Tried it Tuesday and First Day Jitters!

Well folks, I’m pretty sure everyone is back to school now! For the last few weeks I have been reading posts from people who were already back at school and I was secretly laughing at you all… And now it’s my turn.

My first day actually went really well! I have a class full of sweeties, I can already tell it’s going to be a great year! We accomplished a lot today and there were a few new firsts for me so I’m linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for her Tried it Tuesday Linky.

The reason I mentioned First Day Jitters in the title of this post was not because of the book but because I really had the first day jitters! I couldn’t sleep last night and I was so nervous this morning.  This was my first year teaching first graders from the beginning of the year (I teach a first and second grade split class).  Last year I had first graders but I was on maternity leave and started back part way through the year so the previous teacher had all the routines and whatnot in place for me.

I’m not gonna lie,  I was terrified of the little half pints this morning.

It turns out I was nervous for nothing.  The day was fabulous and I can’t wait to get to know them more tomorrow.

So that was my first tried it, first graders.

The next thing I tried was Class Dojo! I blogged about it before for Tried it Tuesday but I had never actually used it with students.  I only just played around with it and loved it. Now having tried it, I can honestly say it is AWESOME!

The kids loved it and it kept them working hard all day.

Here is what my Dojo looked like at the end of today:

They were pretty distracted by the noise it makes when someone gets a point but by the end of the day most of them didn’t notice it anymore.  I think it will take a few days of getting used to it for the rest of them.  But eventually it will just be a part of the routine and they won’t get so excited over the sound.

The next thing I tried out was a new idea for my classroom door.

Now this one may make you a little teary eyed…

So, very recently my best friend passed away.  She had leukemia.  We picked out her burial spot under a fledgling tree so that she could continue to nourish new life.  She was an aspiring teacher and a wonderful mother who wanted nothing more than to teach and inspire young children.

One of the ways I came up with to honor her was with my classroom door (of course the students don’t know the reasoning behind the door but it makes me happy to look at it and think of her).

Anyway, back to the tree.  I wanted to incorporate a tree somehow to honor my friend,  so I decided to make a tree that would be continually growing and be nourished by our learning.  This is what I came up with:

Right now they just added their names but I have more leaves so that when they want to share something they have learned they can keep adding to it.

As the seasons change I will add different colors of leaves and for winter I will add snowflakes.

Here is a close up of the sign and leaves.

I’m even going to ask parents to contribute something they learned at Meet the Teacher Night.

We also spent a good chunk of time working on our All About Me posters that can be found in my Back To School Activities Bundle:

I love looking at their little people drawings!  This one made his hands look like flowers.  Too cute!

At the end of the day we talked about how we are like a family and that in order to get along and to take care of one another we would need some guidelines to follow.

This is what they came up with:

They all signed it just to make it official.

I always find the first day flies by…and then the rest of the week drags on.  BUT it was a great first day, we got a lot accomplished and the kids are settling in nicely to the routines already.

How did your first day go?