June 2017
Dear Incoming Kindergarten Six to Six Parents and Families:
To begin our school year as a community of readers, the Bridgeport Bluefish will be giving out
complimentary tickets to students who complete the summer reading requirements. We will be attending a
game that will be held in mid-September. Students will be recognized for their accomplishments with an onfield parade and a public address! Please encourage your child to read over the summer in order to participate in
this exciting activity! We would love to have as many students, families, and staff members together to
celebrate as possible!
We encourage you to read as much as possible. An incoming Kindergarten family we ask that you read and
record at least 10 books this summer on the attached log.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the main office over the summer. All reading
lists and materials will also be available on our website. Thank you in advance for your support in fostering a
love of reading in your child all year long!
Sincerely,
Elena Silva
Literacy Coordinator
Six to Six Magnet School
June 2017
Dear Transitioning Kindergarten Families,
Families frequently ask what they can do with their child in the summer months in order build on the skills
they have worked on throughout this school year. We have come up with a list of ideas that you can easily do
with your child. You can engage your child in learning in fun ways and work on skills without any drills! We
recommend limiting the use of entertainment electronics (tv, computer, video games) to one hour per day in
order to give your child various opportunities to build skills across all areas of development.
Visit local places like farms, zoos, aquariums, and museums. Often times you can get free passes at the library.
Some places only ask for a donation or have a specific day of the week that is free. Plan your summer activities
as a family using a calendar. This helps children understand how adults use calendars.
LiteracyHave conversations with your child about the things they notice and wonder about the world around them.
Encourage them to investigate their questions.
Please read to your children and talk about stories and non-fiction books! Reading aloud builds many
language skills (comprehension, rhyme, vocabulary building etc).
Does your child have a library card?? Now is a great time to start visiting the library and taking out books
together. Libraries have wonderful programs available during the summer.
Here are some book suggestions that children love:
Happy Birthday Moon
Bear Shadow
Noisy Nora
Bunny Cakes
Max Cleans Up
A Bird is A Bird
The Very Hunger Caterpillar
The Very Busy Spider
The Grouchy Ladybug
Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!
The Little Engine that Could
Knuffle Bunny
I Can’t Said the Ant
The Day the Goose Got Loose
The Jacket I Wear In the Snow
Harold and the Purple Crayon
The Carrot Seed
The Cow that Went Oink
The Doorbell Rang
The little mouse, the big hungry bear, and the red ripe strawberry
Corduroy
Rainbow Fish
The Apple Pie Tree
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
What do you do with a tail like this? The Mitten
The Hat
Peter’s Chair
The Snowy Day
Miss Bindergarten gets ready for kindergarten
Inch By Inch
Fredrick
Swimmy
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Caps For Sale
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Henny Penny
The Gingerbread Man
The Little Red Hen
The Three Little Pigs
Little Red Riding Hood
Create a writing and art tool box for your child. Put fun things to write with, paper, envelopes, stickers, a small
clip board, a notebook. Encourage children to draw and write. Remember: writing is emerging now. Let them
experiment with making the shapes of letters, lines and curves. Resist the urge to have your child practice
writing letters repeatedly; instead have them write in real experiences: making lists, cards, signs, books, etc.
Young children naturally like to see their name in print and have a desire to know the letters in their name.
Have children start with the letters in their own name when attempting to recognize, name letters, and make
letters. Make it fun!! Use materials like: shaving cream, play dough, clay, glitter crayons, sidewalk chalk, wikki
sticks, paintbrushes and water, cotton swabs and paint, glue and rice, and magnetic letters.
Print is all around! Take the time to notice letters and words around you at home, in the store, on the street,
etc. Make it a fun learning game in which you play “I spy”. I spy something with the letter M or /m/(say the
sound the m makes.
Make up silly rhymes, sing finger plays and songs together- this helps builds phonological awareness!
Social Skills
Provide opportunities for your child to spend time with other children playing and talking.
Give small chores or jobs to your child so that they may experience responsibility and a sense of
accomplishment.
Have a daily routine so that your child is used to consistency. Children thrive on it.
Talk and model how to express feelings appropriately and with self-control.
Remind children to listen when others talk (looking into the speaker’s eyes, waiting their turn to speak).
Involve your child in cooking, gardening, shopping.
Play board games and card games.
MathHave children use math in their day to day life. examples-Take 5 animal crackers for snack, read 2 books
before bed time, we have 2 more days before we go on our trip, eat 10 peas before dessert etc.
Let your child help assist you in the kitchen. They can pour, mix, measure roll etc.
Encourage sorting skills when cleaning up, helping you fold laundry, playing with toys.
Children love to count, have them count things around the house.
Play simple board games, matching games, dominoes, memory etc. together.
Make simple math books-write a number and help your child match stickers or foam pieces for each page.
Fine motor skills
Children need practice working with a variety of materials to build up small motor strength. This helps
children become more successful with the writing process. Some fun things to do to promote fine motor skills:
Playing with playdough-rolling, pinching, cutting with a scissors etc.
Snipping paper with scissors or cutting out shapes, pictures from magazines, coupons etc.
String beads, fruit loops etc to make necklaces.
Use tweezers and tongs to pick things up.
Play with legos, bristle blocks, tinker toys, peg boards and other building toys.
Gross Motor skills- give your child many opportunities to climb, jump, swim, balance, ride a bike, and run!
Are you looking for camps or childcare for your child for the summer? Finding camps that include preschoolers
can be difficult. A good place to start is by accessing Infoline by calling 211 or searching www.infoline.org
Infoline keeps a database of childcare and summer programs in each town. This will include places like local
child care programs that are open throughout the summer and summer camps that include preschool.
We hope your family has a wonderful summer. We look forward to seeing you in September, enjoy!
The Preschool Team
Kindergarten Summer Reading Log 2017
Child’s Name: __________________________________
Look at all of the books my family read this summer!
Read at least 10 books and turn in this form to your Kindergarten teacher
for a ticket to Bluefish Game to be scheduled in September.
Book Title
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