Educational apps to help your child start Kindergarten on a positive, confident note

With summer in full swing, most kids enjoy spending their time running, swimming, and playing outdoors. Yet summer is a long period of time without consistent learning, and if your child is getting ready to start Kindergarten in the fall, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to reinforce early learning.

Help your child prepare for Kindergarten while still having fun‎ with the apps detailed below!

ABC Letter Tracing
Learning to form letters properly when writing can be challenging for many students. This app helps children learn to form letters correctly and gives them ample practice tracing them. Players are presented with both upper- and lower-case letters and work on tracing these letters with proper top-to-bottom formations using their finger (great tactile reinforcement!). A colorful picture corresponds to each letter, giving students a visual aid for remembering the sound each letter makes. This app is useful for both early learning and fine motor skills development. Free on iTunes

Montessori Rhymetime Learning Games for Kids
Learning to rhyme is a key component of reading success. In this app, students learn to identify different sounds in words and match words that rhyme using bright, colorful pictures. ‎ The app contains six hands-on activities, starting with basic rhyme games and progressing to more challenging ones. The games can be played independently, or parents can engage with their children by having them articulate their reasoning for why they selected certain pictures. This multi-sensory app is one students love playing, and helps solidify phonemic awareness, a precursor to reading. Free on iTunes 

Moose Math by Duck Duck Moose
This app helps build several important Kindergarten math skills, including ‎addition, subtraction, counting, and sorting. The app contains five different activities, including Moose Juice where kids make “smoothies” (and practice addition, subtraction, and counting skills); Paint Pet, where players count dots to match pets; Pet Bingo, where kids answer counting, addition, and subtraction problems; Lost and Found, where players sort colors and shapes; and Dot to Dot, where players connect dots. $1.99 on iTunes

Starfall Learn to Read
This app is a great tool for building and reinforcing basic phonics concepts, including sound/letter recognition and blending. Similar to the Starfall website, the app presents fifteen “mini books” that each focus on a certain vowel pattern, including short sounds, long sounds, vowel teams, and r-controlled sounds. The app also includes whimsical, fun-filled videos to reinforce reading  (like “The Amazing Silent e” and “Y can be a Vowel!”) and other engaging phonics-based activities. $2.99 on iTunes

Stumpy’s Alphabet Dinner
This is a great app for teaching kids to recognize letters and shapes, while they “feed” colorful characters.  To play the letter segment, a word pops up and kids must “feed” ‎Stumpy the monster by identifying and dragging specific letters. Likewise, they feed Stumpy’s friend Lexie shapes in a similar manner, while building key early academic skills. Free on iTunes

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Back in the day, kindergarten brought visions of dramatic play, circle time, sumptuous snacks, and class pets. “Academic” instruction was minimal, and emphasis was placed on social, emotional, and creative growth. Yet with our current age of rising academic standards and testing demands, kindergarten has now become, in essence, the “new” first grade. If your child is on the young end of his grade, you may be considering holding him back from starting kindergarten, the “redshirting” option that has become increasingly in vogue. Yet before you jump on the bandwagon and opt for this choice, carefully consider all of the implications.

Maturity
To thrive in today’s kindergarten classrooms, children must be able to stay in their seats for extended periods of time, remain focused during lessons, and follow multi-step directions. Socially, they need to share appropriately,  take turns, and know how to interact with their peers. Some kids are just not emotionally ready for these increased demands. Due to the redshirting effect, in certain cases, as much as a 16 month age gap can exist between the youngest and oldest kids in a class. Being the youngest, least “mature” child in the classroom can feel overwhelming to a youngster, as she may not know how to interact appropriately with kids who are significantly older. Ultimately, she can feel confused and sad, and can develop a poor self-esteem. On the flip side, kids who are on the oldest end may find it hard to socialize with and relate to kids who are significantly younger. Being on the very end of either side of the age spectrum can have its challenges.

Academics
Standardized testing has become a reality in most districts around the country. Schools are held accountable for their students’ performance on these exams and, as a result, structured learning has been “pushed down” so that more academic work is covered at a younger age. Play-based kindergartens have been replaced with rigorous, acadamic-based curriculua, with schools hoping to boost test scores and increase performance. Kindergarteners “back in the day” may have been expected to learn very basic skills such such as letter and number recognition, but in many classrooms they are now expected to fully read, write stories, and solve math problems by the end of the year. Certains kids thrive with these rising academic demands. Yet for others, it’s a recipe for disaster. These children, who are not quite ready to jump into the current kindergarten demands, may benefit from the “gift” of an extra year.

