The two first grade classes have been joining together once a week to do a Morning Meeting as a group. We use Morning Meetings as an engaging way to start each day, build a strong sense of community and set children up for success both socially and academically.

Having both classes meeting together helps to boost empathy for each other and also builds on teamwork skills. The children really enjoy starting our days off like this.

Each morning meeting includes a greeting, a share, an activity, and a morning message. This week we started with a handshake greeting and discussed the importance of eye contact, a smile, a firm handshake and a "Good Morning."

We then took turns sharing what our favorite animal is. It was great to see all of the children's willingness to share their thoughts with the group. We ended our meeting with a fun game of Musical Spots. The children had fun dancing around during this game. The smiles and joyful giggles made for a great start to the day!

The children look forward to these weekly morning meetings to continue to build trust and strong relationships throughout the year.