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Fourth grade had to wait to go to lunch. A previous grade on the schedule took longer than expected. In my mental list of "things I LOVE about this class", I have already added, "being flexible". The class was asked to sit in our room and talk quietly until we were able to go down to the lunch room. I happened to be in the room, posting the previous blog post. Look at them!! So respectful! So responsible!! They had more than enough time to eat once they finally made their way down to the lunchroom. Sometimes the plan doesn't go according to plan, and this class were leaders in the grade of making it work!! SO PROUD!!

Our class sits at the "bear" tables in the lunchroom. 

We sit on the northwest side of the lunch room.

Our afternoon ended up filling in our planners. In fourth grade, we add a step. We make a list of all the things we do, then cross off what we complete, and circle or highlight what we need to do (homework).

We had a BIG talk today about homework. We don't have "fits" or "breakdowns" about homework. Our parents work hard at their jobs, at taking care of us, and more. Our parents are not in school with us. They don't "know" what we have exactly to do. It is our job to do homework. If we aren't sure, we can ask for help. We do our best. If we give it an honest effort, and we still don't know, then we have an adult write a note, "gave an honest effort, please help", and Mr. Greninger or I will help in school the next day. This could mean a student misses part of Recess. Missing part of Recess for help is not a punishment. When teachers answer questions, work with students, and are available, it is one way they show kids how much they like their students. Showing kids we care will take time to prove, and our daily actions will be important.

Another big talk today was this is a safe place to make mistakes. Ms. Leom will make a lot of them. We talked about when people make mistakes, how we can "help" them and support them. We will begin introducing and modeling ways to be supportive. Today, Ms. Leom asked students to pull her aside and gently point out her mistake (She said lunch when she was talking about dinner.), so she can be more aware and try to learn from it.

We had a "tour of the room", so we know where to find band-aids, how to check-out a classroom book, what to do if you need a scissors and more - the important stuff.

We also met some people we are working with this year. We have two paras. Ms. Nikki works with us in the mornings and Ms. Sherri. Ms. Sherri works with us in the afternoons. We are SO THANKFUL for these TWO amazing women and their gifts they share!! Both women worked in my classroom last year, so they are experienced, and we work well together!!

Ms. Nikki

Ms. Sherri

Our other gift this year is our high school helper. We learned the new term, "alumni" today. I had this student (and his sister) in my fourth grade classroom, and that makes him my "alumni". I LOVE my KIDS, and I am always thrilled to have them return!! He will be in our room right after lunch for just short of an hour. Today, he is helping me label the lexile and reading levels on my classroom library. This will take at least a week. He will also be helping me organize and keep track of the reading calendars. There will be opportunities for him to support and work with students, and he will work on other random, odds and ends details that make our classroom run smoothly!!

I walked our students to specials (Phy-Ed & Art), and the first job was to sit down and update you to our learning day. I am not able to detail every moment of the day, but as a parent, you just want to know, and when I ask, "How was your day?" to my own children, the answers aren't always the level of details that I want to know!! I hope this helps!!

I am already IN LOVE with this group of students. They are so caring, patient, and ask such great questions!! I can't wait to start a new day!!!