Y’all…. I survived the first three days of school!!! It went something like this… 4:00 AM… I’m wide awake? WHY? Who knows… I would like to blame it on my huge pregnant belly… BUT, I always do this on the first day!!! So… around 6:00 I made a trip to Kroger. You know… The important […]
The beginning of the year is always a whirlwind with the first few days of school and Open House/Visitation. Whether you have your Open House/Visitation before school starts, or once the year is already in full swing, it’s still a huge undertaking! Today I’m sharing with you my 5 favorite tips for your Open House ... Read More about Kindergarten Visitation!
1-2-3 Come Make A Name Map With Me! I teach “mapping” as a writing strategy to my college comp students. It’s a fun visual way for them to get their thoughts organized on paper, before they begin to write their essay. A name map is a terrific way to introduce "mapping" to elementary students. This is also an interesting icebreaker for the first week of school and a great way to get to know your new students. Children think of a symbol that represents them and draw that in the middle. I chose an apple as it’s sort of universal for school or teaching. Branching out from the center symbol is a variety of things about the person such as hobbies, their favorite season, birthday, what they want to be when they grow up etc. By having students use their two favorite colors to write their first and last names in the center of their object, everyone gets to know another “tidbit” about that person. The completed activities make a wonderful back to school bulletin board too! Make sure you do a personal one of yourself, so that you have a sample to show your students as a way to explain things, as well as a means for them to get to know their new teacher. Includes an explanatory note home to families. Sharing name maps is a nice activity to do after reading the story Chrysanthemum, a wonderful back to school tale, whose main character is a little mouse named Chrysanthemum. She loved her unusual name until she started school and everyone began making fun of her. It's one of my all-time favorite back-to-school books and especially great if you need some stories to go with "bucket-filling." My inspiration to do name maps, came from an art teacher’s “heart maps” that he did with his 4th graders at Riverside Elementary. Click on the link to check out their awesome endeavors. I hope you and yours have as much fun making these as I did. Click on the link to view/download Name Maps. This packet is a special FREEBIE in my TpT shop. Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away! For your convenience, my "Pin it" button is at the top on the menu bar. “There’s few things as uncommon as common sense.” –Frank McKinney Hubbard
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
The first week of school generally consists of getting to know one another, in addition to discussion and practice of classroom procedures and routines. We also got our creative juices flowing by creating summer reflection writing pieces, squiggle stories, and "All About Me" mini-posters. Students are getting to know one another and me, and we are learning to work together to build a successful and positive classroom environment. On Wednesday, I wrote out six questions, all having to do with how to make our classroom and ourselves function to the highest level, on six pieces of chart paper. Students, in groups of three, spent two minutes at each chart, collaborating and responding to each question on a sticky note. After all groups visited each chart paper station, I hung all of the charts up and we discussed each answer and noticed some very interesting trends. Here's the finished product, which you can click on to enlarge: Inspired by Life in 4B To tie into the previous activity, I was inspired by my wonderful teammates, Mrs. Fadden and Ms. Mattox, to develop at class pledge with my students. We reviewed our responses to the above questions, and then we put all of the ideas together to form a cohesive paragraph that we have all agreed will help us to remember why we are here at school and what our common goal is. Below is the rough draft of our class pledge (which I will type up, make pretty, and have all of my students sign): Since we were able to develop a class goal (to achieve success in third grade), I also had each student determine an individual goal after reading the story Matthew's Dream by Leo Lionni. I displayed our "Hopes and Dreams" for third grade near the classroom door, so that we can refer to, and revisit, them throughout the year. Lots of students are interested in learning how to sharpen their cursive skills, multiplication and division skills. I was very impressed by the number of students ready to take on our 40 book challenge! More on that later! Here's our class display of our hopes and dreams for third grade: Lastly, I read a book called Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The premise is that everyone carries an invisible bucket everywhere they go. When your bucket is "filled" you feel happy.When your bucket is "empty" you feel sad or upset. People can fill buckets by lending a helping hand, smiling, being kind, including others in games, and more. People can empty buckets by teasing, being ungrateful, acting disrespectfully, and more. I encourage my students to recognize the actions of bucket-fillers by writing them quick note and sticking it in their bucket display. This helps make everyone feel good. When we feel good, we want others to feel good. Therefore, kindess is passed from person to person. This is our bucket-filling display, complete with ways we can fill buckets and ways we can empty buckets: I look forward to more of these types of meaningful activities that promote teamwork, kindness, and achievement with your child!
