We were very lucky last week to find some caterpillars in our backyard that we will watch turn into butterflies. By today, two of them were hanging from the glass jar in a J shape. We hope to see chrysalises in the morning! We drew pictures of our caterpillars, and cut and pasted the stages of a caterpillar's life.

We are learning so many things that we will use in our work all year. We have started our handwriting program and are practicing wet-dry-try every day as we build letters, and write them on small chalkboards. We started our first sound today, practicing the sound /s/ and learning a gesture to go with the sound.

We began exploring new materials in math; tiles, buttons and attribute blocks. We started the counting jar which we will do regularly throughout the year. Everyone counted how many cubes were in the jar and created an equivalent set of buttons. Tomorrow we will record our work in a booklet. We are laying a careful foundation in math, as we help children develop math ideas through discussions and through listening to what each other has to say about their work and their ideas.

We are reading books about friendship and about whether or not it's OK for boys or girls to be excluded from games. We are also reading about butterflies of course.

We are exploring lines and circles in art. Look for our exploration of shapes made from circles on display in the hallways. We are learning how to take care of library books and will check out our first book in a week or two. Ask your child about "No, no, no, never!" regarding things you should never do with a library book. Don't let your dog chew the book!!

Please send lunch orders and money to school with your kindergartner, rather than an older sibling. We need to see the slip or we will not order a lunch for your child. We would also appreciate a change of clothes that can stay in your child's cubby. Thank you for your help with these details.