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Back to School in Kindergarten Everything you need to create a welcoming environment and

successful first week of school.

Written By: Tracy Jarboe & Stefani Sadler Illustrated by: Stefani Sadler

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Beginning the Kindergarten School Year

What is kindergarten really like? What can I expect the first day of school? I have my degrees and my credentials, but no one has ever told me how to begin teaching on that very first day. Well, you are in for a joyous first day and school year. Kindergarteners may or may not have had an introduction to school and some may already know the basics. Most likely, many of your students did not attend pre-school, they do not know how to print their name or even how to hold a pencil correctly. Most of your students will be eager to begin reading, writing and arithmetic, but you will need to teach them the very basics of how to be a student first. Some may be apprehensive about leaving their mom and may have a difficult time adjusting to a full day of school. Kindergarten children like to create, explore, build, share and extend learning. They have wild imaginations, sensitive spirits and a delight-fully creative nature. They are not afraid to say it like is and have a great eagerness to learn and to please their teacher. This is truly the most critical year in a child’s academic career. You are laying the foundation upon which all future academic endeavors are built, beginning a joyous journey and developing a lifelong love of learning.

Introduction

The most important day of the school year is not promotion day, open house, or curriculum night; it is the very first day of school. This is a wonderful day of anticipation and adventure. This day is critical for you the teacher, as it will set the tone for the entire school year. It is vitally important that you be well prepared, having set a positive tone and created a classroom environment for all children to succeed. The children will decide that first day if you are someone who is to be respected or not. Dress for respect. Make sure you look professional. Be certain that the children can find your room with ease. Make sure your room number, name and grade level are clearly visible from the hall. Greet each child individually with a big smile and kind words. Make them feel welcome and excited about the great day that lies ahead. Make sure that your new classroom environment is neat, safe, and well organized. You want the first day to run smoothly with little or no surprises. Organization is key. Make sure that every student has a clearly labeled desk and all that they need to begin working. In kindergarten the children are usually not ready to begin independent work right away, and need a great deal of step by step directions and modeling. Your very first priority is to get the students comfortable, on task and establish a classroom routine. Most of this first day will be devoted to establishing these routines, rules and proce-dures. This is critical for a successful year. We are sure that you have heard the old saying: “It is easier to loosen the reins later on than it is to tighten them.” The number one problem that new teachers face is not a lack of discipline, but a lack of well ordered procedures and routines. New teachers want to be well liked and are apprehensive about discipline. They seldom have any support in establishing procedures or routines and feel overwhelmed. We hope you will find this packet helpful in establishing a successful classroom, beginning on that very first day of school.

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How to Use This Packet

This book is essentially broken into two sections. The first section focuses on how to prepare for the first week of school. Topics include: room environment, supplies, behavioral plans, activities, parent/student communication, sample letters, guidelines and procedures. The second section contains student activities to complete during that first week of school. It is our hope that this tool will assist you in creating the optimal learning environment for your students and a joyous first week of school. We wish you much success!

Copyright © 2005 by Stefani Sadler and Tracy Jarboe All rights reserved. No part of this book other than the specified blackline masters may be reproduced mechanically, electronically, photocopying or any other means without prior written consent, except in the case of book reviews. The specified blackline masters may only be reproduced for the purchaser’s individual classroom use and may not be used for school-wide or district distribution without prior written permission from ABC Schoolhouse. Additional copies of this publication are available online through the ABC Schoolhouse website link to www.atozteacherstuff.com. Visit us at www.abcschoolhouse.com to learn more about Tracy Jarboe & Stefani Sadler and receive free thematic units.

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Preparation

If you are a new teacher or new to kindergarten, the first thing you want to do is introduce yourself to your teaching colleagues. They will be a valuable resource to you throughout the coming year. Inquire as to what activities they use on the first day and how they establish routines and procedures in their classrooms. Collaboration with other teachers on your site and in your district will be highly beneficial.