This Jitter Juice recipe is perfect for the first day of school! Pair it with the fun back to school book, "First Day Jitters."
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Need help for the first day of Kindergarten? Take a deep breathe and lets get the year started off the right way! You can do this... we can help.
I wish I could take credit for this teaching gem that I am about to share with you. My sister (who started teaching five years before I did) shared this letter with me before my first year teaching. F
It can be so much fun to prepare for the first day of school. Here are some free printable first day of school headband crowns that I made for you.
I'm a girl from the Midwest sharing bits of my life in a first grade classroom.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
The first week back to school is usually pretty hectic. From getting back in the swing of things to preparing for the first day and all of the back-to-school
Looking for a cute newsletter you can hand out during open house or on the first day of school for your students and parents to get to know you? This editable Meet the Teacher Newsletter is what you need! ✨✨Buy this newsletter with a different title or theme! ✨✨ Included in this product: -Newsletter with editable text boxes -Editable headings to text boxes -Font names used in previews Important: -All cliparts can be changed except for the apple and pencil due to copyright. -This is a Powerpoint file and you will need PowerPoint or an equivalent program to edit. [Edit online using PowerPoint Live.] -The header that says "Meet the Teacher" is NOT editable. ✨✨ Interested in a custom product of your choice? ✨✨ Other products you may love: Matching Meet the Student Activity Matching Classroom Newsletter Matching Grade book Matching Meet the Counselor Newsletter Matching 10 drawer cart labels Blog posts you may enjoy: 5 Reasons You Should Try a Digital Planner Teacher Organization End Of Year Hustle
A fun and creative elementary school art lesson plan for K-4th grade. This lesson plans is perfect for celebrating International Dot Day. Art teachers and educators can teach students creativity, courage & collaboration with Kandinsky inspired artwork.
Your entire year at a glance, it's top-level organization to ensure that the whole year is visible and easy to manage. The calendar is one thick sheet of premium Clay colored paper. Hang it with a metal clip, washi tape, tack, or magnetic poster hanger. The numbers and days of the week are correspondent to the 2024 calendar year (unless you choose the dateless option). Use it with the Chrome Calendar Stickers for even more organization.
The first day of school for pretty much any grade is a whirlwind. Plan for the first day of school to keep students engaged, and excited to come back!
Here are six essential back to school lessons I’ll be using in my classroom this back-to-school season.
Open House ideas. Great activity for students to do to show during Open house.
Are you like me and busy checking Instagram and Pinterest for Back to School ideas? Even though I have been teaching for many years, I get bored doing the same thing year after year. Pl…
Name posters are an easy art project for the first day of school and also double as classroom decor!
Customizable Digital Planner Templates 2024: Tailor-Made for Your Unique Needs.
Check out my morning Circle Time routine for Pre-K & Kindergarten and start making time for building community in the classroom!
For the past several years, I've given each of my new students a MYSTERY GIFT at "Meet the Teacher" night for them to take home. The catch? The CANNOT open the gift until the morning of the first day of school. What's the purpose? I got this idea from Hope King several years ago when she hand delivered mystery gifts to her students before the first day of school. The goal is to build excitement and anticipation for the new school year. We want our kids to be COUNTING DOWN the days until the first day of school, and I have found that these mystery gifts are a way to get them doing that! I give each student that attends open house one of the gifts and they take it home with them. They stare at it for the next several days (hah!) and they are allowed to open it up as soon as they wake up on the first day of school. What is the gift? You can literally turn ANYTHING into a mystery gift. For several years, I gave bracelets that all matched and they represented our classroom community. For the past couple years, I've changed it up. Be creative and think about things the kiddos in your community are currently excited about. I went with bracelets several years ago because the students in my community LOVED Lokai bracelets. Come up with something fun and unique for your kids! I do try to steer away from something "educational" because I want it to be something the kids will actually ENJOY. Although new crayons are great, I doubt my kids will be SUPER pumped to receive them as a gift. ha. What do I include with the gift? I always put a BIG do NOT open sign on the front of the gift, and then a note inside with the item. I personally think the note should be special for your class! You can grab mine HERE. Gift Ideas: Bracelets: Other items: All Amazon Links are affiliate links and I get a small commission if you choose to purchase your items though them. = )
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
Name posters are an easy art project for the first day of school and also double as classroom decor!
