So...how's third grade going?

I'm quickly discovering there are lots of new and interesting behaviors in third grade students.  I'm used to the fifth graders, where many of these behaviors have subsided due to maturity or social pressure.  However, that's not the case for third graders.

Let's recap how third grade is going:

There's a lot more nose picking in third grade.

We've had the "everybody farts" talk several times already this week.  It's Wednesday.

We've had the "please say excuse me and don't laugh at farts" talk several times this week.  Again, it's Wednesday.

I don't want to tie shoe laces.  Those shoe laces are dirty and have gone through urine puddles on the ground in the boys' bathroom.  No thank you!
 
If you take your eyes off them, they may roll around on the ground, practice roaring like lions, or just start randomly doing push ups.  Yes, all these things happened this week.

They will find the one staple on the ground and interrupt your lesson to tell you about it. 

They will tell you lots of stories.  I keep waiting for a question at the end but no, there's just a story they wanted to share in the middle of the lesson.

I didn't realize I'd have to explicitly teach how to carry chairs or use a paper clip, but both of those mini-lessons were necessary this week.

 

However, I love it. I feel like I'm able to be such a better teacher when I'm only responsible for twenty four students (not thirty seven).  They are so eager to learn, enthusiastic about school, and I'm excited to see how much they'll grow and mature this year.