Back to School in 2021

Ready or not, the 2021-2022 is approaching (looming?  Maybe it’s a matter of perspective, haha) and my wheels are starting to turn.

And while I love a fresh, new start, back to school time can also be a little bit stressful.  Today I’d love to share some tips and tricks that work for us and lay a foundation that carries us throughout the year.

I also have posts HERE, HERE, and HERE that might help!

I always love using THIS back to school resource because the activities are engaging, low stress, and high interest.

We pop these activities into our day and they also really help with establishing guidelines and procedures.  Everything is print-and-go, which saves me a TON of time, too.

Routines are so important and practicing those procedures and expectations fill our first few weeks.  Remember, take the time with these things because a solid foundation will serve you well later on!

I like to type out student morning expectations and hang in on our front door.  This way, students can get an idea of what to do, even before the bell rings.

We also cover a TON of this during our morning meetings.

We also launch our class cash system right away, which is usually on the very first day of school.

Students love earning, saving, and spending cash so we start right away.  Again, we discuss expectations and they make their “wallet.”  You can grab all of that HERE.

And, while we are talking about expectations, this is when I introduce them to call backs, bells, and chimes.  I love using THIS doorbell and we practice (a TON) with what to do when that sound plays.  Personally, I have students drop whatever is in their hands, turn their voices off, and put their eyes on me.

It requires frequent practice and is a great opportunity for me to hand out class cash as a way to celebrate stopping and listening.

Whether you make a mission statement, a class promise, or a class constitution (my personal fave), it’s a great time to stop and discuss ideals everyone agrees to follow.

The class constitution ties into what we will cover in social studies and we always watch a Brain Pop or Schoolhouse Rock to launch it.  I use THIS to guide the actual writing.

We also jump gently into the standards, which gives me a chance to informally assess what they already know or remember.

I love using THIS book as a launching point with symbolism and theme, as it also ties into our social studies curriculum.  It’s also fun to pass around THIS tiny Statue of Liberty so they can really check out her right foot!

Grab the worksheets HERE.

Whether you have these out on the first day or second, these are a great way to ease students into the day.  You totally CAN have them on desks the first day but I typically like to check in with the students because they may go by nicknames.  I just type it out, cut it, and they glue on name tags.

I get my name tags from the Target dollar spot and I love using the font PBBlondeRoast, which makes it easy to color in.

We laminate these and use them all year.

Also, the first week is a great time to get them excited about class jobs!  We don’t typically do our official job applications until the second week but discussing them builds so much enthusiasm!

You can read more about those HERE.

Ultimately, I always look at the first week or two of school as my opportunity to get to know my class (and for them to get to know ME).  Morning meetings tend to be a little longer, transitions are slow because we practice and do them over (sometimes again and again), and expectations are sprinkled throughout the day.

I have to remind myself sometimes to SLOW DOWN.  I always get SO excited that I want to jump right in to ALL THE THINGS but taking the time to establish procedures will pay off in huge ways throughout the year!

Here’s to a great year!