Special Needs
Some kids are held back from starting kindergarten due to what are perceived as “developmental delays,” even if their age falls into the appropriate cut off date. Yet some of these kids may in fact have real special needs, rather than generic delays, and, moving into kindergarten could open up a plethora of special education services that could truly help them. Holding these children back actually creates a disservice to them. Instead of being evaluated and subsequently receiving appropriate services, they are instead held back, losing a year of valuable instruction and services.

What to do?
The decision of whether or not to hold your child back can be a stressful one. A 2006 University of California study indicated that elementary school students who are amongst the oldest in their classes scored 4 to 12 percent higher on standardized math and science tests over the youngest kids in their grades. Yet other studies show that the benefits of holding kids back are significantly reduced after the beginning of elementary school and that by the time kids reach third grade, skills usually even out. ‎Ultimately, there is no clear cut answer. Only you truly know your child. Observe your child interacting with other kids. Talk to her preschool teacher about how she socializes with per peers, follows directions, and pays attention. If you feel she is mature enough and ready for the demands of kindergarden, then go for it. But if you feel she is not quite there – socially, emotionally, or academically – then give her that extra year.

Ultimately, you will make the right decision for your child.

The post Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten or Should You Wait? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Understanding the differences between academic and play-based preschool philosophies can help you choose the right program for your child

Over the past ten years, enrollment in preschool programs has increased significantly. Parents yearn to enrich their child’s social, emotional, and early learning skills while effectively preparing them for Kindergarten. Yet choosing the right program for your child can be a challenging task. Each preschool seems to embody a different philosophy–some are play-based, while others emphasize more of a structured, academic approach. Both philosophies have pros and cons, and understanding their key components can help you choose the right program for your child.

Play-Based Preschools
Play-based preschools emphasize developing social and emotional skills over structured academics. Classrooms are typically set up with various stations–a water table, block area, reading section, play house, sensory table, dramatic play area, and so on, and children choose their own activities based on their interests. If a child loves building, for instance, he can venture towards the block section. If she loves dressing up and acting out scenes, she can meander over to the dramatic play area, and if he loves cooking and preparing meals, he can play in the kitchen area. Rather than providing direct instruction, the teacher acts as a facilitator, modeling effective social skills and observing children as they play.  Teachers may infuse academic principals through various themes, without actually teaching specific lessons in a structured format. Play-based preschool supporters argue that play is the modality with which young children learn best, and that children who learn to self-regulate, achieved through play, are more likely to be successful in life.

Sample Play-Based Lesson: Various play-based curricula exist, emphasizing children’s social and emotional development.  One such program is Tools of the Mind, which integrates self-regulation as a major component of its instruction, among other skills. ‎With this curriculum, children may engage in a “twist” on the Freeze Dance game. To play, music is turned on and children dance in pairs, in all different directions–left, right, on the floor, or in the air. When the music stops, the teacher holds up a poster containing stick figures and the children stop dancing. With their partner, they must try to copy the figure on the poster. As children play this game, they learn to self-regulate and control their body motions, which are important skills for future success.

Academic-Based Preschools
Many parents fret about their children being aacademically prepared for Kindergarten, particularly with the recent academic “push down.” Kindergarteners are now expected to learn the same material in many schools that first graders once did. Parents who want their children to begin building their academic foundations early-on and whose children respond well to structure may choose a preschool that embodies a more traditional, teacher-directed approach.

In these types of academically-oriented classrooms, days are ‎more structured and predictable. Students follow a set of lessons and activities that are prepared by the teacher, which are typically focused on a specific topic or theme. In this environment, instruction is guided by the teacher, and children typically learn letters, sounds, shapes, numbers, and colors, while also developing their phonemic awareness and handwriting skills.

Sample Academic Lesson:In a traditional preschool classroom, a teacher may conduct a specific lesson on phonemic awareness–or the ability to hear, recognize, and manipulate sounds in words. In doing so, she may explain a given concept, such as rhyming, and go around the room asking the children to come up with a word that rhymes with cat, dog, tree, and so on. She may also ask the children for the first sound they hear in the word cat, pig, or fish; the last sound they hear in bed, cup, or car; or how many words they hear in a given sentence. Developing such phonemic awareness skills can build a foundation for reading success.

In fact, two studies were conducted which identified preschool predictors of elementary reading success. ‎They assessed pre-reading skills in preschool-age children and followed these children into elementary school. The studies found that specific pre-reading skills, including phonemic awaress (such as rhyming and identifying sounds in words), knowledge of print (including letter names), and writing (writing a child’s own name) were strong predictors of reading achievement in elementary school. Thus, there is proven value in teaching these pre-reading skills in preschool classrooms.

