It took 9 days and I am loving first grade!
Nine days at a new school, new kids, and a new staff and I love it.
I would be lying if I said the first few days weren't challenging. First grade is very different from third and different from what I used to. The time goes by slower and the students have shorter attention spans (obviously) so our transitions are happening every 15 minutes (sometimes less). I have already noticed that this is getting better and I do see that instruction and task time will soon be increasing. I keep telling myself that slow and steady wins the race.
The class has spent most of the last 9 days working on daily routines and getting use to classroom procedures and each other. They are also getting to know their teacher and how she does things and they can already read my facial cues and have a pretty solid idea of my expectations of them.
I have a couple MUST HAVES I want to share with you.
Clipboards!
I have used clipboards and have a class set for a couple of years now. Storage has always been an issue. They are awkward with the clip at the top of them. This year I hung hooks up in the classroom and it works beautifully! Not only is it storage but, it ended up being the easiest way to display the student`s work. I was in a rush the first couple of days and couldn`t collect the students work from the clipboards so I had them just hang them back in their spots. After school when I went to take the work down I sat back and noticed that it looked fantastic. It was a display of their work, I had to do nothing. I left the work up for a few days and the students admired their work as well as their classmates. This is something that is now a must have in any classroom I teach in.
Our Crayon Leaf Rubbings
The Second Must Have
This year I found the cutest visual schedule on TPT that I have ever seen. It is editable, so you can put in your own names for subjects and activities.
I have used classroom schedules before and have even purchased ones that fit in pockets. I found them hard to use, time consuming and not large enough for the students to actually make use of them. The ones I am using this year are visually pleasing and so big that the students refer to them as much as I do. No more running back to my day book to see what comes next, I can see from across the room. The schedule each day is pretty similar so it is easy to keep up. Definitely a must have from now on in my classroom.
You can get this editable classroom schedule here.
Hope you are having a restful weekend. The weather in Tecumseh, Ontario has been cool and sunny all weekend. Welcome FALL!
*Christine*
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