Day 1 down....179 to go!!!

Just kidding..it is going to be a long year if I am already on the countdown (after Spring Break is another story!)

Today actually went pretty well. I keep having to remind myself, my boys are sorta still 2nd graders. I have 17 on my roster but I think I will end up with 15. Two no-shows today. That means the next few new male 3rd graders will go directly to me.

We will ease into instruction between now and next Monday. Today we did a little writing, some reading and lots of ice breaker/getting to know you activities.

Today we played "Big Fat Liar"....I bill this as they only time I will let you lie to me and get away with it. I start out by telling them 4 things about me (I also write them on the board). I intentionally select one thing of the four that is un-true. For instance I told them:
1. I have a dog named Ella
2. I was born in Greenville
3. I have lived in Alaska
4. Before I became a teacher, I had my own bakery

So, can you guess which one is the lie? It is #2- I am not a Greenville native..I was actually born in Virginia. Two of the 15 boys actually guessed correctly. Most of them thought that #3 was the lie.

Next I had them come up with 4 things about themselves (and one had to be a lie). They came up with some great ones...I will be reading them to the class over the next few days and see if they can guess which one is untrue. I also did a "getting to know you" scavenger hunt. They had to go around and find a class mate who matched the description/statement, such a A person who visited Mexico this summer or A person whose favorite ice cream is vanilla. It forced them to get up and move around. talk to their class mates , and find out new and interesting things about them. I think it was very successful.

Dismissal was a bit crazy, but all in all we had a good first day. Tomorrow we have school-wide procedures day. We'll also give some math, reading and social studies assessments. It is going to be a busy one.....

Signing off...will check in later!