Welcome back to all of our families after the long holiday vacation. And thanks to all for you kind remembrances. It's always wonderful to spend extra time with family and friends but there's something very necessary about returning to a healthy routine. The children were excited to be back with their classmates and happy to fall back into a familiar schedule. One little girl wrote us a note saying how much she missed sitting on the rug listening to stories, of all things. Yes, there is something comforting about our daily activities, even if they do get a bit LOUD at times.

Rather than start out with "new year's resolutions," which is a bit beyond their grasp, we decided to talk about community helpers. This led us to the next logical step, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" It was our version of a plan for the future. Some of our introductory topics included:

THE DENTIST who helps us clean our teeth and often rewards us with a new toothbrush. We brushed our cardboard teeth at the art table and followed up with a short story about our latest visit to the dentist or how we take care of our own teeth.

THE FIREFIGHTERS protect us and our homes from fires. We've already touched on this topic but it bears repeating. They had a great time "building" a house, donning fire helmets and puttting out the imaginary fires tha ensued. Dramatice play is always one of their favorite activities and the perfect vehicle for learning at this age.

THE LIBRARIAN reads and selects books for us. We used this oportunity to focus on our initials, choose words that start with the same letter and incorporate both in an art table activity. We used leter books for suggestions and prompts, but they are really progressing with sounding out simple beginning sounds.

THE CHEF has the most fun, it seemed, as we made colorful chef hats, cooked up some little pizzas and marched em masse to our school kitchen. They were adorable as they waited patiently for their creations to cook up and seemed very pleased to gobble up the finished product.

We stressed the fact that EVERY profession takes schooling and practice and listening to your teacher is the first step to learning the necessary things one needs to know for tomorrow. We'll keep trying and you'll keep helping us on this note! Everyone finally had the chance on Friday to draw a picture of what they wanted to be. With teacher help they added some important (and humorous) verbage and props. Remember to ask them about their most recent decisions...many changed with the day, of course.

NEXT WEEK we will talk about PENGUINS and ANTARCTICA. Who can resist these adorable creatures and they make a science lesson very easy and appropriate.

REMEMBER to return Miss Cathy's, our student teacher, permission slip for filming. You do not have to say "Yes," but please return regardless.