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I try my best to keep our daily and weekly routines as regular as possible. I feel like even if there was no teacher there, my third graders would know exactly what to do in the morning with zero guidance. Each morning, I greet my students at the door, this is a great time for me to check in with each student. I try my best to stay up to date with the happenings in their lives. I like knowing what's going on and they love to share. I also think that this simple 5 minutes of visiting is a great way to let them all know that I care! While this is going on, they come in and unpack their bags, placing their planner in the planner bucket and their homework in the homework basket. Then they begin their daily spelling assignment. On Mondays, they practice their new words three times, on Tuesdays, they do rainbow words, on Wednesdays, they build spelling pyramids, on Thursdays, they play let the dice decide and on Fridays, they write their spelling words on their white boards to practice for their tests!

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Each day I stand at my door and welcome students to my class. I make it a point to say good morning or some kind of comment to every student as they enter that welcomes them to class. Once I have all my students in my room I make it a point to circulate the room while they eat breakfast and strike up conversations with the students. I want to try to make sure I visit with each student at some point throughout the week during breakfast about something other than school. I think it is important for students to know teachers care about more than just their classwork

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At the begining of a day, I will standing in front of the door ,say hello to
my studens, have a simple talk with students. For
example, I can say “who buy this dress for you? It is lovely.”

In the desks of students, I will put some cards on
which different pictures are.  I have the same cards in my
hand. When students are coming, I will let them pick up one they like, and they
use this card to find the same card in the desk to have a seat.  I use this way to separete students into different groups.

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I do not have a classroom, but I do come in after school to cover practices and games. I have a number of athletes that need to be taped or evaluated before practice, but I have to give each athlete my full attention so that I make them feel important, and that they feel my genuine care for their injuries or concerns, and to make sure that they will not hurt themselves further. I try to always greet them, but what I try to do best is to ask abut how school is going, their lives in general, and their thoughts about their injury. This way, the athletes feel like I am getting to know them personally, and not just associating their face or name with their injury. By doing this, they can invest emotions and thoughts to me and I will try to give them perspective in any way that I can. I hope that when I do start teaching, that I remember to focus on that child and their problem without distraction, and truly invest in their life, as it allows them to trust and share with me, and know that I genuinely care about them.

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I do not currently have my own classroom yet, but I do have a pretty specific idea as to how I want to begin each day. I have been in classrooms where I feel like the teacher acts as if the students are a nuisance when they raise their hand to speak. I do not want my students to feel that way as I want them to feel comfortable and loved. I will start each day by standing outside my classroom door and greet each student with a "Good Morning" and a wave, hug, or high five. That will be up to them. I plan on having a positive or inspirational quote on the board each day. This is something we will read and talk about as a class. I think it would be really cool to eventually have designated days where individual students get to pick a quote to write on the board. I also want to have a designated "Good news" time on at least once a week and maybe twice. I will go around the room and have each student tell something good going on in their lives. Dr. Seth Huddleston had us do this in ELE 434 and I thought it was a great thing to do. This not only allows me to get a glimpse of things going on in my student's lives, but it lets other students know as well. It creates that warm caring atmosphere where students will know they are not a nuisance and that I care about their lives and what they have to say.

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My classroom is a little different in the morning than most classrooms. Working with students who have emotional disturbance, my mornings are all about getting the students regulated and ready for the day. I do this by greeting the 6 students who come down to my classroom first thing in the morning. These students come into my classroom and find their Zones of the day sheet. On this sheet, there the four different zones (blue, green, yellow, and red) and the students can color what zone they are in. If they are in the green zone, which means they are ready to learn and regulated, then they can come show me their sheet and head on back to class. With the understanding that they can still request a break during the day if their zone changes. If the students are in the blue, yellow, or red zone, they wait for me to come and conference with them. During this time, I ask them why they are in that zone and give them a chance to talk through the issue. Then, I give them a choice sheet based on what zone they are in. These choice sheets give them several different ideas of what they can do to help get their body in the green zone. Once their body is ready, about 5-10 minutes, they can go back to class. The zones and the zone of the day sheet are all from the "Zones of Regulation" book.

