Monday, August 22, 2016

First Week of School Ideas

I made it through!  We began the year with a FULL WEEK.  It's always rough starting out that way, but I am glad it's over with!  Do you start with a full week?!  I don't remember always doing this...anyhow, I'm here today to share what we did during the long week!

I always ask my teammate to take a picture of me on the first day of school.  Cheesy?  Maybe, but I have pics from all of my 13 years!  Here I am looking fresh before I turn into a drowned rat due to running around the room all day.


Every year, Mr. Wheeler sends me beautiful flowers on the first day, reminding me to have a great year!!!  This year's bouquet was gorgeous!!!!


Our classroom library isn't yet open, but I always get books from the public library to put out for kids to browse.  We spent about 5 minutes each day reading quietly.  The library will open once we've gone over the procedures and rules for it.



We made a first day of school mini-book.  I used School Supply Addict's Visual Direction Cards {one of my favorite TpT purchases of all time}.  Grab the mini-book in HERE.



Grab the visual direction cards HERE.


The first few weeks of school, I give my kids Play-Doh breaks!  They need them as we ease back into school.


We read Chrysanthemum  and did a wrinkled heart activity during the story.  We all signed the heart, promising not to hurt one another.  On day two of this book, we watched the DVD and made our own Chrysanthemums.  These activities are included in my "Back to School Activities" Pack, which you can grab HERE.





We read How to Lose All Your Friends and completed our first class book, "All About Our Class." Get it FREE HERE.


We reviewed cafeteria behavior/expectations.  We colored our lunch ladies pictures to decorate the lunchroom {and used our NEW markers!}.  Get the coloring sheets HERE from Teacher Idea Factory.  We read Table Talk by Julia Cook.


I introduced Mr. Potato Head and we talked about earning compliments.  Grab this freebie from Recipe for Teaching HERE.


We read First Day Jitters, read a poem, completed our first written response, and drank some Jitter Juice!  Find the writing paper and MUCH MORE in THIS awesome back-to-school pack!







We played this back-to-school game and worked with partners.  Get it FREE HERE.


We played a game from my Number Sense Math Games pack and busted out the dice!  We also had a long talk about how to appropriately roll die.  LOL!



Grab my best-selling Number Sense Math Games HERE.


We played Denise's "Welcome Back Bump" game!  This is always a hit!  Get it HERE.


We looked at and took home our NEW data binders!  See more about my data binders HERE.


We learned how to play "I Have, Who Has."  Grab the back to school set HERE.


We read my favorite book of all time, Corduroy, talked about being a good friend, and made these cute bears!  Grab the patterns HERE.


We read "How Full Is Your Bucket?"  and wrote our first friendship notes to one another.  Grab the free notes HERE.



One the first day, everyone left with a first day certificate!  Grab them for your class HERE.  Editable version included so you can add each child's name!


I also gave out a few "Positive Notes!"  The kids were grinning and cheering on their classmates!  So cute!  Get them HERE.  *ESL version in my store, too!


We learned some of my "Classroom Management Callbacks," which the kids of course LOVED! Grab them HERE.  


On Fridays, we can dress down.  I wore my new "Ohio Teacher" tee from "Teaching is a Royal Adventure."  Isn't it awesome!?  She has lots of states.  Click HERE to see if she has yours!


My new teammate brought me a donut and left a cute note!  She's the best!  I am so relieved to have a fresh, new person on the team!


And, per usual, I left for the weekend with everything laid out, in order, on my back counter for Monday!  I can't function if my things aren't ready for the following day!




To grab any of the books shown in this post, click below {affiliate links}.

     
                                                                 

 Start a dice box like the one I have:
                                                               

 PS-Did you know????  There's ANOTHER SALE GOING ON TODAY!  Perfect for those of you who haven't started back yet!  EVERYTHING IN MY STORE IS 20% OFF--including BUNDLES! I know you've been eyeing my best-selling first grade guided reading bundle!  Grab it now!  It won't be on sale again until November!  ENTER CODE "ONEDAY" at checkout to grab an additional 10% off from Teachers Pay Teachers!


xo
Megan 

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