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Why I Don’t Dig Into Curriculum for the First Few Weeks of School

The first few weeks of school are crucial for SO many reasons. There are a lot of important things that need to happen starting the moment you meet students. Do you know what’s not a top priority though? Curriculum. Are you shocked? In this post, you will learn about why I hold off on curriculum and what I do instead. 

Why I Don't Dig into the Curriculum During the First Weeks of School

First Week Priorities

If I don’t dive right into curriculum, what am I doing? Below you’ll find a list of my top priorities during those first crucial weeks of school with students. 

Building Relationships

Making Connections

Teaching Routines and Procedures

Building a Social Emotional Foundation 

Helping Students Feel Welcomed and Loved

During those first couple weeks, our class spends A LOT of time setting up our classroom norms and expectations of what we want our classroom to be like. We begin to get used to the idea of how we are a FAMILY. One way we strengthen this idea is by reading Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen. We do activities that align with this book to help us create our family foundations. Having your classroom be a welcoming family doesn’t just happen, it takes A LOT of work up front to set it up for success for the rest of the year together, but it’s so worth it to do that work. 

Building Relationships and Making Connections

In my opinion, this is one of the most important things you will spend your time on at the beginning of the year. This is how you will get that class family vibe. You’ll set the foundation and expectations on how students will respect you and all their peers. How do you make this happen? With a little bit of team building, some connection circles, and important social emotional topics, you will have that amazing tight knit community of learners who thrive. 

This is the backbone of your classroom. It is one of the most important tools with classroom management. Want more ideas on how to build this piece? Check out THIS post FULL of great team building, relationship building, and connecting ideas! 

Teaching ALL the Things

One of the most helpful hacks I’ve learned when teaching expectations is to teach students exactly what it looks like and sounds like for EVERY procedure. This lets them know precisely what is expected and don’t be afraid to hold your students to a high standard. When you practice, you make sure that EVERY SINGLE STUDENT is following the expectation. That way your year is a BREEZE with students, because they know EXACTLY what it looks and sounds like when they are totally on point. 

Spending time creating rules WITH students, teaching ALL those routines and procedures, and of course setting high expectations for EVERY student to follow, is a recipe for success. Below you’ll find slides to help students learn about those procedures and of course practice, practice, practice! Creating anchor charts with student images is another great tool that helps students see exactly what they should be doing and motivates them to continue working hard to meet those expectations! 

editable procedure posters

editable classroom procedure posters

Editable Procedure Posters and Slides

Go Slow to Go Fast

One of my favorite quotes I’ve ever learned during my teaching career is, “Go slow to go fast” and it means just that. Take your time building those expectations and spending ample time to practice, practice, and more practice. If you dedicate the first few weeks to slowly introducing students to ALL the routines and expectations for every procedure, the rest of your year will fly by because students will know EXACTLY what to do. 

I can hear some of you saying, “ Yeah but I don’t have time for that, I have a ton of curriculum to cover.” Or “My admin wants me to start teaching curriculum ASAP.” 

I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to STOP those thoughts, take a deep breath, close the door, and do what’s best for you and your students. It may be challenging to be that bold but it WILL pay off. I have been told by many principals that my class runs like a well oiled machine and sometimes it even looks like I’m not even in the room. This isn’t a magic trick, it’s simply taking A LOT of time at the beginning of the year to set these practices up. So no matter how much curriculum there is, or what your admin is saying, taking this time is important and makes a world of difference for the ENTIRE YEAR. Let me help make it easy with the Teaching Timeline that will help prep starting from a month before school begins through the first six weeks of school. Grab yours below!

beginning of the year teaching timeline checklist freebie

Love this FREE resource?

Sign up now and get exclusive access to this freebie and many more in the continuously growing freebie library!

Social Emotional Foundation

Just like we need to spend time teaching rules and routines, we also need to lay a solid foundation for important social emotional topics in the classroom from day one. These topics include things like how to be a good friend, how to solve problems, and how to calm down when emotions feel so big. These will also serve as the backbone of your classroom and how to help your classroom almost run itself. So how do we get these up and running? Check out this post HERE as well as the GROWING Social Emotional Bundle below!

social emotional growing bundle

Social Emotional GROWING Bundle

Make Back to School a BREEZE

Some of my favorite tools to help make the first weeks of school a BREEZE are my survival guide and first week of school kit! The Beginning of the Year Survival Guide is packed with thought provoking questions to make a back to school plan for the first six weeks of school. It breaks down the planning process into the ‘Big Three’, designing your classroom setup, outlining ideas for your classroom community, and of course deep diving into your classroom management piece. You can grab this newly published book HERE, or if you prefer a more interactive version, check out the Building a Student Centered Classroom course found HERE! 