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I do not have my own classroom yet but I do have a dorm full of boys that I take over for at 3 when they get out of school. I think it is important to greet each boy as they come out of the classroom and let them know that I am there to help. I also have them set an expectation for the day and tell me something positive. I think this helps me connect with what is important to them and also gives me insight as to what positive things they are doing. I think this is a way I can engage my students when I do enter the classroom. I plan on asking my students what they have as an expectation for the day and share my expectation for them. This is pretty handy for letting a struggling student to get encouragement by giving them a positive expectation for the day. I will also have students share something positive they have experienced just so that I can connect with each student on a personal level. By building these relationships, it will open up the learning environment.

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This week, I attended a Beginning Teacher Assistance training offered through MSTA. One of the topics I found most interesting was Whole Brain Teaching. I had heard of this but had never tried it in my classroom. The idea is getting students engaged and invested in their learning by using fun and games. We watched a few youtube videos of whole brain teaching in action and I am excited to make this work in my classroom! On Monday, I am going to try to use whole brain teaching in my Saxon math lesson; a portion of the lesson is whole-group lecture, which is the fastest way to lose my kids' attention! I will use the whole brain "mirror" technique, where I say the word "mirror" and my students have to mirror what I do and say to learn a new concept. I will also have students "teach" each other concepts -- sometimes I will ask kids to turn and tell a partner something we have learned, and love seeing the engagement.

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Last summer, I had the opportunity to see Harry Wong in Dallas.  Many years ago I had read his first book, however, I wanted to refresh my thinking in Elementary (I began in Jr. High).  This seminar was based on his second book, and there were similarities but it was much clearer to me about the importance of routines.  Students need to feel a sense normalcy even if school is the only place they can have this.  As many of you already mentioned, I show up early to school to make sure I am prepared for students.  I feel I need to have the time for each and every one of them so that they know I am listening to them and that what they have to say matters.  I am at my door each morning ready to give them a high five.  I noticed that if I miss a couple of them, they come back to give me one.  My students from last year go past and give me one too if possible.  The other thing I do sometimes if put a sticky note on their desk.  Sometimes they are to use it to make a reading goal for themselves.  Other times it is to achieve other goals throughout the day.  I believe I need to have goals for each of them, and they need to have goals for themselves.

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Morning Routine, Breakfast, and Morning Meeting - Stephanie Reynolds

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Morning Routine, Breakfast, and Morning Meeting - Stephanie Reynolds

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Something that I learned with Dr. John Hail in my first education class is that RELATIONSHIPS MATTER and after reading (and revisiting Dr. Wong's The First Days of School) I've always greeted my kids at the door. Every morning. With a smile and (as Dr. Hail used to say) with a little bluebird on my shoulder. They can give me a fist bump, high five, or a hug. Even if the day before this child called me a b**** or threw something at me, I still treat everyday as a new day. For some I can really tell they appreciate that, because honestly I love fresh starts too! This is also a perfect time for me to compliment the students on new hair cut, noticing their new glasses, or pausing to console them after hearing their pet died.

Being a Title 1 school our kids get a free breakfast so this is a great time for us to have a sense of community. During this time we say our pledges, listen to morning announcements, catch up with our friends, and work on morning work. No one has told me but I think this is a routine that they really value. It's typically quiet (which is totally abnormal for my kids this year :-) ) and they get the settling in feeling.

After we clean up breakfast I invite tables up to the carpet for our morning meeting. This is the first year I'm doing it and WOW, I love it! The 4 components that I have are Greeting, Sharing, Group Activity, and News/Announcements/Schedule. Our greeting is different everyday whether it's in a different language, a high five, fist bump, a good morning, and the very popular Friday Secret Handshakes. I use the KooKoo Kangaroo videos on GoNoodle.com. Then our sharing time can be used to share 2-3 concerns from students ( I usually draw sticks for this) or we might do Think. Pair. Share for our weekly focus questions provided by my principal. This week is 'What makes a good listener?' Then we have a group activity. We don't always have time for this but it's been some fun class builders like Inside Outside Circle with Would You Rather questions or Line Up activities. And we finish off with News, Announcements, and our schedule. I use a Power Point that I update every morning for these. It takes about 5 min to update but they like our meetings and it's a perfect setting to go over things like respectful listening, sharing appropriately, and other good life skills like that.

