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added 6.22.08 |
Nathan's
First Day of School
The
Berenstain Bears Go to School ~ Jan and Stan Berenstain
School
Bus ~ Donald Crews
Miss
Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten ~ Joseph Slate
The
Kissing Hand ~ Audrey Penn
Mary
Wore Her Red Dress and Henry Wore His Green Sneakers ~ Merle Peek
My Teacher's
My Friend ~ P.K. Hallinan
The
First Day of School ~ P.K. Hallinan
Curious
George Goes to School ~ Margaret and H.A. Reys
Never
Spit on Your Shoes ~ Denys Cazet
My Teacher
is a Vampire ~ Mercer Mayers
Off
to School ~ Ann Schweninger
Pooh's
First Day of School ~ Kathleen W. Zoehfeld
A Monster
Followed Me to School ~ Mercer Mayers
A Bug,
A Bear, and A Boy Go to School ~ David McPhail
My Pet
Monster Goes to School ~ Dennis Fertig
They
Gym Teacher From the Black Lagoon ~ Mike Thaler
The
Teacher From the Black Lagoon ~ Mike Thaler
The
Principal From the Black Lagoon ~ Mike Thaler
The
Librarian From the Black Lagoon ~ Mike Thaler
The
School Nurse From the Black Lagoon ~ Mike Thaler
Little
Critter's This is My School ~ Mercer Mayer
Chrysanthemum
~ Kevin Henkes
My Teacher
Sleeps in School ~ Leatie Weiss
This
is the Way We Go to School ~ Edith Baer
Little
Kids at School ~ Jeffie Ross Gordon
Will
I Have a Friend? ~ Miriam Cohen
The
Wheels on the Bus
Monster’s
First Day at School
The
Blanket That Had to Go!
My Brown
Bear Barney
Froggy
Goes to School
Franklin
Goes to School
Morris
the Moose Goes to School ~ B. Wiseman
Bulletin
Boards
Bulletin Board:
This is a permanent bulletin board beside my classroom door. I put
it up at the beginning of the year and it stays until the end.
|
|
|
When you
Enter this
Little room
Consider yourself
One of the special
Members of a group
who
Enjoys working and
learning |
This
is the same bulletin board from the year before when we were doing a Bee
motif in our classroom.
The hive
says:
Sometimes
looking into a classroom
is a
bit like looking into a beehive:
the
uninformed visitor might see lots of bees
moving
in many directions
with
no apparent logic,
but
the beekeeper knows what each bee is doing
and
how an activity fits
within
the overall pattern.
“We Are Quite A Flock”
Bulletin Board: Make sheep with the kids’ pictures on the
face of the sheep, arrange them in a group with a grassy background.
To make
the sheep: Use a small paper plate. Cut out two long rectangle ears
and two rectangle legs from black construction paper. Cut an upside down
V at the bottom of the leg strips-so they look like the bottom of a first
place award ribbon would look. Round off the bottom of the two ear strips
to look like ears. Then cut out an almost round face shape from gray
construction paper; cut it so that it looks more oblong at the bottom of
the face. Glue the ears on the side of the blank face, then glue the face
at the center bottom of the paper plate hanging down over the edge of the
plate. Then glue the two legs hanging down at the bottom of the plate hanging
lower than the ears. Have each child glue white cotton balls over
the top 3/4 of the paper plate. Take a picture of each child the
first day and glue the child's photocopied picture over the gray construction
paper face.
Bulletin Boards:
Kindergarten
is the place to "bee" ( tree with a hive, a pickett fence and bees with
the kids' names on them)
There's
no place like kindergarten! (large trees, yellow brick road with the kids'
names on the bricks, lots of colorful flowers)
"Welcome
to the Club" (Club Kinder - club house, trees, kids' faces poking out of
the clubhouse window)
Bulletin Board: “Welcome
to Kinder-garden” Provide the students with large size flower “heads”copied
onto different colored construction paper, stems, and leaves. Have
them cut them out, then add their picture to the center of the flower.
Display these on the bulletin board in “garden” style. You can a
fence, trees, birds, a rabbit, etc. If you save the flowers from
the board, they can be sent home at the end of the school year with one
of the poems from the May/Summer page.
Bulletin Board: This
bulletin board accomplishes a lot of tasks with one project! This
is a student created bulletin board, plus it lets you see how well your
students can color and cut. Provide each student with a BIG sneaker and
let them color/decorate it as they please. Then have them cut them
out. If appropriate, you can add real shoe laces. Display these
on a bulletin board with “We’re Off and Running!” (If you use the
shoe laces, you can also do a quick assessment of who can tie their shoes)
We “Face” the New Year:
Provide your students with a white paper plate. Either provide them
with facial features to cut out and glue on, or have them draw their own
face on the plate. Then they add yarn for hair, along with a big
construction paper bow. The boys use the bow as a bowtie, and the
girls use it as a hair bow. Display these on a bulletin board.
Have the students write their names on a half sheet of paper cut vertically,
or use pre-printed names. The names are displayed under each students’
face. This idea came from the September Bulletin Board book and it
comes with patterns for the facial features and a collar for each.
Guess Who?:
Cut a light colored piece of construction paper in half horizontally.
Holding the piece of paper vertically, write “Guess Who?” at the top with
a black Sharpie marker. Cut a piece of construction paper in a coordinating
color to a smaller size (maybe about 4 x 5). This smaller piece is
stapled onto the larger piece under the title (center it). Only staple
the left hand side; this will form a door or flap. On the flap, have
your students write or dictate words or short phrases that describe themselves.
When that’s completed, they open the flap and draw their picture underneath
the flap. Or, you could add their photos here instead. . Collect
them when they’re finished, read the “clues” and let the class try to guess
who they are. These can be displayed as a “get to know you” bulletin
board.
Welcome Back to School!
Bulletin Board: I did this bulletin board eons ago! (still
have it though, from when we use to “laminate” everything with clear Contact
paper). The pattern can be found in the September Teacher’s Friend.
Make a large “old-time” schoolhouse with your room number on it and a HUGE
handbell. On the bell write “Welcome Back to School!” All the
students’ names go on individual name plates scattered around the board.
