Incoming First Graders
Leap Into Learning!

Are you coming to FIRST GRADE? Well, if you liked kindergarten (and who didn't?), you'll love First Grade, too!

While you're having fun in the sun this summer, you might want to think ahead! Here are some ideas that will help you get ready for a fantastic First Grade year!

READ, READ, READ! I know that Mrs. Gates read LOTS of great books to you in kindergarten! Have Mom or Dad continue to read to you all summer! Keep a list of books that you've read and next to each title draw a happy face if you liked the book or a sad face if you didn't. You might even want to write a sentence about why you felt that way. Then you can bring the list to me in August. I'd love to see what kinds of books you enjoy!

I know you learned your letters and sounds in kindergarten. Keep practicing them over the summer. Play games with your family, like thinking of things that begin with a certain letter. Play memory games, where you match the letter with a picture of something that begins with that sound. We'll review the letters and sounds in August, because they are SO important when you're learning to read!

Other things that are so important when you're learning to read are sight words. These are words that break the rules - they don't look the way they sound. You can't sound out these words; you have to memorize them. How many can you learn this summer?

I bet you did a lot of writing in kindergarten, too! Keep writing, listening to the sounds, and writing the letters. Keep a journal of your summer adventures or write letters and postcards to family and friends. If you write a story, bring it to me in August - I'd love to read it!

Writing in first grade is also about learning to write on LINES! You may want to practice a bit this summer. Remember to start writing from the top. Practice writing both your first and last name using a capital letter at the beginning and then lower case letters.

You did a lot of counting and math work in kindergarten, too! Practice counting to 20. Can you count past 20? Can you make it all the way to 100? Can you count by 10's to 100? Work on writing your numbers from 0 through 10. Sometimes in kindergarten you might have made them backwards. Can you write them all so that they face the right way? At the end of kindergarten, you may have worked on simple number sentences, like 2 + 2. Can you do others?

The most important thing for you to do is have fun this summer and RELAX! You're going to do great in First Grade!