It's that time of year! Back to school time (even though I know some of my bloggy friends have been back for a couple of weeks now.) While you may be in a district that wants you to hit the academics hard core from the first day of school and cut out "fluff", there's nothing fluffy about a cohesive classroom. And you can forget good things happening academically when nobody can get along. Do you hear me administrators? I think it's a wise idea to spend some time helping your students learn to live together in a room that gives everybody about one square foot of personal space. So here's a little collection of some fabuloso ideas I found through the wonderful world of blogging. Here are some great ideas to get your new friends talking to each other, working together, and thinking about what a successful classroom looks like. 1. Talk about how to treat each other. Tales from a Tidy Teacher shares a lesson using Finding the Green Stone by Alice Walker. She gives each student a shiny green "stone". They plan how they will keep their stones shiny all year. I think this would be a great anchor lesson to refer to all year long. Here's a post from Mrs. Robinson's Classroom Blog. She has a different question each day to get kids thinking about their role in the classroom. Your actions are who you are. When things were getting cranky in my classroom last year, we worked on this activity. We planned out the words that we would want our principal to use when describing us. Then we planned out the actions that would get us there. 2. Talk about words and what they can do (for good and evil). I love love love this poster. It is from Sweet Blessings who also happens to be the genius behind Technology Rocks. Seriously. I had it printed as an 11x17 on glossy card stock ($1.50 at Office Max). I referred to it all year long the last couple of years. By the second month of school, all I had to do was say, "THINK before you speak" and they knew exactly what had gone wrong. Yes, Mrs. O Knows will convince you that toothpaste and toothpicks will teach kids everything they need to know about words. I tried so hard to find the original source for this one. Please leave a comment if you know where it came from. Cause it's awesome. 3. Have kids work together in a fun way. Who wouldn't want to save Fred? This is a great team work lesson from Fabulous Fourth Grade Froggies. This one's from Science Gal. Now tell me that doesn't look fun? And because the best way to learn that the world does not revolve around you, have your kids perform RACKS. Random Acts of Classroom Kindness. Here's an idea from 3rd Grade Thoughts. There are tons more great ideas out there on this, too. Have kids work in teams to plan out some RACKS for each the classroom, other students, and staff, too. And now for a little giggle: Hope you have a great school year!

Plan these simple and fun Paper bag STEM challenges for kids! Easy STEM activities that use what's around to encourage invention and design.

These activities are perfect for ANY classroom! It doesn't matter what your theme is because on those first days we are all trying to establish a classroom team! Included in the lesson are 14 different beginning of the school year activties! 1. Find a Teammate Who...- An activity that gets kids up and talking to their new classmates. 2. Shooting for our goals- An activity that has kids writing goals for the school year. This one makes an excellent bulletin board! 3. Batting Line-Up- This is a simple ABC order handout that helps keep kids busy when the teacher needs to put away supplies or help a student who is anxious about the first day. 4.Interview a Teammate- An activity that has students interviewing each other and introducing their partners to the whole class. 5. Tour the stadium- This is an activity that gets students out of their seat and exploring their new classroom. 6. My Summer Score- An activity that has students doing some addition to determine how cool of a summer they had! 7. Make your own sports card- An activity that has students making their own baseball card. 8. Team Pennant- An activity that has each student making a pennant. All the class pennants can be strung together to make a fun display. 9. Game Day Mad-Lib- An activity that has students working with a partner and allows you to see how much of their language skills they remember! 10. Team Bingo- A fun whole group bingo game where the class is getting to know interesting facts about the other students in their class. 11. Coach's Quiz: A fun way to get to know YOU! 12. School Illustrated: A magazine project where students get to write and illustrate the events of their fist days of school. 13. The Rules of the Game: Students write about and illustrate three of the school or classroom rules. 14. Game Day Highlights class book: Every students write and illustrates a page about the highlights of their first days of school. A cover is included so that the teacher can make a class book. These activities get students out of their desk, allow them to be creative, give you a glimpse of what they remember from the previous year and encourage teamwork and colaboration. Plus they are lots of fun! Try some of my other beginning of the school year activities About the Teacher EDITABLE Back to School Book Back to School Paper Bag Book Celebrate the Third Day of Third Grade! Second Day of Second Grade Scoot You might also be interested in my sports classroom decor: Sports Classroom Theme Kit Sports Theme Reading and Writing Posters

