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BEGIN THE YEAR WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS
ABC Phonics: Sing, Sign, and Read!
Now available at Amazon!
 See ABC Phonics Instructional Videos
Download the Family Reference Chart
This is the simplest, most delightful way we know who to meet high standards:  Phonics and Word Recognition— “Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant.” |
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Welcome ,
Common Core State Standards Begin in Kindergarten: Now!
Our seminars and website honor master teachers with a passion for excellence; teachers who accelerate literacy while imparting life skills: perseverance, self-discipline, kindness, and powerful speech communication. These teachers are meeting the challenge of high Common Core State Standards without compromising joy!
Spend an inspiring day with master kindergarten teachers:
1. Read to Self with Mother Goose Little Books |
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We begin the year with Mother Goose Rhymes to effortlessly give children the rhythm and sounds of the English language and to introduce them to “Just Right: I Can Read!” Little Books which they can use during “Read to Self” Time. Marie Clay’s research reminds us “Rhymers are readers.” Using classic nursery rhyme little books is a research-based approach to simultaneously build oral language fluency and reading skills.
A Becky Leber kindergarten ritual involves an imaginary Mother Goose visitor. She leaves white feathers and new props each week (a shoe, star, candlestick, lamb’s wool, etc.) to inspire children to learn each new rhyme. Children love the feathers and delight in memorizing and dramatizing the language of Mother Goose. Read more about The Imaginary World of Mother Goose.
One of the most well-known and loved English rhymes is “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Singing, signing, and reading these familiar words sparks the child’s interest in learning about the stars and the natural world outside the classroom. We encourage children and their families to begin taking night walks to explore the night sky as part of a year-long focus on learning about the natural world. See:
Children and Their Families Learn About The Stars.
Invite children to memorize, recite, and perform “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in American Sign Language (ASL). The hand gestures help build memory connections and enhance meaning. Sign Language also develops the finger muscles for writing.
Make Friends with Mother Goose: Free Resources for You
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2. I Can Read: Poems and Songs to Celebrate Fall |
Someone wisely said, “Childhood is for language.” As we begin a new year with children, we think of the songs, poems, rhymes, and caring relationships that are the foundation of our curriculum. Consider starting September with a Celebration of Language.
Sunflower Children
Sunflower children
Nod to the sun.
Summer is over
School has begun.
Author Unknown |
Reading is Fun
Reading is fun.
Reading is fun.
Reading is fun for everyone.
The more you read,
The better you read,
So read, read, read.
Nellie Edge |
See You Later, Alligator
See you later, alligator
After while, crocodile
Bye-bye butterfly
Give a hug, ladybug
Toodle-ee-oo, kangaroo
See you soon, raccoon
Time to go, buffalo
Can’t stay, blue jay
Manana, iguana
The end, my friend!
Traditional
Adapted by Nellie Edge |
Free Poetry Pages:
Download your favorites from over 200 short poems, rhymes, songs, and chants that we consider “worthy of our children” for Poetry and Song “I Can Read” Notebooks.
Invite parents to make poetry and song posters for you. For innovative language chart ideas, we invite you to see: Classroom and Seminar Language Charts. |
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3. Apple Explorations and New Colored Little Books |
Make your own Guided Reading Books from Our Expanded Collection of Free Online Little Books! Mount the color pages of these rhymes on cardstock, laminate them, and bind the pages with scotch tape.
Dramatize, Recite, Perform, and Read!
Once children have dramatized and performed the language in these favorite childhood fingerplays and action rhymes, they will quickly transition from “memory reading” and reading the pictures to focused attention to print.
Our free Little Books include:
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The Apple Tree
Way up high in the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled down at me.
I shook that tree just as hard as I could.
Down came the apples,
Mmmmmm, they were good! |
The Apple Tree. Invite the children to dramatize the actions! Looking “way up high,” shaking the tree, and taking bites out of imaginary apples are all actions children delight in. Free Little Books
Visit an orchard: When our girls were in kindergarten, the whole class visited our little farm to pick apples and make cider from an old cider press. Apple cider never tasted so good! Getting to know apple trees can lead to ongoing discussions of wonderful (and healthy!) fruits and vegetables. Find some apple trees! Apple Explorations bring delicious gifts from fall!
Here are some great links to inspire your Apple Explorations:
Enjoy short apple rhymes as part of your language-rich curriculum. Download these individual rhyme pages from September Songs and Poems to Begin On:
I Like Apples
I like apples
Munch, munch, munch!
I like apples
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Traditional |
Take an Apple
Take an apple round and red
Don’t slice down,
Slice through instead.
Look inside
And you will see,
A special star
For you and me!