The bell is placed in one of the top corners with the handle sticking out
over the edge of the board.
“Lettuce Introduce
Ourselves” Bulletin Board: Someone posted this on the ‘net
and I thought it was tooo cute! Cover the top section of your bulletin
board in light blue paper, the bottom section in brown. Use strips
of green corrugated bulletin board board down the middle of the brown to
form rows in the garden. Photocopy large heads of lettuce onto green
construction paper and cut out. Put a picture of each child’s face on each
head of lettuce and laminate. Place the heads of lettuce behind the
strips of border to make rows of lettuce. You could even add a white
picket fence behind the garden with some flowers and a bunny along the
bottom. Bunny’s love lettuce! This would even be a cute bulletin
board to go along with Peter Rabbit.
Pooh Bulletin Board:
Make a large Winnie the Pooh saying, “P is Pooh who welcomes you to ____
grade.” Add the students’ names on honey pots or bees.
“Putting
Your Best Foot Forward” Bulletin Board: Trace the students’ feet and add
their name, their picture, or something about them.
“Pencil Us In For a
Great Year!” Bulletin Board: Use white bulletin board paper
and add lines with a black/blue Sharpie marker to look like a sheet of
notebook paper. You also need to add the holes if appropriate.
Buy a pencil shape notepad and laminate enough pages for each student in
your class. Add each student’s name to a pencil with a Vis-a-Via
pen. Display on the bulletin board.
“A Colorful Class”
Bulletin Board: The same idea as above could be used, but
instead of using notebook paper for the background it could be a page of
a coloring book. Not as easy as the paper, but you could draw off
a simple blackline picture and even color part of it in to look as if it
were incomplete. Add the students’ names to crayons instead of pencils.
“Welcome to Kinder-Garden
(or Mrs. ___’s Garden) and Watch Us Grow!” Bulletin Board:
Just add this caption to a flower garden or a patch of sunflowers.
“Welcome to the Kingdom
of ______” Bulletin Board: Use with a castle motif.
Students’ names can be added to crowns or take each student’s picture with
a crown on and add their pictures. Both king and queen crowns can
be purchased at party stores fairly cheap.
“Quack, Quack … We’re
back!” Bulletin Board: I LOVE this idea! If I have
a bulletin board this year I think I’ll use it. Make a big white
duck with your name on it. Make enough little yellow ducklings to
put each student’s name on one. Add "wiggly eyes" to all ducks. This
would look precious in a pond scene with cattails, lily pads, a frog, etc.
Our May door last year was similar to this but only had the mother duck
and a couple of little ones. The door turned out cute.
| This
is the picture of the "Quack, Quack" bulletin board. I did use it
last year and it stayed up for quite a while! Kerry said that when
she used it last year, she added cows and a pasture and the cows said something
like, "Moo, Moo, We Are, Too!" |
|
|
“A New Batch of Smart
Cookies” Bulletin Board: Make large cookie sheets by covering
cardboard with aluminum foil, then add huge chocolate chip cookies.
Put each child’s name on a cookie. Oven mitts optional.
"We're a SHARP bunch!"
Bulletin Board: Photocopy your own pencil patterns
and color them, or use pencil shaped notepad pages. Write each
student's name on a pencil and add the title. If you laminate the
pencils before adding the names, you can reuse the pencils again.
"Mrs. ____'s Bunch" Bulletin
Board: A bunch of grapes that is. :) To form the grapes,
either use inverted small purple plates or cut circles from purple paper.
Overlap the plates or circles to form the cluster of grapes. Program
each grape with a student's name. Add a stem and a grape leaf using
green paper. This also makes a good door decoration.
"First
Grade Is a Picnic!" Bulletin Board: Use a plastic red
& white checked tablecloth for the background. Add a large picnic
basket. Add paper plates each programmed with a subject area.
Add ants programmed with each students' name or have them complete the
TLC Ant and add those to the board.
"Look Who
Followed Me To School!" Bulletin Board: I really
like this bulletin board and it would be great for someone starting out
the year with Nursery Rhymes. Enlarge Little Bo Peep on the board
and have enough little lambs following her that each could be programmed
with a student's name. If you cut Little Bo Peep's clothes from cloth
and the lambs from something "wooly" it would be tooo cute! :)
"On the Road to Success"
Bulletin Board: Use maps for the background.
Make a street using black/gray construction paper with white/yellow lines.
Have each student's name on a car.
"Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star" Bulletin Board: This is another cute board
and perfect for the Nursery Rhyme unit as well! Cover your board
with dark blue or black paper. Add a star for each child made from
yellow construction paper, aluminum foil, or holographic wrapping paper.
Program each star with a child's name and add the caption: " Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star, I Wished For You and Here You Are!" If you're using
the plain yellow stars, you might want to add some glitter around the edges
or on the tips. You could also use stuffed stars.
"We're Seeing Stars
in ____ !" Bulletin Board: This board can be set up
similar to the one above or the ideas mixed/matched. Splatter paint
dark background with gold paint. Add stars with students' pictures
in sunglasses. You could also use that shiny gold garland with the
stars as a border.
"A "Berry" Special
Class" Bulletin Board: Use strawberries and add the
students' names.
"Kindergarten Is a
Hands-On Experience" Bulletin Board: Either use die-cut
hands programmed with each child's name or let them add their handprint
(using paint or stamp pad) with their name underneath.
"Have You Heard the
Scoop?" Bulletin Board: Take a picture of each student
eating an ice cream cone. Staple them to the board and add
the caption: "Have you heard the scoop? This is one cool group!"
What a fun way to start out the year, and everyone will want to help you
do the board! :)
“I Couldn't Have
Picked A Better Bunch!” Bulletin Board: This is my Back to
School board for 2003/2004. Bit and pieces of this bulletin board idea
were shared on the web and I took the parts I liked and put them together.
I thought the bulletin board turned out very cute. And if it hadn't for
been having to weave the basket, this would have been a very simple bulletin
board to do. I didn't even draw off the tree, I just started cutting.
