Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Back to School Basics, Week 3

It can't already be the last week of June! This summer is going way too fast! We are already on Week #3 of my summer blog series, Back to School Basics. Each week we are tackling a tiny task that will make going back to school a little bit easier! 

This week's task is to tackle those beginning of the year forms. 

This might look a little bit different for everyone, but my guess is that every teacher has some paperwork for parents at the beginning of the year! Here is what works for me!
First of all, I like to have my forms ready for parents to fill out at Meet the Teacher Night. Why? 
  1. Parents can fill out all of the information right there and leave it with me. Small children's backpacks often eat papers. 
  2.  I NEED know how everyone is getting home, so my odds of losing someone significantly decrease, hehe. That First Day of School dismissal is killer...Amen!
  3.  I feel like I already "know" my kids before the first day. 

These are the forms I will have prepped and ready to go that night:  


I try to keep it simple and just have one student information form. I like to copy it on bright colored paper so that it is easy to find in my student information binder. Download this form for free HERE. I always leave the back blank too, in case parents want to write me a novel. ; ) The office will have most of this information on file, but I like having it at my fingertips too! 


Each year I create a Meet the Authors board that includes a little biography of each student and a place that they can display their work. Read more about it HERE. I use this little form to create their biography. I leave it on each student's desk at Meet the Teacher Night so that they can fill it out with parental help if needed. It's just one more thing i can have ready to go!

Download it for free HERE. 

I also LOVE using Donors Choose to fund materials and experiences in my classroom. It's like Christmas when your stuff arrives!

 After a project is funded, pictures of students using the materials are shared with the donors. A photography permission form is required for each student. The beginning of the year if the perfect time to get this done too! Read more about how to use Donors Choose HERE. 

Y'all know that I'm all about summer time; so I won't be copying anything until the school opens back up in August. For now, I have all of these files nicely organized on my Google Drive, so I just need to print! Exhibit A:  

In fact, I am keeping everything I need right here in this "Beginning of the Year" folder so I can just print and go come August. Score! 

DON'T FORGET: Make a few extra copies of everything so you are prepared when a new student comes. Avoid the new student scramble!


Catching up?

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