Back To School Ideas
A Simple Trick To Get Kids Excited For The First Day Of School
I think that if students count down the days til school starts, they have an opportunity to get excited.
It's also a "teachable moment" for parents to work on numbers, counting, and introducing a calendar or how to keep track of time.
A fun and inexpensive gift that helps you do that, that you can quickly make and pass out at your Open House is something that I just dreamed up.
Our Open House is the week before school starts, which is wonderful, because it gave me a chance to meet my students and help dispel any fears they might have.
Whip these kits together and toss the Baggies in a basket.
Set them on a table with A Special Gift For My Students Take One sign.
Click on the link to view/print one.
Making these "count down necklaces" help students count, use their fine motor skills, review all of the basic colors, follow a color pattern, + get excited about coming to school as they count down the days!
My Y5’s also had to learn to count backwards from 10-0 as a report card standard. (I call this blasting off.) This is simply another fun way of doing that.
What a nice keepsake for them to have of this special time in their life!
Here's how to make the necklace kits:
- In a snack Baggie include 10 pony beads (one of each of the following colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, brown and black) and an 18-inch length of white yarn.
- Tape the end into a point, with a piece of Scotch tape, so that it is easy for young ones to string their beads.
- Include the following poem:
Click on the link to print the back-to-school necklace poem.
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you think might be helpful to others.
Be sure and check back tomorrow for another easy countdown idea that not only nails report card standards, but helps get your students excited about school, as it chases away any anxiety first-timers may be feeling!
Do you have a back-to-school tip that you'd be willing to share with us? I'd enjoy hearing from you: diane@teachwithme.com
"A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn, is hammering on a cold iron." -Horace Mann
Last summer 123 Count With Me By The Sea launched with our website, to rave reviews.
Students enjoy counting the seashells and then X-ing off that many squares, putting in stickers, or dabbing the boxes with a bingo dot marker.
I have been using this bingo-dot concept with my Y5’s for over 10 years on skill sheets, as well as “find and circle the number in the sequence of numbers.” Both these techniques are fun ways for students to learn numbers.
As with the seashell booklet, many of my booklets also have a cut and glue the group/set of objects to the matching box in your booklet.
This helps reinforce counting, one-to-one correspondence, matching groups of objects and numbers, as well as having students refine their fine motor skills.
Several subscribers asked for more of these counting booklets as they cover a variety of standards, skills and subjects.
Students can do them independently in 5-8 minutes so they can be plugged in for Daily 5, centers, or something for students to work on, at their own pace, when they have completed other work.
They also make wonderful “Easy Readers” that help reinforce word wall words and build self-esteem.
You can also tuck them in a take home folder for “homework” or a home-school connection; or for parents to work on with a struggling child. They are perfect for a substitute as well.
I sat down to make a template and a list of all the themes for back-to-school and came up with apples, buses, crayons, and footballs.
I made 123 Count With Me booklets for each of them and plan to make at least 4 for every month.
October’s counting booklets will be leaves, pumpkins, bats, spiders and candy corn.
To celebrate the launch of the 123 Count With Me booklets I designed a special counting booklet that has a similar format.
It’s entitled: The Students On The Bus.
This one is more of a keepsake, because students glue their own photo on the first bus and then 14 of their friends’ school pictures on the next 4 buses.
Teachers simply print their class composite on the photo setting of their copier for each student.
The last page is made extra special as well, when the teacher glues their picture over the driver’s face before running it off.
Click on the link to view/print The Students On The Bus back-to-school booklet.
Why not become a subscriber and be able to download all of the 123 Count With Me booklets (There will be approximately 40!) Click on the link to see how.
Do you have a counting idea that works for you? I’d enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com
Remember…commenting or sharing an idea are 2 ways to enter our back-to-school-button bracelet CONTEST! Click on the link for all the details.
LIKE us on Facebook and link this article and then e-mail to let me know, and there you have another way! Thanks for participating.
This article will go towards next week's winner, which will be announced Monday August 8th instead of Friday the 5th.