Check to be sure that you have all the required curriculum. In our experience we have found that often times teachers walk into a completely empty classroom and do not know that the district is required to give them all the adopted materials needed for instruction. It may be helpful to have a veteran teacher go through the materials with you to make sure that you do indeed have everything. If things are missing, let your administrator know as soon as you can. It may take a few days to have the items you need sent from the district warehouse to your site. If it takes more than a few days, you may need to make the necessary phone calls to speed things along or pick them up yourself.

Inquire as to what trainings your district offers over the summer. In our district we have a summer academy every August. During this time, refresher courses on all adopted curriculum are offered. These are specifically designed for new teachers or teachers who have changed grade level. Take advantage of all the trainings available to you. Ask your administrator if it would be possible to attend a teaching conference during the summer or school year. There are numerous conferences to choose from. We prefer grade level specific conferences. They tend to offer the most helpful information and ready to use activities. However, we also enjoy attending conferences that are subject specific such as the International Reading Conference or Math Conference. Try to avoid workshops that are K through 12 in nature. They tend to offer more philosophical information rather than practical, ready to use activities and tips designed specifically for your grade level and subject matter.

Perhaps the biggest task is acquiring the materials needed for instruction that are not textbook in nature. Inquire as to whether or not your school offers start up funds for new teachers. This money will be helpful to you. Every teacher uses differing amounts of various supplies. Keep a record of what you use and how often. This will help you when purchasing supplies in upcoming years. On the following page we have made a list of some basic materials that we use on a regular basis. Depending on your district guidelines, you may be able to ask parents to make donations. Every district has a different donation policy and every school needs to be sensitive to it’s students socioeconomic situations. Your P.T.A. or booster club may be able to financially assist you as well. The corporate partners in your community may be willing to donate items. You will need to ask for their assistance and don’t be shy. We have received generous donations in the past from stores and companies in our local area and all we had to do was ask.

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General Supplies:

___ #2 Pencils & larger grip pencils ___ Erasers ___ Crayon Boxes (8 or 16 color boxed sets) ___ Colored Markers (Student Sets) ___ Permanent Markers ___ Dry Erase Markers ___ Overhead Markers & Transparencies ___ Glue or Glue Sticks ___ 2” x 18” Construction Paper (all colors) ___ Student Scissors ___ Teachers Supplies—Post-it Notes, Scissors, Tape, Paper Clips, Stapler, Yard Stick ___ Writing Paper—we use ruled newsprint. ___ Student Name Tags (for desks) ___ Paper Plates (9 inch & 6 inch) ___ Ziploc Bags (Quart & Gallon) ___ Paper Cups Language Arts:

___ Bookcases & Books ___ Chart Stand and Chart Paper ___ Pocket Charts ___ Tag Board Sentence Strips ___ Dictionaries—1 per student ideally ___ Books on Tape, Tape Player, Headphones ___ Games—Letter/Sound Matching ___ Highlighter Pens or Tape ___ White Post-it Tape ___ Highlighting Tape ___ Magnetic Letters Science:

___ Student Thermometers ___ Magnifying Glasses ___ Plastic Containers or Beakers ___ Measuring Cups

Math:

___ Unifix Cubes (a large set — 1,000 or more) ___ Pattern Blocks ___ Base Ten Sets ___ Counters ___ Fraction Sets ___ Student Clocks (Judy-Instructo) ___ Tangrams ___ Dice ___ Geometric Shapes (Sphere, Cylinder, Cone, as well as the basic shapes.) ___ Rulers (standard & metric) ___ Plastic or Real Coins ___ Graph Paper ___ Scale Social Studies:

___ U.S.A. & World Wall Maps ___ Globe ___ Local Maps Classroom Supplies:

___ Various Bins for Supplies ___ Shelves ___ Plastic Tubs or Baskets ___ File Cabinets ___ Cubbies Art: ___ Glitter ___ Colored Tissue Paper ___ Colored Chalk or Oil Pastels ___ Watercolor Paints ___ Poster Paint & Brushes ___ Pipe Cleaners ___ Cotton Balls ___ Roving Yarn

Kindergarten Supplies

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Environment

Kindergarten students need a room that is well organized in which they can easily access learning materials and move around without disturbing others. You will need to decide what furniture placement works best in your room. You may find that table groups work well. These are often set up in groups of 4, 6, or 8 students. You may prefer rows of desks or a horseshoe type arrangement. You want to be sure to allow enough room for students to get to the class library, centers, and learning materials with ease. You also want to ensure that the students can easily see the overhead screen and white board without having to turn around. Don’t forget to leave an adequate portion of rug space so that the children can sit down at story or group learning time.

