First Days

We start our school year off with staggered entry having half the class come the first day, half the class come the second day and then the entire group comes together for the third. 

 This way we can connect with the children in smaller groups and focus even more of our attention on them as they learn the layout and routines of a new classroom.  

Before school begins we have a meeting with the parents to go over the duties of working in the classroom.

We cover positive ways to give directions, ways to say Yes! more than No, how to help foster conflict resolution, and so on, down to the nitty gritty of making snack.

 So our parent helpers are prepped and ready.

The first few days we are always paying close attention to the flow of the room and how the children are accessing the materials.  How is our layout working?

 Do they have enough room to move, to sit, to build. Can they reach everything?  Since we are constantly changing our room arrangements, there are always settings to test.

   
We are also learning their personalities.  How are they getting along with each other?

Who gravitates to whom?  Who needs more help entering play?

We are having conversations, we are listening and we are watching their play.

What are their interests... what will be good provications for this particular group....where will our play take us?