What's happening in Grade 3K?

This week some of my students have had a lot of fun writing "David" stories. No, I'm not talking about David and Goliath. I'm talking about a very normal, naughty little boy. The first story in the series is called No, David, and the second, which we had lots of fun reading this week, is called David Goes To School.

Imagine if you can, all the things a little boy could get up to which would be unhelpful in the classroom, and you have David. After we read the story together, several times, I challenged my students to write me a David story. Possible topics were David Goes to the Farm, David Goes to the Market, and David Goes to the Zoo. They had a great deal of fun doing this, and are now at the point where they are publishing their stories. Next week, we will take our stories down to the Kindergarten classes, so the children can read them to a real audience. Some of these students have very little English, or at least limited reading and writing ability, and so the task has really challenged them, but they have risen to the challenge

Tomorrow, I plan to share one of my favourite books with the children: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Have you had days like that? I know I have, but tomorrow is not going to be one of them. How do I know that? I know it will be a good day, because I'm giving it to God, and I know He will guide me through the day. There's a possibility "bad" things could happen, but I know that God can use whatever happens for good, so long as I let Him. I hope that my students have a great day.

It's also going to be a good day because I have a new bell for my classroom, which I plan to teach the children about. If the bell dings once, it will mean be a little quieter. If it dings twice, it will mean be a lot quieter, and if it dings three times then everyone must stop talking until the bell dings again. Hopefully I won't have to get to three dings! This also means that my clapping pattern can be used consistently when I want the children to stop talking, put their pencils down, and look at me. This will usually be because I need to give further instructions or because it is time to transition.

Well, it's time I stopped rambling on, and finished some planning for tomorrow so I can go to bed!