And so it has begun. Another new school year. As cheesy as it sounds…I’m SO excited! Another year to grow…to try new things…to do things better…and to love on {and teach, of course!!} a new bunch of sweet babies!! This year is extra special to me because BOTH my boys will be with me…the littlest …
Learn more about creating a classroom handbook flipbook that houses all of your back to school info in one handout, and parents will actually keep it.
Teachers, you must send this letter home to parents on the first day of school. It will set the tone with parents for the rest of the year!
Open house is an exciting time! It’s the first time families and students see the classroom. It’s when students and parents meet the teacher for the first time. It can...
The first two weeks of school of been exhausting and busy. We have been busy busy learning all our brand new routines and procedures. My cla...
Here is a fun, free printable to make the first day of school awesome. These free first day of school necklaces are ready to print or you can edit them too.
First day of 1st grade - Editable Lesson Plans & Activities
During the last weeks or days of school, I am looking for fun ways to celebrate with my students. We have become such great friends, and I want to end the year with a bang! Having end of year theme days during that last week can be so much fun. You can sneak in academics
First Week Watercolor Portraits 7 comments Back to School, Bulletin Boards, Self Portraits, Tutorials Every year, my second graders paint a watercolor self-portrait. It is truly my most favorite first week activity of all time. After sharing this picture of this year's portraits on Facebook, a sweet reader asked if I had a blog post about them. Well, it dawned on me that while I have shared my annual self-portraits many times, I've never really shared them exclusively in a post. So, here goes! Every year, I have my students paint a self-portrait during the first week of school (an idea I learned while student teaching many moons ago). I hang these portraits in the room, for the entire year. They really brighten up our space and they are such a joy to look at (this is a picture of my students' portraits from last year). I am not an art teacher and I believe that kids should be encouraged to take risks, so when I task my students with painting their portraits, I pretty much let them "have at it." Don't worry, it isn't a total free for all. I do model the process and I also share examples from years past, like the ones shown below. I just make it very clear that I don't expect their paintings to look like an actual photograph. ;) I always begin by pointing out how much of their body/self they will be painting. I tell them to think about the pictures they see in their yearbooks and how those pictures only show people's heads and shoulders. I explain that they will include only their head and shoulders in their paintings. I then show them examples from previous years (sometimes students move and they get left behind, so I have a few on hand). Once the students understand what it is that they will be including in their portrait, I model the drawing process on the board. I discuss how large the head should be in relation to the paper and show them what this looks like. From there, I show them how I draw a neck and shoulders, hair, and facial features. I apologize that I don't have a photo of this, but essentially, I model and narrate the process, one step at a time. And, then...it's the students' turn. I give each student a piece of white card stock (8x10 inches) to work with. Card stock is brighter and thicker than construction paper, and it just seems to hold the paint better, in my opinion. Then, they start their drawing. Sometimes, I have them draw the outline of their pictures with a black crayon (see below). When I do this, there is NO pencil involved. This helps them to really slow down and visualize before they draw because they know that they can't erase. However, this year, I let them draw with pencil first and then they traced over their pencil lines with a Sharpie. Why did I do that? I have no idea, it was just what I decided to do when I was prepping the materials, but the end result was still fab! Once the students draw the outline of their portrait, they get to paint! Using watercolor is a tricky thing for many second graders. They have a hard time always gauging how much water to use, so a discussion about this (and a little modeling) ahead of time is a good idea. Tip: No matter how much explaining and modeling you do, you'll still have a student or two that uses too much water. Let them use a tissue to blot their paper if you notice this happening. I lay the portraits to dry on the floor, in an out of the way spot. They dry within minutes here in the desert. Once they are dry, I flatten them by stacking heavy teacher manuals on them overnight. I could iron them, but my iron and I do not get along. At all. The next morning, I hang them up and admire the sight before me...all year long. :) At the end of the year, it's always fun to repeat this process. You will be amazed at how much growth your students show. Here are a few examples from last year. Amazing, right? We always get lots of compliments on our portrait display, and the kids are always very proud of them. They love seeing if their parents can guess which one is theirs, and it's fun to see how many parents get it right! At the end of the school year, I send the portraits home as a keepsake. Many parents have commented how much they love them, and they are the perfect size for framing! First week self-portraits are a great way to encourage students to take risks, have fun, and learn to use materials. Beyond that, the students take great pride in their creations and enjoy them just as much as I do, and we have something truly magnificent (that they created!) to look at all year long. :) Share It:
