Let's READ

Learning to read is in full swing at CES.  First graders have been reading like crazy and filling in their reading calendars at home in the hopes of winning some great prizes! Kindergartners will get their first reading calendar in October. I will be in classes explaining the reading calendar program, prizes and reading to kindergarten students next week.  I can't wait to get them EXCITED about learning to read!

Vroom, vroom... Is your motor running?

What is my child talking about when she says she should read with her motor running??

When we practice blending words, we connect and elongate the sounds.  This helps our students hear the whole word together and not just the individual sounds. I practice this with my students by having them touch their throat as they speak to feel the vibration, or their motor running.  We talk about keeping that motor running as we blend the sounds in words.  If we leave our motor running, we say the whole word.  If we forget and turn our motor off, we just say the sounds individually. 

You can practice this at home by having your child "hold their motor" and blend words.

  

For example:
cat would sound like caaaaaat,
 instead of  c (pause) a (pause) t