Traditional |
I Like Apples
Big apples,
Little apples,
Medium-sized too.
I like all apples,
How about you?
Traditional |
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4. New Kid Writing Templates, and Enhanced and Updated Writing to Read Seminar—October 14, 2011 |
We are excited to share many new kindergarten writing templates and resources with you from our “Kid Writing” and Joyful Accelerated Kindergarten Literacy manuals. We hope these pages will enhance your kindergarten literacy program as you focus on the high Common Core State Standards.
See: Kindergarten Writing (and Book-Making) Templates and Patterns
You will see these templates and samples of independent literacy centers at our 5th Annual Kindergarten Writing Conference on October 14, 2011. Read on for more details!
Writing to Read in Kindergarten: Growing Engaged and Thoughtful Writers Through the Lens of Common Core State Standards
With Julie Lay and Nellie Edge
- October 14, 2011 in South Portland (Wilsonville), Oregon. (Seminar is limited to 75 participants to ensure a quality experience.)
- See Seminar Invitation
Save $40 with our Early Registration Special of $189
through September 10, 2011.
(Registration is $229 after September 10, 2011) |
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5. Meet Rulee the Puppet: See Video Clip |
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Every class deserves to have a wonderful puppet friend who can help them reflect on discipline and management issues! Meet Rulee, Diane Bonica’s special helping giraffe, who has a permanent habitat in a tent next to the classroom meeting area. Check out the video of Rulee
in action and consider how responsive children are to imaginative puppet friends. Access Diane Bonica’s inspiring literacy award website from here.
Mr. Kindergarten, Dan Gurney, a wise California teacher, also has a magical puppet in his classroom. From his informative Blogspot, you can read more about Archy.
Mr. Kindergarten explains, “Archy comes to my rescue every time I need to navigate some treacherous emotional waters: stealing, not sharing, name calling, cutting in line, being afraid of snakes, cats, dogs, or frustration or discouragement.”
Consider finding an “Archy” for your kindergarten!
Mr. Kindergarten is one of our annotated resource links in our Literacy Award and Other Favorite Websites.
September 24, 2011 at Deer Creek Elementary in Tigard, Oregon.
Save $40.00 with Early Registration
through September 5, 2011!
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6. Kindergarten Friends Name Challenge |
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Encouraging children to quickly recall the names of every student in the classroom helps build a friendly classroom environment where every child feels a sense of belonging.
Learning classmates’ names helps develop social intelligence and communications skills. You will find that many of your more socially mature students automatically learn names, easily establish eye contact, smile, and confidently say, “Good morning, Marissa.” These children may easily become “name experts.” Other children will benefit from additional support and practice. The Friendly Fox Puppet in Celeste Starr’s kindergarten helps children practice saying the name of everyone in the class.
For more details see: Kindergarten Friends Challenge: I Can Say Every Name!
See also: Parent Letter: The Kindergarten Name Challenge |
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7. Common Core Standards, NBCTS, and Salem Cadre |
Salem Kindergarten Cadre News
- I will be meeting with Janis Wurgler and other district literacy leaders this month to plan how we can best continue supporting excellence in kindergarten literacy through the lens of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Your feedback is always appreciated. (info@nellieedge.com)
- I am especially interested in documenting the accelerated gains achieved through our “ABC and Phonics Immersion Program” (ABC: Phonics: Sing, Sign and Read!). Remember we are teaching for mastery.
- I also will be documenting kindergarten-friendly handwriting progress beginning with the “name ticket” strategy.
Tips for Early September
From Celebrate Language and Accelerate Literacy Manual:
- Give every family a laminated copy of their child’s name ticket and 10 blank name tickets for home practice (pages 117-125)
- Give families the ABC Phonics reference chart and a direct link to the instructional videos so they can learn right along with their children. (Pages 103-108)
- Create wonderful friendship rituals and class books (Pages 19-31)
Phonics and Word Recognition—“Demonstrate basic knowledge of letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary or most frequent sound for each consonant.”
See Articles:
Please let us know if you are planning to pursue National Board Certification.
Oregon scholarships are available!
- See the JP Morgan Scholarship Information Sheet.
- Also see more information: NPBTS Certificate Areas. Kay Garcia, Regional Outreach Director for NBCT told us, “Most kindergarten teachers select Generalist/Early Childhood or Literacy: Reading Language Arts/Early and Middle Childhood, although any certification area is open to eligible teachers. For example, English as a New Language/Early and Middle Childhood is also a popular choice.”
- You can contact Kay Garcia KGarcia@nbpts.org for questions and details about certification.
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Smiles!
Nellie Edge
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