First Day of School

One of my favorite books to read to the children on the first day of school is Mrs. Spitzer's Garden by Edith Pattou.  I usually have the children come to the floor and sit in a circle, so that everyone can see each other.  This is our first morning meeting of the year and this book sets the tone for the year.  I use it to help students to talk about what they expect to learn and explore this school year.   This conversation then leads to ways we can help build community in our classroom.

More of Our Classroom!

Marshmallow Toes!

Procedures, procedures, procedures!  That was one of our main focuses the first week of school.  The students and I did some fun activities with marshmallows to help us remember to walk down the hallways with silent hands and silent toes.  We keep the little poem posted on the wall in our classroom as a reminder. 

Building Community In Our Classroom!

We have started building community in our classroom.  I read Have You Filled A Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud.  We have our buckets and our bucket filler slips.  During morning meeting on Monday we pulled names for a secret pal.  Each student has to make sure to fill their secret pals buckets by doing nice things for them all week.  On Friday, students fill out a bucket filler, telling their secret pal something nice and they reveal themselves during the morning meeting.

Back to School!