November 5, 2003

Grace J. Brindley, Ed.D.

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Personnel

Miller Place Union Free School District

275 Route 25A

Miller Place, NY 11764-2036

Dear Dr. Brindley:

***[1^st^ Quarterly Report- 1^st^ Grade- Eric Alan Baker
Lugo]{.underline}***

This is our First Quarterly Report outlining some of our son's
activities pertinent to the plan of instruction we submitted to your
office in September of 2003.

In the subject area of Reading -- Eric is comfortable reading in both
English and Spanish and typically enjoys reading one or two books per
day. "Franklin" books by Bourgeois are favorites as are books from the
"Clifford" series by Bridwell. His vocabulary continues to increase.

In the subject area of Writing, Eric continues to practice his
penmanship and writing skills. He continues to practice listening and
speaking skills, particularly in terms of negotiating social
conversations.

In terms of Math, Eric keeps creating and solving his own math problems
using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions.
Eric particularly enjoys division: (example: seven cookies split three
ways means two cookies each with one leftover). Eric also particularly
enjoys finding geometrical shape patterns in the environment. Eric
really likes telling time. He is also very interested in measurement
particularly tape measures and weight scales which he uses in various
projects (helping to measure rooms and assemble IKEA furniture). He has
enjoyed numbering all the rooms of the house and all the steps he can
find (numeration). We have introduced the concept of displaying
numerical data in various ways (graphs, etc.). He enjoys conducting
surveys (i.e. How many tape measures are at your house?).

In terms of Science related activities, Eric continues to refine his
observations about the world around him through formulating and testing
hypothesis in self-directed experiments. He particularly enjoys mixing
various substances with water and waiting to see what happens. Eric
enjoys touching, observing and learning about animals and plants, and
has done so in our yard, during many visits to local farms, visits to
the Bronx and Queens zoos, a marine life seminar sponsored by Cornell
Extension at the Vanderbilt Estate, and programs and nature walks
sponsored by the Seatuck Environmental Association. He has really
enjoyed becoming very familiar with the various names for the male,
female and baby animals. Eric also studied the solar system at home
(observing Mars when the opportunity arose) and seeing the show "A Trip
to the Planets" at the Vanderbilt Planetarium. Eric also visited the New
York Hall of Science. At home we have also engaged in many discussions
about energy cycles -- both in living and non living systems.

In the area of Social Studies, Eric is very interested in his family's
history and we are using that as a springboard to highlight changes over
the years and cultural differences. Eric also continues to familiarize
himself with basic world geography and history. He uses maps to identify
various countries and languages. Eric also studied the States of the
Union and enjoys numbering them (when did each enter the union etc.).
Eric knows his home address, home phone, town, state and country he
lives in. Also, by managing his allowance and making spending decisions,
Eric is learning about money and interdependency (roles, services, needs
and wants).

In terms of health studies, Eric studied the digestive, circulatory and
urinary systems in depth. Eric is also familiar with some of the basic
features of germ theory and disease prevention. Eric continues to study
traffic and fire safety, and accident prevention. Eric continues to
practice grooming and good health habits (tooth care in particular).

In terms of visual arts, Eric enjoys making his own craft using
construction paper, foam letters, glitter pens, toothpicks, "googly
eyes", glue and markers. Eric enjoys drawing, making abstract
representations of scenes, and making "clock" faces, among others. He
also enjoys creating stories with his various stuffed animals and other
"manipulatives". Eric attended his first children's theater play
(Theatre Three's Kooky Spooky), and also visited the Metropolitan Museum
of Art where he enjoyed seeing the sculptures, paintings and collection
of musical instruments.

In terms of music, Eric listened to a variety of musical selections
ranging from classical music (Bach, Vivaldi, etc) to rag time blues
(Blind Blake). He also listened to compositions that highlight a
particular instrument (flutes, violins etc.). Eric has been exposed to
basic music concepts: rhythm, basic scales and melody.

In the subject area of physical education, Eric visited playgrounds
frequently where he runs, jumps, swings and uses the slides. He enjoys
balancing himself on beams and spinning. He also plays catch.

The total number of hours of instruction was 240 for this quarter.

Sincerely,

Brenda I. Lugo

Mark D. Baker