It's All In A Name... 

Part of the excitement of the first day of school for teachers, as well as the children, is meeting all of the new students!  I try to make learning everyone’s name fun.  So I do several activities that involve names.  There are several report card standards that the Y5’s have that revolve around their name: being able to recognize it as well as write it, so they’re not only learning each other’s names, they are practicing standards. Woo-hoo for a first day win-win!

Table Top:

• To help my little ones recognize & write their name, I have name cards on the tables for them to copy. 
• I also have a “table top” skill sheet each day involving “finding” their name on something. 


• I just designed this new balloon heart.
  
• Simply fill in your students’ names to make one. 
• Click on the link to view/print a copy.  Heart-Balloon Name Pattern page
  

Gather ‘Round:

Have students sit in a circle.

Decide on a fun “movement pattern” like clap twice, pat knees twice.

For older students you can add snap fingers twice too.

Say the following after the movement:
_______________(child's name) ______________ (child's name)
How do you do?
Who's that sitting next to you?
Child says name of person sitting beside them.

Count  to 3 slowly and if they don’t know then that child says their name.

Artistic Treat:

• Apples are a big theme for us in September, so I just designed “You’re a smartie!” WELCOME apples.
• Run off my master on red construction paper.
• Make a template for the leaves and stems.


• Run the worms off on green construction paper.
• Cut everything out.
• Glue a Popsicle stick to the back of the worm.


• Write your students’ names with a black marker.
• Using an Exacto-knife, cut a slit in the top of the apple.
• Tape a pack of Smartie candies around the stick worm.


• Insert the worm in the slit in such a way so that the candy slides over the top of the apple, while the stick goes behind.
•  
• Sprinkle them on the floor around the room and have them find them.
•  
• To make it harder for older students,  make puzzles out of the apples.


• After you finish making them, cut them in zig zag diagonals so that part of their name is missing.  They will have a top-left, and a bottom-right apple piece.
• As with any candy treat that I give my students, I preface it with: “This is for you to take home.”
•  
• To ease the disappointment a bit, I’ll have one Smartie candy as a reward for everyone when they find their apple.
• Click on the link to view/print the patterns. Smartie Name Apple
  

Word Find:

• I make word finds all through the year of our word wall words and special vocab words each month.
• This increases all sorts of skills and helps reinforce recognition of whatever words we are working on.
• Making a word find of your students' names is especially fun for them, and is something that can keep them occupied while you do that endless list of administrative chores that has to get done on the first day.

Pattern Please:

This is also a fun and easy “busy activity” while you’re doing those crazy little “have-to-get-done’s”, or assessing to see where children are at.

• Children write the letters of their name in the boxes and color the vowels their favorite color and the rest their second favorite color.
• A pattern emerges.
• When they are done they pick a partner.


• (You can use one of my many fun partner ideas from 2 previous articles)
• Students compare their interesting art.


• Collect and put up on the wall for a quick and pretty first-day hallway display!
• Click on the link to view/print the name pattern page.
  

I hope you got some name ideas to use for back-to-school.

Do you have a name tip that you’d like to share?

I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com

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!

• Willie has upper and lowercase letters on his back.
• Run my master off on green construction paper and laminate the sheets.
• There are 6 on a page.

• Cut them out and add colored paperclips.
• By moving the paperclip up and down, students can practice spelling their names. (One of my report card standards is being able to recognize your name.)
• You can also review and teach letters in a fun way!
• Moving a large paperclip helps strengthen finger muscles and enhances fine motor skills and coordination too!
  

• You can make two, one to keep at school and one to send home if you want to.
• I’ve included a letter of explanation to send home to parents so that they will work with their child and practice the alphabet with them!

• I have a saying: “Together Everyone Achieves MoreI” It’s an acronym for TEAM!
• I let parents know that I’m depending on them to be part of my educational team that will help their star player shine their brightest!
• Click on the link to zoom to Willie and view/or print a template and letter.
  

