Repeat after me...

My body is calm
My body is calm
My mouth is quiet
My mouth is quiet
I have a good idea
I have a good idea
I'm going to write
I'm going to write


Every day, I gather my young friends on the carpet (the person who invented the pie shaped carpet must have been some sort of genius, btw). We have a precious hour for writing time, so we get right to it. I do a read aloud and model the skill we are working on. Then I send them to their tables to write. I have found that the transition from shared writing to writing on your own in a journal can be a toughie (especially for young friends at the beginning of the school year). So, to make things a bit more on-tasky, I do a silent countdown from 10 (using only my fingers, not my voice) while they move to their seats. Once there, they get out their writing notebooks and I start the writing words (My body is calm...). My voice is calm and if they repeat it back to me all yelly (think 1,2,3 eyes on me...tone) we start again until their voices are calm too. It really gets their little minds right to do the job at hand. Then I set the timer for 15 minutes of silent writing. During this time, I am writing as well (it's the whole, "Never ask anyone to do what you wouldn't do yourself" principle. When the timer goes off, they may continue to write (because who really finishes in fifteen minutes?) or read silently. Then I start my conferences. They just haven't caught on that I will definitely conference you, if you are reading at the end of the silent 15. Sometimes, I use my writing as a Mentor text. Sometimes, I revisit the mini-lesson book.

I know I have said this before, but it is absolutely my favorite time of the day.