June 1, 2001: Tunia has returned to her garden in Rhode Island after a wonderful journey far from home. While she was traveling, Tunia saw many beautiful gardens in the United States, Australia, and Canada. She made many new friends and renewed acquaintances from last year. She was even lucky enough to meet some of the children who had been writing to her from time to time. In her travels she visited urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods. She is very grateful for the gracious hospitality of her hosts. Because of the kindness she received, leaving each classroom for the next was a bit difficult.

She misses her friends, but she knows that some of them will continue writing to her through her friendly letter page, Dear Tunia. Some students may also decide to send in their own writing to be published on Tunia's Writing Page. After all, reading, writing, thinking, and learning continue all summer long. Summer is a great time to curl up with a good book and share its title with a friend. Tunia plans on finding a shady spot in the garden to do just that, so she will also be looking for book suggestions from her friends. In order to keep her mind sharp, Tunia will be looking for more problems to solve on her Thinking Page as well. Also in keeping her garden growing well, Tunia is always on the lookout for information and facts about plants. For that reason, she hopes her friends will send in more facts to add to Plant Facts. Then of course, Tunia is always interested in what ladybugs are doing in far away places, so she hopes to hear from her friends about ladybug locations when they see a ladybug. All in all, there's much for Tunia to do at home before she can even think about another journey. Check back soon to see how Tunia is spending her time this summer.