What To Do?
All of this information can be downright confusing. Most parents aim to find the right preschool environment that will stage their child for future success.  But how do you know which option is best for your child? Research is conflicted on this matter. Some studies have found that play-based environments that emphasize social, emotional, and behavioral skills best predict future success, while others have found that developing academic and focusing skills using a traditional, structured approach directly correlates to such success.

Going Hybrid
Perhaps the solution for many children is a preschool that falls into the middle–one that emphasizes play, but also infuses some academic instruction. Children may start their days at various stations–dramatic play, water stations, and the like–and later transition into a more academic lesson. For instance, they may play a “ball” game for building phonemic awareness skills, where they stand in a circle and say a rhyming word as they catch a ball. Perhaps they begin to learn letter formations by tracing them in sand or shaving cream, or find items in a classroom that begin with a given sound. Learning academic principals doesn’t need to be fully structured and traditional; it can complement a play-based program, ultimately developing social, emotional, as well as key early academic skills.

The post Which Preschool Philosophy Is Right For Your Child? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Reading basic words. Forming letters and numbers. Solving math problems. These are all skills that are important parts of Kindergarten success. As students progress towards Kindergarten, they begin to develop the fundamentals of learning that will help them excel as they move through school. There are several strategies you can do at home to help your child establish these academic foundations and ease his or her transition into Kindergarten. The exercises outlined below are fun, engaging, and, of course, educational. So grab some note cards, markers, colored sand, and a cookie sheet – and let’s get to work!

Decoding
The ability to decode, or sound out, words is one of the most important skills for school success, and one that is often emphasized in Kindergarten classrooms. Yet before students can decode words, they need to develop an understanding of sound/symbol relationships – in other words, the names of the letters and their corresponding sounds. By learning these letters and sounds students can ultimately blend the sounds together to read words. So how can you reinforce this skill at home? Try following the tips below, and remember to keep the activities fun and engaging for your child!

Audio-Visual Cards
Start by teaching your child groups of five letters at a time: four consonants and one short vowel. Begin with some of the easier letters/sounds to master: for example, p, f, s, t, and the short vowel a. For every letter that you introduce, create a colorful note card with the letter on the front and a key picture that begins with that letter on the back. For example, for the letter p, you would write the letter p on the front of the card with a black marker, and you might use “pizza” as your key picture. Thus, you would draw (or cut out from a magazine) a colorful picture of a pizza on the back of the card. Feel free to add mushrooms, pepperoni – the works! (see the example below). Create similar note cards for all letters in this group. You might use “fish” for f, “sun” for s, “top” for t, and “apple” for a.

Card Drill
Now it’s time to put those cards into action! Hold the letter side of the first card up to your child (in this case, p), and using as close to the following language as possible, say, “This is the letter p, like pizza (flip card around), it makes the sound /p/ (flip card back around).” Then have your child repeat that sequence to you. Finally, the goal is for him or her to repeat that sequence back to you three times as you reverse the card for the picture name and turn it back around for the sound.
For example:
Parents says: This is the letter p, like pizza, it makes the sound /p/.
Parent and child say together: This is the letter p, like pizza, it makes the sound /p/.
Child says alone 3x: This is the letter p, like pizza, it makes the sound /p/.

Sky writing
Once you have completed the audio-visual card drill, you are ready to work on forming lower case letters with sky writing. You should model the formation of the letter first (we’re still on p), by holding your hand in the air, and, using your pointer and middle fingers, say out loud as you draw, “When we write the letter p, we go down, up, and around.” Make sure you draw a big letter in the air as your child watches. Next, your child should repeat the same motion in the air with you. He or she can even stand up while drawing to engage gross motor muscles. Finally, the goal is for him or her to draw the letter in the air three times, without your help or modeling.
For example:
Parent says, while drawing in the air: When we write the letter p, we go down, up, and around.
Parent and child say together, while drawing in the air: When we write the letter p, we go down, up, and around.
Child says alone 3x, while drawing in the air: When we write the letter p, we go down, up, and around.