The apples were cut using the Ellison. Each apple of the tree has one of
the words for the title. The students' names are on the apples in the
basket. I wrinkled the paper for a textured look, and loosely stapled
all the tree parts. I stuffed a little of the left over paper behind the
top for more definition. The "hay" in the basket is a little raffia that
I had on top of extra paper for stuffing. *Note- someone emailed me that
their friend had created this same board using this idea, but to make it
easier had cut a basket in half instead of the weaving. I don't know
that I thought about that, but I did think about looking for one of those
baskets that was flat on one side to use.
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|
"Kindergarten Treasures": This hall bulletin board belongs to the
K teacher next door. It's a take-off from "Pirates of the Caribbean".
Very cute!!! The kids' names are on the gold coins.
|
|
Who Do You See? Bulletin Board:
This is a board I have used each year. After I take it down, I make a book for
the class to read during the year. End of year I send each child's home with
them.
Allow each child to pick a toy (I have Clifford, Beanie baby monkey, spider man,
dolls, etc) to hold. I take a digital picture of them. Print and then
glue to center of 8 1/2 x 11 paper which has this printed on it. At the top
"Mr. Buchman, Mr. Buchman, who do you see?" At the bottom of the page is
printed "I see (child's name), looking at me?." Then I have my picture up
with "Children, children, who do you see?" "I see Mr. Buchman looking at
us" Mount sheets on construction paper to frame and do a title for the board
"Who do you see?" or something. It sets up "Brown Bear " for reading.
Great way to get all pictures up quickly.
submitted by: Bill Kindergarten Guy
* thanks Bill for sharing!
;)
Poems
August
(tune:
Are You Sleeping)
August
is here,
August
is here,
School
begins,
School
begins,
We'll
meet lots of friends,
We'll
meet lots of friends,
August
is here.
~ Author
Unknown
September
September
is a time
Of beginning
for all,
Beginning
of school
Beginning
of fall.
~ Author
Unknown
Apple Poem
An apple
for the teacher
Is really
nothing new,
Except
when you remember
Parents
are teachers, too!
~ Author
Unknown
This
is a cute poem to greet parents with on the first day of school.
Type it up small enough, and print or copy it onto green paper. Then
cut out around each poem in the shape of a leaf. Attach to a real
or artificial apple.
New
New
school
New
teacher
New
friends
New
books
I feel
new too.
Do you?
~ Author
Unknown
Books
I like
books
Big
books
Little
books
Happy
books
Sad
books
Books
with pictures
Books
with words
I like
books
~ GailSara
Good Morning
Good
morning, good morning!
School
has begun.
Good
morning, good morning!
Isn't
it fun!
Pencils
and crayons
Scissors
and glue
Erasers
and paper
Reading
books, too.
Good
morning, good morning!
School
has begun.
Good
morning, good morning!
Isn't
it fun!
~ Author
Unknown
poem:
The
leaves are falling
One
by one.
Summer's
over
School's
begun.
~ Author
Unknown
School Days
Wake
up! Get dressed!
Catch
the bus!
School
has started for
All
of us.
~ Author
Unknown
My First Day
See
me skip, see me run
I’m
going to school like everyone.
See
me smile, see me grin,
When
the bell rings, I'll walk in.
I'm
in kindergarten
My first
day!
~ Author
Unknown
School Tools
Crayons
are for drawing
Coloring
bees, bats, and bugs
Not
for coloring on things like
Desks,
walls, or rugs.
Scissors
are for cutting, snipping
Paper
with care.
Not
for cutting your clothes or your
Neighbor’s
hair.
Pencils
are for writing
Scribbling
names and numbers, too.
Not
for throwing, poking, banging, or
For
you to chew.
~ Author
Unknown
School
I go
to school
And
what do I see?
I see
friends
And
they see me.
~ Author
Unknown
School Time
School
is here again.
Summer's
at an end.
See
me work and play,
On an
autumn day.
~ Author
Unknown
A Circle of Friends
We've
joined together as classmates
as the
new year begins...
A year
full of learning
while
we become friends.
We'll
share and be kind
as we
work and play.
And
our friendship will grow
with
each passing day.
~ Author
Unknown
August
It is
August
It is
August
Back
to School
Back
to School
Pencils,
books and folders
Crayons,
glue and markers
School
time
School
time
~ Author
Unknown
When I Was Real Little
When
I was real little,
I
played with my toys.
And
could not go to school,
With
the big girls and boys.
I waited
and wondered,
Just
when I would grow.
School
seemed so exciting,
When
could I go?
I asked
and kept asking,
Till
Mom said next year.
And
now I'm so happy,
Next
year is here!
~ Author
Unknown
School Days
The
alarm clock rings,
You
open your eyes.
The
day begins,
You
have to rise.
Brush
your teeth,
Comb
your hair.
Brand
new things
For
you to wear.
Look
both ways
As you
cross the street.
Get
on the bus
And
find a seat.
Today
is the day
That
school begins
You
can hardly wait
To meet your friends.
~ Author
Unknown
Welcome
Welcome,
children.
I'm
happy you're here.
We're
all going to have
A wonderful
year.
We'll
read
And
we'll write
And
we'll sing
And
we'll play.
We'll
build
And
we'll paint
And
learn new things
Each
day.
~ Author
Unknown
First Day
Shiny,
sharpened pencils,
Desks
all in a row.
It's
the first day of school and
I don't
want to go.
A very
different teacher,
With
a strange sounding name.
I want
my last year's teacher -
Things
will never be the same!
I remember
all the things we learned,
And
all the things we made.
The
truth is, if you want to know,
I'm
really afraid.
~ Author
Unknown
Start the Day With
a Smile
This
is the way we start the day
Start
the day, start the day,
This
is the way we start the day,
So early
in the morning.
First
we smile and shake a hand,
Shake
a hand, shake a hand,
First
we smile and shake a hand,
So early
in the morning.
Then
we sit down quietly,
Quietly,
quietly,
Then
we sit down quietly,
So early
in the morning.
We listen
very carefully,
Carefully,
carefully,
We listen
very carefully,
So early
in the morning.
~ Author
Unknown
Friends
Friends
at school
Are
big and small.
Friends
at school
Are
best of all!
