We had a great first week! Everyone has made great progress in mastering the day to day routines: sitting for meetings, walking through the halls in a line, eating snack, packing up, and having lunch in the cafeteria, to name just a few. We have spent lots of time discussing and modeling expectations for all of these routines and will continue to do so.

One of the routines we worked on this week was quiet reading. We talked about all aspects of this from choosing a book to finding a comfortable spot to read it. Even though many children in the class can't yet read words, we discussed ways they can still read the books and come to understand the story. As a whole class we read three wordless picture books, all of which were big hits: Rain Storm by Barbara Lehman, Chalk by Bill Thomson, and Flotsam by David Weisner.

Today we met with fourth grade partners from Mrs. Hale's class. Everyone was introduced to their partners (which will change periodically) and then students worked in small groups on an outdoor scavenger hunt. Ask your child what they had to find! Everyone did a fantastic job on this. We will continue our work with the fourth graders each Friday.

Earlier in the week we talked about differences and ways in which we are all different and all have particular things that are challenging for us. I told the class that sometimes people learn differently and we discussed one student in our class. We talked about ways everyone can help this student learn and include her in play. Please let me know if your child has any questions about this. We will continue to discuss the differences among all of us throughout the year.

Once again I forgot the folders! Thank you for doing such a great job of remembering to return them. They will come home on Monday! Have a fantastic weekend.