We find it helpful to have all our learning centers and materials clearly labeled (both print and picture) and color coded. For instance you may want to have your writing journals in a labeled, red bin and your science journals in a labeled, blue bin. These small organizational tricks allow transitions to run more smoothly. You want to make the best use of every inch of your classroom. You may wish to create interactive bulletin boards and use windows or cupboard doors to display student work. Kindergarten children are ready to use interactive bulletin boards such as, calendar and word walls. They also take great pride in seeing their work displayed around the classroom and school. Try to make the classroom bright, colorful and interesting.

Make sure that your work table is located in an area of the room where you can see all classroom activity easily. You want to be able to monitor students while you are working in small flex groups or meeting with children individually. You also want to have a supply station that is well maintained. This station should include sharpened pencils, paper and extra erasers. This will minimize student disruptions while you are teaching. If a student’s pencil breaks, there is no need to alert you or make noise sharpening it. The student simply goes to the supply station and takes another pencil while placing the broken pencil in a “to be sharpened” box or cup.

You want to ensure that the classroom is completely ready before the first day of school. An effective teacher has a well thought out classroom plan and assigned seats on the first day of school. Seat assignments and table arrangements will change frequently throughout the year, but the basic floor plan and classroom procedures should stay the same. You want to have a behavioral plan, daily schedule and seatwork instructions all clearly posted in your classroom every day. We have found it helpful to begin each day with independent activities. This way the children enter the room and get right to work. This allows you the opportunity to talk with parents who may have concerns, to take roll, to speak with a student who may have been absent the day before and to take care of any other morning business without using up precious learning time. It sets the academic tone for the day and children appreciate the responsibility they are given to follow the daily morning routine independently.

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First Day Bulletin Board Ideas:

1. Using Pencils: “Pencil us in for a great year!” or “Welcoming a sharp

bunch of students!”

2. Using Award Ribbons: “Award winning students!”

3. Using Bears: “A Beary Great Class!”

4. Using Stars: “Reaching for the stars in Kindergarten!” or

“Introducing the stars of room 8!” or “Mrs. Jarboe’s All-Stars”

5. Using Feet or Shoes: We’re starting off on the right foot!” or “Step in

to Kindergarten!”

6. Using Shirts: “Kindergarten suits us to a tee!”

7. Using Apples: “Bushels of fun in Kindergarten” or “These are the

apples of my eye.”

8. Using Toads: “Toad-ally awesome students!”

9. Using Rabbits: “Hop into Kindergarten!”

10. Using Monkeys: “Bananas about Kindergarten”

11. Using Dinosaurs: “Welcome to a dino-mite year”

12. Using Jeans: “Kindergarten jean-iuses”

13. Using Fish: “Welcome to our school” or “Oceans of fun in

Kindergarten”

