From the Desk of Ms. Griffith

The beginning of the school year is so hectic! It's like I forget each year how stressful those first few weeks can be. Here's a short situation that happened last week that made me smile. I love how 6th graders think, and how middle school is literally a whole new world for them.

(End of the day on Wednesday - the first normal schedule day for our middle schoolers)

Ms. Griffith: Bye guys! Have a good afternoon. See you tomorrow!

*I walk out into the hallway to help with lockers and monitor the halls*

Student 1: Ms. Griffith, where do we go now?

Ms. Griffith: Um... you go home.

Student 2: Ms. Griffith, do we go home now?

Ms. Griffith: Yes, honey, it's 3:25 and it's time to go home.

Student 3: Ms. Griffith, what class do I go to now?

Ms. Griffith: You go home. You're done for the day.

LOL It's cute that they don't think all the way through their questions, and they're just so afraid of doing something wrong, that they don't even want to leave until they're 100% sure they're supposed to. I wish I could bottle up their innocence and sweetness, and keep them that way all through middle school. :)

So, overall, school's going great. Just trying to keep all my ducks in a row and I feel like I make tons of "to do" lists every day, and just try to tackle one at a time. I'm trying lots of new stuff in my classroom, so that's been an adventure. Lots of group collaboration, which requires a different kind of classroom management, so it's definitely a learning experience this year. Overall, I'm excited about the way things are going so far, and I'm looking forward to this year being really great!

A place to showcase students' work and then my blank word wall for vocabulary

A new strategy I'm trying this year to keep kids from saying "I don't know" when I ask them to answer a question.

A place to keep my sports calendars for the year.