morning meeting

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morning meeting
By Anne

The fifteen-twenty minutes I spend each day with my class in the morning is the most wonderful part of the day and it does give me a lot of insight into their lives. We do go over the calander/weather, DOL and DOM, but the
best part is Hopper a stuffed frog. Hopper hops each day from child to child. The rule is only the person holding Hopper can speak. I start the topic of discussion...it can be anything from a favorite color, food, sport,etc., to tell about a time that you were frightened.

It only takes Hopper five minutes or so to go around the class since only the child with Hopper can speak

and the children do not comment on what others say. (This rule also helps the children feel safe to say what they want with out the fear of being ridiculed by others.) When a child says something that causes concern to me I can take that child aside later to discuss it some more privately. Hopper loves to be held during these private moments too.

On Friday Hopper goes home with a child for the weekend and takes his Diary with him. With the help of their parents the child writes in the diary on Sunday night what Hopper did over the weekend. In class on Monday we always have fun seeing what Hopper did. Hopper does have a friend Happy Frog who substitutes if Hopper is left at home by accident!
I hope this gives you an idea for a quick way to get to know your students a little better!
Anne