The First Full Week of School

After the first day of school the Thursday before last, I was happy that by Friday I saw major improvements in my class' behavior. Although I still had some occasional criers, pouters, or back-talkers, we overall had less frequency of those behaviors. 

On Monday, the third day of the school year, I am pleased to announce my students had a "rockin'" day. I saw students who last year had been suspended and kicked out of the class constantly working hard and putting in effort to make positive choices. That day most teachers claimed it was a rough day, but I silently beamed on the inside and was very proud of how my students continually and exponentially were improving.

Tuesday, was a backslide. We had multiple breakdowns. Students who had given effort earlier, chose to slip back to acting up seeking attention. I had to put in much energy to not have that room turn into chaos. 

Slow and steady went the rest of the week. Every day certain behaviors, like, blurting out or arguing with me after a simple command, are fading away. Some are very frustrated at times with me expecting 100% of every student to participate fully or to have every student follow every expectation. If I've seen each of them walk through the hallway like an exemplary upper elementary leader, there is no reason I can't expect them to have a decent line as a class every single time we leave our room together. I encourage kids to give each other quiet friendly reminders. Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing. And other times, I do let the students who behave well at all times get certain privileges to entice the others to do a better job in the future.

Our dining table decoration.

This week we don't have school Monday due to Labor Day, but I've prepared structured yet varied lessons at various levels so I can focus again on having very consistent classroom management. This year I have even a greater challenge of reaching my students academically since they range from Kindergarten to grade level in practically all subjects. So, while my main goal is essentially still to build community and have good management, it's essential to have thoroughly prepared lessons and flexible activities  to utilize depending on how they're doing. 

It's hard not to miss my students from the past two years and I love getting to see them quite a bit still. Other teachers seem to be delighted to have them as students now. But, at the same time I know this group of students will evolve into its own little community and I'm excited to learn more about each student's unique personality and humor.

Rejoice in the many blessings of new beginnings.