Creating Community

The first few days of school have gone by in a blur and somehow it feels as though we have been together in the classroom for a whole lot longer than 2 days. Teaching all of the beginning of the year routines is exhausting, and I always forget how many little things become so routine by the end of the year that I don't think about them anymore. This year is a bigger challenge because I switched grades from first to third. The best part of this is that about a third of my class consists of students I taught two years ago. It's so fun to see how they have grown and changed over two years.

We started our first day with a Chalk Talk to think about community.

Some of the responses are just good life advice. When asked, "What are the qualities of a good classmate?", one student summed it up by saying: 

1. kindness

2. include people

3. cleans stuff

There was a lot of agreement in the class about that one.

Another friend said, "clean up after yourself" when answering what it will take to make sure the classroom runs smoothly.

And finally, two students said that community looks like "making everybody feel good" and "working together". 

Wouldn't it be great if we all did that?