Today was our first day back from winter break. I was dreading it at first, but as soon as they started walking in I got a burst of excitement and energy! Then, I wasn't so mad about winter break being over. I really did miss them!!
I knew the kids were going to want to talk, talk, talk when they got to school! So, this morning when the kids entered they wrote a story for me in their writers notebook from their winter break. Then, we introduced ourselves to a new student that we got today & took time to just talk to our friends. Afterwards, we set our classroom resolutions (rules) for the rest of our year!
When we left for break things were getting pretty, well - out of control... kids were ready for a break and so was I! We were getting our work done but the behavior... ha ha
So, that sparked a thought for this back to school from break activity!
It was perfect and gave students a chance to reflect on our school year thus far.
We began our resolution making by talking about what resolutions are. Many of them had no idea!
Then, I broke my class up into groups of three. In their group they came up with 6 rules they thought we should have in the classroom. Then, I combined 3 groups of 3 to make one big group of 9 and they dwindled the rules down to one lost of 6 rules. So, at the end we had 3 lists with 6 rules on each.
It was really neat to hear their discussions and see the rules they came up with. The kids really put a lot of thought into it and really thought about the problems we face each day in the classroom!
After we had our 3 lists of 6 rules we voted! We took 2 rules from each list and wrote them on our Classroom Resolutions poster!
Our rules are hanging up nice & visible for all to see! I love the one that says I can cover my mouth when I sneeze and cough. We had a huge epidemic before winter break where we all got sick! They obviously want to prevent that and so do I! I love the - I can use my own brain and focus! They know focus is my favorite word! ;)
After, we made our rules the students picked one resolution or another goal that they had for themselves to work on in the classroom. They worked on these at the writing station and they're now hanging in the hallway!
They're so cute!!
You can grab this activity packet here. Tomorrow we will be writing about & creating the new best toy for 2015! I'll be back later with that post!! :) I can't wait!!!!
I also have math stations to go with it too! They're super easy prep!
Have a great rest of your week with your kids!