A blog about the 4th grade classroom of Mrs. Skowronski

I made this little activity for students to reflect on what they learned this year. I wanted to create an end of the year activity that had a little substance and required students to reflect on t…

Tired of showing your students where to turn in their homework or sharpen their pencil? Here are 17 ways to review classroom procedures that won't make you tear your hair out! P.S. The kids love them too!

Our Primary likes to let the kids play get-to-know-you games with their teachers and each other at the beginning of the year. It is a fun way for the kids to become comfortable with their new teachers! I looked all over the internet for fun games (and there are many) but decided to come up with my own. I have mine printed on 8x11 cardstock and I laminated them so they can be used over and over again. This also looks good printed in black and white, or printed on colored cardstock or paper. You will need a dice and enough markers for each player. (You can use anything...pennies, candies, buttons, etc. We used these CTR circles found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/122010264/choose-the-right-lds-primary-2017-theme) After purchasing you will receive a PDF download. The PDFs are sized as 8x11. Your local printing store can also print these on 11x16 posters for a very inexpensive price. (about 20 cents each at my printing store, on a shiny card stock.) Other editions of this game: UK LDS Primary Edition: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1293139977/ US Classroom Edition: https://www.etsy.com/listing/547734107/ UK Classroom Edition: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1293131419/ The printed posters from this PDF are for personal, ward and stake use only. These posters are my own work and cannot be changed, sold, or reproduced in any way. Please contact me if you have any questions or see any typing errors. Thanks for looking!

A simple way to teach your students classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year

Giving students an easy, independent activity to start as soon as they arrive on the first day of school is a great way to calm their nerves. It also allows you to focus on greeting new students and getting supplies organized and put away. Here is a great first day of school printable that students ... Read More about Read & Find – First Day of School Printable

When parents drop off school supplies on Meet the Teacher night, crayons are tucked away nicely in student desks. Or, they are placed in colorful tubs on the tables to share as community supplies. However, do learners know how to use them correctly? Teaching Procedures Teachers spend the first few weeks of school teaching nothing but

I am all done with parent conferences and it feels great! I had the most terrific year and I’m so happy to share my students’ progress with their parents. During parent conference time, I always love to have lots of student work to display. I absolutely love to incorporate student pictures into student work. This ... Read More about Silhouette Autobiographies and Read Across America

Want something to send home to your parents in the beginning of the year?? I store this in my communication folder in a plastic sleeve and store all the notes I get from parents behind this…. Come on over HERE to snag a copy. Would you like to have your printables ... Read More about Parent Survey for Beginning of Year

One of the best things to do on the first day of school is plan cooperative learning activities where students can get to know one another.

Build community and get to know your Middle and High School Students using this beginning-of-the-year and Back-to-School Activities. All social media profile pages come with community building, reading, and writing activities. Students can get to know each other while performing fun social media and community-building activities in your secondary ELA classes. Whether you're a departmentalized or self-contained teacher, these activities are perfect during your ELA class periods or during your reading and writing blocks. This resource includes the following social media sites and corresponding activities: Snapchat Instagram Twitter Pinterest Facebook Kindle Goodreads iTunes iPhone Cell Phone Messaging Prep is quick and easy... Just print your activity and you're ready for an engaging and results-producing class period! TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID… ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amy S. says, "OBSESSED!!!! I am teaching summer school and I'm normally a math teacher but I am also teaching them ELA. I found this and I honestly wish I taught ELA so I could buy the rest of the novel studies and do them! This is the way you should teach ELA. Easily able to teach all standards through reading notebook, vocabulary, discussion. Lesson plans are soooo thorough. I highly suggest all upper elementary ELA teachers look into your resources!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sunshine S. says, "The templates are awesome and my kids loved getting to create their instagram profiles. I really like that you included some ideas for how to use them." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stacy S. says, "My students loved using this as an icebreaker for school. It was a fun way for them to get to know each other, it's hard to find one for high school that you don't have to make yourself! Thanks so much." ___________________________________ You may also like… → Middle School ELA Reading and Writing Back to School Bundle → Middle School ELA Back to School Big Bundle → Middle School ELA Back to School Stations → Editable Syllabus Templates ___________________________________ Copyright © Martina Cahill-The Hungry Teacher Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Please purchase additional licenses if you intend to share this product.