~ Author
Unknown
*Note:
I titled the poem
ABC Chant
A -
B - CDE (Teacher)
A -
B - CDE (Students)
Grade
One is where I want to be. (Teacher)
Grade
One is where I want to be. (Students)
F -
G - HIJ
Learning
to read and write each day.
K -
L - MNO
Many
boys and girls we know
P -
Q - RST
Sharing
books with you and me.
U -
V - WXY
Now
it's time to say good-bye
Z -
Z - ZZZ
Grade
One is where I want to be.
~ Author
Unknown
Chant:
A -
B - C - D - E
First
grade is the place to be.
F -
G - H - I - J
We do
our best every day.
K -
L - M - N - O
Reading,
writing, watch us grow.
P -
Q - R - S - T
Adding
numbers 1,2,3.
U -
V - W - X - Y
It's
our goal to try, try, try.
We finish
with the letter Z
School
is cool, don't you agree????
~ Author
Unknown
Today
I hurry off to school,
To work
and learn and play.
I'm
in a brand new grade this year.
What
a happy day!
~ Author
Unknown
First Day of Kindergarten
Every
one has a "first day"
when
they feel sad and all alone,
It can
be so scary
when
you're out on your own.
And
I know that a "first day"
can
be full doubts and fears,
But
they're full of new beginnings.
Take
my hankie, dry your tears.
You'll
find lots of things to do
and
you'll probably make new friends.
I promise
we'll be together
when
the school day ends.
Here
comes the teacher
blow
your nose and be brave.
Come
on now and wipe your eyes,
this
is no way to behave.
Well
good morning teacher.
We really
must beg your pardon.
No,
MOMMY doesn't always act this way,
But
it's my first day of ...KINDERGARTEN!
~ Author
Unknown
Songs
School Rules
(tune:
“Old McDonald")
All our
schools have sets of rules
We must
learn and obey
Keep
them close to our hearts--obey them everyday
With
a kindness here---a kindness there---here a kindness---there a kindness,
everywhere
an act of kindness.
All
our schools have sets of rules
We must
learn and obey
A shh,
shh here, a shh, shh there---here a shh, there a shh, everywhere a shh,
shh
We must
learn and obey
Just for fun!: Teach
your students this fun song. After they learn the song, provide them
with a “blob” of red construction paper ketchup to add to their body parts
as they sing. My students LOVE this song. :)
“Fries
and Ketchup”
Tune:
Allouette
Chorus
Fries
and ketchup, I like fries and ketchup
Fries
and ketchup, they’re so good for me.
First,
you put them on your nose,
Yes,
you put them on your nose,
On your
nose, on your nose, ooooh.
Chorus
Next
you put them on your ________,
(continue
singing and add in different body parts for each verse)
Of course,
the proper ending for this song would be to have fries and ketchup as a
snack!
I Like To Go To School
(tune:
Farmer in the Dell)
I like
to go to school.
I like
to go to school.
Heigh-ho-the-derry-oh,
I like
to go to school.
I like
to sing new songs.
I like
to sing new songs.
Heigh-ho-the-derry-oh,
I like
to sing new songs.
I like
to play with friends.
I like
to play with friends.
Heigh-ho-the-derry-oh,
I like
to play with friends.
~ Author
Unknown
A Sharing Song
(tune:
Looby Loo)
Chorus:
Sharing
is nice for you.
Sharing
is nice for me.
Sharing
is the thing to do.
See
how polite you can be.
Verse
One:
When
there's a treat for one,
But
you and a friend make two,
Just
share that treat,
So both
can eat.
It's
not so hard to do.
Repeat
Chorus.
Verse
Two:
When
friends go out to play,
And
both want the same toy,
Just
take a turn,
And
you will learn
That
sharing's quite a joy.
~ Author
Unknown
Name on Your Paper
Song:
(tune:
If You're Happy and You Know It)
The first
thing on the paper is my name.
The
first thing on the paper is my name.
The
teacher needs to know,
Who
did this work and so,
The
first thing on the paper is my name.
~ Author
Unknown
Here In The Classroom
(tune:
Up On the Housetop)
Here
in the classroom where we play,
We work
hard right here each day.
Working
together happily,
Come
and see us and you'll see.
We have
fun, we all play,
Work
and learn right here each day.
Here
in the classroom we all play,
Working
together every day.
~ Mary
Flynn
From
the Songs 4 Teachers Theme
Unit "All About School"
Our Classroom
(tune:
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)
Our classroom
is where we will learn and ~
Our
classroom is the place to be.
Our
classroom has friends and a teacher,
This
classroom is perfect for me!
I'm at
school now,
To play
and to learn things each day, each day.
I'm
at school now,
To hear
what the teacher will say.
I bought
all my pencils and crayons ~
And
markers I got at the store.
I got
some new clothes and a backpack,
And
I know what all this is for!
'Cause
I'm at school now,
The
summer time went by so fast, so fast.
I'm
at school now,
I'm
glad that it's school time at last!
~ Mary
Flynn
Time For School
(tune:
Sing a Song of Sixpence)
When
the summer's over,
It's
time to come to school.
I will
sit right down
And
listen to the rules.
I am
happy being in my brand new class.
With
my teacher and my friends,
it's
time for school at last!
~ Mary
Flynn
From
the Songs 4 Teachers Theme
Unit "All About School"
The Twelve Days of
School
(tune:
The Twelve Days of Christmas)
On the
first day of school my teacher
gave
to me a book of the ABC's
2nd Day-
2 Bouncy balls
3rd day-
3 color crayons
4th day-
4 paint brushes
5th Day-
5 shiny apples
6th day-
6 toy puppets
7th Day-
7 new pencils
8th Day-
8 wooden puzzles
9th Day-
9 pair of scissors
10th
Day- 10 baby dolls
11th
Day- 11 counting bears
12th
Day- 12 wooden toys
Activities
Time Capsules: On the first or second day of school,
help your students to make a time capsule. Have them
decorate an envelope or some other container that will hold their
mementoes. Include in the container a digital photo of them,
a tracing of their hand and shoe print, and a measurement of their
height using string, yarn or calculator tape. Then using either
dictation, writing, or recording have them complete a
questionnaire about personal info such as friends, favorite color,
foods, favorite subject, favorite thing about school, what they
think the year will be like, etc. Include the questionnaire
in the capsule, making sure to include a place on the container
for name and date. Then store these away inside a closet or
tub and before taking them out on the last day of school, have the
students complete the same questionnaire again. Then have
them open their time capsule; explore the contents and analyze and
discuss the differences.