Sand writing
Here’s where the fun part comes in – sand writing! Many kids love this part of the exercise. Pick up some colored sand from an art supplies store and pour it onto a cookie sheet or large plastic plate. You can even use kitchen salt or sand from the beach. Using your pointer and middle fingers again, model the formation of the letter – in this case p – in the sand, as your child watches. As you trace, you say out loud (for the letter p), “down, up, and around.” Then shake the sand and have your child trace the formation with you in the sand. Again, the goal is for him or her to trace the letter independently three times. You can try this exercise with flour while you are cooking, sand while at the beach, or dirt in the park. Have fun with it!

Paper writing
Using a sheet of Kindergarten lined paper, draw dotted lines for each letter and have your child trace each letter ten times. Then have him or her try to write it alone ten times, without tracing.

Putting it all together
Follow that same sequence of activities for every letter in the group you are working on. For example, do a card drill, sky writing, sand writing, and paper writing for the letters p, f, s, t, and a (or n, r, c, k, e, and so on). Then, once you have finished the exercises for that group of letters, put your cards back into a pile and it’s time for review! Hold each card up separately to your child and he or she should be able to tell you, without guidance, the name of the letter, picture, and sound (for example: p, pizza, /p/; f, fish, /f/, and so on). If you notice any difficulties, practice the steps above again.

Reading
You have now reached the most exciting part – reading! Once your child has a fluid knowledge of the letter names and sounds of at least one group (four consonants and one short vowel), you can work on teaching your child to blend those letters for form words – which, in essence, is reading. For example, place the a card in front of your child. Ask him or her to tell you the sound that a makes. Then put the t card next to the a card and ask your child what sound t makes. Since we know that a says /a/ and t says /t/, what happens when we blend those sounds together? We form the word “at!” Now try that exercise with different letters from that group. For example, hold out the a and p cards to form “ap” (the words can be real or nonsense). Eventually, add in a third letter – /p/ /a/ /t/ reads pat! You can also add in magnetic tiles, blocks with letters on them, and white boards to make this exercise even more fun.

Keep practicing these exercises and in no time your child can be reading! Remember to keep these exercises fun, engaging, and as multi-sensory as possible. The more you practice, the easier these exercises will be for your child, and the more excited he or she will be to start Kindergarten.

Dr. Emily Levy is the Founder and Director of EBL Coaching, which offers one-on-one tutoring and intensive summer programs. For more information, visit www.eblcoaching.com or call 212-249-0147.

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Preparing your child for kindergarten: early literacy skills

Sounding out basic words and correctly writing letters are key skills for kindergarten success. With a solid foundation in each of these skills, students will learn tools they need for excelling in school. As a parent, there are several techniques you can do at home to help your child build these core skills. Grab some note cards, markers, colored sand, and a cookie sheet — and read below for some fun, engaging, and of course educational multi-sensory activities that you can do at home.

Kindergarten reading readiness

Learning to decode, or sound out words, is an important skill for school success, and one that is emphasized in many kindergarten classrooms. Before students can decode words, however, they need to learn the names of each letter of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds. By doing so, they can then learn to blend these sounds together to read words, which is part of Orton Gillingham tutoring. Try following the tips below to teach your child these skills, and remember to always keep the activities fun, engaging, and multi-sensory! Read more at How to Boost Your Child’s Reading Readiness Skills – EBL Coaching.

Multi-Sensory activities to practice at home

You can start by teaching your child groups of five letters at a time: four consonants and one short vowel. Begin with some of the easier letters/sounds to grasp: for example, f, p, s, t, and the short vowel a. For every letter that you introduce, create a note card with the letter on the front and a key picture that begins with that letter on the back.
For example, for the letter f, you would write the letter f on the front of the card with a black marker, and you might use “fish” as your key picture. Thus, you would draw (or print) a colorful picture of a fish on the back of the card. Feel free to add lots of colors and have your child help in this process! Create similar note cards for all letters in this group. You might use “pizza” for p, “sun” for s, “top” for t, and “apple” for a.

Multi-sensory learning with card drills

Now it’s time to start the letter and sound learning process! Hold the letter side of the first card up to your child (in this case, f) and using as close to the following language as possible, say, “This is the letter f, like fish (flip card around), it makes the sound /f/ (flip card back around).” Then have your child repeat that sequence to you. Finally, the goal is for them to repeat that sequence back to you three times as you reverse the card for the picture name and turn it back around for the sound.
For example:
Parents says: This is the letter f, like fish, it makes the sound /f/.
Parent and child say together: This is the letter f, like fish, it makes the sound /f/.
Child says alone 3x: This is the letter f, like fish, it makes the sound /f/.