14. Using Backpacks: “Welcome to our pack”

15. Using Soccer or Footballs: “Kicking off a great year!”

16. Using Teddy Bears: “Welcome to the cub club”

17. Using a World Map: “Welcome to a world of possibility”

18. Using Plants: “Welcome to our Kinder-garden”

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Behavioral Plan Every classroom must have rules. Rules are clearly defined student expectations. You will need to find out what your school site and/or district behavior/discipline plan is and then incorporate that into your classroom plan. At the kindergarten level you will want all the expectations to be clear and concise. Most teachers post between 3 and 5 behavioral expectations and they may look something like this: 1. Be in class on time prepared to learn. 2. Respect others. 3. Take good care of school and personal materials. 4. Raise your hand to speak. 5. Walk quietly in the halls. 6. Keep your hands, feet and objects to yourself. 7. Follow directions the first time they are given. 8. Stay in your seat unless you have permission to do otherwise. 9. No cursing, teasing or tattling. 10. Always do your best. You may choose to begin the year with 3 rules and create more as the need arises. This allows the children some ownership in rule formation and gives them time to learn the rules without being overwhelmed. These rules are necessary as your classroom must be a safe and protected environment, where all students can learn without fear or interruption. The children will respond to an authoritative teacher who is in control and responsible for not only setting, but maintaining behavioral limits and expectations. Along with behavioral expectations you will also need to establish rewards and consequences. Consequences may be either positive or negative. They need to be reasonable, logical and consistent. Negative consequences may include a verbal warning, time out, missed recess, extra assignments, being the last to leave, exclusion from special events, or deprivation of special rewards. The key to consequences is knowing that no student should ever have the power to stop you from teaching or stop the lesson from progressing. You need to develop a system in which consequences may be given without classroom disruption. For example, you may wish to write a students name on the board, put a check mark by a student’s name, turn a card, or hand out a ticket. Whichever method you choose, remember that it is unwise to stop a lesson and disrupt the learning to discuss rule infractions. Interruption of instruction empowers the rule breaker, not the teacher. You may discuss the event on the student’s time, during recess, lunch or free time.

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Consequences may also be positive in nature. These may include: receiving a sticker, extra free time, special privileges, certificates of merit, or a phone call home to praise a student’s wise choices. You want to be careful not to get caught in the trap of constantly giving “things” such as candy, toys, and pencils. This quickly loses it’s effectiveness and can be quite costly. Bribery never works for long and creates a “what do I get if I do my work?” mentality. Remember, the best reward is creating a classroom in which students want to do their best and enjoy knowing that they have done well.

One successful approach to implementing a positive reward system is to use a class tally, marble jar, tickets, or thermometer. When the class as a whole has reached the goal, then the class receives a special privilege. This could be 30 minutes of free centers, extra recess, a special P.E. game or whatever your class likes. Whichever system you choose to use, remember to post your rules, rewards and consequences immediately. Remember to consistently enact the consequence when a rule is broken, give positive feedback when a student or the class has earned it, and make your behavior predictable and consistent.

Once you have established a behavioral system you need to communicate this system effectively. ALWAYS, acquire parental support. We give every parent and student a copy of our class behavioral plan on the very first day of school. We require that each child and parent read and sign this plan and return it to us. Effective teachers communicate regularly with parents and develop a cooperative relationship with them. We also use an action log in our classroom. This is a binder in which every student (or the teacher with the student) is responsible for writing what the rule infraction was, on what date and what action was taken. This allows the student to take responsibility for their actions and creates a record of behaviors for you. From time to time we open up the action log and personally talk with students who may be having difficulty in a particular area. Together we form an action plan to solve the problem behavior. It also allows us the opportunity to commend a student when we see that a problem has been solved. During parent conferences this action log becomes a valuable tool. It lists all rule infractions, dates and consequences.

You will spend most of your first day and first week discussing procedures. Procedures are important because students need to know how they are expected to behave and work from the very first day of school. Procedures are for the students benefit. They help them to do their work effectively and without confusion. Procedures allow students to succeed. Some of the procedures you will need to discuss include:

What to do when the bell rings. What to do when you need to use the restroom. How to enter the classroom. What to do if your pencil breaks. Where to put completed work and incomplete work. What to do if you finish work early. What to do if you have a question.

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When you teach procedures you must first explain the procedure thoroughly. Then you must model or demonstrate the procedure. Ask students to rehearse the procedure as you watch. Finally, reinforce this procedure until it becomes habit. Remember that when you reinforce a procedure you compliment the action, not necessarily the student. A poor reinforcement would be to say: “Good job Mike.” What did Mike do? What was the correct action? Try to be specific in your praise. “Thank you Mike. You followed the correct procedure and walked quietly to line.”

