So here we are, Week 2. The kids are excited and engaged and I am excited and engaged right back. They are eager to finish beginning of the year assessing and reviewing, organizing and labeling, and jump in to a new level of learning. There is one hitch. They are also eagerly chatting, visiting, checking in, and generally catching up with each other at any given moment. It is a reminder that so much of what is necessary to learn, and yet absent from just about any curriculum, are the basic social classroom skills which open the door to effective and enjoyable experiential learning.
At 7 and 8 years old , the issue isn’t that the idea of waiting until recess to share your every thought with the other 5 people in your group would be excruciating, the issue is that the thought to delay your conversation just doesn’t occur to you! It is a gift of the basic philosophy of our school that we recognize and value the basic need to teach our children what they need to do in order to be taught. Tucked into our social emotional curriculum – our Keys – is the belief that acting with integrity and responsibility in all situations is important.
In the elementary classroom (okay, sticklers, in my classroom) what that means is treating each other respectfully. And what a long list of behaviors that encompasses! Listening which includes eye contact, silent mouths and (relatively) silent hands, privacy which includes staying out of others’ desks, work and personal space, and being proud of yourself by yourself, which means staying away from loud verbal comparisons of your work to a friend’s work – “That is so easy, I finished mine way before you!”. Wow, is that last one tough. We all love recognition, it’s just important to be able to get it without sacrificing the feelings of others.
So when your little ones come home and say that “Ms. Barnes keeps talking about manners” for the umpteenth time, these are the things they are referring to. Feel free to pop in and see the poster that 2nd grade is working on of “what listening looks like”. I should have it up by next week. They did a super job brainstorming ideas for it 
It does feel like we are stopping pretty frequently to remember why these things are important. Second Grade, especially, is a year which is full of social lessons. It is a lucky fact of being a TCPS teacher that I get to indulge my inner Emily Post and see your children blossom as they take these ideas to heart. We’ll first conquer our classroom with kindness and respect…then the world!
Ms. Barnes: I am confessing that this is my first time tweeting, or blogging, or I am not sure what this is called but I must tell you that every day when I pick-up Sarah she says that her day was AWESOME. This is now day 7 of total AWESOMENESS. Thank you for making the transition from 1st to 2nd. grade go so smoothly! She is already learning so many new things! She said that she new what “abbreviation” meant and that she now understands when people say things short. So she continued to ask if we could go to CPK this weekend and I ofcourse said YES. Thank you for your dedication! CPK=California Pizza Kitchen.
I am so glad that Sarah is having a happy start to the year. Second Grade really is very different! I hope she is this excited a few months from now:)
Sounds like the year is off to a great start! I can’t wait to hear about upcoming projects or special activities. These blogs are a wonderful idea and a happy way to stay connected. I miss you and send love to you all.
What if you sing very loudly:
“I’VE GOT BETTER MANNERS THAN YOOUUU!”
over and over…
is that OK?
Sorry, I couldn’t resist…
I am so glad to know that the valuable lessons taught by Hoops, Yo-Yo & Barnes live on! Just wait until I have another child of yours in here. That song does have a moral…I think
I too am happy to hear that school is off to a great start and know that Ms. Barnes’ students will have a fabulous year. She rocks!!
We LOVE the manners lessons.
I have a question about the completed work packet you sent home. First of all, thank you for your note and for the careful corrections. I am wondering when the children have a chance to see your feedback. Do they look over your comments at school? Paul was looking over my shoulder as I looked at them, but is that enough for him to get the full benefit?
Thanks for your question. If the the comments are about finishing or fixing something, Paul would have seen them when he was given the paper to continue working on. Other comments are for the kids to read and feel proud of at home while going over work with a parent. Of course there are always exceptions and some commemts are written with kids looking on for explanations or kudos
Audrey Hepburn said that her mother taught her that manners are “small kindnesses.” I find that by keeping this in mind, one can’t help but have better manners.
I’m just catching up on the blog. Love it! And Caroline is loving 2nd grade! Also, I LOVED the manners skit you did with the kids when Matthew was in your 1st grade class way back when. I loved it so much that I bought the book I think it was based on–”"How to Behave and Why” I think it was. I know this is now 2nd and 3rd grade, but do you still have fun with those books?