Back to School- The First Day in First Grade!!!

Hey Everyone! I'm sorry I'm a day late posting this...yesterday just wasn't a blogging friendly day...I went nonstop from one errand to the next to the next, while in the back of my head I was thinking I want to share my back to school stuff with my blog buddies! Anyhoo, I am ready to go now!!!

The first day of school will be here before I know it! My kids start on August 10th, which is on a Wednesday! I LOVE starting on hump day because it gives me just enough time to have a lot of back to school fun before we *really* get into our daily routine!! Plus, I learn a lot about the kids to better plan for the following week! PLUS, I am t.i.r.e.d. and my throat always hurts after three days so it gives me a chance to rest and prepare for a full week!!!

When planning for the first few days of school, my main goal is to set a tone for respect and love for one another! I want my sweeties to get to know each other, enjoy their classroom (and teacher), have fun learning, while also understanding expectations for rules & procedures!

I use a simplified lesson plan format for these days since they are so different that my *normal routine*( which starts the following week)!

Normal Lesson Plan Format.....

 Back to School Lesson Plan Format...

Let's get to the good stuff!!

DAY 1 (My Favorite)

I start the day out by just greeting everyone and helping them get settled in! Once the kids are unpacked, they'll go to their desk and write about something fun they did during summer! Click on the picture to download the "Summer Fun" writing paper!  

While they are working on this, I'm taking attendance, making sure everyone has made a lunch choice, checking for transportation notes, putting name tags on...y'all know the drill!!! My grade level goes to activity class first thing in the morning, so I like to quickly introduce myself and explain how they will go to PE/Music/Art before they are out the door!! While they're having fun in activity, I enjoy a nice, STRONG cup of coffee and organize a mountain of school supplies!!!

When everyone gets back from activity, we have our very first calendar time and play what I call the "Name Game". It's super easy...I just go around and say each student's name & then challenge other students to do the same thing...lots of fun! Then to get to know everyone better and to break the ice a bit, we play "Grab a Question"! I put little slips of paper with different questions on them for students to pull out of a bucket one at a time and answer!I even play so the children can get to know me better, too!! Click on the picture to download the questions I use!

Then it's snack time!! I always have extra snacks on hand just in case someone forgets to bring one!

While they eat their snack, I read...

Afterwards, we talk about how everyone has first day jitters {even ME!}! Once we have a nice jittery discussion, I let the students write about their first day jitters on this paper! Click on it to download!

You should also check out this awesome First Day Jitters activity guide that I found online!

Then we have a class meeting to talk about the classroom rules & expectations! We discuss why rules are important to us and our school. We also create a "First Grade Expectations" poster and everyone signs it! I hang this up in front of the room to remind everyone, if needed!!

Once we have a chance to talk about the rules, it's time to take a school tour! We practice following the rules and having the BEST first grade line on our tour!

When we get back, we have some math fun & create a "How Do We Get to School?" graph on the SMARTboard! You can get it HERE! I also add van riders to this presentation since that is another mode of transportation at my school!

After lunch, children usually start missing their parents so it's a perfect time to read them one of my favorite back to school feel good books.....

After the story, I pull students over one by one to do a handprint activity with me (will post pictures when school starts) while they write about their first day in first grade and complete their "Hall Heads". Click on the picture to download "My First Day in First Grade" writing paper!

Here's a picture of what the "Hall Heads" look like when they are done!! I just cut the heads out of poster board and the kids create a portrait of themselves...Then I laminate them. FYI-if you are going to laminate them make sure children use color pencils and not crayons- crayon wax will run all over the place when laminated...learned this the hard way!!! Once they are laminated, I hot glue two clothespins to the front and they are ready to go!! I like to put them up ASAP so I can display their "My First Day in First Grade" writing!! They stay up all year long and add a special touch to our hallway!!

Well, this pretty much sums up what we do on the first day in my classroom! At the end of the day, I go over the playground rules before we go to recess! AND most importantly, I make sure everyone knows how they are going home because it's one more round of the "Name Game" and dismissal time as soon as we get back in from recess!

Whew! I'm going to take a little blogging break and I'll post my lessons & resources for my 2nd & 3rd day tomorrow!!