If your learner is ready for sight words, check out our newest class with this link:
bit.ly/tmacademy-sightwords

**A 2x/week version of this class is also available if you prefer more letters per week.**

Each week, we'll learn a new letter and practice learning both uppercase and lowercase identification, as well as practice writing them out. The goal is to support them in recognizing letters when it's time to identify and read words, and our class schedule is based on the most frequent letters they'll begin to recognize when learning to read. Since letters aren't taught in alphabetical order, you can join any week! Each week will introduce two new letters, with an additional focus on short and long vowel sounds and soft and hard consonants.

Class Structure:
Welcome & Feelings Check-In
Letter Introduction 
Mindfulness Theme of the Day 
Picture Identification
Writing Practice
Letter Games 

To add mindfulness to our learning process, there will be different themes for each week that build on social-emotional skills that allow learners to practice in these areas: 
(1) Self-awareness (understanding our own thoughts, emotions, values, beliefs, and experiences) 
(2) Social awareness (empathizing with others & being mindful of other experiences)
(3) Self-management (practicing emotional regulation & managing our thoughts & actions)
(4) Relationship building (creating positive relationships & building on our social skills)
(5) Decision making (making choices that support us)

Letter Schedule (one letter per class -- your learner can jump in any time):
*After completing Q, we go back to S. 
*Various examples for each letter are shared throughout class - the matching words below are for our themes. (:

Week of November 10th - S (superpowers - how we help others & for fun, what our superpower would be)
Week of November 17th - A (affirmations - recognizing personal qualities & building confidence)
Week of November 24th - T (thankfulness - expressing gratitude)
Week of December 1st - P (patience - being patient in different settings)
Week of December 8th - I (imagination - using the power of our brains & creativity)
Week of December 15th - N (needs - expressing needs & asking for help/support)
Week of December 22nd - C (confidence - believing in ourselves & our big dreams)
Week of December 29th - O (optimism - positive thinking)
Week of January 5th - D (decisions - understanding our choices & mindful decisions)
Week of January 12th - G (goals - thinking of our current & future self)
Week of January 19th - M (memory - growing on our working memory)
Week of January 26th - K (kindness - being friendly & courteous)
Week of February 2nd - E (emotions - embracing & managing different feelings)
Week of February 9th - R (respect - manners & respecting ourselves/others)
Week of February 16th - U (uniqueness - recognizing what makes us one of a kind)
Week of February 23rd - B (bravery - being courageous)
Week of March 1st - H (honesty - being truthful)
Week of March 8th - F (friendship - building healthy relationships)
Week of March 15th - L (love - appreciating ourselves & others)
Week of March 22nd - J (joy - finding & spreading joy)
Week of March 29th - W (willpower - determination & discovering our capabilities)
Week of April 5th - V (values - discovering what matters to us)
Week of April 12th - X (x-factor - recognizing talents & skills)
Week of April 19th - Y ("yes, I can" - trying again & learning new things)
Week of April 26th - Z (zones - recognizing zones of our small-big feelings)
Week of May 3rd - Q (qualities - recognizing our unique inner traits)

How will our mindfulness theme be introduced to build on social-emotional skills?
Example: N (needs - expressing needs & asking for help/support)
What are our basic needs? What are needs that others may not see based on how we feel?
What are some examples of those needs?
For example, if you feel like the letter you're practicing is hard to draw, you can ask your teacher or grown-up for help. Maybe you need a rhyme to remember it, another writing example, or a little bit more practice. 
This helps us become self-aware of what we need and decide how to express those needs. It also helps our relationship with others when they can understand what we need.