And so it begins...

Coffee...because that is how I get through the day. Jesus...because that is how I get through the day! And First Grade because that is where I am all day! Can I just say that these are three things that I LOVE so why not write about them? Maybe even throw in a few pictures of the 15 month old princess that runs our house too!

So here I am taking the plunge...a few years ago my principal said "when will you start writing a blog?". I thought, what's going on in here that is so special? My mom says, "you better write all of this down so one day you can write a book!" ha! ok mom! Well both of them are right! So many special things are happening right now in our little first grade world, how could I hold back? None of this would even be happening or possible without my amazing teammates. We work together, plan together, laugh together and cry together. Really, it is a dream!

I decided to start writing a blog because so much is happening right now in first grade at our wonderful Wilson Elementary! We are making a huge shift in first grade and we couldn't be more freaked out and excited!

Let me just throw a few words at you that will sum up our year next year:

flexible seating

1:1 iPads

sharing students

5 sections

small-ish class sizes

only one year left in this building and then it gets torn down (more about that later)

one really big room

PTL for a supportive principal who is letting us run with it because here we go! 

Let me start with our room. This is not your normal classroom with 4 walls and a door. Oh no! I don't even know what to call this room and maybe we will come up with a name for it once we hit the ground running in August but man oh man will this be an adventure. Pictures coming soon so you can get a better idea of what I am talking about! This room was made with 3 "sections". We are putting 3 teachers and hopefully no more than 60 students inside. (hello Mr. SUPT. we love you over in 1st grade with our small class sizes) ;) 

Attached to our big room is 2 other first grade classrooms that are the traditional size with 4 walls and a door. There are even windows and we can peek over at each other during the day....how fun right? Our doors and windows will be open at all times and students will have the freedom to choose seating based on how they learn best. They will be moving in and out of spaces during different parts of the day. What does that look like? Well we don't know yet! AHHH!!! 

This is our summer focus, how do we share students but also make them feel like they have a "home-base", a safe place to learn, to feel like they are cared for and loved, to have a sense of community? How will we group them and how often will groups change? Will we start out slow and which subject first? 

We are reading everything, Pinterest is our best friend, here we come IKEA, crossing our fingers for a grant and away we go!

If you have any experience in any of these areas I would love to hear from you!