New Year, New Tricks?

Happy New School Year!!! Okay, even I chuckled writing that seeing as it's already October. Where did the beginning of the school year go? Hopefully you all have had as great a start to the school year as we have. This is my 9th year teaching! You read that right, 9th year! While I feel like I've finally got a great handle and picture of myself as a teacher, my content, and my classroom style I haven't just gotten comfy. This was the perfect time for me to step out and try new things. We never gain or learn without trying, right?

So this year I'm trying a few key changes in my room.

These are the 3 biggest changes I have made this year. Let me tell you a little bit more about each one as so far, they have been great additions to our class and connecting with families. First up lets discuss my main communication tool.


Last year, I began using the Remind service (previously Remind101). This is both an app and web based service. I've created our class. Parents can then join the class. They can choose to have messages and announcements sent to their phone via app, text, or email. This really allows for parents to choose their contact preference while allowing me to reach them all from one app. I have the app on my phone and can quickly contact parents as well as instantly get notified when they contact me. I can send out mass emails to all families or I can individually chat with families. This has been a great tool for our class. While it has really helped when dealing with behavior issues, this week I am challenging myself to start using it for more positive communications. I am hoping this app will continue to strengthen the school-to-home connection.


At the beginning of the year I tried thinking of ways to cut down on my paper usage. Our school has recently moved to online newsletters and I thought I'd take the leap as well. I've started using the website Smore to create classroom newsletters. I got this idea from the fabulous Mrs. Koster who also uses their service. This website lets me create beautiful "flyers". I can include text, pictures, videos and more. Why is this such a great change? Let me list the reasons for you:

•  No paper to keep track of!
•  Families can revisit the newsletter as often as they need
•  I can email it out to all families quickly from the site.
•  It tracks and reports to me (who opened the flyer, who interacted with the flyer, where in the world it was accessed).
•  It can easily be shared with other family members if wanted.

Lastly, I decided to lessen our paper load and really focus on the work I was sending home. I understand that families have responsibilities outside of school. I also understand that my little kiddos work hard 7 hours out of the day while they are here and need a break from that just as I do. I also still want to give families a chance to connect with the content we work on in school. Some families ask for work and want students practicing each night. How did I manage to melt all of these together in a happy concoction? Please welcome my weekly homework grids.

These go home on Mondays and are due back the following Monday. Students have the choice of completing as many or as few tasks as they and their families would like. I incorporate items for each of our key content areas (reading, math, science or social studies, writing & grammar) as well as fun activities they may or may not already be doing with their families. I wanted to give students a chance to show their families the skills they are learning in the classroom while also acknowledging the fun they are having outside of the school day. So far, these have been a huge success. This week I had all but 3 students return their forms. "What about the reward each week?" you ask. Each week it varies. Some weeks it is a sticker. Other weeks it may be a few extra recess minutes, working with a reading companion or even a coupon for a treat. It is always different from the week before which keeps students interested but the rewards are always my choice, simple, and manageable.

So that's what's changed in my room. Small changes but they have had a huge impact. Don't ever get too comfy. Growth comes from trying new things!

In the words of Ms. Frizzle, here's to taking chances, making mistakes, and getting messy!

It Has Begun!

That's right! School has begun! Since my last post I've spent a lot of time in my room. Not only do I feel better organized but the room has a good flow. It definitely underwent a lot of changes. (How did I think I'd have my engineer friend over and NOT come out with a ton of changes?)

Notice the name change! I found out there was another first grade blog with the same name and it was getting much more attention! I don't want my students wonderful work and ideas to get looked over. So, after some thinking I decided to simply change the a to my and viola! Now our blog is free to be ours :)

The other big change this year was the movement of my calendar. I stepped outside the box, the box of a bulletin board that is. This year we will be having calendar on the wall. That's right, the wall! Today we tried it out and it worked exactly the same. Imagine that! :)

Calendar

 Another major change that happened affected the entire school. We welcomed Dr. Morton! She is an amazing ball of energy that has already brought energy, focus, and unity to our school. Her theme for the school year is Choosing Excellence: Unleash Your Superhero Powers. This works perfectly with the direction I wanted to take our room. I am really focusing on the positive this year. We are going to learn to build ourselves up and how to build others up as well. We are going to learn how to be the best versions of ourselves.

Classroom decorations

Another major changed involved how I prepare what I am going to teach. I am a big believer on not having a ton of information up until I've actually covered it with the students. The only materials I have up year round are our alphabet, numbers, and different sound posters which cover multiple sounds. This means I usually start my year with empty bulletin boards. Not this year, however! I've gone ahead and put up the concepts we will be covering (at least in the beginning). I've got them flipped over so the kids can't see it yet. As we discuss the different items I'll flip them over. The white acts as a reminder until I've covered it. Now I know I'll cover all of our problem solving strategies and math strategies. I have a daily reminder.

Our Problem Solving Board

The Beginning of Our Math Board!

 While a ton seems to be changing there are a lot things that haven't. Our room is still Owl themed. We are still by the library. We will still be sitting in groups. We will be learning lots and having fun.

I can't wait to see what this year brings. Today was a great beginning and we definitely learned a lot about each other. Starting tomorrow we will be as close to our normal schedule as possible. (It's helpful to keep students on a schedule, even at the beginning of the year. We may not be doing our normal activities but our subject times will stay the same.) This means that tomorrow we will be blogging as a class! I imagine this will take some getting used to but it promises to be a load of fun!

Here's to routines, practice, and learning.

P.S
Teachers: What are your must do's on the first day of school?
Parents: Do you do anything to commemorate the first day?