Important procedures need to be posted where students can refer to them regularly. An example may be to have the morning routine up on the white board, in a pocket chart or on an overhead as students enter the room. It may look something like this:

* Hang up your jacket and empty your backpack. * Place homework, school forms and notes in the return bin. * Go to your seat and begin your morning work.

1. Rainbow Write Over the Letter of the Week 2. Personal Journal

If a student has a specific need, it is important that he/she learn to convey this need without disturbing the entire class. We like to use hand signals. For example: raise your fist when you need to use the restroom, raise one finger if you wish to speak, and raise two fingers if you need help. Instead of hand signals you may wish to use plastic cups, index cards or some other form of signal that can be placed quietly on the students desk to alert you to a need.

Remember that you will spend most of the first week teaching procedures and expectations. This will allow you to spend the rest of the year teaching subject matter and not running in circles trying to discipline students. Children can become independent learners if they have a familiar routine or procedure to guide them. The time you spend in preparation during this first week of school will be well worth the effort in the end.

• Use the student rule book and contracts located on the following pages to help teach school rules and procedures.

• Tip –You may consider wrapping each child’s new materials in butcher paper and ribbon and placing this special package on their desk the first day. When the students unwrap their brand new supplies, take some time to talk about how nice they are and how much they cost. We even have the catalog pages on overhead so that the students can make real life connections to the cost and effort that went into obtaining their supplies. Children are usually amazed by how much their materials cost and this activity builds ownership and respect for classroom supplies. We also do an activity the first day in which we systematically teach how to use these materials one by one. This special activity is located in the next section of this book.

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Possible Procedures & Routines to Establish With Students

• Where to line up when the bell rings. • How to enter the classroom. • What to do if you are late to school. • What to do if you were absent the day before. • How to listen to the teacher and ask questions. • How to participate in discussions and activities. • Where to get pencils, paper, erasers and other supplies. • How to take care of books, supplies and keep a neat desk. • How to check out library books. • How and when to ask for assistance. • How to go to the nurse or office. • When to come to attention. (lights off, bell rang, card up…) • How to pass out papers or collect papers. • What are the playground procedures. • What are the assembly procedures. • What are the computer use procedures. • How to respond to fire, earthquake, or lockdown drills. • What to do when finished with work early. • How to address parent or classroom visitors. • How to use manners—say please and thank you. • How to buy a hot lunch. • How to walk in the hall. • How & where to stand in line. • How and when to contact parents. • When it is appropriate to move around the room. • How to begin morning seatwork. • When to work cooperatively with friends. • How to place a heading on assignments. • How to exchange papers. • How to gather belongings to take home. • Bus riding procedures. • How to leave the classroom. • Where to return signed papers or notes from parents. • What to do when leaving school early. • How to sit on the rug at group time. • When is it okay to say what another child is doing. • How to solve peer problems. • What is the procedure for sharing and bringing toys from home.

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Classroom Discipline Plan

Classroom Rules: 1. Respect people and property. 2. Raise your hand to speak. 3. Work and walk in line quietly. 4. Follow directions the first time they are given. 5. Always do your very best. If You Choose to Break a Rule: 1st Time: Name on Board. Warning 2nd Time: One Check. 5 minutes owed at recess. 3rd Time: Two Checks. 10 minutes owed at recess. 4th Time: Three Checks. Loss of entire recess and note sent home. 5th Time: Four Checks. Referral written and student must report to the principal’s office. Rewards: Praise Positive notes or phone calls home Tangible incentives - stickers, treats Free time Special privileges - line leader etc. Classroom party or event ******************************************************************************************************************************* STUDENTS: I have read this classroom discipline plan and understand it. I will honor it every day while I am in school. Signature: ___________________________________________ Date: _________________________ PARENTS: I have discussed this discipline plan with my child. I understand it and will support it. Signature: ___________________________________________ Date: _________________________ TEACHER: I will be fair and consistent in administering the discipline plan for all students. Signature: ___________________________________________ Date: ________________________

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Parent—Teacher Contract Dear Parents, This week you and I became partners in one of the most important jobs we have—helping your child to become all that he or she can be. It’s an awesome, exciting, challenging, and terrifically rewarding task. I would like to make a contract with you.