Mornings are my absolute favorite time with them. We feel like a little family :-)

If you'd like a copy of my Power Point it's attached

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Each morning, I greet students at the door as well. Students then come in, unpack and work on a morning work activity and listen to announcements. When announcements are over, they clean up their area and we have a morning meeting on the carpet. At this time, students have the chance to share one short thing with the class. This can be about anything, something they are excited about, what they did last night, etc. Students are not required to share, but those students who are a bit quieter and harder to open up really start getting comfortable with the class much quicker and then are more willing to participate throughout the day. After students have shared, we go over our schedule for the day and add the date to our calendar. Having this time in the morning really allows the children to have some transition time from home to school and it provides a chance for students to share with each other and get ready for the day. I find many students very excited for our morning meeting each day!

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Whenever I have my first class I normally meet them at my door and wait till everyone is ready to walk into my classroom. As they walk by me I normally give them a wave and smile. With starting the day with music I normally post a score on the board of how the walk in was. I then show a Pentatonix video (which is one of my favorite acapella music groups) and go from there. I start out with what I call "siren sounds" which is a secret way to make students match pitch without them knowing. The siren sounds actually do sound like tornado sirens or other sirens on emergency vehicles. This warms my students ranges up as well as makes them giggle at how silly it sounds. I then do a group shake down which allows them to wiggle and get energized. I do not have to have a morning routine in my classroom due to time but I do have a routine that gets them ready to sing and learn in my music class.

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I related with many of the other invitations already posted. Mornings are very important to me and the students. I do everything I can to get to school early each morning. This time allows me to get my stuff together so that I'm not rushing around when the students come in. When the bell rings for the students to come to class I stand outside my classroom door. I greet all of the students with a smile, greeting, and often a hug or fist pump for some of the boys. I'm always sure to tell the students that I'm glad they're back if they were absent the day before, and that I missed them if it was an extended weekend. The students have a consistent morning routine that they follow. They unpack, move their name and mark if they brought their lunch on the Smart Board, and then sit down to begin morning work. When the morning announcements come on I begin walking around to check assignment notebooks. This time allows me to check in with my students and give them time to share quick stories with me. I used to rush every morning and feel stressed, with I know that rubbed off on my students. Getting to school early allows me time in the morning to address the emotional needs of my students and past students.

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In the mornings I'm always there at the door to greet my students as they enter. Where my classroom is I even sometimes get to greet past students which is always fun to keep the connections. I heard once that the first five minutes of the day can reflect what the rest of the day is going to look like. So I always want to start it with a warm welcome! They have the same routine to follow every morning with moving their name on the SMART Board and starting their morning worksheet. Having the routine down gives me a way to call students to my desk and have that special one-on-one time with them in the morning. Another way that I help students feel valuable and listened to is at the end of the day when we line up to leave. I always go down the line and give each student the opportunity to give me a hug or a high five. They also are able to tell me any story they like! Some students need those hugs. I have a few students who hug very tightly back which sometimes breaks my heart!

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The best example that I have to invite my students to learn with me and feel welcome in the classroom is to have a specific routine each morning. I greet each student at the door when they come into the room. When the students enter the room they first put their take home folder in their mailbox and then they move their name on the SMART Board to either lunch from home or school lunch (this is also how I take attendance). They then get started on their morning work that is at their seat, since it is still the beginning of the year we are working on our handwriting so we are going through each letter of the alphabet. The students work on this until the bell rings for school to start and the announcements from the principal come on.

Next, is the part that is inviting to the students. Every morning we all sit in a circle at the carpet for our morning meeting. We start out by greeting each person beside us with a special greeting (handshake, robot voice, etc.). This helps everyone feel welcome in the room and helps all of the students get to know everyone. Then we have a star student who fills out an "All About Me" poster and will present it to us once a week so we get to learn more details about each student. Before the students arrive each morning, I write a morning message on the board. After greeting each other we read our morning message together. The message includes the date and our schedule for the day. This lets the students know what to expect for the day and practice their reading with me. We then have our calendar math time which is very interactive for all of the students.

The morning meeting and morning message is my best way of inviting the students to learn with me and to let them know that the classroom is theirs also.

