindergarten lessons, the students and I learn about each letter of the alphabet and what our “speech helpers” must do to make the sound correctly. We talk about voice off and on, where our tongue is placed, whether our jaw is open or closed; all the things that help them recognize what makes this sound different from others.
• We also learn the alphabet in sign language and learn a secret sign word (a word we can’t say with our mouths but only with our hands) for each letter of the alphabet. See the section below for the list of words we have learned.
• We read a story each week that coordinates with the letter of the alphabet. This is a good opportunity to teach listening skills, learn to identify different question words and what they mean and to increase their vocabulary base. I try to use these stories to enhance the students’ understanding of our character education word of the month or their valuable role as stewards of the earth. We learn about many different animals around the world and why they are all important to planet Earth. One of the animals we concentrate on is the gorilla, as we also learn about Koko, the gorilla who knows over one thousand words in sign language. We watch a video about her and at the end of the school year we create birthday cards that we mail to her in California. Below are some fun and educational website links to animals and sign language that we have discussed. Please visit them with your child and share hours of educational fun together!

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