PreK Family Newsletter

Winter is here, bringing shorter days but brighter opportunities to learn and connect. As we reach the middle of the school year, it's the perfect time to celebrate progress, strengthen routines, and enjoy meaningful family moments together. This newsletter shares ideas and resources to support learning at home and keep family engagement strong.

Reading, storytelling, and talking about words help children learn new vocabulary, recognize letters, and build a love for books.

• Cozy Story Time: Pick a special evening each week to read together as a family. Build a blanket fort, sip hot cocoa, and enjoy a favorite story. Let your child turn the pages and point to pictures.
• Name Writing: Write your child's name in big letters on a piece of paper. Let them trace the letters with cotton balls, finger paint, or a Q-tip dipped in water.
• Alphabet Letters: Write letters on paper "marshmallows." Drop them into a cup and pull one out. Say the letter name and sound together.
• Storytelling Together: Story tell together. Start a winter story ("One snowy day, a little bear went outside...") and let your child add the next part.
• Winter Words: Label winter gear. Put sticky notes on boots, coats, or hats. Say each word as your child sees the letters.
• Syllables: On a walk (outdoors or indoors), look for winter things-hats, lights, trees. Say the word, then clap the sounds ("boots" = 1 clap, "mittens" = 2 claps).

Activities like counting marshmallows, measuring ingredients for hot cocoa, or making patterns with mittens helps children practice math skills. Sorting, comparing, and noticing shapes and numbers strengthens their thinking and problem-solving.

• Cooking and baking are great ways to practice math! Children can measure ingredients, count scoops, and compare sizes.
• Tallest Snowman: Build the tallest "snowman" from cups, marshmallows, or blocks.
• Snowball Toss: Crumple paper into "snowballs." Write numbers on them. Have your child toss them into a basket and shout the number as they throw.
• Handmade Snowflakes: Cut out paper snowflakes and look for triangles, squares, or diamonds. Ask, "How many shapes do you see?"
• Winter Patterns: Make simple patterns with mittens, socks, or blocks: red-blue-red-blue. Ask your child, "What comes next?"
• How Many Snacks?: Use snacks such as crackers or cereal to practice counting one by one.
• Shape Hunt: Look around the house for triangles, squares, circles, and rectangles. Then have your child draw or snap pictures of the shapes they found.

Active play builds gross motor skills, coordination, and helps children focus.

• Indoor Movement Jar: Create a "movement" jar. Write simple actions (jumping jacks, dance, stretch) on slips of paper. When energy runs high, pull one out and get moving together!
• Just Dance: Play favorite music and have kids lead the dance.
• Ice Skating: Use socks or paper plates on smooth floors for a safe indoor skating game.
• Freeze Dance with Scarves: Dance to music using scarves; freeze in different poses when the music stops.

Preschoolers love to explore—and that includes writing! Whether they’re drawing pictures, pretending to write a list, or “signing” their artwork, children are showing curiosity about the print they see all around them. Just as you encouraged your child’s first words, you can encourage their first steps as a writer!

In PreK, writing often means talking and drawing.

• Children’s drawings are meaningful to them—they can tell you what they’ve created!

• They add scribbles, lines, and letter-like shapes as they imitate the writing they see around them.

• Over time, you’ll notice more details, colors, and recognizable letters appearing in their work.

Every mark is a step toward writing!

📚 Read and tell stories together.
Share books, tell stories, and invite your child to make up their own stories.

📝 Use everyday materials.
Blank paper, envelopes, or the back of menus and flyers all make great writing paper.

✏️ Offer a variety of tools.
Crayons, markers, pencils, or pens are perfect. (Broken crayons help little hands build strength!)

👀 Point out print in your world.
Talk about the words and letters on cereal boxes, store signs, and menus.