Last spring I found this fun idea on Pinterest. The kids draw pictures of what they see themselves doing during summer break in sunglasses...

Can I just say I have one of the most creative colleagues ever!! You guys remember Jayme right? She made the cute farm games at the begi...

I wanted to share this great activity I have been doing for years at the very beginning of each year. It is a Self-Portrait activity where students get to draw themselves, compare themselves with another student, and present to the class. I love to tell students they are drawing “Selfies” because it makes it more […]

I have updated this link with a freebie! Click here to get there. "No, David" is one of our favorite books to begin the year or use anytime we need a little review of what our classroom expectations are. One corner of our classroom is devoted to David and our school rules. We read the book several times then the students chose one rule they thought was especially important to them and they typed their rule during Computer Lab time. Then each student created a picture of David and they turned out AMAZING! We had so much fun with David this year that we decided to use iMovie to create a short video of David following the rules and showed the video to the entire school. How FUN! If you would like to view the video you can see it on my classroom webpage. The poster shown above was printed at Staples. I used PhotoShop to edit the title to fit our lesson and class.

Want a super special activity for the end of the year? This craftivity provides students with the opportunity to reflect on their past year by creating a camera mobile which they can treasure for years to come. In the activity, students create a camera with 6 hanging pictures. The individual pictures ask students to detail the following: ♥ Something I’ve learned… ♥ My favorite day… ♥ The best book I’ve read… ♥ Something I’m proud… ♥ This is my teacher… ♥ My goal for next year… Depending on your students’ abilities, they can fill the pictures with text, drawings or a combination of both. I have included step-by-step instructions as well as the pieces you will require. All you need is cardstock/cardboard (or thicker paper), twine (or string/yarn) and tape/glue. I have also included an AUS/UK version with alternate spelling for the words color (colour), favorite (favourite) and learned (learnt). The finished product is approximately 60cm in height. Please check out the preview for more details!! ♥♥♥ Follow me to be the first to hear about FREEBIES and updates ♥♥♥ ♥♥♥ Earn TPT Credits when you leave feedback ♥♥♥ I welcome and appreciate any feedback, comments or suggestions. You may also contact me on [email protected]

The first day of school is full of so many things: anticipation, wide-eyes, school supplies, new faces, maybe a few butterflies. And I...

Hi There! Last week I posted on Facebook about how my team's hallway needed a spring make-over. We were stuck in winter mode and the dark blue butcher paper was starting to depress me. I needed color! I needed funshine... yes... I said FUNSHINE!! This week, I had planned a lesson on self-esteem for my 4th graders. Part of our curriculum is to teach students about tobacco and alcohol resistance. I always start this conversation with lessons on self-esteem and friendships. I started the lesson with a quick powerpoint with two pictures: one of a child frowning and looking down, the other of a child smiling and looking confident. I had the students brainstorm words to describe each of the kids. Then I introduced them to the term self-esteem. We then went to kids health.org and read the article "The Story of Self-Esteem". I use kids health.org a lot. It has great articles written so that kids can understand the concepts. The website even has a read-aloud feature. My students LOVE it because it is a computer voice that often pronounces words incorrectly and they think that is hilarious! After we added our notes to our health notebooks, I introduced the "Garden of Greatness" craft. I had each student brainstorm a list of things that he or she is good at, things that made them feel important, or things that made them feel unique and special. I passed out strips of bright colored paper and circles pre-labeled with their names. Students glued between 4 and 8 of the strips onto the back of the circle. When that was done, they turned over the flowers to the front side and wrote ideas off of their list onto the strips of paper. To finish the project, I collected the flowers and stapled them onto the bulletin board. As I stapled, I wrapped each petal to the back. The finish product turned out great! Bright, colorful, and full of FUNSHINE!! Thanks for visiting! Here are few new resources recently added to my TeachersPayTeachers store: Get it FREE! Click on the graphic to go to my TpT store to download!

