If Jack built a school, there would be hover desks and pop-up textbooks, skydiving wind tunnels and a trampoline basketball court in the gym, a robo-chef to serve lunch in the cafeteria, field trips to Mars, and a whole lot more. The inventive boy who described his ideal car and house in previous books is dreaming even bigger this time.
Identifying the beginning, middle, and ending sounds in spoken words like dog or sit
Saying new words by changing the beginning sound, like changing rat to sat
Starting to match words they hear to words they see on the page
Sounding out simple words
Starting to recognize some words by sight without having to sound them out
Asking and answering who, what, where, when, why, and how questions about a story
Retelling a story in order, using words or pictures
Predicting what happens next in a story
Your child likely will learn all the letters and their sounds this year. Some combinations of letters are still tricky for children to hear but they’re learning all the time. By making these connections, your child can also start to write and decode some easy words and begin reading short books to you. Their comprehension of what’s going on in the more complex stories you are reading to them will help them understand the simple stories they can read themselves. Continuing to read to your child, even when they’re able to read, will give you both a chance to talk about more complicated books and continue the beautiful relationship you started together 5 years ago. Reading together can still be the very best part of the day for you and your child!
Click here to see a full list of milestones for your 5-year-old as well as tips and activities for you and your child!
Maine author, Chris Van Dusen, creates an amazing, imaginative world where a young person can build a school with all sorts of fun features that adult architects forget to include.
