Monday - letter Aa, read "Two Bad Ants" by Chris Van Allsburg

*Write a Letter Aa with dots, Student will trace and write her own letter. Show her where to start, pick her pencil up and stop. talk to her about the top line, middle line, bottom line and "basement".

* make a connection with the short vowel "A" sound and the word apple. Picture taking a bite of an apple and help her recognize the form/ shape her mouth is in to make this sound and what it feels like. ( you may want to use a mirror and have an actual apple)

*numbers - count 1-20. when writing the date focus on the formation (example 9/8 look at #8 - dot it first eight is a one of the trouble #'s also introduce the written word "eight". make piles of eight items (we use small animal figures), count. Introduce the #0 - given 1 object take it away and make the connection that she has nothing in her hands. that is the number 0.

*Social Studies and science- on Mondays talk about the events of the week - use a calendar to keep a record of family birthdays, signs of fall / in your case, talk about the signs of fall - if you do not live where there is a fall season, talk about Illinois( or other state that has seasonal changes) . Consider asking a friend or relative (or develop a pen pal) to send pics of leaves. Trace her/ his hand and make a leaf, trace your hand your hand and make it look like a leaf. let her/ him choose one of the "fall" colors (if she/he needs work on colors now is a perfect time to reinforce)

Tuesday- review letter Aa. Ask your child to tell you the story of the bad ants that you read yesterday. Ask her to draw a picture of her favorite part of the story.

*go through same steps of singing ABC, and saying A says a,a,a as in apple A says a,a,a,a.

*look back at yesterdays Aa ask her to put her finger on the Aa's she sees. say what a says together. remind of mouth shape.

* trace the Aa in the air - you will need to be side by side or if you are in front of her, have your back to her so she can mirror what you are doing.

*numbers 1-20. focus on the number of the day, when you write the date. talk about the month - what number of month of the year and today is the ___day the year is 20__.

count out 9 objects, review number 0.

*Science-introduce insects. ask your child to name some. Introduce the ant and talk about how we know the difference between bugs, spiders and insects. All insects have 3 body parts, and 6 legs. Draw a picture of an ant or look at the ant in the book and identify these parts. Ask your child to draw his or her own imagination insect... look for 3 body parts and 6 legs. ( help your child count them and then count the body parts and legs together = 9). Ask your child to add details to his/her picture like grass, sky and sun etc... and to color, most children like for you to color too. (use a balance - should be mostly her work but you can say - i'll color this over here and you do that one...)

Wed.- letter Bb, read "Butterfly" by Moira Butterfield ( this goes through the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly).

*Write letter Bb with dots, your child will trace and then write Bb. show her where to start and stop.

* sing alphabet, and go through what sound b makes. B says b,b,b as in ball b says b,b,b. be careful to only use the b sound without adding the vowel U after. Show your child how the lips go together and the smacking sound that comes. model it first then have her try. Use a mirror so he/she can see if her/his mouth is doing the same thing. Review A says a,a,a as in apple a says a,a,a.

*numbers- count 1-20. write the date and introduce the number 1. and show her the number 1 and number 0 in the number 10. look around the room and find things that there are only 1 of. now look for things that start with the letter b and say "there is 1 basket, 1 ball, 1 ??? emphasize the b sound.

*Social studies/ science - continue with the Fall theme, talk about how birds and butterflies go south for the winter. look at a globe, map and talk about north and south ( point out where the state you live in is and talk about people you know who live in other states... point them out on a map). (optional: Talk about the monarch butterflies that travel south to Mexico for the winter. Talk about our country and the countries that border north(Canada), and South (Mexico). Your child should draw a picture of the birds flying south for the winter. write a 2 or 3 word phrase or sentence about the picture and she can copy under your letters.

Thurs- review letter Bb. Your student should retell the story from yesterday and draw a picture. You label the words and ask Amy to look for Aa or Bb's she can circle a's and underline b's.

*Trace the letter Bb and Aa in the air. sing alphabet and go through the sounds A and B says using the pattern above.

*numbers 1-20. write the date. talk again about the numbers already discussed 0,1,8, 9 count and make combinations of numbers that add up to (10 ex. 4 cats and 6 dogs count them all together = 10). Your child should be able to write his/her own #0 and #1 and know how many the number represents.

*Science- review what you learned about insects (3 parts and 6 legs), look at a picture of butterfly and determine that it is an insect, teach about the stages of insects like the butterfly...1. egg 2. larvae 3. cocoon/ chrysalis 4. adult. Divide a paper in 4 squares, and let him/her or him draw the 4 stages in each box. Label and let your child copy your words. Emphasize any A or B letters by having her point to all the As and then all the Bs.

Homework for your child and dad ( or someone that is older and knows there letters and sounds) :) : Dad should help the student find 1 "secret" item for A and B for the letter basket in the morning. (this is like show and tell) Preferably use the short vowel sounds for the letter basket - go with what she brings in though)

Friday- Review and Craft

*review the other sounds Aa and Bb say using the same pattern - be consistent with saying the whole thing.

*numbers write the date.

*letter basket: Student will reveal the letter items he/she brought in and tell you what letter they each start with (help if your child needs it)

*Choose a craft for letter A and letter B.