Have fun learning with sky writing

Once you have completed the audio-visual card drill with your child, you are ready to start the letter formation process with sky writing. You should model the formation of the letter first by holding your hand in the air, and, using your pointer and middle fingers, say out loud as you draw, “When we write the letter f, we go around, down, and across.” Make sure you draw a big letter in the air as your child watches. Next, your child should repeat the same motion in the air with you. They can even stand up while drawing to engage gross motor muscles. Finally, the goal is for them to draw the letter in the air three times, without your help or modeling. These types of writing exercises are often also integrated into Orton Gillingham tutoring lessons.
For example:
Parent says, while drawing in the air: When we write the letter f, we go around, down, and across.
Parent and child say together, while drawing in the air: When we write the letter f, we go around, down, and across.
Child says alone 3x, while drawing in the air: When we write the letter f, we go around, down, and across.

Learn letter formation with sand writing

Most children love this next step – sand writing! Pick up some colored sand from an art supplies store and pour it onto a cookie sheet or large plastic plate. You can even use kitchen salt or sand from the beach. Using your pointer and middle fingers again, model the formation of the letter – in this case f – in the sand, as your child watches. As you trace, you say out loud (for the letter f), “around, down, and across.” Then shake the sand and have your child trace the formation with you in the sand. Again, the goal is for them to trace the letter independently three times. You can try this exercise with flour while you are cooking, sand while at the beach, or dirt in the park. Have fun with it!

Practicer writing on paper

Using a sheet of kindergarten lined paper, draw dotted lines for each letter and have your child trace each letter ten times. Then have them try to write it alone ten times, without tracing.
Putting the multi-sensory activities together
Follow that same sequence of activities for every letter in the group you are working on. For example, do a card drill, sky writing, sand writing, and paper writing for the letters f, p, s, t, and a (or n, r, c, k, e, and so on). Then, once you have finished the exercises for that group of letters, put your cards back into a pile and it’s time for review! Hold each card up separately to your child and they should be able to tell you, without guidance, the name of the letter, picture, and sound (for example: f, fish, /f/; p, pizza, /p/, and so on). If you notice any difficulties, practice the steps above again.

Multi-sensory reading tutoring

You have now reached the most exciting part – reading! Once your child has a fluid knowledge of the letter names and sounds of at least one group (four consonants and one short vowel), you can perform your own reading tutoring sessions and work on teaching them to blend those letters for form words – which, in essence, is reading. For example, place the a card in front of your child. Ask them to tell you the sound that a makes. Then put the t card next to the a card and ask your child what sound t makes. Since we know that a says /a/ and t says /t/, what happens when we blend those sounds together? We form the word “at!” Now try that exercise with different letters from that group. For example, hold out the a and p cards to form “ap” (the words can be real or nonsense). Eventually, add in a third letter – /p/ /a/ /t/ reads pat! You can also add in magnetic tiles, blocks with letters on them, and white boards to make this exercise even more fun. Enjoy these multi-sensory tutoring sessions with your child!

Read more at How to Boost Your Child’s Reading Readiness Skills – EBL Coaching.

With ample practice and reinforcement of these exercises, your child will be reading sooner than you may have ever imagined! Remember to keep these exercises fun, creative, and as engaging as possible. The more you practice, the stronger these early literacy skills will become for your child, and the more excited they will be to start kindergarten!

If you feel your child would benefit from multi-sensory tutoring to help prepare them for kindergarten in a fun way, contact EBL Coaching and learn more about our one-on-one tutoring programs by visiting www.eblcoaching.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I teach my child the letter names and sounds?
You can help your child learn the letter names and sounds with a multi-sensory tutoring approach. Introduce the name of a letter on a flashcard with a key picture on the back. For example, you might write the letter s on the front of a card with a picture of a snake on the back. Say to your child, “This is the letter s, like “snake”, it makes the sound /s/.” Have them practice that sequence aloud with you and have them work on tracing the letter in colored sand or salt on a tray.

What is decoding and why is it important?
Decoding is the ability to blend sounds together to form words. Many children with dyslexia or reading challenges struggle with decoding and benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring to build this skill.

How do I make learning fun for my child?

When kids are young, learning should be fun! When working on basic skills with your child, try to incorporate multi-sensory tools, like sand for forming letters, magnetic tiles, and games.

Dr. Emily Levy, the founder and director of EBL Coaching, holds her Doctorate Degree in Education and has been helping children prepare for kindergarten with individualized tutoring for over twenty years.

Learn more about early childhood literacy research at Effectiveness of Early Literacy Instruction: Summary of 20 Years of Research.
Other Related Blogs:
Building Pre-Reading Skills

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