For several weeks we have been working on letter sounds and formations using the Fundations program.  So far we have worked on the lower case letters t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, and o.  Children are eager to practice what they have learned and as we are adding new letter sounds and formations they have been writing more and more of their own words during writing time.  In addition we have started learning sight words, focusing on I, the, a, and is, because these are either in our morning message each day or they are words we use a lot in our writing.  Some students have been using this new knowledge to write books with repeating patterns, for example "I see the..." or "I am..." modeling the emergent reading books that they have added to their reading bags.  Children have been practicing the strategies of pointing to words when they read, using pictures to figure out unknown words, and in some cases using the beginning sound to read a word.  They are enthusiastic about practicing the new skills they are learning and it is very exciting to watch their progression.