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Every morning I meet my students at the door with a smile and in most cases a hug. The students come in and move their name on the SMARTBoard to either breakfast or no breakfast and begin to eat in the classroom. During this time I am conferencing with students and there is music playing. Being double certified in music I love to have music from movies playing and have the students guess what movie the song is from. The kids love doing this. After breakfast is finished we meet on the carpet and discuss what our day will be like. I like to give the students our agenda from the start. I always tell them about my evening and morning and invite them to do the same. Having this time to bond and share really sets the tone for the day.

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Every day I greet my student in the hallway outside my door.
I say good morning to them and ask about their night/weekend. I personally hand
them their breakfast cards so I know they will come to be and I can visit with
them again. I usually make this part into a game by having the students pick a random
card to see if it’s theirs (they always have fun with this). Students know that
they are to sign in for lunch, put lunchboxes away, put their Take Home folder
in their mailbox and sharpen any pencils needed for the day. I also have an end
of day activity that I try to do as often as possible. I call it Hug, high five
or all 3. Students decide if they want to hug, high five, or fist pound before
leaving my classroom. This way the day is always ended on a positive note. 

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Every day I greet my student in the hallway outside my door.
I say good morning to them and ask about their night/weekend. I personally hand
them their breakfast cards so I know they will come to be and I can visit with
them again. I usually make this part into a game by having the students pick a random
card to see if it’s theirs (they always have fun with this). Students know that
they are to sign in for lunch, put lunchboxes away, put their Take Home folder
in their mailbox and sharpen any pencils needed for the day. I also have an end
of day activity that I try to do as often as possible. I call it Hug, high five
or all 3. Students decide if they want to hug, high five, or fist pound before
leaving my classroom. This way the day is always ended on a positive note. 

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I'm also not sure why my response is in red and this part is in black.

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I have been out of the classroom for about a year now but I taught for 12 years prior to my new career. I loved getting to see my kids in the morning. As they walked through the doors with their parents, the family had a "Morning Routine" to work through. This routine started by the child "signing in" in some way. This could be done by sitting down at the entry table and signing their name on a piece of paper or on a white board, it could be completed by placing a magnet on a white board, by finding the letters of their name and spelling their name on top of the table, or many different ideas we used throughout the year depending on skill level and readiness. Next they would use the restroom, wash their hands and hug/kiss their parent goodbye. At this time, I would be waiting near the child to greet them and help them transition into the classroom. This could mean a big hug and a hello from me before they moved onto a center or maybe snuggling in the rocking chair until they were ready to start their day. I loved greeting my children and providing a safe and secure way for them to start their day!! 

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I have been out of the classroom for about a year now but I taught for 12 years prior to my new career. I loved getting to see my kids in the morning. As they walked through the doors with their parents, the family had a "Morning Routine" to work through. This routine started by the child "signing in" in some way. This could be done by sitting down at the entry table and signing their name on a piece of paper or on a white board, it could be completed by placing a magnet on a white board, by finding the letters of their name and spelling their name on top of the table, or many different ideas we used throughout the year depending on skill level and readiness. Next they would use the restroom, wash their hands and hug/kiss their parent goodbye. At this time, I would be waiting near the child to greet them and help them transition into the classroom. This could mean a big hug and a hello from me before they moved onto a center or maybe snuggling in the rocking chair until they were ready to start their day. I loved greeting my children and providing a safe and secure way for them to start their day!! 

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As many of you know already, I do not have a typical classroom. I have a computer lab and I have 25 classes a week. I greet very class at the door with some kind of greeting, like "Morning, I am so glad to see you", or "Good game last night", or "That is a super cute outfit", or whatever I notice about each student. We have so many kids who are very poor so I make sure I notice a new outfit or haircut.  For my fourth, third and second grade classes I give them the first 5 minutes of class to do whatever they need to do. In those first few minutes my students have time to get a drink, use the bathroom, change seats if they are sitting by someone who they know they shouldn't be sitting by, change the background screen to a picture they like, tell me something, ask my something or shoe me something. After that, "My time" starts. I have noticed in past few years that many of my students need a minute or two to adjust from their classroom to mine. They know when the timer goes off, it's learning time.

