1st Day of School

1st day of school! Wow! What an exciting day. I don't know who was more nervous...the students or me! It doesn't matter how long I've taught, there is nothing like the first day jitters. What will the students be like? Will they get along? Will they be willing to try new things?  So far, the children have come in super thrilled about being in 5K and full of personality. First thing this morning, I asked one of my little girls if she was ready for the day. She quickly replied, "Oh yeah! I am so ready to be in school. I was just gettin' around this morning gettin' my stuff together like brushing my teeth, getting my bookbag, eating breakfast. Whew! I'm ready!....But...my momma's not!"  As I look at her mother, she is wipping away tears. It's hard sending your baby to school. I try to never forget that this might be my 7th year teaching kindergarten, but for many parents it's their first time sending a child to school.

I've got lots of pictures to post of activities we did on just the 1st day! It helps that we do a staggered start for the first three days so we can get initial assessments done.   First, when they arrive I have manipulatives out on the table for them to work with while we sort through supplies. Plus, I take their picture with a "1st Day of Kindergarten" Frame. I found this idea on Pinterest and love it!! Mine is different but it will give you the general idea. http://pinterest.com/pin/147141112796513210/


Our first day is all about "The Kissing Hand."  Chester raccoon is also our class take home pet over the weekends. He spends the weekend with each of the children. I have a blue jean tote bag the students take with them on Friday that includes: Chester, a journal, a disposable camera (can only take 3 pictures), and "A Pocket Full of Kisses" (sequel to "The Kissing Hand").

We started off reading "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. After the story and discussion time, I introduce the students to our Chester. I bought the stuffed animal in a state park gift shop while our family was hiking one summer. We spend time talking about what colors we see and special markings that tell us he is a raccoon (i.e. black mask and stripped tail). Then, we color a picture of Chester reading a book.  We even color the book to match the color of the book we read and add a yellow circle for the moon. I found this great clip art at: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/racoon.html


While my assistant is working with the students, I pull them one at a time to make their own kissing hand. I'll save these to include in the first page of their "All Through the Year Books" (more on that later). I like to do their hand in black because Chester's is black. I found the poem online and can't remember the source.  http://pinterest.com/pin/41447259040491631/   (sorry the picture is not profile)

 We then take a break to learn how to navigate the cafeteria and punch in our numbers. As we leave the room, I make sure to tell my caboose to turn off the lights but leave the door open. Before we leave the cafeteria, the manager comes to my class with a heart sticker on her hand and a note from Chester. The note sends us around the school to find him...meanwhile, we learn where the nurse is, the guidance counselor, the principal, and the secretary. Plus I show the students where we go for PE, Computer Lab, Library, etc. I made up my own clues/notes from Chester but can't figure out how to upload a document. Grrr! But there are many sources on the web. One good link to try is:

When we return, Chester has left us a special snack. Due to food allergies, I'm limited on what I can provide. Chester has left heart or hand shaped cookies in the past but this year left us goldfish. I told the kids that raccoons eat fish and Chester thought we'd like some too.  I made it work!

After a brief snack, we are back to work. My assistant works with the students to complete a book about Chester while I begin initial assessments. The book I like to use is "Chester Loves School" under the heading Chester Goes to School Book on AtoZ. http://printables.atozteacherstuff.com/18/chester-goes-to-school-book/

For math, we put together a special craft for our bulletin board. You've probably seen this on Pinterest before with a little girl holding her finished one. My assistant is amazing and she created our own templates for it based on that picture. As soon as I can figure out how to upload that I will. Shapes and positional words were the main focus of this activity.
http://pinterest.com/pin/41447259040491625/

(again, sorry about the picture...gotta figure that out too)

When the students return, I'll "interview" them and ask them what they enjoyed most about the first day of school. As they tell me, I type it into the computer. Once I have all the responses, I'll print it out and put their response with their Chester craft, along with a heart of course, on our hall bulletin board. Can't wait to show you a picture of that!