First grade...fantastic!

Wow. I guess it takes a while to sink in, huh? Today has been a blur but I want to write down as much as possible- for two reasons. First of all, I want all of the people- the family, the friends, the mentors, the teachers- to know how truly amazing my first day was. Second of all, I want to always, always remember this feeling. I want to be able to go back on the inevitable bad days and remember why I'm doing this, and for who.


I got to school super early- 6:45am, and the kiddos get there around 7:35am. I didn't really have much to do- but it felt better to be there, sort of centering myself. I walked in and this was on my desk:

from my 1st grade team. Isn't that an amazing thing to walk in on? I'd also like to mention that last week, a 3rd grade teacher left a goody bag on my desk, and the 5th grade team left another basket (with Starbucks) on my desk. Seriously, I am at the best school. Everyone is just as amazing and supportive as they sound!


My first kiddo came through the door, and I stood at the door and greeted her, as per The First Days of School instructed. I fully intended to do this for each and every child but...that sort of fell apart when each kiddo walking in had a handful of supplies and needed to know exactly where their stuff went :) So, I wasn't at the door, but I did greet each and every child. 


I showed them where their stuff went and they got busy with puzzles, computers, and blocks while I settled everyone else/fed them breakfast (we do it in the classroom). Honestly, they were awesome. They found their spot pretty easily and knew the routine. After we cleaned up breakfast, we sat in a circle on the carpet and introduced ourselves. 
We went around singing a "I got froggies in my pond, jumping up so high! Jump [student's name], jump jump jump! Jump [student's name] jump jump jump! Jumping up so hiiiiigh!" song- they LOVED it. It helped them remember everyone's name and was also a total icebreaker. Then, did a SHORT calendar, we read Back to School, Splat! and talked about how we got ready for school in the morning. I "unpacked" my "backpack", which had a pillow pet (for sleep), a Star Wars cup (for fun), a coffee cup (for nutrition...hahaha- I told them it was made with milk!), and a photo of friends (for...friends). (Side note- one of my pictures of friends was a picture of Chelsie, who is in China teaching. This led to a LENGTHY discussion of Chelsie and her roommate Theresa in China and lots of wishing for more pictures of that!) I told them I'd like them to "make" a backpack and write whatever THEY needed to be successful in first grade. Here is the sample backpack I made:

And here are some of the other backpacks made- they did a FANTASTIC job!

Notice the second one needs "awesomeness" to be successful....I completely agree!


Then it was time for recess, which brought tears from the one little girl who didn't have tennis shoes and therefor couldn't get on the equipment. I TOTALLY wanted to say "Okay...just for today..." but I KNEW she knew the rule from last year (apparently it was such a battle last year she just KEPT shoes at school!) and I knew I had to be consistant...so it's okay. I wrote a note home so hopefully she'll bring tennis shoes tomorrow.


After recess we read another book, First Grade Here I Come!, and did a few more puzzles and games. 


Lunch time was pretty uneventful, a bit stressful getting them through the line, but they were total champs. I ate lunch with them (we all do that at the school) and that was nice. After lunch we read 2 chapters of Flat Stanley, and then worked a little bit on a graphing sheet- how many tables in the room, etc etc. After that, it was time for music, then we had snack, and then it was basically time to go home!


Side notes...things I'll want to remember about my first year:

• Everyone...and I mean EVERYONE...stopped in to check on me or ask how my first day was. It was SO nice
• One of my kiddos brought me an apple- no joke. She did it with a big cheeky grin on her face, too
• I wanted to try the Whole Brain Teaching approach- (class- yes! classity class- yessity yes) but didn't know how they'd handle it...they ROCKED! They caught RIGHT ON!
• Day One of "yes, thank you" a la Debbie Miller...it IS SO CUTE! When they raise their hand, I say "Yes, John?" and they say "Yes, thank you...." and say whatever it is they wanted to say- EVERY TIME. I explained to them when we say "yes, thank you" this way, we're saying "yes, I've got something to say, thank you for listening"- THEY WERE SO AWESOME! Some of them literally caught on right away- it was amazing! Some of them need reminding each time- so what, it's their first day! They rock! I set the bar super high and they flew up and reached it!
• What's the big, big picture? What do I want to remember forever? I want to remember that these kids rock. I want to remember that I will treat each and every one of these kids like they are a future President. I'm not trying to brag, but I actually have the smartest, most amazing, most spectacular class...probably in the world. I want to remember my kiddo who transferred from another school and was scared to death- he wouldn't join in at first so I just gave him time. I want to remember the way he slowly, slowly started opening up, and by the end of the day, came back for a second hug before getting on the bus. That made my day. He made my day. These kids are truly amazing. They came to school ready to learn, and excited. I was surrounded by supportive, enthusiastic, amazing teachers who are there for me always. Seriously...what more can I ask for? It was a wonderful, amazing, fantastic day. I am so blessed.