Hi everyone! We are certainly trucking along as we head into our sixth (already!) week of school.

We're working hard on understanding limitations in an environment that allows for much more choice than many children are used to. This can be a difficult transition for some students. For these reasons, you will notice that we've added assigned seating both on the carpet and at tables. The squares and names on the carpet are there to give the children a concrete visual of where their personal space is and where their body should stay during that time. There are many times during the day that students have a choice as to which table they will sit at (centers, math, etc.) but during Writer's/Reader's Workshop, students now sit at a table with their name on it. We have also implemented some new restroom procedures to help ensure more order during this time.

We are still sorting/classifying in Math. We're moving toward patterning (creating patterns, reproducing patterns, etc.) as well as the concept of number (counting, comparing and writing numbers, creating sets of numbers, etc.). In Science, we've gotten into the concept of weather and will continue to study more about what weather is and how it effects our environment. In Writer's Workshop, we've been working on writing true stories. We sure do have some excellent story tellers! These stories have opened up nice opportunities to discuss family, environments and neighborhood which ties directly in with our Social Studies objectives. Some students will be bringing home a Math Their Way sheet to work on during the week at home, as well as a spelling contract. Both should be returned on Friday.

This Friday, we will be traveling to Freedom Park for our second session with Staci Clark from the Reedy Creek Nature Preserve. All classes will be going and the time for our session is TBA. I will be updating the blog and sending a note home as soon as I am notified of the time we will be going. There is certainly power (and safety!) in numbers so if you're available to travel by city bus to the park with us on Friday, please let me know! Again, I will let you know the specific times as soon as I find them out myself!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!