Start building community from the beginning of the school year with this fun and engaging back to school activity, Friend Wanted Ads.

Are you decorating your classroom in a Sports theme this year? We all have to track data so why not try having your students track their own? I have created a template for you to create a binder for each student. -A Sports (baseball) coversheet for the 2017-2018 school year. - Student data tracking sheets for DRA levels (one sample and one blank), Math Tests, Science Tests, Social Studies Tests, and Science Tests. -A goal setting sheet. ****If you have ideas with other items you track in your classroom, let me know and I will update the product and send out a notification.**** ***************************************************************************** You may also like: Superhero Data Binder Student Data Binder ***************************************************************************** Be sure to follow me on my TPT store by clicking the little green 'Follow Me' star next to my seller picture to receive notification of freebies and upcoming sales! Great, great info on my Facebook page!

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to Week 6 of Getting Ahead of the Game, Summer Edition! Each Tuesday of the summer, I will give you a small task to complete that will help you get ready for

Een van de leukste, maar ook pittigste week in het schooljaar is de eerste week. Ik geef je tips en ideeën hoe je deze kunt invullen.

Through the years I have had many questions about and requests for more information on the writing offices shown here: Sorry for ...

 What a CRAZY week and weekend!!! We are finished with our state testing and school fair. Yahoo!!! This past week consisted of finishing up state testing, teaching students a dance for the fair performance, painting a picture for the fair silent auction, (see picture below), making over 50 candy apples for the sweets booth, and practicing for the teacher fair performance! Yes, I am one of 11 teachers who actually dances in front of the parents and students at the fair!!! I think the best part of dancing would be attending all practices after school!!!  enjoying the fair candy apples for the sweet booth silent auction: each student painted a different picture on the canvas End-of-the-Year Linky Party With state testing & the fair behind me, I can start preparing for the end of the year. I am linking up with Clutter-Free Classroom and sharing my end-of-the-year ideas. I can't believe May is right around the corner!! Where did the school year go? I still need to put together portfolios and make a power point presentation. I love making a power point from all of the pictures I take during the school year. I must admit that it takes over a week to construct because I always find a way to mess up something! It never fails that every year I make some kind of mistake!!! For the portfolios, I save the students' work all year and use sheet protectors in binders. I like to put the work in order from the first to last day for the parents. I put all work in sheet protectors. The parents appreciate the organization of the work so much because it saves them the time of doing it over the summer. Also, students complete a summer writing activity. This writing activity is my favorite one of the year. The creativity that flows from the students' brains is amazing! Students are asked to write about a summer trip they have taken already or plan on taking. After editing the rough draft, students write the final copy of the essay on sunglasses. Students glue glasses on large white construction paper and draw a picture around the glasses. I was amazed the first time I did this with my class. I did not instruct them to draw a person. The end results were more than I imagined! summer writing summer writing end-of-the-year presentation set up Click (HERE) to grab your sunglasses template. What a post! Please check out Clutter-Free Classroom Project and join the End-of-the-Year Linky Party! With much appreciation,

Can I just say I have one of the most creative colleagues ever!! You guys remember Jayme right? She made the cute farm games at the begi...

