I need help teaching Language Arts

Question

My daughter is going to kindergarten in 14 days. How can I teach her english? Where should I start. She knows the alphabet but she has trouble with pronouncing words. I want her to be above average. How can I teach her???

Answer 1

First of all, good for you for wanting the best for your daughter, and for wanting to help.  But you should take a breath and relax a bit.  It's so scary to send little ones off to school, but try to remember that a whole bunch of skilled, trained people will be there to guide her and help her.  

Lots of kindergarteners have trouble pronouncing words; most grow out of it and do fine.  If your child has a speech problem that is more serious, your school should be able to treat it (if it is a public school).  You can ask them for a speech/language evaluation.  If the school has kindergarten screening, mention your concern then.

To help your daughter develop her language skills; talk to her a lot! Describe what you are doing when you cook, when you play, when you travel.  Look at lots of picture books together.  Sit her on your lap and read to her.  Teacher her lots of nursery rhymes; rhyming is one of the earliest reading skills and is often overlooked.

Its good that she knows the alphabet, but she needs to know what sound each letter makes, not just its name.  So, you can play guessing games.  Say, "I see something on the table that starts with the sound 'sssssss'." Have her look around and try to guess 'cereal' or 'salt'.  

Most of all, let her enjoy kindergarten and feel successful and proud of herself.

Good luck!!

Answer 2

"I want her to be above average" but be sure you are encouraging her and not "pushing" her as this may backfire on you if she becomes frustrated. Even though there are milestones in development, try to measure her against her own development rather than comparing her to others. It seems she will get the  support from you she needs.  Keep in mind that on some days she may be working on physical skills while at other times her brain may soak up number concepts or the english skills you desire.  Follow the lead from her teacher about what to reinforce with her.  

Answer 3

Make sure you read with her at home on a daily basis.  It is normal for a kindergarten student not to be able to read some words.  If she knows the alphabet then the teacher will teach her the sounds the letters makes.

Make some sight words on flashcards....a, at, the, in, on, up, etc.  The basic 5 year old sight words and practice these with her daily.  Then when she learns how to read she will always recognize these words.  In Canada, the sight words I use at school are the Dolce list of words (maybe you can find them online?)

Teach her the sounds blends make like sh,th,ar,etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about this right now though if she's only starting kindergarten.  Let it come naturally.