Check out this week's winners in the article after this one.
Simple scroll down! (We had 3 winners!)
Be sure to pop in this week for back-to-school idea #28 and make an adorable Alligobbler to help your students understand the concepts of less than and greater than.
1-2-3 Count Up To 100-Day With Me!
I always like to repost the Zero The Hero packet (a super popular download) at the end of July, as teachers are thinking about back to school. It's a whopping 171 pages (!) and an oldie but goodie for "Throw Back Thursday".
I start keeping track of how many days we'd been in school that very first day. A counting up to 100-Day idea, that is a “must have” for me, is Zero The Hero. He is a fun vehicle for incorporating all sorts of math skills.
I designed an entire packet around Zero, including a friend named Zippy, who would allow teachers to toss in a little geography.
There just never seems to be enough time in the day for everything, and geography is one of those “things” that my students needed a bit more of.
Zippy is a quick, fun and easy solution, as he travels to places around the world that begin with the letters O and Z.
Celebrate every 10th day by making a page in your Zero the Hero book.
What a great keepsake to take home on 100 Day, and interesting way to learn how to count by 10's.
Students put 10 reinforcement holes on their number. (I use these instead of stickers because they are really inexpensive, but you could switch things up if you wanted to. )
This is a nice fine-motor and counting skill + each child will then have 100 “zero-stickers” in their booklet on the 100th Day of school when they complete their last page!
Students will also enjoy zipping around the world to interesting O and Z places with Zippy.
The passport is sure to be a huge hit, complete with travel and award stickers.
Included are: clue sheets, notes, and an
“I Wonder Where Zippy Is?” Guessing-Poster.
Students will have fun learning about the various places as they work with parents to find and bring in an interesting fact in their "home-school" connection assignment.
Follow up their adventures, by locating places on your classroom map.
Make a Zero the Hero count by 5’s slider and a Zippy count by 10’s slider to review skip counting and identify numbers.
Various activities reinforce a variety of report card standards and are sequential and repetitious, so that students know what to do.
Because of this, kids are empowered and are able to do these as independent center activities, which are great for Daily Five or other “no hassle” centers.
For example, on the 30th day of school, students bingo dot their skill sheet and then graph their cup of 30 Froot Loops. Afterwards, they can make a necklace out of the brightly colored cereal or eat it.
Students keep everything in a folder and have a wonderful keepsake to take home on the 100th day of school.
Click on the link to see sample pages from this 171-page unit and then download it.
What a fun way to count up to 100-Day while reinforcing a variety of report card standards! Zero the Hero packet For more fun ways to count up to 100 Day click on the link.
Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away.
I sent Welcome To School Packets to my Y5's the 3rd week of August. We don't start school in Michigan 'til the Tuesday after Labor Day. (Wahoo) for there's no air conditioning in my school. 
Here's what to do:- Keep your list short and simple.
- Think of the things you really want your students to be familiar with and write them down.
- Revamp your list.
- Type it up.
- Make it bulleted with hollow bullets so that students can either add a sticker or color in the dots as they "find things".
- My Y5's aren't familiar with the term scavenger hunt, but they know what a treasure hunt is, so I label this as a treasure hunt.
- Once they find all of the things on their check list, they can claim their treasure, which is a goodie bag from me. If the plastic supply boxes go on sale really cheap, I'll buy those and fill them.
- I fill treat bags or boxes in an assembly-line fashion, putting one of everything, one at a time, in each bag. It goes really fast that way.
- I always make at least 3 extra bags, for parents sometimes take them for a younger sibling even tho' I post a note that these are only for my students. I also have new students show up as well.
Make up an invitation to your open house and include information that their child will go on a treasure hunt to find things, like their locker, their teacher, their name on the bulletin board, their desk, cubbie, their open house-take-home packet etc.
You can have a basket of stickers and a basket of Treasure Hunt Check Lists on a table at your open house, or you can send them in the mail so they can look at them ahead of time and get excited with the perusal.
