The First Day of School for 2008-2009

So here we are... starting a brand new school year. The day started with all 32 of the new Room 8'ers in their seats and eager to start the day.We learned a lot without even getting into the curriculum. We spent time looking through ALL the textbooks - and the new math text is not even here yet! We put our names in the books and I recorded the book numbers. I explained to the class that they are now responsible for that text... having to pay at the end of the year if one is lost. Each student was partnered up and they visited and found a little information out about each other. Following that, the pairs introduced each other.

After the 10:30 recess, Room 8 is allowed to eat a healthy snack in the room while I read to them. A lot of classes eat their snacks outside during recess, which Room 8 is certainly allowed to do. I just give them the option of playing the entire recess. This is the book I read to them today. Ask your son/daughter what it means to 'fill someone's bucket'...

We did a 2-minute math drill called the "Mad Minute." We will do this most days, but it doesn't take the place of practicing the basic math facts at home. We also wrote a quick little "1st Day Poem" as you can see from this example. We had a "Scavenger Hunt through the Textbooks" on our agenda, but, as the students learned, 'we are FLEXIBLE in room 8.' We didn't get to the scavenger hunt, so as you can see from tomorrow's schedule, we've just bumped it over a day.

Here's our schedule for tomorrow. Everyday, when the students walk in, the schedule will be on the board so they can see what's in store for the day! Also, it helps keep me on track.

As you can see, tomorrow I'll start reading the book Poppy. It's a sweet little story about a mouse family and an owl. Tomorrow, we'll also start with some basic geography. We'll also being doing a math assessment on place value. This will help me determine where the class is as a whole and how much, if any, I need to review.

So, Room 8 is off to a great start! We have a para-professional who will be coming in to help us with reading, Mrs. T... and one who will come in to help with math... a different Mrs. T! I'm also excited about a high school senior, Caryn, who will come over ever day during our math time to also assist and help out. Caryn is a former Room 8er! I love having students come back!

Notices came home about this blog today. If you look closely, our county, town, or school is never mentioned. The blog only says we are in Northern California. I also don't use the students' last names. If a comment is put on, and the person forgets and writes their last name, I will delete the comment. To sign your name, you could, for example, just put your first name, and/or you could write something like "Brandi, Austin's mom."

Here's to a great year! Remember, Back-to-School night is Tuesday, September 2. I hope to see you all there!