Last week we finished introducing all of the lower case letters, their corresponding sounds, and their formations (we will continue to practice these throughout the year until they are mastered).  During writing we are working on stretching words- saying them really slowly and trying to hear and write as many sounds as we can.  We are also working on making our writing readable.   Some strategies we've decided can help with this challenge are writing as many sounds as we can (and especially trying to get the first sound for each word), leaving spaces between words so the reader knows where a new word is supposed to begin, and including lots of details in our pictures.  This allows the reader to use picture clues to decipher tricky words, a strategy we use often when we are reading.  Needless to say all of this takes a lot of effort and concentration (which is often revealed in children's facial expressions during writing)!