- I've done both. Parents have been very good about remembering to bring both check list and stickers with them and there was not a crowd waiting to pick things up, or wasting time reading things when they got here.
- I did have extra's there for the parents who did forget, or for the ones whose mail was returned.
- Positive feedback was so tremendous for this, and the students have enjoyed it so much, that I have continued to do a treasure hunt every year.
- In fact, most of the other elementary teachers in my school have also adopted my treasure hunt idea and done some type of scavenger hunt for their open houses as well.
- To give you an idea of what I have on my list, click on the link to view/print my letter, invitation and treasure hunt check list.
- You can use these things as a guideline to tweak and dream up your own. It's just nice to have a "skeleton" of "something" to jumpstart you in the right direction.
- Just a "heads-up": One of the most important things I added to my checklist was that little note after "check out our room"....but don't haul out and play with any of the tubs of toys..."
- I highly recommend you add that, especially if you plan on being in the hallway part of the time, like I was; greeting parents, talking, answering questions etc.
- My first year, I came back into the classroom to find it an utter disaster! Toys were everywhere and it took me 'til almost 11 at night to get everything cleaned up.
- I was in tears and exhausted driving home. That simple sentence has done the trick EVERY year since. My room was always ship shape from just that one gentle reminder.
Thanks for visiting. Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find helpful.
Do you have an activity that you do for Open House? I'd enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com or leave a comment here. Thanks in advance!
I hope you can stop by tomorrow for more back to school ideas.
"Use what talent you possess: The world would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." -Henry Van Dyke
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Silly...) So everyone can keep smiling!
Our principal required that each teacher have a handbook for their classroom. I included mine in my Open House packet. Click on the link to view/print all of my handy handbooks.
When I first started teaching elementary, I was coming in as a high school teacher. It was difficult for me to “dream up" all of the handbooks and handouts that were required for the beginning of school.
That’s why I post them all on my website. I was grateful to Stephanie, a Y5 teacher, who lent me her handbook so I had a skeleton to start with!
Hopefully mine will jumpstart your brain and you can tweak them anyway you want; at least you're not reinventing the wheel and hopefully this will be a real time saver for you, especially if you are a beginning teacher.
I find all too often tho’ that parents are inundated with “paper mountain” from the school and have little time to read “everything”, so I made up this cute little ABC checklist to cover my main points and send it home with my students the first day of school. I feel that “short and sweet” is more apt to be read.
You can tweak mine to fit your needs. To help you do that, I’ve included one that has some of the information blank for you to type, cut and paste.
You can send this home the first day, tuck in your Welcome to school summer letter/packet, or your Open House packet.
Click on the link to view/print My ABC’s Of School Info Sheet
I hope this helps you get YOUR personal “paper mountain” of back-to-school “stuff” into a mole hill!
Happy Planning!
Thanks for visiting! Feel free to PIN anything from my site you think others will find helpful.
"The really great man is the man who makes every man feel great." -G.K. Chesterton
Do Yourself and Your Students A Favor and Give Them A Notebook!
This is tip #17 & my 100th blog article! We will be celebrating our 1st-year anniversary at the end of next month!
You can click on the writing notebook ideas separately or click on the entire packet at the end. Enjoy!
My young Fives will see a writing notebook all too soon as they progress through the elementary grades, but to get one at this age is really a big deal.
Since most of the chain supply stores and even Target, have them as huge loss leaders in August for their back-to-school sales, I can pick them up for as little as .10 cents, so for the small investment of $2.00, I can light up the faces of 20 children in a few seconds!
For a few dollars you can use a notebook for a variety of writing skills for your students.
Mine is at the introductory level of simply practicing how to write their name.
Get parents on board and work as a team and you will definitely see improvement.
I buy an assortment of colors and give them a choice. It doesn’t matter that they don’t stay on the lines. What I want them to do is just practice holding a pencil, crayon or whatever they can take delight in holding, and practice writing their name once each night. I want it to be fun, not a hassle.
