Happy New Year, everyone! It’s so great to be back in school. The children were so happy to see their friends and exchange stories about their holidays. Our first week back brings us some new challenges and opportunities. The first grade children are using handwriting paper with smaller spaces between lines. They will no longer be using their blue homework journals. I’ll provide new ones for them soon. The second grade children have been introduced to cursive handwriting and will be practicing the lower case letters throughout this semester. It is not an expectation that they use cursive hand writing in their daily writing in second grade, although many will want to try as they learn more letters. They will also be introduced to college-ruled paper and how to properly use the space for their letters. This will be a gradual transition as, developmentally, some have more fine motor control and attention to detail than others.

The children have also been given the opportunity to choose their seats in the lunch room. As you may know, during the first semester they gradually lost all choice in seating because of disruptive behavior. The teachers have agreed to let them try again because we believe that lunch is a great opportunity for rich social interaction and a natural arena for practicing social skills. I told our class that with freedom comes responsibility. I believe they can use their good manners and make good choices. I believe they will include others and help those who look like they need a friend. You might want to ask them how it's going. I think they’re delighted.