Back to School, Back to School, to Prove to Dad That I'm Not a Fool

Day 1 of the 2012-2013 school year is in the books, and honestly it couldn't have gone any better. It may be just the honeymoon period, but all of my kids are so polite, like they said thank you very time I gave them something, made eye contact, were excited, and didn't throw a hissy fit when I mentioned homework. MAJOR change from last year. I am really hoping for a change in attitude and level of respect this year. Last year some of my kids were so disrespectful to me and to each other, even with the principal in the room. I can deal with pretty much anything except disrespect. I will help a student on a math concept for hours as long as they are respectful, so hopefully that will be the case this year. And oh yeah, I forgot how cute 7th graders are when starting the year off!!

I started the day out with introductions. I introduced myself and then I went around the room and I tried to remember as many names as I could from open house. And surprisingly, I did really well! :) Then I read the introduction from Danica McKeller's book Math Doesn't Suck, explaining the girl she describes was very similar to me, minus the whole famous actress part. I told them how I threw tantrums when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade when my parents tried to get me to work on my math facts. They thought that was HILARIOUS! Reading the passage was a huge success and we ended up having a great conversation about it and their own feelings about math. After that I took the kids on a tour of the room, showing them key parts they would need to know. By this point, I didn't want to overwhelm them with information, so I asked them to take a look at all of my quote posters around the room (and if I ever have the time to take some pictures of my room you will see there are A LOT) and then pick their favorite one and come up with why they liked it. I went around the room, without my roster and was able to remember most of their names again (no idea how I was this good with names on day 1 but when they come in with different clothes tomorrow, it will be like I never heard their name before, because I will have forgotten) and when I called on them they talked about their favorite quote. I came up with this activity on the spot first period, but it was actually my favorite part of the class period because I really got to know their thoughts about the posters, and again it sparked really good discussions about their beliefs. For 7th graders, they are very insightful! :) Tomorrow will consist of going over my expectations and my definite dozen (rules) and they will start to put their INB together (YAY!!!) And hopefully there will be time to work on their 7th grade math graphic organizer activity. I hope day 2 goes as well as day 1!

~Q.E.D.