Hi parents!  Our classroom has been buzzing with busy first graders all week.  We have been reading lots of decodable readers, sounding out many words that contain the short /a/ sound, and practicing our sentence writing.  We took our first spelling test this morning as well as our first reading assessment on the Harcourt story this week entitled "The Hat".  We've been working on writing a variety of sentences using capitalization and end punctuation.  Also, we have been focusing on writing a complete sentence with a subject and a predicate.  In Everyday Math, we have been doing lots of activities using pattern block templates, pennies, dice, and our calendar.  We have been comparing numbers, as well as practicing making tally marks to represent numbers.  In social studies, we have been talking about and applying rules of the school and classroom.  We've also been discussing the imprtance of listening and how that keeps us safe and happy.  A September snack calendar came home with your child today, and I'll staple another one in their folders on September 1st.  They like coloring their dot on their snack calendars to let you know what kind of day they had.  :)  I will continue to go over their homework with them before sending it home in the afternoons.  I hope they are doing well at home with their work.  Remember, there will be no school on September 6th due to the Labor Day Holiday.  Have a magnificent weekend!