This year I am going to start off on a totally different foot, with games and prizes! The first day of school has the tendency to be really boring and filled with anxiety for students. Lots of paperwork, books are handed out and lots of adults telling them stuff. During the later part of my summer I've been giving much thought to how I would like students to feel when they enter my class on our first day together.I've decided that I want them to have fun, see that I'm not too up tight, and gain confidence that they do, in fact, know a lot about science. We'll be playing a science jeopardy game that I made which uses our sento handheld clickers to keep track of which team gets the most students with the right answers. There will be time enough to do our activities and tackle the work ahead, but for the first day I want them to enjoy being at school, laugh and build camaraderie together. I've selected some simple prizes to give out (enough for everyone- there won't be winners or losers) and am really hopeful that this strategy will be the beginning of a new tradition.