Ten Ideas for a Successful First Day of School

It's time for school to begin.  It's a wonderful yet anxious time for you, your students, and parents alike. 

 Here are ten ideas for the first day of school to help you have a wonderful beginning to the new school year.

1) Have something ready for them to do immediately upon walking into the classroom.

• A coloring page works but quickly gets boring, and some students need more than one to keep them occupied.
• Playdough and a laminated piece of construction paper work really well also. Add a few cookie cutters, and your students will be happily engaged. Have Ziploc baggies labeled with students' name to store the playdough in their backpacks when play is finished.
• Another great option is a hands-on activity, such as Legos and other building materials or morning tub activities. (You'll be a ROCK star on the first day of school with this option.)

2) Get to know each other.

• Students are anxious to know more about their new teacher and also make sure that they will have friends.  Help students get to know more about each other with this freebie.  
• Use these PowerPoint activities throughout the first week of school to build a community and help students realize that they have many things in common.  Click to see these in my TpT store.  "Find a Friend", "This or That", and "Stand Up/Sit Down" will help you and your students learn more about each other.

3) Write down EVERYTHING.

• The new schedule will be unfamiliar to both you and your students.  Write down every tiny detail along with the times.  Carry these plans around on a clipboard along with a list of your students all day long.  It will be your best friend for the first day of school and save your sanity!

4) Take a tour of the school.

• Take your students on a tour of the school.  Even if they were in the same school last year, they are now in a different location, and things will look different.  Encourage your students to complete this fun freebie scavenger hunt as they learn more about their school.

5) Complete an art project.

• Students can complete an "All About Me" art project or any other kind of art activity.  These completed art projects will leave your first day of school with a decorated bulletin board or decorations for your hallway.  These NO-PREP second grade or third and fourth grades units for the first week of school include an art project that would be perfect for the first day of school. 

6) Learn about your students' learning styles and classroom preferences.

• Have your students complete this free learning questionnaire to help you understand more about their learning styles and how they feel about school.  It will give you some great insights!

7) Complete a little math and a little reading.

• Read a first-day-of-school book to your students for a relaxed reading time while they eat a small snack.  (Students are always too nervous to eat enough on the first morning, so providing a small snack is a great idea.)
• Begin a back-to-school chapter book as a read-aloud or as a novel study for the first couple of weeks of school.  My favorite book to begin the school year with is Judy Moody Was in a Mood. Not a Good Mood. A Bad Mood.  Your students will be laughing about Judy's first week of school antics as they relate to her with their own feelings about beginning school.
• Have your students complete this freebie place value coloring sheet to see how well they understand place value and then play this fun place value game.

8) Take pictures...LOTS of pictures.

• Take individual pictures of each student, and do this on the first day of each month for an end-of-the-year gift to the parents to show the growth of the students throughout the year.
• Take candid shots throughout the day.  Add these to your private Facebook group for your class for the year.  This will relieve the anxiety for your parents throughout the day as you add quick posts to the group and they can see the fun the students are having.

9) Teach rules and procedures.

• Go over the rules for the classroom, lunchroom, recess, hall, etc.  Have your students model incorrect behavior and then the correct behavior.  
• Discuss the classroom and school procedures.
• Be prepared to review this every day (multiple times) for the first couple of weeks of school to make sure that your students remember and understand them.

10)  Move...don't sit!

• Keep your students moving throughout the day.  Movement is a great stress reliever.  Have a YouTube playlist prepared for some fun brain break videos.
• Use this free literacy activity like a scavenger hunt around the classroom.

There you have it...my top ten favorite ideas to have a successful first day of school for you and your students.

Remember to smile, laugh, and enjoy your day and your new group of students!  

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