First Day Jitters

"First Day Jitters" Well... we hear that a lot.  Don't we?  You may  be thinking, "Hasn't school been in for some time now? Why is she just now posting on it?"  I am referring to my first day on here.  I have been wavering on starting a Blog.  Worried that "I wouldn't be good at it" or even that I wouldn't stick with it.  So here I am ready to take the plunge and I have no idea what to even say.  So let me start with telling you why I have started a Blog.  It is my hope that this will be a tool for me to use to communicate with my Students' parents as well as other teachers.  I have acquired a lot of interest in reading other teachers' blogs. I have found many great ideas to use in my classroom and have found it fascinating because of the resources that it offers to parents.
One goal of mine this year is have better open communication with the parents of my students.  This year I created folders for all of my students.  These folders are the plastic ones.  I recommend plastic because of their durability.  I have already noticed several folders that have been mistreated and know that there is no way that they would have survived otherwise.   In their folders, there are two papers, a daily behavior log and a parent/teacher communication sheet.  The behavior log includes the rules for my classroom as well as the "color chart" that represents each behavior.  (If you are looking for a good behavior plan I recommend going to teachingoasis.com they have several clip chars and behavior logs that are already made that you can purchase for your room.) The parent/teacher communication log is place where parents and I can write notes to one another.  I also want to focus more on positive behavior.  In keeping with having better communication skills I have started sending home "happy notes" on Fridays.  Each Friday I select 2-3 students who have done exceptionally well and compliment their hard work or good behavior.