First Day, Not Just Putting Supplies Away...

Wow! I'm not even sure where to start... What an AMAZING day. Best first day yet. The students came in incredibly excited to be back. It was almost like we never left! It was a powerful milestone in this looping experience. My principal told me yesterday that the "first day of the second year would be one of the best", that proved to very true today. The relationships that were built last year were picked right back up with ease. The students welcomed our new friends that were joining us and it seemed like we've all been together for a year already... and of course, most of us have!

Our Morning Meeting was a beautiful example of the community and relationships that most of us formed in the previous year. They knew the routines and procedures of Morning Meeting and were encouraging, helpful, and patient explaining to our newcomers how things run. They made eye contact, shook hands, and greeted one another. They shared something about their summer. We sang a song which left everyone with big smiles, and closed with our morning message.

I tried something new this year. Usually when students come for Open House, they bring their school supplies. I usually spend a few hours sorting through them and finding them homes (not sure why...) But it occurred to me that this was a job that students were certainly capable of and would give them ownership of our room. So, I dumped out ALL of the supplies that came in on five round tables and told them to work together to "organize" them at their tables. Once supplies were sorted at the tables, they agreed to combine all "like" items in bins so we could store the supplies. The students assigned themselves roles at their table (no direction from me) and set out to merge all the supplies from individual tables to a central location. The problem solving, conversation, and teamwork that was displayed was amazing. I can tell you because I was literally sitting back and watching it all happen around me. The engagement was high and everyone was participating. Once we had all "like" items grouped, we needed to find a place in the room to keep everything (no small task!). The discussion about where things should go and what should go together was pretty incredible. They decided that they wanted some supplies on their tables all the time. Fortunately, I had supplies bins to make that happen! They categorized supplies on a "what we use everyday" basis. Pencils, erasers, scissors, and glue were voted to stay on the tables. Everyone agreed, and then decided that we should have a set number of supplies in each bin for use each day. One student suggested "since there are four students at each table, we should have at least that many." Another student agreed, but said that we should have extra pencils as they "break all the time." I couldn't believe the conversation going on around me. Of course I wanted to offer suggestions and pitch in, but I forced myself to sit back, and only allowed myself to ask questions. They decided to put the paper towels behind the door ("they are too big to fit anywhere else, and we should keep them all together"), the tissues are in a pile in a corner of our room (not what I would have done), but I have to say, I LOVE IT! Every time I saw the tissues in the corner and the paper towels behind our door today, I couldn't help but smile. They were assigned a task, worked hard to complete it, and were thrilled with their success. Yes, it is only supplies we are talking about, but it was empowering for them, gave them ownership, a sense of accomplishment, and gave their teacher a powerful reminder that they are capable of anything. It was loud, probably looked like total chaos, but it was a priceless experience for us all.

The rest of the day was pretty much the same. Easy. I knew what to expect, they knew what to expect, and we had an AWESOME day! I was excited about looping before, but now I'm realizing that this is much bigger than I could have ever imagined. I can't help but wonder where we will be in a month, two months, and so on... Stay tuned.