M.A.D. about first grade

I was cruising through Facebook and noticed Mrs. Jump's Class https://www.facebook.com/MrsJumpsClass and how she had asked when everyone was going back to school. I was so sure that everyone would be bragging about how they don't start back until Labor Day and how depressed I'd feel about starting the second week of August...but to my surprise so many schools are starting at the end of July! Wow...July! What happened to summer? I've been noticing other teachers posting cool scores they are finding at the dollar store or cute creations they are making for decor in their classrooms so I decided to at least stop for a moment to look at the pins I've already pinned to get an idea of what I might want to do. I realized I had a couple of cute pins that I totally forgot about. I remember pinning this doodle art that had sayings that we use in everyday and how I wanted to use them for the first day of school to teach my classroom rules. I completely believe in keeping it simple with rules...I only have 2. The first one is the Golden Rule which covers every situation first graders can put themselves in. The second one is Do Your Best. I like that one because it's what I say to the kids when they say it's too hard and don't want to try or especially when their coloring looks like a preschooler!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/302726406175672750/

I plan to act out the goods and bads of being in a classroom together so the kids have real world examples to use and at the end let them color this coloring page with multiple colors (markers, crayons, and colored pencils) to show how to do their best. Cross your fingers that it works well!