What activities do you do the first week of school? I get asked that question OFTEN! So I am going to share a few of my "First Week Goodies" with you! I have to say--I can't take credit for most of them but I am great at stealing ideas from others! :) First, to get the kids moving, we get to know each other a bit! I always do this version of Classmate BINGO! I have the kids find another student to sign each square then they color it in. Besides, it is a great conversation starter! Afterwards, I always ask some students to share a few things they learned about their friends! Next, we do a series of ICEBREAKERS. These are great for any grade really. The Kinders and 1st graders might need some assistance with the writing ones, or you could just take those out. I believe I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but I love doing this All About Me Bag activity. I ran them off on orange card-stock (we are the orange hall) and cut them out. Then I stapled them to a brown bag and placed one on each child's desk for Meet the Teacher Night (or the first day of school.) The kids love showing their items and I love getting to see a piece of them! Another thing I do on the first week is read my favorite read aloud! One of my all time favorite books to read during the first day of school is Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco. If you have not read this book, I encourage you to read it first before reading it to your students. I cry tears of joy every time I read it, I just cannot help it...it is a beautiful story. I am going to share a (free) activity that is great with this book and helping build community in your classroom! Here is a YouTube video reading of it, if you would like to listen to it before your purchase. I do recommend actually reading it to your students, vs. the YouTube video though. The connection with your students will be so much better! Check out my Are You Connecting? blog post to understand how to use this activity. Click the Link Below for the Activity: JunkYard Wonder Activity We also choose one day during the first week to do this digital spinner activity! The spinner spells WELCOME. The kids take turns coming up and clicking the digital spinner. Then the class answers the corresponding question on their task card. You spin until all questions have been answered. Great writing activity and awesome for getting to know your students. Another first week of school think I do is introduce my classroom management method for transitions.I must confess though, I completely "stole" this idea from the Mustache King at The Kindergarten Smorgasboard! When I saw what he was doing, I was sold! First, simply head on over to Amazon (because we all love PRIME right?) and snag a wireless doorbell! The wireless doorbell receiver simply plugs into the wall in your classroom, and the transmitter remote is easily worn around your neck, placed in your pocket, or just laid on your desk. It includes 50 chimes and no batteries are required! When you want to get your student's attention or it is time to move on to another station, center, activity, line up, etc...simply ring the doorbell and it chimes. What I really love is...the chimes are not annoying, they are almost soothing but still grab the student's attention. I will never go back to the vocal attention grabbers. I know those work for many, but for me...I enjoy this method! I hope all of these things help you out with your first few days! It's getting close! Let me know what you do for your first week! I am always looking for things to add!! (affiliate links are provided for your convenience)
