For me, very rarely is there a day when I am not thinking about the last school year and reflecting on ways to make the next school year better. It is July 21st and already I have pencilled in a plan for my daily schedule, figuring out when I will meet with small groups, incorporate literacy stations, and read aloud to my class. I am heading off to Staples today to have new Spiral game boards laminated since my first versions look well-used after 2 1/2 years of almost constant daily use! In my at-home office, there are new books ready to be added to the classroom library, bulletin board borders and letters to add color to the classroom, and many teacher resources with sticky notes marking pages that will be used to make learning (hopefully) engaging.
But despite all my thinking and planning, the wild card in this whole picture is my incoming class of 3rd graders. Those first couple weeks of school are vital as we get to know each other and I get a grasp on where we are starting from academically. My hope is that they took time every day this summer to read a book. My fingers are crossed that they know their addition facts and can tell time. In a perfect world, they already know a paragraph starts with an indent and contains complete sentences....which means they know what a complete sentence is and can begin and end it with a capital and end mark. Chances are we will be learning and relearning all of that in the fall and that is o.k.! What my true hope and dream is for this year is a happy, joyful group of students who are willing to buckle their seat belts and join me in an adventure. We will work hard but hopefully have fun along the way. I can't wait.
