Hello Red Room Families,

This week, the Red Roomers celebrated Read Across America, a nationwide initiative that encourages children to develop a love for reading and literacy. In our classroom, students celebrated by reading several selections from the Pete the Cat series and engaging in discussions about the importance of books and reading.

As a class, we talked about how to care for books by treating them with respect—this means not ripping, throwing, or stepping on them. We emphasized that books are special because they tell many different stories and help us learn new things.

Reading plays an important role in children’s development. It helps build essential literacy skills such as vocabulary, phonics, and comprehension. Reading also supports social-emotional growth by allowing children to explore characters’ feelings and perspectives, which helps develop empathy and emotional understanding. Additionally, books spark creativity and imagination. Some students even shared that reading helps them connect with their own feelings.

Below are a few tips from the Read Across America website to help support reading at home with your child:

Tips for Reading with Your Toddler
• Use pictures in books to build vocabulary by pointing out objects, colors, and details.
• Talk about what is happening in the pictures to help develop your child’s speaking vocabulary.
• Make reading part of your daily routine—bedtime, after lunch, or after naptime are great times to read together.
• Allow your child to choose their own books. If a book is too long to hold their attention, you can read parts of it and spend time discussing the pictures and story.
• Don’t hesitate to read the same stories again and again! Repetition helps children become familiar with story patterns and strengthens early literacy skills.

Counting buttons

One of the books students enjoyed this week was Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin. After listening to the story during circle time, the Red Roomers participated in a fun math activity inspired by the book.

Students created their own yellow jackets and practiced their fine motor skills by placing button stickers onto the jackets. Once the buttons were added, the children counted how many buttons they had and, with teacher support, helped write the corresponding number next to their jacket—just like in the story they had listened to.

This activity helped students practice counting, number recognition, and fine motor development while connecting literacy with early math skills in a creative and engaging way.

Cool Cat Boogie🪩

This week we also read Pete the Cat: The Cool Cat Boogie by Eric Litwin and James Dean. In this story, Pete is learning a new dance called the Cool Cat Boogie! Whenever Pete hears a groovy beat, he feels happy and ready to dance. However, when Grumpy Toad tells him he is dancing all wrong, Pete becomes determined to learn how to be a better dancer.With the help of his friends and some wise advice from Owl, Pete eventually learns an important lesson: he is at his grooviest when he is simply being himself.

After enjoying the story during circle time, the Red Roomers celebrated with their own classroom dance party. The kiddos showed off many fun and groovy dance moves while moving to the music.

For our art activity, the children created their own colorful dance floors using watercolor paint. This activity allowed them to express their creativity while practicing their fine motor skills and connecting the story to a hands-on project.

Rocking in my School Shoes

On Wednesday, the kids  listened to the book Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin and James Dean. In this story, Pete explores many fun and exciting places around his school while happily rocking in his school shoes.

At TCS, we also have many groovy and exciting places for the children to explore, such as the meadow, the music room, the library, and the class favorite—the playground. Just like Pete, the Red Roomers come to school each day rocking their own school shoes! We see boots and many different styles of sneakers, and we think they are all very cool.

This story helped students make connections between Pete’s school adventures and their own experiences at school, encouraging excitement about the different places they learn and play each day.