Kindergarten School
Count Down Calendars: A couple of weeks before school starts,
you can send out Learn About School Count Down Calendars. It is a cardboard
picture of a bus, with windows and doors that open to provide information
about starting kindergarten; similar to an advent calendar. There
are 14 spots to open for the two weeks prior to school. They also have
a page translated to Spanish if needed. If you just order one
the cost is $5.99, but for 12 or more it is $2.59. These can be ordered
from:
Gumdrops
for Breakfast
10 Strathmore
Road
Wakefield,
MA 01880
Phone
(781) 245-2143
It is
a small home based operation. The buses can also be personalized for $0.15
each.
“At School We Learn
About …” book:
Page
1--At school we learn about colors. (pictures of crayons on this page)
2--At school we learn about letters. (letters scattered about on the
page)
3--At school we learn about numbers. (numbers scattered about on
the page)
4--At school we learn about shapes. (shapes on the page)
5--At school we learn about animals. (animals on the page, a bear,
dinosaur, frog, etc.)
6--At school we learn about plants. (tree, flower, vine on page)
7--At school we learn about people. (Santa Claus, Pilgrims, Indians,
etc. on the page)
8--At school we learn about places. (farm, circus, zoo, rainforest)
You can
make your book as long or as short as you’d like, changing the pages to
fit your needs.
"The First Days of
School" book: Modeled after “The 12 Days of Christmas”. You
do a new page each day. Have the text already typed on the pages
for them, and they add the “stuff” ….
On the
first day of school, my teacher gave to me, a hug and a pat on the back.
(add an appropriate picture or have them draw one)
2
candy kisses (Give them two Kisses shapes cut from aluminum foil and
a small strip of paper
to glue on and of course 2 Kisses to eat while they work! :)
)
3
Fruit Loops (give them 3 Fruit Loops to glue on and some extras to eat
while working)
4
silver paperclips
5
yummy M&Ms
6
new friends (provide the students with a list of typed names of their classmates,
have them
choose 6 names to cut out and add to their page)
7
smiling faces (cut from the Ellison machine or smiley face stickers)
8
little flowers (cut from the Ellison machine)
9
beautiful buttons
10 shiny
stars (stickers)
11 colorful
crayons (Provide them with a page of crayon shapes with color words on
them. Have them color them the correct color, cut them out, and glue
them into their book.)
12 tiny
apples (cut from the Ellison machine)
Welcome To My Class!:
Send the following items and messages home in a decorated bag with each
student the first day of school.
You're
a star in my class! (attach a Starburst)
You're
going to learn so much in school this year! (attach Smarties)
We all
need hugs now and then,
If you
need one, let me know! (attach Hershey's Hug)
Remember,
it's OK to make mistakes
That's
how we learn! (attach an eraser)
I'm nuts
about you! (attach a peanut)
Welcome Bags: Place
the items described below in a brown lunch bag and include this handout:
The
items in this bag have special meaning:
The
cotton ball is to remind you that this room is full of kind words and warm
feelings.
The
chocolate kiss is to comfort you when you are feeling sad.
The
tissue is to remind you to help dry someone's tears.
The
sticker is to remind you that we all stick together and help each other.
The
star is to remind you to shine and always try your best.
The
gold thread is to remind you that friendship ties our hearts together.
The
rubber band is to remind you to hug someone.
The
penny is to remind you that you are valuable and special.
The
toothpick is to remind you to "pick out" the good qualities in your classmates.
The
bandage is to heal hurt feelings in your friends and in yourself.
The
eraser is to remind you that we all make mistakes, and that is O.K.
The
life saver is to remind you that you can come to me if you need someone
to talk to.
Getting to Know You!:
A sackful of fun! Give each child a paper sack to take home. Tell the children
to fill their sacks with objects that tell something about themselves.
For example, crayons might say, "I like to draw and do other types of art,"
and a tennis ball says, "I'm a good tennis player." On the day the
children bring their filled sacks to school, give them a chance to share
their sacks' contents with the class. Students love knowing about their
teachers, too, so go ahead and take your own turn. It might be a good idea
to prepare your sack so you may share it with the children on the day you
pass out their empty sacks. This will help in getting the idea across
to the kids.
I don’t
know where this idea came from, but I did it a couple of years ago.
I fixed my sack first and included things about my daughter, my pet, etc.
The last thing out of my sack was a bottle of red fingernail polish.
I pulled off one of my shoes and told them that I loved to paint my toenails
red and showed them my toes! This was definitely an icebreaker, and
it helped to give the kids ideas of what they could put in their sacks.
Beginning of the Year
Addition: This activity was posted on the ‘net and can also
be used for taking attendance. You’ll need a tree large enough to
hold an apple cutout for each student and some way to attach the apple
to the tree (such as velcro). Put each boy’s name on one color apple
(red, yellow, green) and the girls’ names go on another color apple.
(You’re only going to use two colors) When each student arrives to school,
it is their 'job' to get their apple and place it on a chart. The
chart is in a horizontal line with boy apples on top and girl apples on
the bottom. (If the apples are small enough, you could use a pocketchart
for this)
Example
R= red apples (boys) Y= yellow apples (girls)
10 R R R R R R R R R R
+
7 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
------
17
During
the morning meetings/circle time/group time, a student counts the row of
red and yellow apples and writes the numeral in front of each row. (If
you’re using a pocketchart, they can choose the correct number card to
put in the chart.) Then count how many in all? By starting
this the first day of school, of course the teacher will have to model
this until the students begin to catch on.
Another Just for fun!
activity: Have your students tell you how to make a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich. Follow their directions Amelia Bedelia
style! What a lot of laughs! Afterwards, everyone can fix their
own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They could even do this with
a partner and see if they do any better giving directions the second time
around. Warning! Be sure to check for peanut allergies before
you try this with your students.
