Our youngest students are part of a weekly class called Picture Stretch. Children first work on their cutting skills by cutting out a picture of an animal. After we discuss the pictures we practice writing the first letter for that animal. Last week we had cute pictures of otters to enjoy and glue into their books. Children practiced writing capital O and lower case O. The final activity involves S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G out the word “otter.” We help children identify the sounds they hear in the word? Some children might only hear “o”, while others might hear the “o” and “r.” Some might be even able to identify the “t” in there too. Rhino could be “rno,” horse “hrs.”Children are able to work at their own pace, as we help them develop sound/symbol correspondence .