You can see the “My Writing Notebook” sticker in the photo. I print these off on large Avery labels on my printer to add a bit of pizzazz.
Each time they bring their notebook in to be checked they get to pick out several stickers to decorate the front of their notebook as an incentive to bring them back.
Since writing their name on everything we do in class can be labor intensive, I need parental help in getting these little ones over the hump ASAP and the notebook has been key in accomplishing that.
Their hands “poop out” or “run out of gas” as one of my students so adorably put it!
The notebook is a great At-Home connection and is easy, quick and fun, especially if parents buy some glitter or gel pens or some goofy or wiggly fun pen to make writing time more exciting.
I include due dates in my newsletters as well as post them on my monthly calendar.
Students get an award certificate for a great-completed notebook and a trip to the treasure box.
Click on the link to view/print a notebook award certificate. I also have certificates of accomplishment when they can hold a pencil correctly. Click on the link if you are interested in those.
To practice verbally expressing themselves, I have them share their favorite page of their notebook with their classmates.
Parents often ask me: “How can I help my child learn how to write?” So I typed up a list of fun things they can do to help strengthen their muscles. I tuck this list in the notebook. Click on the link to view/print hand-muscle building tip list. I also include a diagram of how to hold a pencil correctly.
The other thing I tuck in the notebook is a tracing guide of the alphabet. Click on the link to view/print the alphabet-writing guide.
I include a letter explaining the notebook to parents and asking for their help. If you’d like to see mine, to use it as a guide to tweak and develop your own, click on the link.
Since I started using the notebooks I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in my students’ penmanship, muscle coordination, and self-esteem.
What used to take me ‘til the middle of November with some of my little ones is now accomplished by the beginning or middle of October. Some really diligent students (and parents) who had no preschool, are set by the end of September.
If you have older students, decide what you want the notebooks to be used for, and make it a daily or weekly writing assignment that is simple, short and fun, so they will WANT to write. I give my college students ideas for them to journal about in their notebooks each week.
The notebooks can be kept in their desks to work on during free time, or kept at home like a “secret diary”.
I hope this idea is one that you can use and gets you excited to plan for your new class.
A quick and easy handwriting activity for you to do the first day of school is simply a Welcome To School "Trace & Write" Click on the link to view/print several different kinds.
If you want the entire writing notebook packet click on the link to view/print it.
Staples started their back-to-school penny sales this week. Click on the link to check out the deals! Every week they offer new things so start watching for the notebooks to go on sale! Staples allow teachers to buy 25 of their penny items here in MI. I imagine that would be a National thing.
Happy Shopping!
The rainbow colors also help me reinforce all of the basic colors with them, which is one of my report card standards. - Surprisingly some of my students are still confused about a few.
- This daily review, really helps my ESL students.
- I take this opportunity to teach a little Spanish to my students as well, as I have them say the colors of the chain links in Spanish as well as English.
- Because I link them in a specific order, I also have them identify the rainbow pattern that emerges.
- By the time it's March and we are studying rainbows, they are proficient at picking out and repeating that colorful pattern!
- I tell my Y5's that when we go one link farther to our 101 day, Cruella DeVille will come visit us for our 101 Dalmatian Themed Day!
- They are very excited about that.
- I hang a piece of fishline so that it is low enough for me to reach so that I can start hanging my plastic links on the first day of school.
- With this chain I take the opportunity to say: 1 link + 1 link ='s how many links?
- You can do all sorts of math equations with your students.
- I also say: Is our chain getting longer or shorter? Is it greater or less than yesterday? Is it greater or less than or = to our paper chain etc. What color link has the most colors?
- There are lots of math vocabulary words and concepts you can review whenever you want to, with this simple concept and it only takes a minute!
- I bought my links at the teacher store in town, but you can also order them from your favorite teacher catalog. If you're like me, you probably have a zillion on your desk at any given moment.
- One of my favorite companies is Discount School Supply. They have a set of 500 for $16.99
- The links are one of my students' favorite manipulatives during Tummy Tubby Time.
