Encourage Reading and Writing with a Routine Book

Even though first grade is here, children still like the secure sense of sequence and routine that they had in kindergarten. However, first grade brings a lot of change. Your child is starting to read and write full sentences, and by midyear he'll be learning how to tell time on a non-digital "analogue" clock. This activity lets you and your first grader create a personal book  of a soothing, predictable set of routines that will be a powerful tool to help him discover the fundamental, predictable rhythm of his days. It’s also excellent practice in reading, writing, and in identifying time, which is a key skill in both math and social science at this age.

What You Need:

• 11 pages of card stock
• Photograph of your child
• Glue stick
• 3-hole punch with 3 clip-on rings
• Thin black marker
• Markers and colored pencils for drawing
• Black construction paper
• One brass fastener
• Exacto-knife

What to Do:

1. Start with the cover. Turn your paper horizontally and have your child write a title at the top of the page, such as “My Book of My Typical Day.”  In the middle of the page, have him glue on his photograph.  At the bottom of the page have him write his name.
2. On the next nine pages, use the exacto knife to cut out a 4x4” window in the upper right hand corner of each page.  Be sure the "window" is in exactly the same part of each page.  On the final piece of cardstock, do not make a “window.”  Instead, trace a square with your pen, draw a circle inside, and have your child help you draw the face of a clock.
3. Cut an hour hand and a minute hand from your black construction paper, and use the paper fastener to fasten them into place on your clock so that they can rotate.
4. Once you've finished the clock, have your first grader write one sentence about something he does everyday across the bottom of each page. Feel free to let him reword any sentence based on his preferences. We suggest that your child choose 9 of the following topics.

• In the morning, I wake up at _______ o’clock and get dressed.
• I eat _______ for breakfast.
• I go to school on a bus/bike/car.
• At school, I work and play and learn.
• I eat lunch with other kids.
• I come home from school at _______ o’clock. 
• I play and do activities.
• I do homework.
• I eat dinner.
• I take a bath and get ready for bed.
• At night, I go to sleep at _______ o’clock.

5. Above each sentence, have your child draw himself doing that action.
6. Then, have him put the pages in order of what happens first in the day to what happens last in the day.
7. Finally, clip the pages together to form a complete “book.”  You will see that each time you get to a new page, your first grader has an opportunity not only to read to you but to connect the sequence of the day to a real, movable clock.