In the Giraffes classroom, children begin to understand that they are part of a community and that what they do affects others. They start to understand the idea of what a word is in print and words and sentences are read from left to right. They have memorized some favorite books and can recite them along with their teacher. This is a fun stage because they can now recognize their own name and familiar words on signs and around the classroom. At this stage, they also begin to rhyme and write. They can trace, and copy, and will soon be writing independently! What a difference a year can make.
