At the beginning of the year, it is super important to create a caring classroom community. When we create deep relationships, we are setting our kids up for success. We cheer for everyone and we celebrate the diversity in our classroom. The book, "The Little White Owl", by Tracey Corderoy is a great book to kick off activities that foster a caring classroom community.
After reading the book, you can move right into activities with an owl theme. Starting with "Getting to Know Whoo's Here", you can ask fun get-to-know you questions. I answer just a couple of questions right after the book and then incorporate 1-2 questions every day either in my morning meeting, afternoon wrap-up, or throughout the day as a brain break. 
Then, students can begin stations with an owl theme, each celebrating the differences we bring to the community. The first station incorporates thumbprints. Thumbprints are an amazing topic to discuss because it is incredibly clear how different we are by just looking at our thumbprints. This is the Owl Thumbprint craft. I really like how everything you need is in one little package. They ended up so cute! Since they have thumbprints, they are crafts you will want to keep forever. 
The next station is a way for students to write how they think they are super. I love this activity because it not only gives students a chance to write but it gives them a chance to acknowledge their own strengths. So often we don't recognize our own strengths. This activity encourages students to acknowledge and celebrate what makes them strong. It comes with a little mask and star stickers, the perfect addition for student engagement. 
The next station incorporates math. There are a few different ways you can incorporate these fun owl stamps. I wanted to provide the opportunity to practicing making patterns and explaining their patterns. This was perfect because you can differentiate the patterns not only by color but also by direction. One kiddo turned his owl upside down, right side up, left side up, and so on. It was fun to challenge them and see what they came up with. We celebrated the different patterns the kids made. 
I believe it is important to incorporate many different activities to understand a concept. In this case, we want to understand that our class is diverse and celebrate those diversities. *This* creates a caring classroom community. To celebrate, when possible, I incorporate food! It is a huge motivator for kids to stay focused on the stations. I made rice krispy treats and cut them into circles. The kids were able to decorate owl treats, however they wished. I provided different foods like oreos for the eyes, candy corn, sprinkles, pretzels, icing, etc. They were bursting with excitement once they realized they could not only make their own owl, but eat it too! Plus, I served the rice krispy treats on cute owl plates, which made the entire treat more adorable. This activity is one you can always come back to when the class needs to refocus on caring for each other. Have fun! 
