First Day of School

This year we don't start until after the Labor Day weekend, which will be an extra week, and I plan to enjoy it!

The first day of school is always very interesting. I still get similar feelings to it that I did when I was younger. Everything seems NEW, and there's a clean slate (literally and figuratively)

Most students come with new shoes, new clothes, and a lot of supplies. It's amazing to compare how quiet the first day of school is with the last day of school. The first day I can't get them to talk, and by the end of the year I'm looking for ways to quiet them down.

I begin with introductions, which is probably the norm. I tell the class about myself and the things that I like to do. I then ask them to tell one thing about themselves, and their name. I learn everyone's name by the end of the first day. For some that may seem easy, and I'm only talking about around 45 students. For others, you may understand how hard this could be.

I then go through the normal topics. The schedule, what we'll be doing in my class, things to expect during the school year, things to look forward to, and my classroom rules and policies. I also tell them what I expect from them.

Then we work with lockers for quite a while. This seems to be a difficult task for some, and I open many lockers for students during the first two weeks of school. The lockers they use have combinations built into them. I don't know why they just couldn't put their own lock on it if they want one.

After that I pass out textbooks. I also record the numbers and expect that they're covered with a book cover. To help them out I usually have a book covering session the next day. When I started teaching this grade I had the same books I'm still using 7 years later, so I want to keep them in good shape.

The following day we start learning, and preparing for the next grade. We have a lot to cover, and many expectations ahead of us. It is going to be another great year!