Sensational Start to the New Year

When reflecting on the first few days of the new year, I am astounded at how "ready to roll" all of my new second graders were.  We did a lot of the typical review of rules and routines; however students were already demonstrating an incredible handle on these second grade staples so easily.  In an attempt to sort of let go some of the control, I began my first day of math centers on Friday without ANY discussion of expectations, rules, or procedures.  Instead, I let the students simply show me how they thought they should act during this time.  I was so astonished to see that students were self-directed, hard working, and cooperative throughout the entire math time.  Perhaps with this group of students, I will be more easily able to employ this "backward design" more often and send them off on a task first and discuss positives and rules after.