First Day of School
Activity: Make giant monster footprints from construction
paper and have them leading around your room to the different Centers.
Then mess the centers up. When the students arrive read the book:
Monster’s First Day at School Afterwards, tell them that a pretend
monster must have visited their classroom! This is a good way to
introduce to them how the Centers are NOT to look! Then you can show
them how they’re supposed to look.
Read The Blanket
That Had to Go! on the first day of school and provide
each student a small scrap of blue flannel to keep in their pocket.
This can be a reminder for them to use when retelling the story to their
parents.
I Can Make a Book: Reproducible
in Worksheet Magazine Grade 1 Sept/Oct 1990
Activity Sheets:
School Days Long Ago reproducibles from SCHOOLDAYS, Sept/Oct 1986
(In case you happen to have access to an archives of teacher reproducibles
like we do at our school.)
School Supply List:
In the past, I’ve sent a copy of the next year’s supply list home with
the students’ end of the year report cards. My justification was
that I was giving the parents the whole summer to pick up their school
supplies, therefore not causing a money crunch at the beginning of the
school year. However, it seemed that the parents never kept up with
the supply lists, and I had to supply them again at the beginning of the
year. This year, I intend on sending a welcome letter to each student,
and in with the letter will be the supply list. I’ve finally come
to realize, that the beginning of the year is THE time to get whatever
is needed, including parent conferences. It seems as the year wears
on, the interest of some of the parents tends to wear out.
Welcome Letter/Postcard:
For the last several years, I’ve sent a postcard to my students a few days
before school started to welcome them to, or back to, my class. (I
teach SPED K-2 so I have my students several years.) The first or
second year I did this, I had a little girl’s aunt come up to me the first
day of school. She asked me if I was “the one” that sent her
niece the postcard. I told her that I did, and she told me that the
little girl had slept with the postcard every night since she got it.
It was probably the first thing the little girl had ever gotten in the
mail. Ever since then, I’ve made it mandatory that I send some form
of welcoming letter to my students.
The next
year after that story happened, I had a case worker tell me that one of
her clients received one of my postcards and that his family was so proud
of it that they put it up on the mantel. Their son had some behavior
issues, and she said that the postcard made his family feel that it was
OK that school was starting back again because someone was looking forward
to having their son in their class. If we only knew how some of the
little things we do affect others in a major way.
Anyway,
this year I’m sending a welcome letter instead of a postcard along with
the school supply list. Another year, about middle of the summer,
I sent a letter along with the shoe tying poems to all my future students.
I told them that we were going to have a shoe tying contest on the first
day of school. Every one that could tie their shoe got their name
put on a laminated sneaker (made from a notepad) and then the sneakers
were added as the shoes on a huge caterpillar on our wall. Then as
students learned how to tie their shoes, their names were added to a shoe.
Makes a cute caterpillar!
School Starts Today!
Name Tag Reproducible: There’s a page with a bus, a car,
and a sneaker on the page, with a place to write the student’s name on
each. This goes with a great idea that they gave on pinning one of
these to each student according to how they would return home. Bus
riders got the bus, walkers got the sneaker, and pick-ups got the car.
They also suggested making a big poster of the 3 graphics as well.
Each student’s name would be added to one of the 3 posters according to
how they would return home. (The posters and the student’s name tag
should match) Then the teacher could tell at a glance who should
be lining up where! This idea and reproducible came from: SCHOOLDAYS
Sept/Oct 1987
Making New Friends:
There’s a reproducible in the SCHOOLDAYS Sept/Oct 1987 for this called
“My Friends.” However, you could easily make your own activity sheet
for it. Using a graphics program, make a page with 9 activities (or
however many you can get on a page) that children like to do, with 2 lines
under each picture. Some of the graphics could be swimming, playing
ball, a dog, a bike, a book, at the beach, flying a kite, a cat, mountains,
etc. Provide each student with a copy, then have them go around to
their new friends and get them to sign their name under the pictures of
the things that they like to do. Instant ice-breaker and good for
name practice as well.
Teaching Tools:
Using a graphics program, design an activity sheet with a chalkboard at
the bottom of the page. On the chalkboard, write the words: eraser,
pencil, scissors, chalk, grade book, ruler, pen, charts, maps, books, paper,
computer. Above the chalkboard, number the page to 12 (two columns).
Beside each number type a word from the list, but scramble the letters.
Next to the word, put a line for the students to write the unscrambled
word on. This would be a good first day of school activity for 2nd
graders. You can find a similar reproducible at May Monthly Activities,
Teacher Created Materials 1989.
Writing Activity:
Supply each student with half a sheet of writing paper with the sentence
starter: I like school because … Before distributing them to
the students, staple a red apple. Ellison die-cuts are perfect for
this. These can be displayed as an instant bulletin board as
well.
Student Questionaire:
The reproducible can be found in the September, Teacher’s Friend.
1. What
do you like most about school?
2. What
do you like to do in your spare time?
3. What
are some things you know a lot about?
4. What
kinds of books do you like most?
5. What
are some things about which you would like to know more?
6. What
interesting places have you visited?
7. What
are some places you would like to visit?
8. If
you could be a famous person, who would you be?
9. Do
you like music? What kind?
10.
What are you good at in school?
11.
What do you think you might need extra help with in school?
12.
What is your favorite:
food
_________
color
_________
TV show
_________
sport
_________
place
_________
movie
________
13.
Who is your favorite celebrity?
14.
Who is your favorite friend?
15.
Complete these sentences:
I am
happiest when ____________.
I am
saddiest when ____________.
Bry-back Manor:
Activity
page 104 Fill the Bookbag
http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag104.html
Activity
page 160 Back to School Patterns
http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag160.html
Activity
Page 105 Which Way to School? (maze)
http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag105.html
The First Day of School
Class Book: This is a shape book and can be a school house,
an apple, a bus, etc. Each student will complete a page with the
sentence starter: Today is the first day of ___ Grade. I want
to learn all about …. The pages are then compiled into a class book.
Class Pledge:
My Promise
Each
day I'll do my best,
And
I won't do any less.
My work
will always please me,
And
I won't accept a mess.
I'll
color very carefully,
My writing
will be neat.
And
I simply won't be happy
"Til
my papers are complete.
I'll
always do my homework,
And
I'll try on every test.
And
I won't forget my promise--
To do
my very best!
Who Am I? Class Book:
Have each student write or dictate 3 clues about themselves onto a page.
The last line of everyone’s page should be: Who am I? For example:
I have
blonde hair.
I am
a girl.
My favorite
movie is The Little Mermaid.
Who
am I?
On the
back of each page, place a photo of the student along with their name.
Compile all the pages together to form a class book.
Giving Tree:
Have a wish list for your classroom a mile long and no funding to achieve
it with? You might consider creating a Giving Tree outside your classroom
door or somewhere inside your classroom where parents frequent. Make
a large tree from bulletin board paper and tape it securely to the wall.
Write each item from your wish list on a separate apple cut-out.
Tape the apples to the tree. Introduce the tree at Open House or
in a newsletter. Explain to the parents that if they’d like to donate
items on the tree, to remove the apple, purchase the item, and return it
to the classroom. Be sure to send thank-you notes to all parents
who donate. If you do a newsletter, then you can thank them there,
and hopefully it will spur more donations from other parents. Everyone
likes to see their name in lights!
Pocketchart Activity:
I’m
here at school
And
you are too!
My name
is ______.
How
old are you?
Write
each sentence on a sentence strip and write each student’s name on an index
to be placed in the blank. Make a second set of sentence strips to
cut up so that the students can match the words to the text. If you
alternate the sentence strip colors for each line, and then make your second
set to match, it makes it a little easier for the students to match them
up. If you need a visual, you can look at the Chocolate Bunny poem
picture on the Easter page.
Discipline Chart:
I’m going to use this idea this year for my Discipline Chart if I can find
the tree pocketchart. You’ll need one of the new tree shaped pocketcharts.
Cut out enough apples using the Ellison machine so that you’ll have one
per student. Label each apple with a student’s name; laminate.
Each strip/row of the tree will be a different rung on the discipline ladder.
Each student will start out the day in the top row of the tree. As
their behavior deteriorates during the day, their apple will be moved down
the tree. Fall off the tree and you’re heading for the office!
I haven’t sat down and figured out yet exactly what my consequences will
be or if I even need that many levels. Normally there are 10 rows on pocketchart.
I think this last year I only used 8 levels, so I could use the first two
rows for the beginning of the day or Excellent Behavior. Then my
discipline chart went to: Warning, Warning, Lose ½ Recess, Lose
Whole Recess, Parent Contact, Time Out, Possible Office Referral.
You’d probably also need a small card on row stating the consequence for
being at that level. You could use this same idea with a regular
pocketchart.
| This
is the Discipline Chart I used last year. The larger apples at the
beginning of each row states the consequence. |
|
|
This
past year I used this same format, but I used a huge ice cream cone.
Each scoop on the cone had a different consequence and each scoop was a
different color. The children’s names were each on a “cherry”.
Everyone started out on the top scoop and worked their way down.
I put the cone up on the side of a storage cabinet and the “cherries” were
attached with magnets so they could be moved up and down easily.
School
Students
can then write their own school poem using the following frame.
I Like
School
I like
school.
I ___________________________
I ___________________________
and
play.
I like
school.
I learn
new things
each day.
I like
school.
I _______________________
I________________________
and
run.
I like
school.
It's great
to have
such fun!
Who’s Turn Is It?:
A
few years ago I read about this idea on the ‘net and it works like a charm.
You know you’re always going to have at least one student in your class
who insists that they NEVER get a turn, although you know they have.
This little trick nips that in the bud! Paint and/or decorate a soup
can. Write the name of each of your students on one end of a craft
stick with a Sharpie marker. Color the other end (both sides) with
a permanent marker. Put all the sticks with the name side up in the
can. When you need to call on a student, simply pick one of the sticks
out of the can and call on the student who’s name is on the stick.
Then return the stick to the can, but put the name side down, with the
colored end up. By coloring that end of the stick, it will save you
time when choosing a stick to pull out. You’ll know NOT to choose
a stick with the colored end up. No more whining! When everyone’s
had a turn, simply reverse all the sticks and start again.
Math Pocketchart Activity:
For
my students who are working on number concepts to 10, I like to keep up
a pocketchart activity for them to use. Usually the activity coordinates
with whatever theme /unit that we're working on . You can easily
make a Back to School numbers activity if you have access to an Ellison
machine. Cut (5) 3x5 index cards in half and program with the numbers 1
- 10. Using the Ellison machine die-cuts, cut out 55 dies.
I know they have a girl, a boy, a crayon, a crayon box, an apple
and a school house.
Line
the numbers up in random order at the left edge of the pocketchart, vertically.
Have the students count out the correct number of dies and place them in
the row beside the number. An alternate activity would be to place
the die-cuts in the rows and have the studens count them and place the
correct numbers in the pocketchart.
Open House: Have
your students copy the text to make invitations to Open House. The
invitations can be in letter or card format. After copying the information,
they can decorate the invitation or complete an art project on it such
as a torn paper apple. (Torn paper apple: give them an apple outline
and have them fill in the apple by glueing on small pieces of torn red
paper. Add a green stem and leaf.) If you include in the invitation
that refreshments will be served or door prizes will be given, you'll probably
have a better response. If you say you're going to give away LOTS
of money, success is guaranteed. :) And since the students made the
invitation themselves, they're more apt to see that their parents receive
it instead of just leaving it in their bookbag to be found weeks later.
Next,
have the students create this life-size self portrait. If you tell
them they can take it home after Open House, then they'll want to come
and hopefully bug their parents to come. :) Have each student lay
down on a piece of butcher paper. Trace around their body with a
pencil. Have the students cut out the body shape and color it to
look like themselves. At the end of the day, sit each "paper person"
in that student's chair at their desk/table. If the heads don't want
to stay up, you may have to use something such as a ruler or dowel taped
to the chair, and then tape the head to the brace. Push the chairs
up to the table/desk and position the arms there. When you're finished
and all the children have gone, you'll still have a whole class of "students"
there waiting for Open House! This is really cute when finished and
the students are excited about getting to take "themselves" home.