So flash back to the end of the school year. You were high-fiving and hugging your practically first graders and sending them off for some fun in the sun. You sent them off as readers and writers, scientists and mathematicians. In that moment, it's difficult to remember how they came to you. When you met them in August, they couldn't read, write, add, tie their shoes, spell their name. Oh, and they were short. When do they get so tall?!?? The first few weeks, from what I can recall (since I block most of that stuff out) are... well... uhh... interesting. Once or twice you might find yourself asking, "What was I EVER thinking becoming a kindergarten teacher?" It's okay. You're not alone. Hang in there. It gets better... in fact, it gets SO good! I thought I'd share with you what week 1 in Mrs. Kelly's Klass looks like. Do you have a Meet the Teacher night prior to the first day of school? This is such a good way to: 1. Get the kids excited about school. 2. Meet your students to help eliminate fear. 3. Open the door to communication with parents. 4. Get yourself organized before the school year starts. Here's how Meet the Teacher works in my classroom! Here are some of the forms families complete. I do my best to stay organized - get contact information in place, know what parents are interested in helping in the classroom, know how kids are getting home. These forms help me get all that information in order, and they go in a binder with copies of the kids' enrollment cards. All of the items for Meet the Teacher night are available alone in my Meet the Teacher pack OR as part of my HUGE First Week Pack that has everything you will read about next! (Don't get both! The forms are included in the First Week Pack!) So then, school starts. The beginning of the year is a chaotic but exciting time in Kindergarten. We practice, A LOT. I set clear expectations from the very beginning and I enforce them from the very beginning. But along with these expectations, I also like to kinda dive right in, so to speak. I want the kids to start doing some of the things they will do all year long -- like printables and stations, sitting for read alouds, participating in whole group and small group activities, reading, all of it! I like my kids to learn the rules, routines, and expectations in TANDEM with the actual things they will be doing for the rest of the school year. I like them to learn what is expected of them by DOING. I refuse to spend an entire week just talking at my kids about rules. We do stations. For the first few weeks, kids participate in stations that will get them acclimated to the materials we will be using all year {unifix cubes, snap cubes, pattern blocks, dry erase markers, clipboards, play dough, etc.) I like to introduce a station whole group -- go over the instructions and expectations for using that particular material {i.e. snap cubes are NOT for building swords and/or guns and playdough is NOT meant for squishing into the carpet}. Then EVERYONE in the class does the same station. They get used to working in a group, and I don't have to worry about managing 5 different activities at the same time. Next day, new station, and so on... until I've introduced enough stations to start an actual rotation! We do printables. Kids need to get used to putting pencils and crayons to paper. I don't expect them to be writing novels, but you have to start somewhere. I can use this opportunity to teach them how to get supplies, what to do when their pencil breaks, where to turn papers in, how their mailboxes work, etc. We sit at the carpet! Two of my favorite books to read during the first week of school are Wemberly Worried and The Kissing Hand. Perhaps it's because I'm a bit of a worrywart myself. These books are so relateable and by reading them, whole group, at the carpet, we get to practice norms for read alouds. And we do whole group activities! These books make for great jumping off points for some whole group fun and small group fun! We will do a school room scavenger hunt after reading The Kissing Hand. Students will search the school for clues left behind by Chester. They get to find all the important places AND we get to practice hallway expectations. (This mini unit is included in my Beginning of the Year pack, but also sold separately!) We'll talk, chart, and write about our feelings after reading Wemberly Worried. Developing that strong classroom community early on is so important. When kids can relate to one another and open up about their feelings, they create a positive and welcoming environment. We dance! Because they are FIVE. Because they are nervous. Because they have never been asked to sit still for this long. Because they miss their moms. Because dancing is FUN. Because it's good for their sweet little brains and bodies! Above all, have fun and be happy. If you're happy, they will be happy. If you're welcoming, they will feel welcomed. If you create a structure, they will fall in place. You can pick up all the activities/printables/STUFF shown above in one nice pretty package by clicking the image below. For those who return to school next week, wishing you a happy school year! :) Grab EVERYTHING you read about today all in one place by clicking here or the image below. OH, and if you missed it before... be sure to go pick up these Dismissal Tags for FREE! I blogged about them last week. Click here to read and click the image below to download.