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I have a great situation in my classroom because my kiddos come in at all hours and sometimes I only see them once a day or as many as three times during the course of the day.  Luckily, this gives me a "morning" all day! When my students come in, I like to greet them and make eye contact (for some of my kiddos making eye contact and getting it back is huge) and ask them how they are doing.  I make sure they know I am listening and I will ask follow-up questions to what they respond.  After this, I ask them to tell me one thing they leanred the day before (or the last school day they attended) and then I ask them one thing they would like to learn about today.  For the "what did you learn," it's a great chance to review and clarify as needed. For the "what do you want to learn," some times it's a little silly, but most of what they want to learn can be quickly looked up on the internet and I can share it with them during the course of the session. It is a great way to make use of a few minutes of "free time" and it allows them to learn something they want to know about, and chances are, I learn something as well.

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My mornings as a Spanish teacher were pretty back to back because I only had so much time with my students, so I greeted each student as they arrived to my classroom. We would greet each other in Spanish saying " Buenos dias (or tardes), Como estan ustedes?, then they would ask me "Como esta Ud.? I think for my future (4th 0r 5th grade) classroom, I would put either a quote or a prompt where they would respond to it in their journal, for 5 or 10 mins, then I would ask for volunteers to share theirs. I would try to relate it to what I would be teaching first that day. Or maybe I would assign a student to find a quote for us, have that student write the quote on the board first thing, and then have the students journal it.

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My mornings are always a little hectic due to breakfast in the classroom, and so our first initiative is to get breakfast, eat quickly, and clean up by a certain time. I don't do much during those first minutes other than encourage the kids to eat their breakfast, but once that is done we always meet on the carpet. Each day I start off by giving the kids a question, sometimes serious, sometimes silly, and everyone answers the question. This way, I start the day by making sure I talk to every student, and every student gets to start the day feeling important. I am working to incorporate a theme for each day, though so far only one day each week has a theme. We do Thursday Fursday, which is kind of weird, but my kinders love hearing stories about my cat and seeing pictures, so on Thursday Fursday we do things a little bit differently. Instead of starting with a question, we watch a video or look at a picture of my cat or some funny cat, then we sing all of our calendar songs with meows instead of the typical snaps. I hope to add more theme days through the year to make our mornings more exciting.

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I have a different situation than most teachers. I teach music and only have the state minimum hours in which to teach. I have so little time with each class. In fact this month not one of my classes will technically be getting the hours that they are required to have. With that being said, invitations look different in my room. I have eight different classes a day. Every class I greet in the hallway outside my room. I tell them any instructions they might need to know before entering and send them on in. I stand in the doorway so that I can look and talk to them individually as they walk in. Some kids will stop and talk while others hug and some just pass me on by. Once everyone is in I shut the door and get started with the lesson.

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I always try to be at the door greeting my students. Most days I have some music playing at the students come into the door. Also, I have a frame that says Today is a great day because... I write on the frame with dry erase marker something that we are doing in our classroom. The kids are always excited to come in and see what is on the board. In the morning students like to discuss what is going on in their lives.

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I'm not in a classroom yet, but I am a huge proponent of communication and collaboration, even if it's just for five minutes a morning I want to interact, communicate, and collaborate with my students covering what is important to them.  We can discuss what ideas and goals they have for the week/day, it can be school related, personal , or extracurricular, as long as they are thinking about ways they can look ahead and plan for positive outcomes.  I think this will give me a better idea of how I can help them achieve these goals as well as areas I need to accommodate/differentiate, it also gives me an idea of what is most important to my students.  This way I can possibly incorporate some topics or ideas that are of importance to my students.  Each morning following the group discussion, I provide the students with a clue/hint of a person/object who has made a significant impact on our world, this could be a president, superhero, electronic, you name it the possibilities are endless. Each day one clue/hint will be given, and the students can log the clues and make their guesses on who they think it is verbally as well as in their journal, then of Friday the mystery of the week will be revealed and we will have a group discussion on the importance. I think it's a fun way to learn about someone/thing new and students love trying to decode and figure out who/what the mystery is, they also love bragging that they figured it out.  I am all for creating a sense of collaboration and community in my classroom, so a large portion of my engagement will be communicating with my students individually and as a class.

