First Day

Today was the day...I can't help but jump right back into thinking about what next for my students as I spent the evening planning tomorrow. I always do this deeper planning at the beginning of the year. I am trying to envision what to do next and build routines and community very simply. I have to say I had no fear jumping into writing workshop today. My kids enjoyed it and I counted 4 little mini lessons I poured into about 40 mins of workshop. Our big idea was writers write what they know. I shared a story about how I watched a fat frog jump across a busy road at dusk through my car headlights. I modeled how to think about what I know and then drew and wrote a bit about it. I sent them off to write about what they know and many kids were successful. Guiding them independently, I picked 3 kids to share their pieces and stretched out 3 other teaching points using the kids including...writers are brave (try words independently a lesson that I will build spelling strategy work into later), writers are never done and writers reread their writing.

On the reading side of things, I read Big Al (I like to talk about characters, like AL, that we can be like in the classroom) Not a Box, My dog, My Cat My Mama and Me (they totally picked up on the pattern in this book), The School Bus, Who Stole All the Cookie Dough? and The Recess Queen. I know there were 2 more but I am so tired now that I forget. Back to building my stamina too!!! I am off to bed.