Jolly Phonics

Last year I started teaching Receptions (aka Kindergarten in USA). I was very interested in starting a phonics program in the school as I had taught children up to grade 4 in previous years with very little phonemic awareness and this worried me! They couldn't read a simple text and had no idea how to sound out words & blend to read! ahhh! Something needed to change!

I had been to a Jolly Phonics training in 2010, and found the program very interesting. I researched by talking to teacher friends, purchased a handbook, and last year started it in my classroom.

I couldn't believe the results, in the 9 weeks the program took to teach (one letter sound a day), every one of my class had learned pretty much all the sounds (some had forgotten some of the trickier diagraphs). They were blending to read and segmenting to spell. I was absolutely amazed at my clever kiddies! By the end of the year, most of the class were on reading levels (something that wasn't usually seen at our school!) and were spelling at an age appropriate level!

This has been so successful with our kids, and I know there are other synthetic phonics programs out there, I wonder what other teachers use....

Ok,

So I haven't posted for over a year. One thing I would like to do this year is blog a bit more! I love reading other people's blogs, and find them so interesting, but I think it is overwhelming and I don't really know where to start!  I need to set aside time each week or so to do this!

I'll fill you in on what has happened in the last year:

Last year I had the most amazing class. I miss them a lot this year. They picked everything I  taught them up so quickly. They were also very mature for 5 & 6 year olds! They were like little 'old people'. Everything interested them. They learned so so much and I was so proud at the end of the year with their results. My little girls still come in and see me almost every day at recess and lunch.

At the end of the year I travelled to America to visit my family in Oregon (and had Christmas there), spent time with friends in NYC, Vegas and LA. I had a great time. While in Oregon I went to Lakeshore - the store that I read about on the blogs I follow! We don't have anything like that where I live in Australia. I spent over an hour just walking around looking at everything. I am so jealous!!

 At Disneyland! Last time I went the teacup ride was closed due to rain! I was so so excited to be able to go on it this time!! I was like a child again when I was Minnie and Mickey mouse!!

 At the Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park. Loved seeing this - Alice is one of my favourite stories!

This year's class is a bit of a shock - most of my class are brand new from kindy. I have had to teach them school routines, how to sit on the floor, how to ask to go to the toilet, how to walk around the school sensibly. The first couple of weeks were really hard - I compared this lot to my class last year. I had to keep reminding myself that this was all new for them, their first few weeks ever at school. After 3 weeks I have seen improvement and they are starting to show emotion (the first 2 weeks I would say something and get blank looks back - instead of giggles like I was used to!!)

 A picture of my classroom before the first day of school!

We are using Jolly Phonics again this year, and that is again showing its amazing-ness!! The kids are picking it up, but are slower blending sounds together. I will have to do a lot of work on this, perhaps in small groups as there are already many different ability levels showing.

Ok so I hopefully will write again very soon! I'll set a goal to write again in the next week!