Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Great First Day

The Notebooks and labels paid off, everyone is organized. This year I made a check off sheet for the students as we labeled their supplies. One column said Thanks for getting my.. And the other column said I still need my...At the bottom was a message to send in a note if they would note be able to get the supplies by the end of the week.
A brand new student was crying this morning. Before her mother and grandmother left, they told me how shy she was and if she wasn't eating lunch with the other students by the end of the week to call home. Is your heart breaking? So I found her two friends to look out for her today, but two other girls took over and played with her at recess, giggling and smiling. She's in and she has friends.
If you are a parent and not a teacher and you just happened to stumble across this blog, please do your child and their teachers a huge favor: DON'T drive them to school on the first day of school unless you plan on driving them every day. The school bus had to bring two of my students back because they were on the wrong bus. 
If you have access to SMART products, make a class list in random word generator. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. I might still make up name sticks for substitute days or days when technology isn't working. Students were also excited about video recording book talks and having permission to try Edmodo if their parents sign their permission slips. How do you use technology to keep your students excited to show what they know?