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Like many of you, I make it a point to greet each of my students at the door as they walk in every morning. I make sure to give each student my eye contact and undivided attention--even if just for a moment--and ask them a question about their previous evening/weekend/sporting event/whatever they have going on in their lives. I try to make this morning greeting personal and our discussions usually aren't school-related yet. As they come in the students complete their morning routines, write down their objectives in their daily planners, and read my morning message on the board. This message usually includes an introduction or overview of what we're learning that day, along with a "grabber" to get their attention and an "assignment" ( usually a self-led cooperative learning strategy) to get them chatting with each other about what we're doing that day. After our announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance, we share our thoughts about the morning message as a class and build enthusiasm for learning. Also, this year, my class has begun practicing a group dance for the talent show to the song, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," (The Sister Act 2 version!) and they LOVE to start our morning with it. Since our classroom theme is "We are Family," my students thought this song embodied how we feel about each other and how nothing can stop us from reaching our goals together. This has become our "starter" for the day, as it is usually the last thing we do in the morning before we get going with academics. Not only has it built up my classroom community, but it gets the students moving, laughing, and working together on a group activity that they all love. I use this joyful collaboration as an invitation to learning, and my students have very successfully carried their enthusiasm into our daily learning. It's really fun to start off your day with a little dancing, too! :) Thank you for all of your responses! You all have great ideas!

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I always stand at my door in the morning and welcome each of my students. On the Promethean Board are the directions for students each morning. It is usually telling them what they will need to be successful in my class that day. After the first bell rings we complete the pledge, 7 Habits, read our 5th grade mission statement, and then we reflect on our Plus/Deltas from the day before. For those of you unfamiliar with the 7 Habits, at the end of the day, we take 5 minutes or so to reflect on our day. We have a t-chart with Plus on the left, and Delta (minuses) on the right. Students help list the pluses, the positives, of the day. Then we list the deltas, the negatives, of the day. These are things that went wrong or that are troubling us at school. This is an excellent review for the day, so the next morning we review the deltas and discuss how to make today better. We don't want our delta to be a recurring issue so we work each day to resolve it. The students really like this because they know that we as teachers are listening to them and are helping them find ways to help them. Some deltas we have had this year include talking too much in class, not bringing materials to class, indoor recess, having homework, and so on. Many of those we discuss how we can change. However, there are some deltas that we don't have control of like the weather. It happens and we remind our students to be extra thankful for sunny days that they are outside.

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One thing that I do in the morning is "Good Things." I have every student's name on an index card and every morning five students are chosen to say something good. They can tell about family or something that is happening as long as it is good. If a child says there is nothing good to say that day I find something good to say about them. This is only allowed once because every child then wants the teacher to say something about them so won't participate. One day a child mentioned being glad for shoes as a kind of joke. I took that good thing and reminded my students that not everyone is blessed with shoes. Since, then my students have never ran out of good things to share. Also I do Scientist Unleashed were a child takes home my science kit and plans an experiment to show the class on Friday. Some of the projects I had never seen before. They love dressing up in a lab coat and really teach a little lesson. Even my shy students love this chance to teach the class! The new thing that I thought up for this lesson is a learning wall that the students can write what they want to learn or are having trouble with. I will use lamination t so that they can erase their responses and write different ones when we have learned that topic or if they think of something else. I think it might be fun. I am going to at least try it! :)

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When I was teaching, I always greeted my students at the door by saying hi, asking how they were doing, and waving to the students I would see later in the day. I always had a bell ringer up that pertained to what we were learning, except on Mondays I would have them list three things they did over the weekend. Once we went through attendance, I would have some of the students share their answers. I would have a question after that was more of a fun question, then students would share their answers with each other and if it was a trivia based one, I would share the answer. They always enjoyed learning something new and fun and getting to interact with the class at the beginning.

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I remember when I was in 5th grade, enjoying my chance to free write in my journal. I would get so excited about my entries that I couldn't wait for my teacher, Mr. Johnson, to read them and show emotion about what I was feeling on paper. One day, after sharing a personal story that I wrote aloud to the class, Mr. Johnson held my hand and announced to the class that I am a writer and someday, I will be using my strength to do something good with it.

