Beginning of the School Year

Are you setting into your first year teacher? Feeling those first day jitters set in?

I remember those feelings! I had dreams leading up to the first days of school that I had labeled all of the cubbies except for one child. I had 5 new children on the first day, and not enough materials. And that I would walk the children out at the end of the day and be short one or two children! Yikes!

Rest assured, you are going to have an amazing day! The children are excited to meet you, and your warm welcome is going to set the perfect tone for the year ahead! That is the best foundation to build upon.

Now what? Where do you go from there?

Tips for the first 2 weeks of school

• Day 1: Kick off with a mixture of community building activities, class tour, class routines, and big lessons.

  • Even for the students who are returning from the previous year, they are not likely reading for a 3 hour work cycle. As you create your daily plan, divide it into 20 minute chunks of time (more or less), and plan multiple activities, including a lesson and time for the students to practice the routines you give them. Let them practice getting their materials out, finding a work space, doing a writing activity, and putting things away to come back to the collective after 15 minutes.

• Week 1: For the rest of the week: Continue to elongate your morning work time. Keep in mind that your students are going to build their stamina towards that 3 hour work cycle over the next 3 weeks. To get them there, you will want to give them big work that will pull in their focus. For first graders, that may be the 100's board, 1000's chain, or a large map. 3rd grade may be pulled in by research, pin maps, or test tubes/racks & tubes. Upper Elementary: Everything is a big work! Research, and big math studies or 'I Am' poems are a great way to start the year.

  • I like to start the younger students with lessons first thing in the morning so that their hands and bodies are productive. The older children are more likely to have experience in the classroom and have more options to choose from while they wait for lessons. Once the younger students have their lessons and work started, I can give lessons to the older students.

  • My goals is to give lessons that have a shorter start (mini-lesson), but a large work for the students. This frees up my time as the educator. I can then be free to move through the room and provide positive reinforcement or represent Grace & Courtesy lessons, or if I am lucky, get a head start on my beginning of year assessments.

Trauma Informed Week One:

• Incorporate:

  • Choice: Give two limited positive choices. Help students find success and also build their self-regulation by giving choices. This will build their capacity to make bigger choices later

  • Provide a visual schedule to follow, this will lessen the cognitive load for students in the fight or flight mindset or experiencing high anxiety.

  • Create a quiet corner of the room for students to 'escape' to. If a student is overwhelmed, this keeps them in the room, instead of running into the hallway.

• Avoid:

  • Shame/Blame/Punish: All behaviors are forms of communications. Students are communicating their needs to us. Avoid punishing behaviors, instead read them as communication of a need, and adjust the environment, instruction, pacing, or content for them.

  • Ignoring the problem: Behaviors are communicating needs. They are not going to work themselves out. Make the needed adjustments to help the child, the other children, and you.

First Week Writing Activity: I Am Poems

I Am poetry can be adjusted for any age level, and is a wonderful culturally responsive resource. I recommend avoiding asking the children to write a personal biography, about their name, or about thier family in the first week. These activities can bring up trauma for students who have experienced trauma, and you do not yet have a relationship with the children to navigate those conversations. I Am poems are driven by topics that the student can choose, knowing that they will be shared with the class.

I Am Poem Template (Free Pdf)

Remember:

• Jump into lessons that give children 'big work' to do as soon as you are able. They are ready for school. "Big Work" can be review of previous year's work, or decorating their name card, or writing their I Am poem or their goals for the year. This will give you a little time to reset for your next part of the day and give the class a

• Your goal is to nurture Independence & Self-Regulation. They need lessons (many times) in order to put those skills into action. If they don't have materials to practice, the Grace and Courtesy lessons may not be realized.

• They do Their Best, We do the Rest. After the children leave at the end of the day, do a quick reset of the classroom. This will help reinforce where materials should be returned and in what conditions. This practice will help maintain your high expectations for your learners and classroom. Avoid doing it in front of the learners. They are doing their best. If you are showing them in a lesson, that is fine! Otherwise, you do not want to give the impression that you are going to clean up after them, or that their hard work isn't sufficient. Your work should happen after the children are out of the classroom.

Week One is busy! Practice self care at the end of the week! I always need a big nap at the end of the week, or a recharge! Cherish this time with your new community. These are precious times that you will look back on and appreciate how far you've all come at the end of the. year.