The first day of school I have only thee goals: get them to school, get the fed, and get them home. If I manage to do all three I call the day a success. Believe it not one year I bombed out on the last one. That was a low point for me!!!
So today I am going to share a few helpful hints to making the first week a success.
The first hint is the very one I bombed out on one year- I like to learn from my mistakes!!! One of the VERY first things I like to do as kid are coming in the door is ask them how they get home. I double check this against the form parents fill out at Open House. You can get a copy of these forms for only $2.00! There are several different themed sets –an owl set, super hero set, monster set, and frog set.
That bus form is SO helpful!
After I talk to kids I make some sort of bus pass tag. Some years I have made necklaces to wear and ask kids to bring them back each day. I think a better, more effective way would be paper bracelets.
I made these
simple bracelets. These can be put around students wrists. However, they may be too big for this so a better idea would be to loop it around the student’s BOOK BAG and staple it on. The font I used was Miss Law Primer which can be found on TpT for FREE
here.
Another hint is more of a paper management tip. My desk is always piled with TONS and TONS of paper work that students are returning the first week of school. Another teachers shared this checklist with me and I LOVED it.
I staple this on the cover of a file folder. Then as papers come in I check them off the list and then keep the stack of papers in the folder. I keep ALL the papers in paper clipped stacks in the folder under I have collected them all (or all I will ever collect, if you get my drift!). Then I file them as needed OR keep them in this folder and creatively label it beginning of the year forms.
You can down load and editable checklist
here in Word. The cute font is Hello Lovebug by Jen Jones and is available free (for personal use)
here.
Hope these hints help! Want to share yours? Link up below!
Mandy Gregory is a 2007 and 2012 Teacher of the Year. She has taught Kindergarten- 4th grades in both the general education and inclusion settings. She is currently a 1st grade Special Education teacher. She is the owner and creator of Mandy’s Tips for Teachers website (www.mandystipsforteachers.com) and has over 13 years of teaching experience. She is married with two beautiful children.
Both of these ideas are extremely helpful for the first day. Thank you so much for taking the time to share