I promise to greet your child each morning with the expectation that the day will be important and challenging. Will you learn more about the school program so you can offer the same enthusiasm?

I promise to prepare exciting lessons. Will you help your child get to school well-rested and on time to appreciate them?

I promise to assign worthwhile homework that can be completed in 15 to 30 minutes each day. Will you check daily to see that your child has read the assignment and completed it to the best of his/her ability? Will you help your child develop a system for making sure that all homework and important papers are brought to school each morning?

I promise to make your child’s day an intellectually stimulating one. Will you ask questions and encourage discussions so that your child can share his or her educational growth with you?

I promise to call or write whenever I feel that your child needs a little extra help in getting along with others, growing in responsibility, or working harder. Will you call or write me if you hear a report about school that bothers you?

I’m looking forward to an exciting year and a rewarding partnership with you. Sincerely, ————————————————————————————————————————_ I have read this contract and agree to enter into this educational partnership. Signature: ______________________________________________________________

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Cut these passes apart and laminate.

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Communication Before School Starts

If you are fortunate enough to have a class list prior to the first day of school, there are many things that you can do to make the students feel welcome. There is nothing more awesome than a home visit. Parents and children are usually so impressed by a home visit, they can’t wait for school to begin. This allows the student to meet you in a comfortable and safe atmosphere. Home visit tips: call the family first and plan the visit, let the family know the visit will be brief, bring an ice breaker such as a book to share or play-dough to play with, bring photographs from last year showing activities that the students can look forward to participating in, and bring your camera to take a photograph of the child. When you develop the film from your family visits, be sure to get multiple copies. Then you will be able to place each child’s picture on their cubby or desk and on your word wall next to their name or on a welcoming bulletin board. You may also bring along a parent and/or a student letter to go over with the family during your visit. This allows you to personally address any issues or concerns before that hectic first day. We are usually asked many questions like: How will I find the room? What is kindergarten like? Where can I keep my things? Can I bring my teddy bear? Will I have a friend? Will my mom know where to pick me up after school? If you prefer, this same technique can be done by inviting each family to visit you at your classroom prior to school beginning.

If you cannot make a home visit before school begins, mail a letter to the student and his/her parents. In the parent letter be sure to mention how excited you are to have their child in your class. Include a list of materials the child will need to purchase before school starts. Include a calendar of upcoming events such as “Back to School Night”. Explain your classroom procedures and expectations. Lastly, do not forget to invite them to volunteer in the classroom. Your student letter should include a message of introduction and welcome. Share your enthusiasm and expectations for the coming year. Provide a list of materials and contact information. Encourage parents to call you if they have questions or concerns during the school year. A follow up phone call is also beneficial, both to make that personal connection and to confirm that the letters were received.

When you make your back to school packet, you may wish to include: a letter of welcome, a volunteer sign up, donations list, discipline plan, school procedures packet, P.T.A. information, and a brief curriculum overview. Most schools offer a “Back to School” or “Curriculum” night where you will be able to go over academic standards and curriculum materials in more depth. Hopefully this night is scheduled during the first or second week of school. You want to ensure that everyone gets off to a good start.

The socioeconomic situations your students face will have an impact on what you do during that first week. If you teach in a disadvantaged area, you will want to be sensitive about asking for donations. You may also want to keep a supply of graham crackers and juice in the room. Students may arrive having had no breakfast and hunger can impede learning. A supply of extra sweaters and jackets is a good thing to have on hand as well. You never know when a child will be in need of these items. You may want to keep a supply of old reading anthologies, used crayons, scissors and glue. You can then loan these items to students who do not have the appropriate materials at home to complete homework.

