30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 11: Best Part of the Day

Day 11: What is your favourite part of the school day and why?

Despite trying to create classroom routines, my days are aways different. It's hard to narrow down a favourite part of the day, as every day changes.

There is one part of every day that is the same, though. My morning routine is really special to me. It's simple, but it starts the day off right. I meet the students on the yard, they line up in class order (by first name), we make sure we're in a 6S Line (single file, straight, silent, safe, slow, smiling) and head into the school. We greet our VP with a smile as we pass by her and say "Thank You" in sign language to the door holders. The students wait at the classroom door and pick up the mail from their individual mailboxes as they head into the room. My favourite part is that they walk in slowly, so that I have a chance to greet each student by name, make eye contact and start our time together with a cheerful "Good morning".

The school day gets so busy that taking a moment to individually connect with each student is the best part of my day.

Last year, our morning routine also included the students picking up their Chromebooks and filling out a "How Do You Feel Today?" survey. This allowed me to "take the temperature" of the room really quickly and students shared their stories with me.

Starting my day like this helps the students and I connect and build relationships so that we can trust each other, realize we matter and work together effectively.