Today felt like the beginning of a great year. A week into school and students (most, not all) were following multi-step independent work directions, including picking up where we left off yesterday, cleaning up supplies, and using a zero level voice. We were able to be so productive that there was time to introduce...da da da Reading Buddies!
Thank you Pinterest to the many pins I saw this summer with baskets of reading friends for kids to choose while they are reading. It was so darling to watch them adjust the friend in a just right way to look at their book or set the friend up with their own book. I had to snap some pics.
We have been working on our stamina (thank you Brown Bag Teacher for the graph!) Today with our buddies, we reached 3 minutes 30 seconds before anyone broke our purpose. I really think the buddies kept my firsties purposeful today and stretched some stamina!
Another big leap this week was working on self-reflection as a group and individually. I have always used choice seating for independent work in my intermediate and resource settings, but this year I wanted to have lots of nooks and options as well as our tables to give students as much support for their stamina as possible. The first days of first grade were a big learning curve for me! Firsties had mere minutes of work stamina and lots of individual needs that needed to be met RIGHT NOW. But a mere 7 days later...
We took turns having a whole day during independent work time (not independent reading time, that is a whole different set up) in various types of arrangements. Some students tried out pillows and clipboards, others lap desks, others regular desks that they could sit or stand, others lay on the fluffy green carpet in our library area. I also have a small table and little IKEA chair from my home that my kids have outgrown but is perfect for little bodies, and another IKEA chair under my IKEA leaves, tucked between our cubbies and wall.
Students would choose a face at the end of the day for how comfortable and productive they felt in their spot of the day. Some students chose not to go back to that spot even after one sitting! I call that metacognition! We have since introduced "offices" (privacy folders made from 2 file folders stapled together) and students can choose to add that to their seating option. It's almost like we have a menu of options and students can mix and match.
I am hoping to add a giant baby cradle my daughter kept her dolls in -- management TBD -- and I'd love some yoga balls in crates, but that will be in the future for sure.
We've made a lot of charts and reflections over the past week to help us do our best. Yesterday the librarian said we were the best class she'd had and our line received many compliments. 7 days. Not all of us and not each moment (we do return back to our seats often for not following expectations to the carpet or line up.) But 7 days. Seriously.
I also appreciate all the pins for morning tubs. We have used the last 7 days to "purposefully" explore math tools before we need to really purposefully use them for math. I think this set up has created a calm and relaxed entry, for sure.
Thank you Pinterest. It's like the biggest, most collaborative PLC ever.
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