 I hope Willie helps your students as much as he’s helped mine wiggle their way to knowing their ABC’s!

Be sure to check back tomorrow when I'll have another fun back-to-school tip!

 Do you have a fun tip you’d like to share?  I’d enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com

• 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!  

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!

Completing The Main Article

With These Last Two Ideas Numbers 5 and 6

Stamp your way to 100-Day!

Make a 100-Day Banner/Pennant:

• Simply make a template from my pennant master if you want to make smaller banners out of regular size construction paper.
  
• A small banner will fit about 50 stamps on one side so you'll have to print both sides.
• If you use extra-large construction paper, you can stamp just the front.
• It's a good idea to make a sample to show students what the end result will look like.
  


• Trace the the banners on a variety of light-colored construction paper and then cut them out.
• Write students’ names in glitter glue or puffy paint for extra pizzazz.

•  As a center activity, each day have students get their pennant from the “pennant pile”.  This is a safe place (The lid from a copy paper box used as a basket, works great. Place it on a window ledge or shelf).
•  They take their pennant to the stamping center and put the stamp-for-the-day on it.

• The stamps can be seasonal.
• If you’re studying apples, have an apple stamp. Pumpkins are great for October.

•  Students decide if they want to use different colored stamp pads or have their banners be all one color.
  
• I chose brown ink for mine.
  
• If a child is absent make sure that you or a student helper stamps theirs.

•  I have a zillion stamps so this is no problem.  If you don’t, ask other teachers if you can borrow theirs just for the day.
• You can also combine stamps and stickers, or have students copy and draw a secret symbol that you put on the board for that day.

• On 100-Day everyone should have 100-Stamps.
• Really Good Stuff has a 100-Day stamp perfect for that last day  (“Way Cool!”)

•  For my 98^th day I have a caterpillar with wiggle eyes because we wiggled our way to 100 day. 
• On the 99^th day we metamorped into a butterfly and have fluttered our way to 100 Day.  Let your students make a 3-D butterfly for their banners so the butterflies look like they are popping off the page and flying!

•  Each child needs 3 stickers to make one.  Students put the 1^st sticker down.
• The second sticker they cut the “thorax” off so they have two wings.

•  Put the wings back-to-back on the 3^rd sticker so only the thorax (middle part of the butterfly) now remains sticky.
• Press this sticky part down really hard on the middle of the 1^st butterfly and rub it with your fingernail.  Fold each of the wings up and crease. Wahla flying butterfly!

•  If you've used extra-large consruction paper, on 100-Day give them die-cut 100-Day numbers and letters to glue on the back of their pennants.
• Wow! Everyone has a super keepsake to take home, and you have a fun way to count to 100 as they admire their banner and count the stamps and stickers with you.

•  You could also punch a hole in each corner and string their pennants up from the hallway ceiling for a few days.
• Click on the link to view/print the 100-Day banner things.

100-Day Posters:

• Purchase a poster and X things off or color them in.  Really Good Stuff has magnetic ones that you  can add “things” to.
• My poster is a gumball machine.
• I keep it on my white board.  I laminated it so that I can reuse it each year.  Everyday as part of our calendar routine someone X’s a gumball.

• On the 100^th Day of school, each child can earn a penny for my real gumball machine. They think it’s “way cool” that I bring a gumball machine to class and let them put a penny in, after they have completed their Table Top lessons.
• I tell them that they need to “chews” to be a good student all morning, stay on task and complete their work so they can earn that penny to help celebrate the day!

• They LOVE this idea and are anxious to get down to business. You can order counting up to 100-Day posters from Really Good Stuff.  
• Unfortunately when I checked, the gumball one was discontinued.
• Be sure and pop back tomorrow when I’ll be posting “Count to 100-Day with a THEME!” 
  

• Lots of creative ideas to get you excited!
  
• You'll just love wiggling, chugging and fluttering your way to 100-Day!
• If you dropped in to see "Wiggles" today he'll be posted tomorrow.  This article, as you can see, needed to be split into many parts!