Beginning of the Year Teacher Survival Guide

The first week of school kit is another resource that is sure to make back to school a breeze! During this week I tend to over plan so that there is NEVER down time and students are focused on learning about ALL the things that will make our classroom into what it will be. But YOU don’t have to do the overplanning because I’ve already done it for you!. With the First Week MEGA Bundle, you will have EVERYTHING you need so that you can have fun and get to know your students without the stress and anxiety. We’re talking jam packed lesson plans, engaging activities, and procedures to teach all in one convenient bundle for you to grab, print, and go. Check it out HERE!

editable first week of school lesson plans and activities

First Week of School Mega Kit Bundle

I really hope you enjoyed learning about how to focus some of your energy for back to school during those first few weeks of school! 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 Back to School Teaching Timeline 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.

To follow me on TPT and get all the latest updates on HALF OFF new products, click HERE!

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A fun place to be apart of the educational journey. Full of all things teaching! The good, the bad, and even the ugly. Join my experiences and subscribe to my email list to get the most up to date tips and tricks.

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This is SO true!! Do you do this too?! Image cr This is SO true!! 

Do you do this too?!

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Let’s celebrate back to school with a book G*I*V Let’s celebrate back to school with a book G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y 🥳🥳🥳

Enter to win a book of your choice!! 

1️⃣ Make sure you’re following me 
2️⃣ Tell me your favorite back to school activity 
3️⃣ Tag some friends who would love to win too 

🌟 BONUS!! Share this post to your stories and don’t forget to tag me! 🌟

I’ll choose 3 lucky winners Monday morning! 🤩

AND one lucky winner will get to choose a book of their choice and get the mega first week kit to go with it! Good luck! 🥳
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It’s time for a G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y! 🥳 All week It’s time for a G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y! 🥳

All week I’ve been sharing about how to totally rock your first week of school with tons of ideas and tips. 

Now it’s time to celebrate and help kickstart your year by giving away one of these mega kits!

Entering is EASY! 

1️⃣ Make sure you’re following me
2️⃣ Tell us your favorite part of this kit 
3️⃣ Tag some friends who would love to win too!

🌟 For BONUS entries…. Share this post to your stories and don’t forget to tag me! 

I’ll choose one lucky winner Monday morning! Good luck! 🤩
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Let’s have some fun! If you had to choose one, w Let’s have some fun! If you had to choose one, which would be your IDEAL classroom?! 

This is a hard choice for me but if I had to pick only one I would choose classroom 4!!

Which would you choose? Let us know below! ⬇️

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It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳 This is It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳

This is one of my absolute favorite back to school activities that I hand out at our meet the teacher event.

It’s a super simple easy activity to get to know your students even better. Students put three things that represent them in the bag and bring it back to school during the first week of school.

They bring the most THOUGHTFUL things in. I have definitely shed some tears at the sweet stuff they bring in. 😭

With this EXCLUSIVE freebie, you will have everything you need for this great community building activity. 

Grab yours now! Happy Friday! 🎉
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Save these classroom set up tips! After spending Save these classroom set up tips!

After spending a LOT of time setting up classrooms…. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way. Here are a few of my favorites! 🤩

🌟 Hot glue is a great way to attach laminated sheets to concrete, brick, and other types of walls. 

🌟 Line up all your pages to be hung up and count until you find the middle. Start hanging from the middle and work your way outside to make sure it’s even.

🌟 Use matte spray on laminated sheets to greatly reduce the glare from lights. 

🌟 Line up letters and gently tape them onto bulletin boards or the wall to get them lined up exactly the way you want before gluing or stapling. 

🌟 Velcro dots are a life saver for things like your calendar and daily schedule.

Let us know your favorite classroom setup hacks below! ⬇️ 
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I feel this sooo hard! 🤣 Anyone else relate to I feel this sooo hard! 🤣

Anyone else relate to this right now? 🙋‍♀️

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Save these easy, fun, and engaging back to school Save these easy, fun, and engaging back to school craft ideas! 🥳

Crafts are a great way to get to know students, break up the first weeks of school, and show off new learning.

BONUS!! They look GREAT in the hallway! 

These and SO much more are all apart of the First Week Kit MEGA bundle. 

Drop a 🤩 to learn more about the kit now!
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Help students get to know their space with a scave Help students get to know their space with a scavenger hunt!

This is one of my favorite first week activities because not only does it help students but it is also a great way to get them up and moving around for those much needed movement breaks! 