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Welcome Greetings Continued

A “welcome to my class” home visit or phone call can be very easy and successful if you follow a few simple guidelines. You may ask, “Why is this so important?” Well, typically when a parent receives a visit or phone call from a teacher or administrator is has a negative connotation attached to it. Something has gone wrong and now the parent is going to hear about it. Yes, parents are conditioned to expect the worst when they hear from a teacher. You have the power to change this pattern. Make a habit of calling upon or visiting parents with good news about their child. A welcome visit or phone call establishes positive communication with the parents right from the very beginning and demonstrates your professionalism, concern and enthusiasm toward your students and their families.

Before you call or visit a parent write down all the items you wish to address. Begin by introducing yourself and then explain the purpose of your visit or phone call. Relay all important information clearly and concisely. Remember to be positive and enthusiastic. Be sure to allow time for the parent to share his/her concerns or comments. Take notes while the parent is speaking so that you can refer back to things that you want to address more thoroughly or perhaps revisit at parent/teacher conferences.

If you have a child in your class that has a history of experiencing difficulty in the classroom, a positive phone call or visit at the beginning of the year can have a profound effect. Ask the parent for their input about the previous year and what seemed to work for their child and what did not. You may phrase it in this manner, “I would like to hear your view on Jacob’s growth last year and why you feel it may not have been as successful as it could have been.” “I’d like to know what you feel we need to do to insure Jacob has a good year this year.”

Even if you do not have a chance to give every child a welcome visit or phone call prior to school starting, make a point of doing this during the first week of school. Then set a weekly goal for yourself to continue sending home positive feedback. Start with a reasonable goal: one phone call to a student and one note home to a student each week. If this seems manageable maybe you could increase it to two calls and two notes per week. By making two phone calls a week you would have contacted every child in a positive manner within the first ten weeks of school. Whatever your goal may be, remember to keep the positive communication going throughout the year. We like to set aside 30 minutes each week to call parents. Depending on the length of the conversa-tion we are able to speak with 2 to 6 families each week. Remember to make a check off list so that you know who you have contacted and who still needs to be contacted.

TIP—Often times parents receive an enormous amount of notices home from school. You may consider photocopying any notice of significant importance on astro-bright paper. This way parents know that it is something they need to look at immediately and/or return to you the next day. Also, offer the students an incentive for bringing important paperwork back to school the following day. This incentive could be anything from a sticker to 5 extra minutes of free time.

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August 21, 2005 Dear (Child’s Name), I‘m so excited to have you in my class this year. I love animals, art, music, and reading good books. I can’t wait to find out what things you like to do! This year we will read many books together, write stories and letters, share new experiences in social studies and science and begin many new concepts in math. Each week we will visit our computer lab, library and have a special art or music lesson. What a super year we have ahead of us. School is an important place where students, parents and teachers all work together. Please encourage your parents to visit our classroom and be a part of our school day. I have included with this letter a note which you may give to your parents. It tells them about our class and allows them to sign up to volunteer. Please bring this parent packet to school with you on the first day. I am excited about meeting you and sharing our first day together on August 25th. I hope you are too! Sincerely, Mrs. Sadler Jamacha School — Room G-8

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August 21, 2004

Dear Parents, Welcome to Kindergarten! This is a dynamic year of growth and learning. It is a year filled with fun, adventure and challenges. Your child may come home exhausted from all the thinking done during our school day. There is much to learn and every minute will count. Due to the importance of class attendance, I ask that you ensure your child comes to school every day, unless ill, and arrives on time. Your child needs to come to school prepared to learn. A good night’s sleep followed by a healthy breakfast is essential for strong bodies and effective learning. You may notice your child beginning to challenge bedtime limits … don’t give in! Kindergarten children need to be in bed by 8:00 each night. You can also help your child by making sure he/she has all the essential items needed for school and for home study. At home your child will need a quiet, well lit and uncluttered place to work. Your child will also need: pencils, erasers, crayons, a ruler, paper, scissors, glue stick and colored pencils to complete homework assignments. When coming to school your child will need to bring: a healthy snack, a lunch, a sweater or jacket, and a backpack to keep all this in. Your child is also responsible to return important paperwork, homework assignments and permissions slips to school when required. Please note that I have attached several important notices for you to read prior to the first day of school. Hopefully these notices will answer many of your questions. We have a fantastic group of children in our class and I am looking forward to a terrific year ahead. With your help, we can make this the best year yet! Sincerely, Mrs. Jarboe

