One thing I really like about starting school when we do is that we sort of "ease into" the school year. The first week is only 1.5 days, the second week is 4 days, and then it's not until the third week that we finally have a full 5-day week of school. It's a nice way to get ourselves adjusted and back into "school mode". And our crew this year has been adjusting quite nicely. The fact that we have such small class sizes is great. It makes instruction and behavior much more manageable. Establishing a positive classroom climate and community is always a big focus of mine during the first few weeks of school, and so those values were at the core of many of our activities and discussions this week. One such activity was our brown bag autobiography assignment. Students were tasked to fill a brown paper bag with five items that represent their interests, values, or personality. On Tuesday and Wednesday, students could choose one, two, or three of these items to share with their classmates, while also providing their reasoning for including it in their brown bag. They then could take two questions from their "audience" related to what they shared. This is a really nice way for us all to get to know each other, and I like taking part in it too!

This week we also did some team-building challenges, enjoyed a few back-to-school related read-alouds, and discussed Chromebook expectations, as students get 1-1 Chromebooks in 4th grade. Students were asked to answer a questionnaire to help me learn about them on both a student and human level, so that I can best meet their needs as one of their teachers this school year. We also had several visitors this week. We had our district's talented strings and band instructors for instrument demos, since students have the option of taking an instrument starting in fourth grade. Ms. Tosches, Mrs. Cullinane, Mr. Marshall, and Mrs. Kennedy also stopped by our classroom at different points this week.

We picked our first Bucket Fillers of the school year on Friday. This is a routine we'll do each week to recognize and celebrate positive behavior. It's based on the book "How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids" by Mary Reckmeyer and Tom Rath, which introduces the idea that we all have invisible buckets over our heads that fill up and empty throughout the day depending on our feelings and interactions with others. Throughout the year, over the course of the school week, I write down the names of students who stand out for being kind, working hard, helping out, etc. and put these names in a jar. On Fridays, I randomly pick a name for the Bucket Fillers of the week, and they get to choose either a prize, show-and-tell, or lunch with the teacher. I also write a sentence or two about each Bucket Filler on that week's blog post. I pulled Jodenci and Annabelle's name from the jar to kick off the school year. Jodenci has had a great week. He's been attentive and respectful, and I'm confident that we're going to have a really awesome year together. I'm also excited to have Annabelle in class this year. I can already tell she's going to be one of those students who I can rely on to consistently do the right thing and to help me when I need it. Congrats, you two!