The First Six Weeks of School in the Mups (2nd/3rd)
Last Friday marked the marked the end of our sixth week in school! In the Mups classroom, we base the first weeks of our curriculum on elements taken from Responsive Classroom’s book, The First Six Weeks of School. Responsive Classroom is an educational approach that emphasizes the importance of creating a positive and engaging classroom environment to support students' social, emotional, and academic development. This approach was created by our school’s founders (at the time, it was called the Northeast Foundation for Children), and the Center School was an independent lab school for the program. The "First Six Weeks" is a crucial component of the Responsive Classroom approach, designed to establish a strong foundation for the entire school year. Over the course of these first six weeks, educators focus on achieving the following goals:
1). Creating a climate of warmth, inclusion, and safety.
As teachers in the Mups, it is our goal to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive classroom environment. During these initial weeks, we lay the groundwork for creating positive relationships among students and between students and teachers. In the Mups classroom, we go about working toward this goal by establishing classroom agreements, expectations, and routines that foster a sense of security and belonging.
During this time we also teach our first thematic unit of the year: Friendship and Community. Over the course of this theme, students engage with the concepts of what it means to be a friend, ways to initiate new friendships and strategies for navigating conflict (and finding resolutions). Through engaging in discussions and taking part in activities around these topics we (as teachers) hope to support students in engaging in moments of self-reflection. We also spend time talking about what it means to be a member of the larger Center School community and how to welcome members of our community into our classroom.
Another moment in our day that promotes a sense of belonging is our Morning Meeting. While Morning Meetings span the course of the school year, during the first few weeks of school, learning the routine is taught with intention. During morning meetings we have conversations about how this time of the day is important because it allows every child to be seen and greeted by their peers. During sharings, students learn how to participate in active listening while a fellow Mup is sharing something that helps their peers get to know them better.
2). Teaching classroom routines and behavior expectations.
Teaching classroom routines and behavior expectations is a proactive and constructive approach to creating a respectful and inclusive classroom environment. By focusing on explicit teaching, positive language, practice, and partnership (between students and teachers), teachers support students not only in understanding the rules but also in internalizing them and taking responsibility for their behavior. This, in turn, contributes to a more collaborative learning environment.
In the Mups classroom, second-year Mups play an integral role in supporting new Mups to navigate classroom routines and expectations. For example, this year we asked second-year Mups if they could teach mini lessons to the rest of the class on the routines for washing hands before snack, or how to use the microwave during lunch. Through providing opportunities for experienced Mups to share their knowledge with new students, we hope to create an environment where students feel comfortable and empowered to take on leadership roles in the classroom.
3). Helping students get to know and care for their classroom community and school environment.
Right from the beginning of the year, the Mups begin working on building a strong sense of belonging and ownership both in terms of our classroom environment and in terms of the Center School as a whole. Our goal is to create a positive and supportive atmosphere for learning while also instilling values of responsibility, empathy, and care that can extend beyond the classroom and into the broader community.
Every year, at the end of the day Mups take part in a routine called Stewardship Jobs. This is a time before dismissal when students rotate through doing various jobs to help clean up the classroom from the day's activities and to reset the classroom for the next day. In the past, these have been jobs that teachers have decided on before the students arrive in the classroom in the fall. However, this year the Mups teachers decided to take a different approach. As teachers, we wondered how to make Stewardship Jobs into an experience that felt more student-driven. To this end, we began the year with a blank Stewardship Job chart. After the first couple weeks of school students were asked to take part in a brainstorm about “how their classroom takes care of them?”. Students came up with many ways our classroom takes care of us, including keeping us warm and safe and providing us with the tools we need to learn. In response to their answers, students and teachers collaborated on listing jobs we could do to take care of our classroom at the end of the day. Teachers created the Stewardship Jobs based on the list students created. A job that was once a “top-down” direction from teachers is now an intentional student-driven investment in the well-being of our classroom.
Testing out one of the “Wiggle Bags”, or sensory socks, as part of the classroom tools exploration
4). Establish expectations for academic work.
In the Mups we do not begin academic classes until several weeks after the school year has begun. We instead use these initial weeks to introduce and practice essential academic skills and strategies such as active listening, collaboration, and problem-solving.
One of the ways in which we establish expectations for academic work is by talking about how everyone’s brains work differently. We do so through an exploration of the different tools we have in the classroom to support every type of learner. For example, in our classroom, we have several types of seating, from kneeling rocking chairs to bouncy chairs to plastic chairs with kick bands. Over the first few weeks of school, all students are encouraged to try out these different seats and notice what works for their bodies and what doesn’t. Through this exploration, students are able to be proactive in using tools that support them in their learning.
The first six weeks in the Mups classroom have been dedicated to building a positive and inclusive learning environment. We've established strong relationships, clarified classroom expectations, and promoted responsibility and care. Our academic approach respects diverse learning styles, offering various tools and seating options. As we look ahead to the rest of the Mups’ school year, we're excited about the foundation we've laid and the growth opportunities it affords our students.