Hello Magnolia Families,
We’d love to share all of the things we’ve been learning and doing these last few weeks with you. This will be a pretty robust blog, (three weeks worth of fun!) but we wanted to recap Back to School night and give you more information about our literacy program: “itl”
The “itl” literacy program (Integrated Total Language) was developed in the 1970’s by Kindergarten teacher Donna Connell. She stated that “Cognitive research tells us that to write a symbol correctly a child must first have an accurate mental image of the symbol. The child must have a motor plan for translating the mental image into motor actions. Therefore, the itl program is designed to cover both requirements.” When this program is applied consistently, children engage in listening to stories about each “friend” (character) and their initial sound. They also learn to retell the stories, replaying the stories in informal dramatic play, writing their initial letters, and so much more. The unique order of letter introduction provides children with the simplest forms first. For example, the letters “i” and “l” are simply standing lines (vertical) and for the letter “t”, you simply have a standing line and a resting line (horizontal). The letter forms become more complex as we move through the alphabet. Big thanks to Caterpillar Kirstie Mah for sharing this incredible out of print language curriculum! Her parents used it to teach preschoolers in the ’80s 🙂
Through the itl program began a few weeks ago, the children have met three new friends: itl the inchworm, til the turtle and lit the ladybug. They have been introduced to their sounds “i” as in “little,” “t” as in “ant,” and “l” as in “little.”
Some of the children may be able to retell itl, til and lit’s stories, make their sounds, and write/draw the sound and/or friend. They have also been introduced to vertical (standing) and horizontal (resting) lines. They had opportunities to make the lines in the air and on paper. You may have noticed some itl and til stick puppets hitch a ride home in your children’s tote bags. Children have also explored language using loose letters, practicing handwriting with dry erase boards, sorting small objects by their initial sound, and creating sand letters with fine sand and glue. Throughout the year, we will make it through the alphabet and your child will have a head start on handwriting too!
Back to School night Recap and a Sharing Tradition
If you missed Back to School night, no worries! For those that could attend, it was wonderful to see so many of you and welcome you to the classroom. Folks had great questions about the daily routine, and I thought i’d share some questions that came up with some responses we shared.
How does Sharing go in Magnolia?
Here in Magnolia, we’ve come up with a creative way to encourage your child to bring a sharing to the classroom, practice describing it in front of a crowd, and learning to be a supportive audience. We will send home a small, handled paper bag with your child’s name on it. Please support your child in writing down one or two “clues” about the item inside. For example, if your child wants to share a feather they found you could include clues such as: “It is soft to touch” or “it came from a bird” or “it has one pointed end.” We can’t wait to see what the children share!
Give it a try for yourself!
How Can I better understand my child’s school experience?
Read the morning dry erase board messages each day! Read our blog with your child and ask them about what they see! Ask your teachers! Attend conferences and review progress report narratives. Reach out if you’d like to have an after school check-in!
Links to the Magnolia Children’s playlist and the Magnolia Grownup’s Playlists
Children’s music: click here
Grownup’s music: click here
Is there a difference between the procare messages: “your child slept today” vs. “your child napped today?”
Nope 🙂 it just depends on the teacher’s style. We will indicate if the nap is unusual (very short or no nap at all). All of the children are required to “rest” for 15 minutes, so even the “non nappers” have a quiet rest time.
Around Magnolia
Our first music class with Aaron Kierbel, art with Julianne, creating ramps and roads in the construction zone, playdough fun, chill time in the peaceful place, taking care of pretend babies, Tet with Jordan’s mom Ann, arranging flowers (thank you Lara, Edna and Nate!) staying cool in the heat, our ladybug song lyrics (to the tune of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt) making lemonade, and more!
Finally, here’s a quick compilation of videos from the week. We will sprinkle videos into our blogs every few posts. We hope you enjoy!
♥Magnolia Teachers