Ribbit

One of the things we do at the beginning of Kinder is assess what kids already know. Of course this assessment includes naming letters, counting, and identifying four basic shapes, but inexplicably does not include hopping up and down on one foot, which many have mentioned as the first thing to be done in a Kinder "test". One of the most entertaining parts of this process can be letter sounds. Allow me to demonstrate:

Teacher (pointing to the letter S): "What sound does this letter make?"

Student: "SSSSS" (98% of kids know this sound coming into Kinder, regardless of their home language.)

Teacher: (pointing to the letter M): "What sound does this letter make?"

Student: (pauses, looks at teacher) "Ribbit-Ribbit"

Teacher: (holding in laughter; wants to make sure she heard what she thinks she heard, points to the next letter) : "OK, What sound does this letter make?"

Student: (more confidently now) "Ruff-Ruff"

Yes. This is a slice of my day! Fun stuff, right?

Another great story in the same vein is the one about the student who was asked the same thing and in response lowered his ear to the paper to listen to the sound the letter was "making". HA! so cute!