We started learning English at school today!  The children were very excited.  Every day we will learn a new sound, we already know lots of these as most are the same as they are in Gaeilge.   Today’s sound was S.  For homework every night, the children will finish a worksheet which they will have started in school.  They write the letter, name the pictures of things starting with s, and can write / call out some other things that start with s.  Encourage them to look for words with S in their environment, play I spy, out one out, etc.  They also have their usual Leabhar Gaeilge to read

Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh go léir.  Tá súil agam go raibh laethanta saoire deasa agaibh.  Bhí sé go h-álainn na páistí a fheiceáil arís inniu.

Bhí tuirse ar gach duine inniu agus mar sin ní aon obair scríofa le déanamh sa bhaile.  Tá leabhair nua le léamh acu.

Happy new year everyone, I hope you all had a lovely Christmass and enjoyed the holidays.  It was lovely to see the children again today.  Everyone was a bit tired so there is no written homework tonight, each child has a new book to read.

Beidh Seó na mBreagán ar siúl ar an teilifís ar an Aoine agus tá na páistí ar bís! Táimid ag foghlaim faoi breagáin ar scoil sa Ghaeilge agus beidh ár Seó na mBréagán féin againn ar an Aoine ar scoil.  Tá cead ag na páistí bréagán amháin a thógáil ar scoil agus beidh orthu caint faoi cosúil lena páistí a bhíonn an teilifís.

Freisin má tá aon sean-bhréagán agaibh – rud a bhí ag mamaí nó daidí nó mamó nó daideo nuair a bhíodar óg, is féidir iad a thógáil isteach.

The Toy Show will be on television on Friday and the children are very excited!  We are learning about toys in Irish this week and we will have our own Toy Show on Friday in school.  The children can bring in a toy and they will tell us all about it like the children who are on the Toy Show.  

Also if you have any old toys – things that mammy or daddy, or granny and grandad had when they were young, the children can bring these in.  

D’fhág duine éigin an scáth báistí álainn seo sa scoil an tseachtain seo chaite…cé leis é?

Someone left this lovely scáth báistí in school last week…cé leis e?

Bhíomar ag spraoi an tseachtain seo chaite, ag cleachtadh an foclóir ar fad a rinneamar faoi “éadaí”.

We had Am Spraoi last week, using the vocabulary we have learned about Éadaí.

siopa: 

Biongo – éadaí: 

Cartaí l’éadaí i bhfolach sa ghaineamh:

Ag dearadh éadaí agus ag gléasadh na bábóga:

Tá na páistí ag léamh leabhair beaga leo féin anois, tá ag éirí go h-iontach leo.  Seo cúpla leid nuair atá tú ag déanamh léitheoireacht le do pháiste sa bhaile.

Déan iarracht an t-am seo a dhéanamh chomh deas agus taitneamhach agus is féidir – ag suí suas ar an tolg le chéile, mar shampla. Mol agus spreag iad leis an léitheoireacht.

Féach ar an gclúdach, teideal, srl, lig don pháiste caint faoin bpictiúr.

Nuair atá siad ag léamh ba chóir go bhfuil na páistí in ann na radharcfhocal a aithint – tá, sé, an, ag, srl.  Ní aithneodh siad na focail eile láithreach, mar shampla, pota.  Is féidir leo na focail seo a fhuaimiú  amach – p- , o- , t- a-, agus na fuaimeanna a chur le chéile.  Freisin is féidir leo féachaint ar an bpictiúr chun cabhrú leo é a oibriú amach.  Uaireanta bíonn focail an-deacair ann ach is féidir leo é a oibriú amach, ón dtúsfhuaim, ón gcomhthéacs agus ón bpictiúr.

