The start of a new school year is an exciting time, filled with new experiences and anticipation for what’s to come. Our teachers and therapists spend a lot of time in the first few weeks of school helping children get to know each other, learn routines, and acclimate to their new classroom, rules, and materials so that they can build autonomy and feel ready and excited about learning.
This year, Parkside has introduced many of the activities and mindset from The First Six Weeks of School, a text that serves as a guide for structuring these initial weeks of the school year in a way that helps teachers set expectations and give students the confidence they need to learn most effectively.
Cathy Weeks, Director of Curriculum, walked around Parkside on Tuesday, and shared a small glimpse of what was a full and meaningful day of activities:
In 5-2, students created nameplates for their desks and also learned about where to independently find materials to do so, while in 5-4, students were excited to hear about the pom-pom rewards that are coming to them for positive behavior in the classroom community.
4-4 was deep in a discussion about class norms with students thinking hard about what to include, and 4-3 was engaged in a joyful readaloud while also learning about expectations for class participation.
4-1 teachers were working with students on how to line up in the hallway before setting out on a school tour and 4-2 teachers reviewed the class signal for quiet attention before introducing activities with unifix cubes.
In 3-3, students were playing math bingo and also learning how to manage the materials for the game, while in 3-4, students were exploring math materials at 3 different stations (overheard from a 3-4 student: "This is the best day!").
3-2 students were practicing using different colors in a drawing while also learning about how to close their markers ("cap and snap!") and 3-1 students were exploring different coloring materials and practicing how to safely retrieve what they needed from the shelf.
