So, one of my favorite aspects of Back to School has always been to dive into the year using the Responsive Classroom approach. I have been trained in both Responsive Classroom I & II. If you have the opportunity to take this training, HIGHLY recommend it! If you don't think you can take the training session, you might want to check out this book...
I reread it just about every year & always find something new that I can apply to my teaching practice. It is on my TO DO list to take a look at it again in the next few weeks. I'm wondering how my RC practice will change as I make the 1st to 4th grade leap...
Anyway, one of my favorite ways to open the year in the past has been to start with HOPES & DREAMS... this is a goal-setting activity where kids name what they really desire to work on during the course of the year. One of my favorite books to do this with is called Surfer Chick by Kristy Dempsey...
I plan to use this book this year to kick off my HOPES & DREAMS discussion. The themes of courage & perseverance are applicable for ALL ages I believe (I hope!). I wrote up a little mini-unit freebie for my TpT page- so feel free to take a peak at it and see if it would work in your classroom. The end product of the unit looks something like this:
I made this sample with my 3-year old- he's a pretty cute surfer dude, right? I'm looking forward to doing a similar project in September with my new batch of 4th graders! I'll let you know how it turns out.
If you are interested in the unit- see my TpT page:
Let me know how you like it--- enjoy your summer!