Another "add-a-link" chain I do, is a paper chain for January when we revisit hibernation. - We discuss how polar bears, unlike brown & black bears, don't hibernate.
- This paper chain has an ABAB pattern with black and white links.
The topper is a scanned picture from the cover of one of my favorite hibernation books followed by a teddy bear. - The template can be found in my January Arts & Activities Book, but can be viewed/printed for free through the 20th.
- Click on the teddy bear link above to view/print it.
- A.A. Milne's birthday is in January so I have a Winnie the Pooh theme day.
- The children make brown lunch bag bears.
- On one side of the bag the bear is sleeping, on the other he is awake.
- They stuff them with tissue and toss them into the cave. (A huge brown paper leaf bag. )
- I staple the bag shut and take it home 'til the first day of spring (March 20th) when I bring it back and the children take their bears home.
- In the meantime we add black and white paper chains each day 'til the bears wake up.
Be sure to pop back tomorrow.
Calendar Paper Chain
Young children have a difficult time grasping calendar concepts especially the concept of time.
My students were forever asking: "When is the party, fieldtrip, or other special day?”
To help them actually VISUALIZE this, I designed a calendar extension called our Monthly Paper Chain.
Here’s how to make one:
- I count how many days in the month and make a color-patterned paper chain.
- We are learning ABAB or ABC patterns in September, so I start with an ABC pattern.
- I choose red, yellow and lime green to represent the 3 colors of apples, because we will also be studying apples for a science unit.
- Each month I pick different colors that somehow match the month. i.e., in October I choose black, orange and purple and continue with the ABC pattern.
- Every day we're in school we take away (subtract) a paper chain.
- I review this math terminology with my students.
- I also ask them if we have more or less, if our chain is getting longer or shorter, if it’s greater or less than etc.
- We rip off the weekend ones too.
- My students love tearing off the chains so that's why I included Saturday and Sunday.
- We count forwards and backwards, (in English and Spanish).
- We also identify the pattern.
- The children identify the colors in English and Spanish.
- I have them look for any paper chains that have stickers on them.
- These denote a special day that we are looking forward to, like a theme day etc.
- We then count how many more days 'til we get to wear our costumes, have a special visitor, get to go on a fieldtrip, or have our pictures taken, etc.
Besides all of the great math extensions, the paper chain also acts as a cute decoration.- I've included a little blackboard that you can run off and laminate and hang from the top of your paper chain.
- There’s a page of monthly icons (Some are pictured on the right; September's apple is pictured on the blackboard above.) that you can change each season or month if you want.
- Simply add a piece of Velcro to the back of each piece, with the opposite Velcro button stuck on the corner of the hanging blackboard.
- Make your paper chain personal by making a copy of your class picture and putting it on the back of the slate.
- You can add the caption: Who is here today?
- Click on the link to go to “How many days are left in the month?” paper chain things so you can view or print them.
- Be sure and pop back tomorrow when I’ll have another back-to-school tip for you!
Until next time…
Do you have a classroom management tip that you find helpful? I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com
Themed Ideas Continues With Trains & Apples
Trains:
We’re On Track & Chugging Our Way To 100-Day!
- I also used this in my hallway for many years because I wanted to cover shapes, colors and the rainbow pattern as well as counting to 100.
- My year-long theme revolves around having a “Can-do” attitude based on The Little Engine That Could, so having a Counting to 100-Day train was perfect.
- I put this up in the middle of a hallway wall by the restrooms as well.
- I keep the 6-different shaped pieces in 6 envelopes in a basket by my calendar, for easy access.
- Children tell me what color and shape -train car we need to put up by looking at the train and figuring out the pattern.
- I have a “Who’s Turn Is It?” 2-pocket basket filled with Popsicle sticks with students’ names on them. One side is labeled “Had a turn” the other “Needs a turn”.
- This basket is by the envelope basket. I pull a stick out and see whose turn it is to tell me the color and shape, write the number and put the shape car on the wall.
- Click on the link to view/print the 100-Day Train & things I have to match it.
