Welcome to Week #6 of my summer blog series, "Getting Ahead of the Game." I hope this is helping you feel good about going back to school. I know it's going to sneak up on us before we know it. : (
This week your challenge is to...
The first day/week/month of school is always just a blur! The beginning of the year is just so fun and so, so, SO exhausting. Let's get a head start on planning! Here are a few tips and ideas to help you plan that first day and make it go as smoothly as possible!
Create a photo booth or at least take some pictures! Oh how I LOVE those precious first day of school pictures! It is amazing to see how much the kids grow in just a year and I love including them in my end of the year photo albums. This is also a fun ice breaker for the kids to be silly and take a few fun pictures together.
These props came from Hobby Lobby, with a 40% off coupon of course.
Make a memory book. I have a big box of my personal school keepsakes in the attic and you better believe I have a precious little memory book I made the first week of first grade. Here are a few pictures of the memory book I created and use.
I use this memory book as my writing for the entire first week of school. It's super simple and is a sweet keepsake. This year I want to hold onto each child's memory book and give it to them at the end of the year so they can see how much they have grown.
Make some name tags. The other teachers will thank you! After Meet the Teacher, I usually have all of my students names down, but I only have around 20 to learn. Think about the poor P.E. coach who has like a million kids. The teachers with cafeteria and recess duty would probably also appreciate name tags too! Target had these cute name tags in their dollar section!
(Don't mind my cat lunchbox in the background.)
You can also put them in a name tag badge and save them for substitute days!
Use a book. This year I wanted to find a new book to use during the first week of school. I was ready for a change. After a vast search, I have a new favorite that I CAN'T WAIT to share with my students.
It just came out at the beginning of the month, so rest assured that you will be the first teacher to ever share this books with your students. It is so cute and sure to make your kids smile. We will be using A Tiger Tail all week for different activities.
We will be making this little craft and completing the writing activity to match.
We will be making this cute class book inspired by the story. I love class books! They really send the message to students that their work is valuable and worthy of being shared. They love when I read the book aloud and come to the page they created. The books are always a hit in the library for many months to come too!
I can't wait to see their creative ideas.
Of course we will be sequencing the story too!
This story sequencing can be downloaded FREE in the product preview HERE. There are tons of other printables and response sheets included in the unit too!
I love these books for the first week too!
Take a tour. When I taught Kindergarten we chased The Gingerbread Man around the school to learn all of the buildings and the kids loved it! For First Grade, I created this around the school passport for students to collect stickers or badges as they tour the school.
Need more ideas? Be sure to follow my First Day of School Pinterest Board! I will be continuing to add to it throughout the month! : ) Go ahead and start on those first day plans!
Create a photo booth or at least take some pictures! Oh how I LOVE those precious first day of school pictures! It is amazing to see how much the kids grow in just a year and I love including them in my end of the year photo albums. This is also a fun ice breaker for the kids to be silly and take a few fun pictures together.
I created this back drop on a bulletin board in the hallway with a tablecloth and butcher paper. I will also confess that it is still up and will be used again this year. #keepinitreal. I use it throughout the year to display pictures and what we are doing in the classroom.
Make a memory book. I have a big box of my personal school keepsakes in the attic and you better believe I have a precious little memory book I made the first week of first grade. Here are a few pictures of the memory book I created and use.
I use this memory book as my writing for the entire first week of school. It's super simple and is a sweet keepsake. This year I want to hold onto each child's memory book and give it to them at the end of the year so they can see how much they have grown.
It is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store for Kindergarten, First and Second Grade. AND just to reward you for getting ahead of the game, they are each on sale this week only for $1.
Make some name tags. The other teachers will thank you! After Meet the Teacher, I usually have all of my students names down, but I only have around 20 to learn. Think about the poor P.E. coach who has like a million kids. The teachers with cafeteria and recess duty would probably also appreciate name tags too! Target had these cute name tags in their dollar section!
You can also put them in a name tag badge and save them for substitute days!
Use a book. This year I wanted to find a new book to use during the first week of school. I was ready for a change. After a vast search, I have a new favorite that I CAN'T WAIT to share with my students.
It just came out at the beginning of the month, so rest assured that you will be the first teacher to ever share this books with your students. It is so cute and sure to make your kids smile. We will be using A Tiger Tail all week for different activities.
I love these books for the first week too!
Take a tour. When I taught Kindergarten we chased The Gingerbread Man around the school to learn all of the buildings and the kids loved it! For First Grade, I created this around the school passport for students to collect stickers or badges as they tour the school.
It's also a great idea to take pictures of the places you visit in the school and important people to help students learn important names. You guessed it, I turn this into a class book!
Need more ideas? Be sure to follow my First Day of School Pinterest Board! I will be continuing to add to it throughout the month! : ) Go ahead and start on those first day plans!
Just joining us? Catch up below: