Top 10 Back to School Tips: Tip #1 Know Your Muffins!

Us teachers all know that getting to know your muffins is one of the most important aspects of classroom management in the first days of school!  I can't believe I'm writing about the first days of school right now when mine is a month away still but I want to support all those that are starting soon!  Here is a little funny my mom sent me that got me laughing!!  Hope this brings a smile to your day!

SO anyways - here are my Top 10!

1. NAME GAMES!!!  Me: I'm Miss Nutini, who are you? Student: I am __________, how do you do?  Me: Why thank you for asking!!  You look very nice today in your new shirt!!  Glad you are in our class!!  Repeat!  AND OF COURSE - Who Stole the Cookies?  My kids cannot get enough of this old faithful!

2. Keep it simple - make sure all activities are easily doable!!  Kids are just as nervous as you and they want to feel happy that they can do what you want them to do!!

3. Feed THEM!  No, I am serious!  Ever heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach....well...the door to your students' hearts is CANDY - shameless I know but a little treat to keep them sweet can't hurt or a little cookie icing activity can only make things light hearted and fun AS WELL as feed their overloaded, summer addled brains!

4.  Ask questions about each of their family members.  Mention if you have taught one or more of their siblings.  Try to remember names of siblings, parents and dogs!!  This simple task is an amazing rapport builder!

5.  Keep those parents happy and involved.  Open the conversation and keep it a-flowing.  I always say to my parents to come in and contact me anytime.  I say, "Please come to me with any questions or concerns anytime!"

6.  Plck a really, and I mean, REALLY FUNNY, FUN opening story!!  This will get the kids laughing and set a really great tone for the year!!  Sitting on the Farm by Bob King is such a fun audience join-along book that my students have always enjoyed!

7. Show them where the bathroom, washroom, restroom is located!  This will alleviate a lot of anxiety!!

8. FEED THEM!! - I know I said this already but it is so true!  Give them lots of time to properly eat their snacks!!!  I give them at least 10 minutes to sit at their desks and eat their snacks before we go out for recess.  This routine sometimes lasts one to two weeks!!

9.  Go through their backpacks at recess time/lunch time!!  I'M SERIOUS!!  LOL!!  You will be amazed at what school supplies/important notes, etc. are tucked away in that sweet little muffin's shiny new backpack!!  This will save you time and energy reading notes, talking to parents ect. wondering where school supplies are, figuring out who is going home and when, etc.!  It is worth it!!!  This also can last the whole first week or two.

10.  Try to be prepared enough for the week that you can leave the school early!!!  This will save your sanity and your health!!  Nothing worse than being sick during the first month of school!!!  How many muffins develop stomach aches and limps when you are away!!!  Be good to yourself please!!

If you need a little more help you can find a lot of these ideas and more in my Getting to Know You back to school kit!!  Check it out by clicking below!!

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You...

I wanted to do something creative and cute for my classroom brag wall this year.  I found this amazing idea on pinterest.com so I decided to follow the steps provided by Rebecca at Create Share Inspire!  These are what hers look like.

Here are what mine turned out like:)  They are a little rustic but I LOVE them!!!  I am lucky they actually came together!  When I first bought the balsa wood I put it on the roof of my car as I was loading my other purchases in and totally forgot about the wood!  When I went to look for it and it was missing, I put 2 and 2 together and made a trip back to Michael's.  There was my lovely balsa wood in the middle of the road covered with tread marks!!!  Sigh!!  Back to school brain strikes again.  So I made these with my second batch of balsa.

Here is the full bulletin board!  Once everything was all ready to go, I couldn't wait to put up my students' work!  You can download a free copy of the "Our Writing" sign here.

Here is another fun game I made to have on hand in case there was a little extra free time.  It really helped my students practice printing their names correctly.  I had them print their name on the front and then read the greeting, "Hi! My name is __________.  I am your friend," to five different classmates.  Each classmate would sign their name and colour in a star very neatly, all the while, receiving encouragement from their friend.   Encouraging phrases included, "Great printing!" and "I love how you are staying in the lines!"

Also, if you are interested in this cute little Meet and Greet game and the sweet "I am..." self portrait printable you can check it out by clicking on the picture below!  Both printables are part of a whole bunch of back to school activities to practice skills, get to know your kiddies, and help them get to know each other!!  Although school has been in session awhile, it is never to late for some fun ole getting to know you activities!!

Singing: Getting to know you, getting to know all about you!!  Remind you of any wonderful movie?

You guessed it!!  Oh The King and I - brings back wonderful viewing memories!  Check out the size of that dress!!  The first two people to download the preview over at TpT and leave me a comment and your e-mail will get your own copy of my Getting to Know You kit!!

P.S. Check out my other blog - http://www.mywholebrainteachingblog.blogspot.ca for a new post that includes a Whole Brain Teaching lesson for back to school with a freebie from my Getting to Know You packet!