Cinntigh go bhfuil do pháiste ag féachaint go cúramach ar na focail – molaim dóibh a méar a chur faoi a focail agus ceann amháin a léamh ag an am.  Go minic bíonn na páistí ag féachaint ar an bpictiúr agus ag rá abairt cosúil leis an ceann sa leabhair, mar shampla má deir sé “tá pota ar an sorn”, d’fhéadfadh an pháiste “tá an sáspan suas ar an sorn”.  Cinntigh go bhfuil siad ag rá na focail atá sa leabhair amháin.

Sínigh an taifead léitheoireachta nuair atá an leabhar léite acu.  Muna bhfuil sé sínithe, glacfaidh mé nach bhfuil sé léite nó go bhfuil oíche eile ag teastáil leis an leabhar céanna.  Nuair a éiríonn na leabhair níos faide agus níos casta i gceann tamaillín cinnte beidh dhá oíche ag teastáil ar roinnt páistí ó am go h-am.

Léim na leabhair leo ar scoil sula dtéann siad abhaile.  Má tá an leabhar an-éasca, clúdaigh na pictiúir agus iarr ar an bpáiste na h-abairtí a léamh leo féin.

The children have started to read small books now and have a new one to read each night.  Here are some suggestions to help your child with their reading.

It is important that they read aloud to an adult every evening.  Try to make this time as enjoyable as possible – for example, sitting on the sofa together. Give them lots of praise and encouragement. Read the title, look at the cover, let the child talk about the picture.   

When they are reading, the child should be able to recognise the sight words – tá, sé, an, etc.  They will not recognise the other words straight away, they should sound out the words one sound at a time, e.g., p- o – t- a – and then put them together – po – ta, pota.  They can also look at the pictures to help them.  Sometimes there can be a quite difficult word, but usually they can figure it out, using their sounds, the context, and the pictures.  

Check that your child is reading each word carefully -I ask them to put their finger under each word as they read it.  Often the children will look at the picture and say a sentence like the one in the book, for example if it says “tá pota ar an sorn”, the child might say”tá an sáspan suas ar an sorn” from memory without actually reading the words.  

Sign the reading record when they have read the book.  If it is not signed I will assume they did not have a chance to read it or need a second night to finish it.  Certainly as the books get longer and more complicated it may often take two nights for some children to read them.

I read the new book with the child in school before they take it home.  If it seems very easy, cover the picture and ask them to read the sentence by itself. 

Bhíomar ag foghlaim faoi “éadaí” i rith na seachtaine. Bhaineamar an-taitneamh as sean-éadaí a thriailadh orainn!

Is cailín í.  Tá hata uirthi.  Tá scairf uirthi.

Is buachaill é.  Tá cóta air.  Tá hata air.

Is cailín í.  Tá léine uirthi.  Tá lámhainní uirthi.

is buachaill é.  Tá caipín air.  Tá geansaí air.

Bhíomar ag foghlaim faoin Máthair Treasa.  Seo leagan Béarla dá scéal.

Bhí sé go h-álainn na páistí ar fad a fheiceáil arís inné.  Tá súil agam go raibh seachtain deas agaibh.

Táimid ag foghlaim faoi éadaí anois sa Ghaeilge, uimhir a seacht sa mhata agus a lán rudaí eile.  Táimid críochnaithe leis na fuaimeanna sa Ghaeilge anois ach beimid ag dul siar orthu agus ag cleachtadh conas iad a chur le chéile mar tús don léitheoireacht.  Tá abairtí le léamh anocht sa leabhar obair bhaile, agus mata le déanamh freisin.  Cabhraigh le do pháiste na h- uimhreacha a scríobh i gceart, is féidir leo na pictiúir a dhathú más maith leo ach níl gá leis.

It was lovely to see all the children again yesterday, I hope everyone had a lovely week.  We are learning about éadaí (clothes) in Irish, the number 7 in Maths and lots more.  We have finished learning new sounds in Irish but will be doing plenty of work on revising the sounds and putting them together to read and write words. There are some sentences in their homework scrap book which they can read.  They also have some maths homework tonight.  Help your child to write the numbers correctly, they can colour the pictures if they like but they don’t have to.