First Day of School

Well, I completed my first week of school without getting sick or fired! I'd say that it was a success! :) I started the week off reading a few of my first day favorites... First Day Jitters and The Kissing Hand... aren't these books favorites of all teachers???

I got some ideas from Pinterest for my 'Kissing Hand' activity.  I began by reading the book to the class.  Tucked into the very last page of the book was a very special letter from Chester himself.  It was a scavenger hunt! Let me just say, this was the cutest thing ever.  I want to thank Mrs. Solis over at Mrs. Solis's Kinder Class for the ideas.  I made a scavenger hunt based off of hers to work for my school since I couldn't get hers to work on my computer. Click the image below to get this freebie from Mrs. Solis!

I glued the clues onto little red hearts so they were easy to spot.  We went all around the school looking for these heart shaped clues from Chester. The kids were SO EXCITED to find the next clues.  The very last clue told us to follow footprints in the hall to find a special treat from Chester.  When we got back to our room the kids were so busy looking for another heart clue that they almost missed the giant plate of cookies on the table! 

Those cookies were egg-less for my student with egg allergies and they were DELICIOUS!! Yum, Yum!

At Recess:

I took pictures of each student on the first day.  They all held up a picture frame that said 'First Day of Kindergarten' on it.  I sent these pictures home on Friday with a clothespin and magnet glued to the back and a poem that read: "I made this magnet on the very first day, so my kindergarten work will always be on display." :) 

Here's what the pictures look like.

Most of them gave big smiles for me, and I know all of my students' parents loved this little gift. :) 

More First Day Stuff:

I am attempting the Whole Brain Teaching approach in the classroom this year and started that on the first day as well.  So far, it seems to work very well.  If you haven't heard of Whole Brain Teaching please go YouTube it, you will NOT regret it!! I am absolutely in love with this type of teaching.  :) 

We worked on procedures and just got to know each other on the first day.  It always goes by so fast and you feel as if you got nothing done, but I know all those procedures are SO important in the beginning of the year.  I am trying to hit my classroom rules hard this year so there are no exceptions and hopefully my classroom will run smoother throughout the year.  Last year I would forget to make them raise their hand EVERY time, so I am trying really hard to follow my own rules also! ;)

 Well, that is pretty much what we did on the first day of school, if you do anything different I'd love to hear about it! I love getting new ideas to do in the classroom!! 

Have a Seusstastical Night!

Mrs. Konarek