💡Make writing part of play.
Encourage your child to:

• Make signs for their block creations or pretend store

• Write menus, lists, or recipes for a play kitchen

• “Sign” their artwork

🚗 Turn waiting time into learning time.
In the car, store, or waiting room, you can:

• Find familiar letters or words

• Play “I Spy” or rhyming games

• Read menus or signs together

• Bring paper and a pen so your child can “write”

Did you know that the small movements your child makes with their hands-called fine motor skills-help them do everything from holding a crayon and brushing their teeth to buttoning a shirt? These skills boost future success and are also associated with emergent literacy and numeracy skills. You can help your child grow these important skills at home with fun, everyday activities.

• Play with playdough or clay. Roll, squish, and shape to strengthen tiny hands.
• Coloring, gluing, and painting help with eye-hand coordination.
• Let your child help with everyday tasks such as buttoning/zippering clothes, pouring carefully, or setting the table.
• Transfer water with sponges, pipettes, or a turkey baster.
• Thread pasta or cereal onto string.
• Use tweezers, spring-loaded clothespins, or tongs to pick up small items like pom poms.
• Give your child a spray bottle of water to help clean fingerprints off surfaces.
• Tear junk mail or scraps of paper.

Make it playful, keep it short, and cheer on every little success. Praise effort, not perfection. Fine motor skills develop gradually. Tiny hands are building BIG skills!

• Share and discuss family traditions, food, or songs from winter celebrations.
• Create a paper chain with acts of kindness (helping a sibling, writing a thank-you note).
• Write notes of gratitude and read them together at the end of the month.
• Create a family game night. Play simple board or card games and talk about the rules, taking turns, and fair play.

Playing in nature supports curiosity, observation skills, and vocabulary development.

• Go on a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Look for items like pinecones, bare tree branches, bird tracks, or evergreens. Count each item as you find it!
• Pick up leaves or sticks and sort them by size, shape, or color. Count each group together.
• Observe shadows on sunny days. Trace shadows with chalk or just notice how they change as the sun moves.
• Feel the wind, talk about the cold air, and experiment with lightweight objects (leaves, paper) to see how the wind moves them.
• Hide small toys or objects outside and give clues. Practice following directions, counting, and describing objects.

Lantern (mylantern.org) offers families free, weekly text messages filled with practical tips, fun activities, and trusted resources that support children’s growth from pregnancy through the pre-teen years. Messages are personalized based on each child’s age, location, and interests, and are available in multiple languages.

Topics include healthy development, early literacy and math, speech and language milestones, parenting support, and local community resources.

Signing up is quick and easy. Visit mylantern.org

to select your child’s age and preferred language. Families receive short, helpful ideas delivered directly to their phones, making learning and connection simple and accessible every week.

The Parent Resource Center provides families of children with special needs the guidance, resources, and community connections needed to support their child’s success. The Parent Liaison offers guidance and helps families access resources as they navigate special education services and programs.

Resources and information are available on:

• Guardianship and Social Security Disability

• Social skills and counseling supports

• Therapies and financial tools

• Volunteer opportunities and summer camps

• Medicaid waiver programs and transportation options

📍 Visit Us:
701 N. 3rd Street, Conroe, TX 77301

📞 Contact Us:
English: 936-709-8209
Español: 936-709-8171

We're excited to share CIRCLE Family Engagement activities in both English and Spanish. These activities are fun, easy to do at home, and support what your child is learning in the classroom.

Click HERE to access the activities.

Montgomery County Food Bank receives, packages, and distributes food across the county through 90+ partner agencies.

These faith partners, food pantries, schools, and other community organizations serve as the primary link between the Food Bank and our neighbors facing hunger.

Click on the link below to find a food pantry or mobile market near you.

Montgomery County Food Bank

We hope these winter activities inspire you to spend time learning, reading, and playing together as a family. Remember, even small moments-counting marshmallows, making a snowflake, or storytelling, help your child grow in big ways.

Wishing your family a cozy, joyful, and curious winter season!

If you have any questions or need support, don't hesitate to reach out to your child's teacher.

Amy Wilson

Conroe ISD Early Childhood Specialist

akwilson@conroeisd.net