Learn more fun first week activities now! 🥳
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This is SO true!! Do you do this too?!Image credit Brittany Washburn ••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #tftpickme #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teachergram #primaryteacher #teachershare #backtoschool #teacherquotes #teachertruth ... See MoreSee Less

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19 hours ago

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It’s time for a G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y! 🥳All week I’ve been sharing about how to totally rock your first week of school with tons of ideas and tips. Now it’s time to celebrate and help kickstart your year by giving away one of these mega kits!With this kit, you will have your ENTIRE first week of school planned for you. We’re talking detailed lesson plans, anchor chart headers, daily classroom slides, editable procedure posters, engaging activities, and of course tons of team building!Entering is EASY! 1️⃣ Make sure you’re following me2️⃣ Tell us your favorite part of this kit 3️⃣ Tag some friends who would love to win too!🌟 For BONUS entries…. Share this post to your stories and don’t forget to tag me! I’ll choose one lucky winner Monday morning! Good luck! 🤩••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #tptfreebie #tptsale #igconnect4edu #firstyearteacher #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherinspiration #teachershare #classroommanagement #backtoschool #classroomcommunity #makelearningfun ... See MoreSee Less

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Let’s have some fun! If you had to choose one, which would be your IDEAL classroom?! This is a hard choice for me but if I had to pick only one I would choose classroom 4!!Which would you choose? Let us know below! ⬇️Image credit @educationtothecore ••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #tftpickme #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherweekend #primaryteacher #teachershare #backtoschool #teacherquotes #teacherfun ... See MoreSee Less

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2 days ago

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It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳This is one of my absolute favorite back to school activities that I hand out at our meet the teacher event.It’s a super simple easy activity to get to know your students even better. Students put three things that represent them in the bag and bring it back to school during the first week of school.They bring the most THOUGHTFUL things in. I have definitely shed some tears at the sweet stuff they bring in. 😭With this EXCLUSIVE freebie, you will have everything you need for this great community building activity. Grab yours now! Happy Friday! 🎉{🔗 on profile}••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #ilovemystudents #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #classroomcommunity #teacherinspiration #backtoschool #meettheteacher #backtoschoolnight ... See MoreSee Less

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Help students get to know their space with a scavenger hunt!This is one of my favorite first week activities because not only does it help students but it is also a great way to get them up and moving around for those much needed movement breaks! Learn more fun first week activities now! 🥳{🔗 on profile}••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #teacherinspiration #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #makelearningfun #primaryteacher #clasroomcommunity #backtoschool #classroommanagement #firstweekofschool ... See MoreSee Less

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  • What do you envision when you think of your writing classroom setup? Writers workshop for 1st grade is a great way for all students to work on the writing process, no matter what their age is or developmental skills are. Today, I will talk about how to get started with writers workshops for your elementary classroom. I include ideas for writing workshop organization, a list of read aloud books for kids that are great to use for teaching about the writing process, and other writing resources.
  • Do your 2nd graders find it difficult to work with partners? Today, I will give you some of my classroom tips and tricks for partnering students and ideas for utilizing partner activities in the classroom. A great way to pair up students for working as partners is with partner cards. I also include a link to my activity pack for partner cards in the classroom that include sentence starters. Also, check out my classroom poster for perfect pairs that is great for the beginning of the school year.
  • Are you looking for some faBOOlous Halloween activities? Activities that will be engaging during October? I have planned some wonderful Halloween themed activities for my students. I have included Halloween science experiments, Halloween reading activities, Halloween writing activities, and math lessons. Find Halloween books for kids, a reading comprehension activity using the book Crankenstein, and a STEM activity.
  • Fall in the classroom is right around the corner and you are probably looking for seasonal classroom activities. Check out this blog post for 5 fun and engaging fall activities for kids. Some of my fall activities that you can read about here include sensory bins with acorns, handwriting activities with leaves, and a writing activity that you can use as a fall bulletin board in your 1st grade classroom. Learn about all of these fall activities for kids elementary today.
  • Are you using math workshop for 1st grade? Today, I talk about why you should use math workshop, or what is also known as guided math in the classroom. Math workshop model combines hands-on learning activities with direct instruction so that your elementary students can increase their math skills. In this blog post, you will see some of the math resources I use, including some engaging math center activities and math rotation slides to help guide students during their work time.
  • Are you looking for fall literacy activities that you can use during fall centers? Today, I am sharing some of my favorite fall activities for kids including sight word task cards, upper and lowercase sensory bins and a beginning sound activity. I also share a digraphs activity and a fun fall rhyming words activity. These fall activities are great for literacy centers, morning work, or early finishers.
  • Does your elementary classroom have a centers setup that helps facilitate independent learning with small group learning? This blog post gives you everything you need on how to set up centers in a classroom that will help your 1st graders be successful. See my list on how you can start preparing your classroom for successful centers like anchor charts, practice centers for literacy and math, and more. You can even check out my ideas for center organization and my center rotation display here.
  • Fall in the classroom is right around the corner and you are probably looking for seasonal classroom activities. Check out this blog post for 5 fun and engaging fall activities for kids. Some of my fall activities that you can read about here include sensory bins with acorns, handwriting activities with leaves, and a writing activity that you can use as a fall bulletin board in your 1st grade classroom. Learn about all of these fall activities for kids elementary today.
  • Parent Teacher Conferences can be extremely stressful but it doesn’t have to be! It’s so important to be organized and know everything you want to discuss during the conference. Today, I am sharing my top teaching tips for parent teacher conferences that will help build those parent teacher relationships. Do you want to know more ways for a successful parent-teacher conference? Find all of my parent teacher conference ideas now!

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