The first day of school is HUGE!! It is a day full of excitement, worries, nervousness, happiness, and just feeling unsure of what to expect that first day and new school year. As teachers, we feel a lot of these same emotions just like the kids! I know I do! In Kindergarten, some of the kids have been in a preschool before, but there are some that have never been away from their families. It can be so frightening for them, and there can be lots of tears.
At our school, the parents are allowed to walk them in the classroom during the first week. This can be comforting but sometimes can be hard not only for the students but also for the parents. It is hard letting go!! I know it was for me when my own kids went to Kindergarten. And 1st grade. And 2nd grade. Ha ha! It's hard to let go!
I usually have some activities out for them to work on as they come in. I have done coloring pages, but really I prefer to have simple activities for them to work on. It takes time to get everyone settled, and there are usually a few sad littles that I am working with. As soon as everyone is there, I call everyone to the rug, and we introduce ourselves and start getting to know each other. Some know each other from our preschool classes, but many do not. I like to roll a ball, and when they get the ball, they can tell their name and something about themselves. I do this throughout the week, so one time might be sharing their favorite color, favorite activity, about their family, etc.
Then, we read our first book!! This is the highlight of the morning because I like to have activities to go along with the book. I am reading The Pigeon HAS to Go to School this year, and I am so excited about this one! It is such a cute book! Kids LOVE Pigeon, so I am sure I will continue to read all the Pigeon books in the first few days.
After our read aloud, we will talk about how we felt coming to school. I have a chart with the header "How We Felt About Coming to School", and I write what each one says, and let them come up and write their names. I share how I felt, too - and they are always so surprised when I say that I was worried or nervous!
We will have some Pigeon Punch, too!! Want to get rid of those worries? Drink some Pigeon Punch and magically the worries will disappear! When I have done this in the past, I used Hawaiin Punch, but a lot of the kids don't really like it and say it is "too spicy". Ha ha!
This year I have decided to have water in a pitcher and add blue raspberry flavoring to the water so it will have a lighter taste but get the blue color.
This is always a HIT!!! I can't tell you how many have told me that it took all of those worries away! Love it!!
I also will have them make a pigeon craft and illustrate what they will do in school this year. We talk about it together before doing this on our own. At the end of the day, I like to send something home with them. I like to send home popcorn becuase it is a bigger snack they can share with their families at home and talk about all of the fun things they did that day.
This is in my TpT store now! Click here
No comments