You're finally here!

We had a wonderful first day together! We got to work right away learning new routines and procedures. We talked about the three most important things we need to bring to school each day: our manners, our sense of humor and a kind heart. We also took a look at our Morning Message, where we learned the 12 "big things" we need to remember (see below).

Tomorrow will begin to look more like a typical day when we shake hands in the morning as we enter the room.  This is a huge classroom routine and I look forward to starting it on Wednesday. A good handshake is invaluable and by the end of this month, students will be shaking hands like a pro and will have a better understanding of the importance of eye contact and why it's essential to be sincere and engaging in our interactions with others. We also had fun talking about what a good handshake looks like (and what a bad one looks like-that's where we had some laughs!) 

We began working on this back to school booklet I created. We measured our moods throughout the day by checking in with this page often.  

We will continue our work in this booklet this week.    

This afternoon we read a really funny story by Melanie Watts called, "You're Finally Here!"  Prior to reading the text, I got to know my students by asking them some questions that related to the story: 

• Have you ever had to wait for someone that was really, really late?
• What do you do when you're bored?
• What do we mean by the phrase, "We got off on the wrong foot?" 
• What annoys you? 
• What's a contract?  
• Why was this book written? What is Ms. Watt trying to teach her audience?  

The kids got a kick out of the book and we all enjoyed a very lively discussion about what annoys us and what we do when we're bored! 

So that's our day in a nutshell, and if today is any indication, it's going to be a great year! I try to update the blog as often as I can, but for a fun "mini-blog" and more regular look at our day, be sure to follow @meandmythrees on Instagram!