Literacy and Numeracy

Re-establishing Regular Reading Routines

It has been wonderful to greet our students at the gate most mornings. Bright eyed, bushy tailed, beaming smiles, ready to start the day.

It's now time to shed the 'remote learning' skin and re-establish our regular reading routine. We all know which time works best for us in our own homes - perhaps straight after school, perhaps after dinner, perhaps after bathtime with our PJs on. The important thing is that we get back into it, away from technology and screens, enjoying the process together.

Things you can do to promote a love of reading:

Read with and to your child. Your enthusiasm and modelling is catchy.
Talk about books. Make predictions prior to reading. Explore personal connections with characters, settings and events.
Mix up types of books that you are reading. Fiction is our natural go to but some children are better engaged in information texts.
Look for everyday opportunities for reading to take place. Directions, street signs, instructions, recipes, etc.
Make reading part of your regular, predictable daily routine. Make it as enjoyable as you can.
View books as great treats or even gifts.

A few helpful hints to assist with reading at home:

Talk, talk, talk. Predict, explain, check in on comprehension, review, compare and question.
The 3Ps. Pause, Prompt and Praise especially when solving an unknown word.
Take turns. Can you read a page/paragraph each?
Be patient. Our own mood sends a message about the reading process. Reading should be an enjoyable task. Let's try to make it so.

A regular reading routine improves vocabulary development, increase ability and understanding across all curriculum areas and is a great way to unwind, focus and continue to build a relationship with our child.

Premiers' Reading Challenge!

Wow! We have so many students participating in the challenge and they have read over 300 books so far! A reminder to keep adding the books you have read to your list. We still have a few weeks to go before the challenge closes. Remember that Prep - Year 2 students need to read 30 books with a minimum of 20 being from the Challenge book list. Years 3 - 6 need to read 15 books with a minimum of 10 being from the Challenge book list.

Happy reading!

Mrs Cathy Dimitrakopoulos

cathy.dimitrakopoulos@sjvermont.catholic.edu.au

MATHS GAMES TO PLAY IN THE CAR

As school holidays approach, remember - Mathematics does not have to stop! We can use time in the car to continue to engage with Mathematics. Here are some great activities to keep your kids quiet and engaged. Try some of these out. I would love to hear from you and how you went.

Here are some to try:

Count

Count anything and everything. Count items as a team or play a game to see who can find the most of whatever item you are counting. Modify this game by counting forward, backward, or skip counting.

Number Plate Challenge

Play a variety of games using car number plates. Who can find the largest number? Who can find a number closest to 400? Add the digits and highest number wins. Multiply the digits. Double the digits. Halve the digits. Be creative!

Guess my number

This game can be adapted for any age. Think of a number and have your children guess it. You can give a range in which your number falls or make it more challenging by not giving a range. When your children guess a number, tell them if the number is higher or lower.

Don’t Say My Digit

One player chooses a digit that no one is allowed to say. Take turns counting by ones, but skip any number that contains the selected number. For example, if the digit not to say is 4, players cannot say 4, 14, 24, 34, or any number in the 40s. It would sound like this: “1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, etc.” If anyone slips and says the selected number, start over. See how high you can count! Try counting by 2s, 3s, etc.

Guess My Secret Rule

This game is similar to Guess My Number, but instead of trying to guess the number you try to guess the rule. For example, if your rule is to multiply by 10 and a player says 37, you would answer 370.

Car Cricket

One person at a time comes up to 'bat', and they score 'runs' when vehicles are sighted. For cars to count as runs they must be moving and travelling in the opposite direction. White cars (and silver/grey) are worth one run, coloured cars (including black, excluding red) are worth two runs, motorbikes are worth a four, and trucks and buses are worth six runs. Any vehicle towing anything collects an additional "overthrow" run. Red cars, they get you out. After everyone in the car has had a turn at bat, the person with the most runs wins. It works well on open roads for long road trips, not so well with city driving.

Shape Search

Have you ever noticed how most drawing books talk about how all drawings begin with basic shapes? It’s so true! Look around, because for this game you need some observation skills.

Everyone looks out a window, keeping their eyes open for shapes. Circular manhole cover? Shout out, “Circle!”

Rectangle windows on that semi-truck? Call out, “Rectangle!”

Try to find some more obscure shapes like hearts, rhombuses (diamonds), parallelograms, etc.

Challenge your kids to look for shapes inside of shapes. Maybe the rectangle sign has circles, or they find a triangle inside of a square.

Regards

Mr Joshua Crowe

joshua.crowe@sjvermont.catholic.edu.au