“We may not get to decide which kids to
serve, but we do get to decide the kind of climate in which we want to serve
them” - Jimmy Casas
Each fall, educators spend the first 30 days of each school year
getting to know their new students. Team building activities, interest surveys,
and partner learning are fun and help us better understand the lives of our
mini humans. Beyond those first 30 days, as we all know, life in a school gets
busy and we tend to focus more on curriculum and content than on enhancing the
relationships we have started with our students.
I have always been interested in promoting a strong culture and
positive interactions with the kids in my classroom. I have wondered how we
could bring the excitement and happiness of the first 30 days of school every
day. How could that mindset affect the relationships I have with my students,
they have with one another, and their interactions with others in the school?
One way that I have incorporated consistent relationship building
into my classroom starts at 8:30 am each morning. Soft starts are nothing new.
Harvey “Smokey” Daniels dedicates a chapter to them in his wonderful book, The
Curious Classroom. A calming music playlist greets the children at our door
and so do I - greeting everyone by name and with our “secret handshake” that we
developed at our open house in August. They come in ready to stretch their brain or prepare it for a
day of learning.
Once our morning jobs and procedures are complete, my kids have
some voice and choice in how they spend the first 10-15 minutes of their school
day. These
choice activities give us time to connect with friends, share stories, get work
help from a friend, settle in, expand our creativity, collaboration and
critical thinking skills and get ready for the day! We work together to change
many choices monthly (but not the procedures of our morning choices) to keep
interest high.
The best part? After MY morning procedures are
complete (So the office does not need to *gently* remind me to take
attendance!), I get to join in! While kids are coloring together or completing
a puzzle or writing a story, I can work on an activity while we have
conversations about our busy and important lives.
Creating relationships involves “creating an
environment where the students get to know one another. Only by intentionally
taking time to invest in activities that allow students to regularly interact
with one another can we ever achieve the classroom culture of excellence we all
aspire to attain: An atmosphere where all students understand, appreciate,
respect, and empathize with one another.” - Jimmy Casas
When my students are able to spend the start of their morning
collaborating with their friends and teacher, our other interactions throughout
the day are more positive and focused. There is genuine care and concern when
“our class is not complete” (in 3rd grade words...that means someone is away
from school that day). Their attention is sincere when their friends share
stories later at Morning Meeting. If someone needs help, they know they can
confidently ask 21 people for guidance. If we need help being assertive with a
situation (because we are all human and things happen…), we feel secure in
knowing our friends will listen to our words and respect our needs better
moving forward.
In his book, Culturize, Jimmy Casas repeatedly shares how
important it is for people to model and focus on what you want more of. If I
want our classroom to be a welcoming and caring and safe place to be, then I
need to make time in our day to model and focus on welcoming and caring
interaction opportunities with my students. Then it is the kids’ turn to model
and engage in welcoming and caring interactions with the many other people they
interact with during their day. And it all begins again the next day...
Q1: What is the
morning routine like in your classroom or school?
Q2: How do you
encourage and maintain positive relationships with students throughout the
year?
Q3: How does
your classroom or school promote a positive culture in the first 30 days?
Throughout the school year?
Q4: What are fun
and unique ways that you or your school encourage positive (adult to adult -
adult to student - student to student) interactions?
#learnbps
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