You teaching a class of hamsters here dantheman? 
Argh! Sorry.
My mom teaches third grade, and classes are starting up soon (Tuesday, I believe).
She wants to paint something on the windows of her classroom to welcome the lil’ niippers to the new academic year, and she asked me for suggestions.
She wanted something unique and cool, so simply “Welcome, third graders!” isn’t enough.
Now, it’s been a while since I was in third grade, but maybe some of you folk have young kids and can offer some suggestions.
How about a Harry Potter/Hogwarts theme?
StG
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life!!!”
Nah - I’m not serious… that’s too sappy even for 8-year-olds.
Well, it’s been a long time since I was in third grade, and my daughter is not quite there yet, but I’ll take a shot anyway (being woefully short on data has never stopped me from making a hypothesis before…):
In addition to any greeting, put up a lot of names, words or terms that they’re unlikely to have been exposed to before third grade but that they should learn about during the course of the year. These can be magical mystery words. Then by the end of the year they could be familiar with all or most of the words.
Shib – that is an extremely cool idea!
I’m going up there this weekend, so I figured I’d print out the thread to show her. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone, please keep 'em coming!
Well, I’ve got a third grader this year, and I was going to say that a good greeting would be (painted so it could be read from the outside):
WELCOME THIRD GRADE
YOUR CLASSROOM IS OVER HERE NOW
IS YOUR T-SHIRT ON BACKWARDS?
But Shibb’s idea is pretty good, too.
I had a teacher who used to have classical music playing when we were coming into the classroom in the morning. It was a nice was to start the day and the only exposure many kids had to classical music. She also used to play it during quizzes and study times.
StG
Be careful with classical music - my second year teacher at Primary School was somewhat… depressed, but loved playing us classical music. We used to get some rather dramatic and scary preludes. (Think that Rach III piece for example) Of course, it became the only classical music any of us would tolerate listening to once we got into high school, and it’s the only type I’ll play on the piano now. : D Nothing like a scary dramatic prelude. Or Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor if you can’t be bothered with Rachmaninov. I want an organ.
Anyway, if you’re going to do magical mystery words, please make one of them syzygy. Or quartz if you’re going for top scrabble scores. Or steatopygmous, crepuscular and quaggle. Or xenophobia!! And philodendron!! Interesting words they’ll never be able to use in polite conversation.
How about writing your welcome in Middle English??
‘Young swells, avaunt into the snoozing ken, and alight with a dummee and thimble!!’
(Young kiddies, hurry into the brothel and run away with a pocket book and watch).
Something like that. Probably without the snoozing ken - I just don’t know the Middle English for any other sort of room.
Make it their KNIGHT’S QUEST to find out what it means. Wear armour and clank. They’ll love it.
-James
LOL! Cmon you guys… they’re in third grade, fer crying out loud. Keep your syzygy to yourself!