Classroom Rules:
I
can't remember, but I think someone posted this story as an introduction
to making their classroom rules. If not, then it can be used for
that.
When
Andy got on the bus on the first day of school, he saw a monster! Andy
was very surprised. He did not know that monsters were allowed to go to
school. But there the monster was. It was making all kinds of noise and
would not sit down. It climbed on the seats and put its head out the window.
It took up so much room that Andy had no place to sit.
"Wow, that monster sure is noisy! I'll bet it isn't even supposed to be
here," Andy whispered to Vivian.
But Andy's teacher was not at al surprised to see the monster enter the
classroom. It pushed ahead of everyone, grabbed a box of toys, and dumped
them on the floor. When Andy and the other children sat at their places,
the monster started to throw the toys.
"Stop that!" said the teacher. "Even monsters are not allowed to throw
toys."
The monster dropped the toys and stared screaming. It screamed so loudly
that no one could hear the teacher.
"Be quiet!" the teacher finally said. The monster stopped screaming, and
the teacher said, "It is time to play outside."
Everyone stood up and walked to the door- everyone except the monster.
It ran out the door without waiting for directions.
Outside, the monster continued to behave like a monster. It pushed some
children and took toys from others. It climbed up the slide the wrong way
and sat at the top so no one else could slide down.
When the students returned to the classroom, the teacher tried to read
them a story. But the monster shouted and laughed, and no one could hear.
Then it pulled the toys off the shelves again. It just would not listen!
At lunchtime, the monster grabbed other people's sandwiches. It dropped
food on the floor and spilled milk. Later, when it was time to paint, the
monster ran around the room painting big, black lines on the children's
paintings! When the children formed a circle and tried to sing, the monster
jumped around and stepped on their toes. It pounded on the piano until
the teacher had to close it. At rest time, the monster laughed and talked
and poked the children.
"Come here!" said the teacher, who was finally very angry. "You are a real
monster! Monsters are not allowed in school. Go away and never come back."
And do you know what happened? The monster burst into tears! Everyone was
astonished.
"I'm sorry!" cried the monster. "I've never been to school before. I did
not know it was against the rules to shout and run and push, or to grab
and throw things. Please don't tell me I can't come back! I will try to
learn if you will help me."
The teacher asked the children what they thought. The children decided
to make a list of rules. They would let the monster stay-if it followed
the rules. The monster worked hard to learn how to behave, and soon it
knew all the rules, just the way all the children did.
1. What
did the monster do wrong on the bus?
2. What
did the monster do wrong outside?
3. What
did the monster do wrong in the classroom?
4. What
rules could the children make so that the monster would know how to
behave
properly?
~ Author
Unknown
Will I Have a Friend?:
Read this book with the class, then have the children divide into pairs.
Photograph each pair of students and add it to a page with the sentence:
____ and ____ are friends. Add a cover and bind into a class book
with the title "I Have a Friend".
See You Later Alligator!:
I'm going to post these by my classroom door to use. My kids will
love them! :) Don't know how far down the list we'll get though.
See you
later, alligator.
In a
while, crocodile.
Bye-bye,
butterfly.
Give
a hug, ladybug.
Take
care, polar bear.
See
you soon, raccoon.
Out
the door, dinosaur.
To your
house, little mouse.
Other
possibilities:
Not too
soon, you big baboon. (we'd probably skip this one :) )
In a
blizzard, little lizard.
In a
shake, garter snake.
Time
to scoot, warty newt.
Don't
meander, salamander.
Hit
the road, hoppy toad.
Bye-bye,
butterfly.
Be sweet,
parakeet.
Give
a hug, ladybug.
See
you soon, raccoon.
Out
the door, dinosaur.
Stay
well, gazelle
Not
now brown cow
'Till
then penguin
To your
house, mouse
Manana
Iguana
Take
care, polar bear.
Give
a kiss, jellyfish,
Take
a bow, brown cow
So long,
King Kong.
Toodle-oo,
kangaroo.
Come
back and play another day.
Bye bye
butterfly.
See
you soon raccoon.
In awhile
crocodile .
Toodaloo
kangaroo.
Out
the door dinosaur.
In a
line, porcupine.
To the
bus octopus.
Finally
at your house, mouse!
Guess Who?:
Each day, put one student's name (mixed-up) on a magnetic surface using
magnetic letters. Have the students see if they can figure out who's
name it is before Morning Meeting/Circle Time. Once someone guesses
the correct answer, have that student come up and put the letters in the
correct order. Then use their name to reinforce letter identification.
Daily Graphing
Questions: I'm incorporating into my Morning Meeting a daily graphing
question in addition to daily graphing the weather. I've found out that my
students need to see these concepts very frequently, instead of monthly after
"mastery". So I'm creating lists of daily graphing questions to use for
those units that I'll be teaching. And someone just shared with me that
they have a few of their students explain "why" they answered as they did
because one of their objectives is to explain their opinion. I know that
in our 2nd grade benchmarks, they're also asked to explain their answers in
writing in Math, so this would be a good introduction to meeting that benchmark.
Questions:
1 - How did you get to
school? bus car walk
bicycle
2 - What do you like best,
recess or lunch?
3 - Do you like to read,
write, or do math the best?
4 - Which color crayon to
you like the best? red, yellow, blue, green, orange
5 - How many boys are in our
class? How many girls?
6 - How many letters in your
first name?
7 - How many letters in your
last name?
8 - Do you like your name?
yes no
9 - Do you like school?
yes no sometimes
10 - Did you want school to
start back? yes no
11 - Are you left handed or
right handed?
12 - Can you read? yes
no (this question should also give you some insight to the child)
13 - Do you like books?
yes no
14 - Who's your favorite
teacher?
15 - How many pencils are in
your pencil box?
16 - Did you eat breakfast
this morning? yes no
17 - Where did you eat
breakfast this morning? home school didn't eat
