We have had a fantastic first week of school!  Getting a school year under way takes an enormous amount of patience and perseverance on the part of students, with a lot of time spent listening and learning new routines.  Everything from walking in line to eating in the lunch room needs to be taught, modeled, and practiced, ensuring future success and independence.  A few of the things we have done this week include:

• began our days with morning meeting, which includes a greeting and a morning message
• explored materials that we will be using during math 
• learned about several classmates as they shared their artifact bags
• practiced walking safely in line
• talked about school wide expectations - be kind, safe, responsible, and engaged- with a focus this week on ways we can be kind and safe
• learned about our system for rewarding expected behaviors with cards that we then trade in for rocks
• watched 3 monarch caterpillars  turn into chrysalises, with 2 more still eating and growing 
• learned how to use classroom materials including pencils, markers, scissors, and glue stick
• met our 3rd and 4th grade reading buddies

We will continue to practice all of our routines in the coming weeks and learn a few more as well!