The beginning of the year is a time for fresh starts, new beginnings, and of course ALL the stress. Not to worry though, I’m going to let you in on 5 quick tips to help you kick start the year with students and have a SUPER successful year starting from day one. Get ready for all that back to school stress and anxiety to melt away with these easy tips to help YOU relax and enjoy this time!
Create a Welcoming Environment
Making students feel welcomed when they walk in the room for the first day should be a number one priority. Envision the kind of classroom you want them to see, whether it’s bright colors or muted tones. Whatever you decide, make it for THEM! Make it a home away from home for them.
Remember, at the end of the day, it is their space too. We want students to feel safe and welcome. One of the best ways to do that is by creating a student centered classroom where they can own the space. When you give student’s ample ownership you get the bonus of it taking a lot of extra work and prep off you! Want to learn more about setting up a student centered classroom? Check out this post HERE!
Prep ALL the Things
One of the biggest tips I have for you is to prep ALL the things. When you have everything printed, copied, organized, you will save yourself A LOT of time and anxiety when it comes to the first day and week of school. I urge you Check out the First Week Kit Mega Bundle because it has EVERYTHING done for you. All you have to do is print, copy, assemble your kit and your ENTIRE first week of school is planned out with students.
With everything prepped, you can have more time enjoying back to school and less stress worrying about what to plan. In this kit, you’ll find engaging activities for building your classroom community, setting up expectations, and teaching students values through literature.
Build Those Connections
From the moment students meet you, it’s important to start building those connections. Not only between you and students, but the kids need to build relationships with each other as well. These connections set up the entire foundation for the year and building a strong community is key to EVERYTHING.
One of my favorite quotes is, “Student’s don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Before you can teach them, you must love them and they have to feel that. There are so many easy and engaging ways to begin building a solid classroom community from day one. Learn some of my favorites HERE! Grab The Get to Know You freebie below by subscribing.
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Set Expectations From Day One
Just like it’s important to set up a welcoming environment and build a strong community, it’s also important to begin laying the groundwork for your classroom expectations. Sticking with my plan to help you melt away the stress, I’ve got you covered here too! With these editable procedure posters and slideshow, you will have EVERYTHING you need to teach your students all the important expectations. Once you guys have these down, you’ll be on your way to have a classroom that almost runs itself!
Editable Procedure Posters and Presentation
Have Fun
The last and most important tip is to have fun with your students! We can get so wrapped up in all the prep, stress, and chaos and forget that we are building a little family with students. So take a deep breath and remember to enjoy this time. The beginning of the year only comes once a year.. thank goodness! Haha!
But seriously, don’t forget to be silly and truly enjoy this time. That old ‘you can’t smile until Halloween’ rule is outdated and ineffective. Love them, teach them, and have fun with them everyday you’re with them and I promise you’ll have a wonderful year with your students. Want to learn more tips and tricks to help your classroom almost run itself? Check out my Beginning of the Year Survival Guide that teaches you ALL the things so you have more time for you and less stress!
Beginning of the Year Survival Guide
I really hope you enjoyed learning 5 must know tips to rock the beginning of the school year! Dash over to my store and grab the First Week Kit to help support ALL your needs. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including The Get to Know You FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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