First Snow

1. Narrative Skills

• You can help your child with narrative skills by asking them to recount the story and helping them understand that things happen in order. Coach them through the following questions: “What was the first thing that happened?" [First snow fall] “What happened next?" [Grandma and grandpa invited the mice to go sledding] “What happened after that? [Road was icy] “And then what happened? [Went up the hill and stopped at the pond so grandpa could ice skate] “Next what happened? [They climbed to the top of the hill and went down on their sleds] “Then what did Bitty do? [She was scared to slide down the hill; the other children encourage her to come down the hill; she came down the hill and was so proud of herself] “Next what happened? [Went home] “What happened last? [Bitty fell asleep at the table]

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words “first snow” and place on refrigerator or wall. Point to word and say “first snow.” Then ask your child to say the words as you point to them. Emphasize “f” and “s” sound at the beginning of each word.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Spray whip cream on a cookie sheet or table top. Write the name “first” and “snow” on a sheet of paper. Demonstrate how to spell “snow” in the whip cream using your index finger and referring to each letter that you had previously written on the paper. Then invite your child to write “first” and “snow” using his/her index finger; assist him/her by referring them back to the sheet that you had written the words “first” and “snow”.

4. Vocabulary

• Ask your child, “How do you think Bitty felt when she was on top of the hill?”

5. Print Motivation

• Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. Hold your child on your lap while they watch the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Teach them the following rhyming words: “snow, blow, dough”; “bitty, ditty, kitty, and grandma”; “mice, nice, dice and dream”.(As always, I have included some words that don’t rhyme so they will begin listening very carefully to the sounds of each word.)

Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Christmas

1. Narrative Skills

• Set out paint, brushes and paper and ask your child to draw something about the duck, cow and pig taking a bath. Once they have completed the drawing, invite them to tell you about it. Write down their exact words on the drawings. It is crucial not to correct their grammar. This is an excellent way for them to begin to see the connection between thoughts and symbols represented by the picture and their words. It is important to provide your child with good brushes and offer a variety of brush tips.

2. Print Awareness

• Print the words “ Wishy-Washy’s” on an 8 1/2 x11 sheet of paper; place it on the wall or refrigerator; point to the word and say “Wishy-Washy”; asked your child to repeat the words. It is important to emphasize the “w” sound.
• Gather a magazine and highlighter. Sit down with your child and open a page in the magazine. Ask them to search for words that begin with the letter “w” and highlight the word while talking about the word with your child.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Purchase foam letters and sort out the letters that spell “Wishy-Washy.” Run water in the sink, add soap to make bubbles and place foam letters in the sink. Print the words “Wishy-Washy” on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and invite your child to pull out one letter at a time, matching it to the letters on the paper.

4. Vocabulary

• Teach your child the following verses: “The cow mooed, [moo like a cow] No! I’ll wheeze and sneeze!" "The pig squealed, [squeal like a pig] No! MY snout will freeze!” "The duck quacked, [quack like a duck], No! No way I can!”

5. Print Motivation

• Keep it fun. Sit with your child while they are watching the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Make up silly rhymes with some words from the book such “wishy-washy”; “flu-blue-you”; “ice-nice-twice”; “back-tack-shoes”; “tub-scrub-laugh”. (As always, I have included some that don’t rhyme so they will get use to listening very carefully to the sounds of the words.).

The Mitten

1. Narrative Skills

• You can help your child with narrative skills by asking them to recount the story. Say, “When Nicki dropped his white glove in the snow what woodland animals found it and crawled inside (mole, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, and bear)? Then ask, “Was the mole larger or smaller than the bear?” You can continue to talk about the different sizes of all the animals and also ask, “What happen to the mitten once all the animals crawled in?”

2. Print Awareness

• Cut out two white mittens from construction paper; on one mitten write the word “mitten” and on the other mitten write both upper and lower case letter “m/M”. Place it on the refrigerator or wall. Show your child the mittens and say the word “mitten” as you point to the lettering. Emphasize the “m/M” sound. Take your child to the pantry and see if you can find a label with either the upper or lower case “m” on it.

3. Letter Knowledge

• Play the “I Spy Letter Game”. All you need is a magazine and highlighter pen. Sit down with your child and say, “We are going to play the I Spy Game." Show your child the letters “m/M” that you had previous written on a mitten; then say, “Let’s find the letters “m/M” on the magazine pages. Once she/he has found the letter(s) have them highlight it with a highlighter pen.

4. Vocabulary

• Ask your child, “How do you think Nicki’s grandmother (Baba) felt when she looked out the window and saw that Nicki was safe and had his new mittens?” Then say, “How did his grandmother (Baba) feel when she saw that one of the snow white mittens had been really stretch and was much larger than the other white mitten?”

5. Print Motivation

• Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child. Hold your child on your lap while they watch the video.

6. Phonological Awareness

• Teach them the following rhyming words: “mitten, kitten, written and fox”; “snow, slow and toe”; “white, bright, night and stairs”; “bear, chair, and sound.(As always, I have included some words that don’t rhyme so they will begin listening very carefully to the sounds of each word.)