Monday will be the first day of traditional school,
but I’ve been in school for 6 weeks,
Wishing everyone a happy day,
and more for the coming weeks!

This poem is for you,
Saluting all students and educators around,
Parents are important too,
because they are the foreground!

‘Twas the night before the first day of school,
and all on social media,
teachers shared their hopes and spaces,
while children and parents had insomnia!

Children laid out their clothes,
for the first day of school,
while visions of flexible seating,
and student choice sounded cool!

The alarms were all set,
15 minutes after 6,
so the children could get up,
and get dressed real quick!

Moms and dads were eager too,
to get their children to school,
to see what’s all the talk,
about collaborative spaces and new rules!

Students were going to have choices,
a say in their learning,
Parents couldn’t believe it,
school was not going to be boring!

The rooms looked spectacular,
desks high and low,
write-on white-board tables,
and rolling chairs to go!

Hey mom, is that a bean bag?
Hey dad, do you see that chair?
Students couldn’t believe it,
they had seating choices everywhere!

The principal said “Welcome!”
the teachers said “Glad you’re here!
This is going to be the best,
experience, please don’t fear!”

The bell rang at 9,
parents hurried out the door,
students sat on the carpet,
ready to listen to Ms. Moore!

Ms. Moore said “Class,
I’ve been waiting for you all summer,
It’s time to take a tour,
to see what our classroom has to offer!”

“You see this low table,
you see this high desk,
these are options you have,
for learning at your best!”

“This chair is soft,
and this stool wobbles,
it’s another option you have,
if you learn best while you bobble!”

“Now see in my cup,
sticks with each of your names,
I don’t want hand-raising,
when we plan learning games!”

“I will pull one out,
when it’s time to answer,
each of you must have a turn,
for learning to be fairer!”

“We will work in groups,
collaborating with each other,
we will all have roles,
like speaker and engager!”

“Sometimes we’ll work in twos,
I call it clock partners,
you get to choose a friend for each time,
but I choose the time on the tick-tocker.”

“Roles help us be responsible,
for our learning and group work,
roles bread equity,
and lay the foundation for lifework!”

“Don’t forget you can bring your laptop,
or tablet with you each day,
we integrate technology into our learning,
and thinking!” The students shouted, “Hooray!”

“We will push for creativity,
and build on our communication skills.”
“Why is it important to do that?” students asked.
“Critical thinking is a roller coaster of thrills!”

“Our class is a community,
we will all learn from one another,
each voice will be heard,
and we’ll share our experiences on Twitter!”

“Our spaces we’ll share,
our roles will take turns,
so you will have choice,
with your voice until school adjourns!”

“So let’s go have fun,
and let’s all be merry,
for school has been revolutionized,
no more Little House on the Prairie!”

Now go to sleep my friends,
for the school bell is near,
morning will come fast,
I know, I’m 1/4 done with the school year!

Happy first day traditional school families! Year-round families are thinking about you!