To tie in with this lesson, I remember to this day what Mr. Johnson did for me. Although I am not a famous writer, it has become something that I've worked hard at developing through the years--all because he made a comment that seemed heartfelt.

Whenever the opportunity arises in my classroom to share a strength of one of my students and then connect it to how they'll use it in life later on, it gets them excited. It's an irresistible way for the students to get positive praise on the work they're doing and the strengths they have. In fact, once I get started sharing pieces of what I see that child potentially doing in the future, other kids start to ask me, "And how about me? What can I do when I'm older? Where do you see me?" I usually respond back saying, "I will tell you, but you need to promise me that you come back to see me when you're older to tell me about your success later on!" The first bullet under "Invitation" in our text directly connects to this example of respecting the student for who they can become (p. 27)

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I start my morning by looking at a sign above my door. It says, "When my students walk through this door do my eyes light up?" It reminds me that today is a new day no matter what happened yesterday. I then greet my students at the door and ask them about their night last night, make a comment about their clothes, or ask them if they are okay if they seem down. I try to pay attention to my students love languages so I know how to make them feel loved in a way they receive love. I also end my day with a "sparkle" or a "sour". This is a good or bad thing about their day. This allows me to see what they find joy and frustration in. I try to use these when I lesson plan and speak to the students so I can help them feel safe in their classroom.

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I make it a priority to greet my students at the door.  I say "good morning" and I welcome high five, hugs, or fist bumps! I walk around the room after all of my students arrive and talk to the children.  This is a time for them to tell me a story, tell me how their morning is going, or what they did the night before.  This is a great time for me to build relationships with my students and it also gives me insight into their home lives!

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I am not in a classroom yet but when I am I want to focus a great deal on feelings and emotions in order to make a deep connection with my students. I envision standing at the door with an emotion chart and greeting my students. I would ask each one to chose from and array of pictures that describes how they are feeling that morning and take a seat holding the picture in front of them. After each student is seated I will hold up my own picture and describe how I am feeling and why. I will then ask them to go around and do the same thing. I would also ask them what they think they could do to change their mood if it is not the best. I would also ask other students for suggestions on how they could help those not feeling so well.

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Kasi Bedell

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I always stand at the door so that I can greet each child (and parent) who comes to school. When all the students are present, I will go around and try to interact with each student as they choose different centers in the classroom. This helps me build a relationship with them, finding out their likes, dislikes, etc. It also helps me to design better centers with their personal interests in mind, so I can tell a student things like, "I remember you telling me that you like building. I just added (cardboard) bricks to our classroom. Let's see if you can use the bricks to build a tower as tall as you."

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I like my before class time starts. I allow students in my room as I prepare for the day. Students come up and talk to me about the night before or ask what we are doing today. If I have any chore like anchor charts, organizing, cleaning they are always willing to help. I have got to know my students much better with these interactions. I am pleased that more and more are getting comfortable with me and I notice more students coming in.

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Every day when my kids come into my room I greet them at the door and ask them if they want breakfast. (we have breakfast in the classroom) When they get unpacked and do their morning attendance, I like to make my way around the room and sit with students. When I sit down with them I ask them what is one goal they want to set for the day and how can I help them achieve that goal. Whenever things are crazy I have the students before we start the day do a quick stand up, hand up, pair up activity. Whoever they are partners with they give a brief compliment to each other. I like to wander the room and listen to the things I hear. I want them to start the day on a positive note always.

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I like to greet my students at the door, so I can say good morning to them and give them a hug or a high five. I also like for them to fill a bucket filler for one of their classmates from the day before. This gives a positive start to their classroom. I also like to have their underwater adventure on the smart board so they know what they need to accomplish before the bell rings. I also like to prompt a question on the board for them to think about and we share with a partner to help get to know each other. The prompt I used the other day was "If you could be in any movie, What would it be and why?" It not only helps with speaking and listening skills but also allows them to think outside the box :)

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I used to love to use a graffiti board in my classroom. I wold cover a door with paper and hang markers. Then when students were entering the room or had free time, I would have them post a word, phrase or drawing about a particular "topic". This invited them to begin thinking about a new topic we were going to study.