Thursday was our official first day together as a full class and the day couldn't have gone better! Late in the afternoon, after a discussion about how Wow Tags work (read more about them here) and the community I want to build in my classroom, one student raised her hand and asked, "So Mrs. Colontino, is this class basically the initiative class?". Such an incredible observation after really, only a few hours together. Yes, this is the initiative class! Let's build leadership, community, perseverence and self-management and we're going to spend a lot of time at the start of the year focusing on this because in my experience, we'll get a ten-fold return on our investment as the year progresses.
This week and next, the focus will be on our basic classroom routines and community. I've had this blog for many years now and there is lots of great information to be found here. To make effective use of my own time, I've linked to many earlier blog posts that I think readers will find helpful.
With the return to in-person learning, I also want to help my students with this important transition. Their entire learning experience has been disrupted a number of times and hopefully, we're back for good and our classroom will soon look more like the little home so many children have enjoyed over the years.
Next week, we'll begin "Text of the Week" or TOTW, along with learning our math songs and focusing on what good readers do.
Please also be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Over the years Instagram has become my preferred platform for sharing day-to-day events from our class, but the blog remains a very valuable resource.
It's Friday in Room 208 and pandemic or not, that means it's Fun Friday. I look forward to sharing more from our week later today on Instagram. The kids are "oh-fish-ally" in grade three and I think families and friends will enjoy seeing what we create later in the day to celebrate our new adventure together...in the initiative class.
