monterey &8212; Kindergartner Jake Moreland focused on his Ts Wednesday morning.

He caught them in a dump truck, moved them with a forklift and put them in a basket. All other letters went in the trash.

&8220;It&8217;s letters that sound like &8216;t,&8217;&8221; he said. &8220;Not letters that sound like &8216;c.&8217;&8221;

The Monterey School student was playing one of an array of computer games kindergartners in several parish schools now use daily, courtesy of a $90,000 state grant.

The money bought 11 new Dell computers for Monterey and Ferriday Lower Elementary, and the software that makes them tick.

The students use computer programs developed for young minds &8212; such as a drawing program, PowerPoint and a word processing program &8212; to create electronic portfolios.

They also have four educational gaming programs that help them with reading and science skills.

The money came this fall, and the computers were hooked up in January.

Schools are eligible for $100,000 from the grant each year. Money is rewarded based on applications.

Parish Reading First Coordinator Cindy Smith oversaw the grant application and said the goal is to have four computers in every kindergarten through third-grade class. The district purchased some computers with grant money last year.

Monterey teacher Gigi Campbell said she was amazed at how quickly the children learn the software.

&8220;There are very few things I put them at that they can&8217;t do,&8221; she said. &8220;This requires them to do a lot of thinking on what they are working with.&8221;

The language-centered programs teach higher-order thinking skills, Campbell said, like decision making and interpretation. Students use headphones and respond to verbal instructions on the computers.

&8220;They are processing what they hear and actually doing it,&8221; Campbell said.

The kindergartners also have digital cameras purchased with the grant dollars, and they take their own photos in the classroom.

The classes at both schools use the computers during their morning center time. Students rotate to the computers in small groups and work on them for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Both kindergarten classes at Monterey have four computers each. Nine Ferriday Lower classes got four computers each this year. When the money becomes available, kindergarten classes at Vidalia Lower will receive their computers. From there, first- through third-grade classes will get the equipment.