It’s September! Time to get the dust off the shelves, the bulletin boards up and a big warm welcome out to all those bright and shiny faces as they enter the doors of our classroom on during these first days. The kinds of things we do with our students in the very beginning of the year, set the tone for the whole year. One thing I like to do is tell stories to my students. I tell them stories from my childhood, like how scared I was my very first day of school. I’d been sick with the chicken pox so had to start school a bit later than everyone else. I still remember the terror and embarrassment I felt coming in to that classroom. I attempted to sit at a desk only to be told by another child that I was sitting in an assigned seat for somebody else. After my third attempt to sit down somewhere, I ended up standing against a wall in confusion until the teacher finally rescued me. I use that story to help students get to know me as a human being and also help those who are a bit fearful themselves to know they have landed in a safe spot.
I thought it would be a good idea to start out this year with another story. (more…)