Sunday 6 August 18

Hello, friends!  I am in the thick of back to school season!  Open House was Monday and the kids came Wednesday for their first day!  The week flew by and by Thursday night, I was dead to the world!  Went to sleep at 3:57 p.m.  Hahaha!  Here a six random things from the past week!  Enjoy!

I set up my classroom (reveal post coming soon!) with my mom's help (16 year tradition!!) last week.  While setting up, I created my "New Student Bags."  I thought I'd share with you what I do for these.  Basically, think about anything that has a child's name on it that you labeled.  Stick a blank one in a gallon Ziploc bag.  My bag includes a name tag, birthday straw, helper hand, contact card, any forms that I sent home on the first day, homework club bus cutout, cutout for the door, Fundations folder, take-home folder, clothespin (for clip chart), craft sticks (for equity stick cups), and a desk name tag.  Keep these bags handy for when you get a new student!  It makes setting up for them so simple.  No scrambling around searching for things.  Everything is in one spot!  

Speaking of classroom setup, here's another tip:  Use Velcro to attach name tags to students' desks.  This way, when you switch seats, you don't have to slide desks all around your room.  Goodbye, noise!  At the end of the year, kids can usually pick the Velcro off, but in case it's a stubborn piece, just use a putty knife.  **The name tags I use are linked below.

In preparation for the first day of school, I printed out one of my "Procedures" sheets.  This is a page that lists out many common procedures that would be covered the first few weeks of school.  I shared this on my Instagram and people loved it so much, I added it to my TPT store as a freebie.  Click the cover below to grab it.  It also comes with a blank page for you to fill in your own procedures!  

Mr. Wheeler sent me the most beautiful red roses for the first day of school.  He has sent me flowers for all of my "first days."  I really look forward to receiving them each year!  

Our first three days of school last week were filled with procedures, modeling, and practicing.  However, I did introduce Morning Meeting!  The kids are loving it so far!  Here's our Morning Message (and Share) from Friday! 

The Games/Activities have been a hit as well!  I am so thankful I have all of my games organized on a ring and ready to go!  Check out all my Morning Meeting resources by clicking HERE! 

Speaking of procedures, the hallway was one area we focused on last week.  We discussed expected behaviors, modeled inappropriate behaviors, and even took the class down to practice.  Afterwards, we colored, searched for trick words, and read this mini book.  Grab it below!

Have a wonderful week, friends!
xo
Megan