Let me preface this by saying that this is a LONG post. But bear with me. There is a lot of information and a lot of useful stuff for you...plus a surprise at the end. It is worth it. I promise :) For me, one of my biggest summer stressers is getting my first day of school planned out. I always want to make sure that I have enough activity to keep the kids engaged and occupied, but I also want to set up my rules and set the tone for our year long classroom culture. It is tough balancing classroom management, rigorous academic pursuits, and fun. (I mean, I do want the kids to WANT to come back :) ) So over the years, I have tried my hardest to refine what I do on the first day of school so that we are productive and exciting, all rolled into one. What I thought I would do here in this post is lay out my schedule for you. I will go hour by hour, heck, minute by minute and show you exactly what I do on that all important first day of school. If you like this schedule, you can print it out here. Now, if you are hoping to read something mindblowing and amazing, you probably won't. I save the mindblowing for later in the year ;) I just want the kids to come in, feel like they are part of a good classroom, and set the tone for the 179 more days to come. Before school starts, I set out a pencil and a questionnaire on each desk. I don't have name tags out. I want the students to sit wherever they want. Why? One, it let's them feel sort of special that they can choose their own seat and two, it tells me who their friends are. I get a little, instant snapshot into my class from the first second of the year. 8:10 - 8:30am (20 minutes) Classroom Opening Students walk in, choose a seat, and begin working silently. As they are working on the questionnaire (you can grab a copy of it here), I walk around and take attendance. I generally look on the name portion of their paper but, as is usually the case, not everyone puts their name on it so I quietly ask names. I introduce myself at the same time. Making the visual name recognition matched to a face helps me to learn the kids' names a bit faster. If you have access to Google Docs on your first day, you can use this online version of the questionnaire here....and it is editable too! 8:30 - 8:45am (15 minutes) Morning Greeting After, I introduce myself and our morning greeting. I have written multiple times about this, so I will just leave it at that. :) 8:45 - 9:15am (30 minutes) The Important Thing About Me Next, I like to get right into academic pursuits before diving into rules. Since the kids are still in the "honeymoon stage" in the first hour of school, I figure it is as good a time as any to get them reading and writing. If you read my blog at all, you know how much I love The Important Book . I use is all.the.time. It is just a great, great book that can be applied to so many different things. So we started off the year reading this fast read and discussed what makes our own selves so important and unique. The students then create a circle map of the most unique and mundane qualities they possess. In the coming days, they will use that map to create a fun little "All About Me" type writing (you can read about it in detail here) 9:15 - 10:00am (45 minutes) Classroom Rules Finally we begin in on the classroom rules. I have the students brainstorm a list of things they think would make great rules in our room. They usually come up with all sorts of things, from no running to don't talk when the teacher is talking. "We" then decide upon the 5 "umbrella rules" that would encompass most of the little rules they came up with. I put "we" in quotation marks because, really, I have those predetermined. I just guide my students to think they came up with them. Tomorrow we will use the Circle Map to sort the little rules under the main umbrella rules. (for the full lesson, see this post here...you can also get the templates to use in your classroom.) 10:00 - 10:15am (15 minutes) Yard Rules After discussing class rules, we do a bit of yard rules. What is our play area? Where do we line up? How do we get into number order? How do we all play together? I don't go too much into it because 1) they are 5th graders and 2) again I want to see what they do. If all heck breaks loose, I will know that I need to get into my "make good choices" lessons tomorrow. 