Apples:
I also do apples along with my train. I ordered the magnetic poster from Really Good Stuff that has the magnetic numbered apples. - I have a huge steel door in my room so I put the poster on that and divided the little apples into 10 snack baggies so that I’m not searching through a zillion apples each day.
- I keep these baggies clipped to the door with strong magnetic clips.
- As soon as my students come into class we go through what day it is, and add an apple to our tree.
- We count up to that many numbers. This all only takes a minute or two and by that time the announcements come on and we’re ready to move on to something else.
-
You can make your own simple apple tree out of bulletin board paper and use apple stickers each day.
- As soon as you’ve made a group/set of 10 that child circles it and writes the number under it.
- That way you can count your way to 100 by 10’s.
- I do a huge apple theme in September so it’s fun to be doing things with apples that relate to counting up to 100-Day.
Then on 100-Day I have all sorts of apple-related things to help celebrate the day as well. - Click on the link to view this cute packet.
Counting to 100-Day The Apple Way!
- For a FREE 85-page 100-Day Unit click on the link.
- For a FREE 100-Day Bibliography click on the link.
- For a FREE Making 100-Day Class Books click on the link.
- Isn’t it fun being able to download for free?
- Be sure and check back tomorrow when I’ll revisit another fun and fair way to pick a partner and learn report card standards at the same time!
- You’ll LOVE the versatility of Pear Pairs!
Do you have a back-to-school activity you’d like to share?
I’d enjoy hearing from you. diane@teachwithme.com
Using A Theme To Count Up To 100-Day
Having a theme in place is a fun way to manage what you’ll do on 100-Day. I have several suggestions in this two-part article to help get you thinking.
Caterpillars:
We're Wiggling Our Way To 100 Day!
- Is a cute way to count up to 100-Day.
- Make a copy of my caterpillar head out of emerald green construction paper.
- Add wiggle eyes, a pink pom pom nose, some pipe cleaners for antennae, stickers for cheeks and draw in a magic marker mouth and you’ve got yourself a beautiful bug.
- Cut 50 yellow and 50-lime green cirles from my template to make100-segmented body pieces.
- Have students vote on a name for their caterpillar creature.
- Each day choose a child to write that day’s number on either a yellow or lime-green circle and then add it to the growing body of your caterpillar.
Hang the caterpillar in the middle of a hallway wall, close to the restrooms.
- That way, when students are using the bathroom, you can review patterns and count up to whatever number you’re at, while you wait for everyone to finish.
- On 100-Day you can have gummy caterpillar-worms as a special treat/snack!
- Click on the link to view/print 100-Day Wiggles and the things I have related to him.
Butterflies:
Our second graders study Monarch butterflies in September. - I don’t do butterflies ‘til April, but I thought it would be fun to whip some “Fluttering Our Way To 100-Day” stuff together as I LOVE LOVE LOVE butterflies! If you do too, maybe this is the theme for you!
- Perhaps you’d like to toss in a butterfly thing or two with your caterpillars! After all, metamorphosis could have taken place in those 100 days of counting! How cute would that be!
Simply draw a big jar (use clipart) on construction paper and cut it out. - You can make your jar out of light blue or gray paper and the lid can be wrapped in aluminum foil. This is a photo of my firefly bug jar.
- Put my poster (see photo above-left) above or beside your jar.
- You can make this poster 3-D by cutting two sets of butterflies.
- Glue only the thorax to the bottom butterfly; fold the wings up and wahla "flying butterly!"
- Buy 100 butterfly stickers.
- Each day choose a student to add a butterfly to the jar.
- On 100-Day choose a “pick me” Popsicle stick that has your students’ names written on them and that child gets to take the poster home as a 100-Day prize!
- Click on the link to view/print some Counting to 100-Day Butterfly things.
- Just like the blog before, I’m endeavoring to keep things brief, so I have another mini-sub article after this one.
- Keep scrolling down if you’d like to see more tips on this topic and read about trains and apples as themes for counting up to 100-Day!
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