When do we learn Spanish?

Here I am, in week three of teaching! Day one was a little on the overwhelming and surreal side. The week leading up to the first day, I was busy just trying to get the hundreds of boxes out of my classroom! Most of those boxes were not even my second grade materials, so I had to open them, figure out what was in them, and then try to figure out where they needed to go. The Sunday before school started, my amazing parents were in town to help me finish moving into my apartment so they helped me actually set up my classroom. The next two days I spent running around getting last minute supplies for the first day, like carpet squares for the students to sit on (we still do not have carpet in our classrooms).

But the morning my students arrived, I was so excited. My stomach was fluttering and my heart was racing - all of those cliche feelings. We sat down for our first community circle and introduced ourselves and shared some of our favorite things. Then we talked about what we had done this summer. The rest of the day was a mix of procedures and teambuilding activities. Towards the end of the day, we sat down on the floor again and made a list of things that had happened in school to us that we did not like; we then talked about how we should act so that those incidents don't happen. I guided the discussion so that we touched on what I already knew I wanted my 5 rules to be. That night I went home and put all of their ideas together in the 5 Class Agreements (we do not call them rules, we call them class agreements because we agreed that those norms would make our classroom a safe, fun, happy place where we could learn together).

 Day two I introduced the Class Agreements and our rewards and consequences system. We practiced what following and not following the class agreements would look like. We read Oh! The Places You'll Go and talked about what they wanted to be after college in 2023. Then we talked about how it would take hard work to get there and that 2nd grade is important to get us ready for 3rd grade, 4th grade, etc so that we can become what we want to be. We spent the rest of the day practicing procedures and doing more teambuilding activities. I was pretty relieved that the first week was only 3 days. I needed the weekend.

Last week, week 2, was more procedures and investment. We have gotten really great at lining up and walking in the hallway! Which sounds like a ridiculous thing to be thrilled about, but when you have a classroom of 23 7-year old students - 16 of which are boys - lining up and walking quietly can be one of the most challenging things. We have a class compliment chain, and every time another teacher or staff member compliments our class on our line around the school, we add a paper chain. When the chain reaches the floor, the students will get a surprise! They have already earned 12 links, and it will probably take us about 10 more to reach the floor. I am really proud of them, and they are really proud of themselves. We talk a lot about how we are a team, and that is physical proof of what we can accomplish when we work together.

 I am getting nervous thinking about teaching in Spanish, because only a small number of my students even speak Spanish with their families. The majority of my students are native English speakers. Although they will be learning Spanish from the very beginning - starting with the alphabet - I am expected to also teach them grade-level content in Spanish without translating for them. I know this will be a huge challenge, and though I am thrilled to be taking it on, I am also nervous that they will get frustrated and give up during Spanish week. More to come soon, I promise, but for now I need to go call some parents!

 ♥