10:15 - 10:35am (20 minutes) Recess Time to breathe :) 10:35 - 11:00am (25 minutes) Calendar Math When we enter into the room, I introduce the procedures for Calendar Math. This is SUCH an important part of my math block. I get the kids started from day one on this. During recess, I place a blank calendar page with pieces blocked off that I don't want them to do. When they come in, the kids immediately get to work. I know they won't finish, but that is ok. I just want them to get into the routine. After about 10 minutes, we go over it together. Again, I show them the procedure of using a red pen and really correcting any mistakes. This isn't about getting everything perfect, it is about learning. 11:00 - 11:30am (30 minutes) Math Diagnostic Test A math diagnostic test is next. On the first day I want to make sure I get some semblance of where they are math wise before I start in with Math Rotations. This diagnostic is all of the 4th grade standards that they really should have mastered. It helps to give me little snapshot of their math skills so I can plan from there. It also helps to keep the day "academic". You can pick up the diagnostic test here. 11:30 - 12:10am (40 minutes) Classroom Economy Introduction On the first day of school I definitely get into my Classroom Economy. The kids are so crazy excited by it! I pass out their first dollars and then they buy their first wallets. We discuss earnings and fines, expenses and jobs. The first day is a basic overview but it really pumps them up for this classroom management tool. Once the "rules" are set in place, I begin handing out money for anything they do that is good and even start fining if I have to. 12:10 - 12:50pm (40 minutes) Lunch Breathe and eat. :) 12:50 - 1:20pm (30 minutes) All Hands In At this point, the students are given a large piece of white paper. I ask them to trace their hands, with arms. The kids then use the circle map to start drawing different aspects of their personalities on the hand. This really is the beginning of their first homework project. Here is the entire lesson if you wish to read it. 1:20 - 1:50pm (30 minutes) Clean Up and Homework Procedure We learn our clean up procedure here. I actually pass out the Procedure Manual for the first time and we head to the back where it talks about our 60 second clean up. This manual will be used in great detail in the coming days, but on day one, we just read this part. Then, I pass out the planners given to us by my school. The kids write their first homework assignment in it. Homework on day one is the following: Finish the All Hands In project Have your parents sign and return the parent forms I want them to have homework, but I like to easy into it rather slowly. Again, I want them to *want* to come back ;) 1:50 - 2:20pm (30 minutes) Read Aloud Once the homework is written, students head to the rug for our first read aloud of the year, There's A Boy in the Girls' Bathroom . (this is my affiliate link and will take you to the book to buy on Amazon) I always start with this one because it is fast, easy to understand, engaging, and has a great lesson that carries us the entire year. We read for as long as we have left before the bell rings. I always make sure there is sufficient time for this on the first day of school. 2:20 - 2:30pm (10 minutes) End of Day Dismissal Routine I share with my students our end of day routine, which consists of me standing at the door, dismissing the kids from the rug. They put their chairs up and head to the door where I look them in the eye and bow. It is a nice, calm way to end the day and still have a connection with each child. Sometimes I say, "It was nice to teach you today" or something to them. Sometimes it is just silent. Either way, the kids get a sense of closure on the day. Now, breathe. My first day is pretty filled. Sometimes I don't finish everything. Sometimes things take longer than I had planned. Sometimes I need to fill in extra minutes here and there with little mental math games or ice breakers or read alouds. But in general, the day flows nicely. Do we have full bulletin boards by the end of day one? No. Do we have every single rule memorized? No. Do we feel productive and like we are on our way to a great 5th grade year? Yes.

Woot woot! This post was featured on the TpT blog! You can see it here. Never underestimate the importance of teaching routines. In every classroom and every grade level... but ESPECIALLY in Kindergaten. And in Kindergarten,

What do teachers do during their summer break? Writing Prompt-Fun writing activity that is perfect for the end of the school year or at the beginning.

Use magic play dough as a fun activity for the first day of school. Your students will be amazed as they ease their way into a new school year.

Memory wheels are a great end of school year activity for upper elementary and middle school students. Learn about memory wheel templates.