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Calling All Volunteers

Dear Parents, We would like to invite you to become a member of our classroom family. Even if you work full-time, there are many ways in which you can be involved. Please take the time to indicate ways you would be willing to help by filling out the information below. Return this form to the classroom as soon as possible. By the way, grandparents, older siblings, and other family members are welcome to join in and volunteer as well. Thank you!

Name: _________________________________________________________________ Phone Number: _________________________________________________________

I would like to help by:

____ attending field trips

____ preparing materials at home - This is s perfect fit for those who can’t take time off from work to help in the classroom and it still allows your child to feel that sense of parental involvement.

____ correcting papers at home

____ helping to coordinate classroom parties and special events

____ supplying items to be used in the classroom

____ teaching or sharing a skill or occupation with students (list skill or occupation)

_________________________________________________________________

____ help in the classroom with students — This is a great opportunity which will allow you to get to know your child’s kindergarten friends as well as the kindergarten curriculum & expectations. (List day and time available … Mondays from 8:00 to 10:00 and so on.)

Day:__________________________________________Time:________________

Comments: _____________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Dear Parent Volunteer, Thank you for volunteering to work in our classroom. We are looking forward to sharing our adventures in learning with you. This is a great opportunity for you to get to know your child’s kindergarten friends, curriculum and expectations. Working in your child’s classroom is a joyful time, but does require you to think about certain ethics of the profession and follow them to the best of your ability. 1. Avoid discussing individual children outside the classroom. 2. Try not to compare children within the classroom. 3. Don’t compare methods of teaching. There are many different instructional strategies and every teacher brings his/her personality and talents to the classroom in a wonderfully unique manner.

Generally, you will be supervising a small group of students in a variety of activities relating to reading, writing, math or art. When you are finished with your activity, please remind the students to clean up and take pride in our learning environment. The children who finish the activity early, need to follow the classroom procedures and may not disturb other children who are still working. When the children are working independently, feel free to walk around the room and offer assistance and encouragement. You may also be asked to assist with preparing materials for future lessons, working individually with students, correcting student work or cleaning. You will soon notice that you have become a very important part of our class-room family and the children will look forward to working with you each week. This is truly a rewarding experience for everyone involved. Please try to arrive on time each week and remember that you are a very important part of our instructional program. If you are unable to come to school on your scheduled day, please call another volunteer to cover your absence. If you cannot find a parent substitute, please call me as soon as possible. I ask this because some of the activities that are planned may require adult assistance and I may need to change my plans for the day. Your efforts are greatly appreciated! Thank you and I look forward to seeing you.

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Parent Questionnaire

Child’s Name: _______________ ________________ _______________ first last nickname (if used at school)

Child’s Birth Date: _______________________________________________ Address: _______________________________ _____________ __________ street city zip code

Home Phone: ___________________________________________________ ****************************************

Mother’s Name _______________________ _________________________ first last

Employer: ____________________ Occupation: __________________ Work Phone: _________________ Cell Phone: __________________

**************************************** Father’s Name _______________________ _________________________ first last

Employer: ____________________ Occupation: __________________ Work Phone: _________________ Cell Phone: __________________

***************************************** Marital Status: __________________________________________________ Siblings: _____________________ _______ ______ _______________ name age grade school

_____________________ _______ ______ _______________ name age grade school

_____________________ _______ ______ _______________ name age grade school

_____________________ _______ ______ _______________ name age grade school

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Parent Questionnaire Has there been a divorce, death or illness in the family which might affect your child? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Does your child have any health issues or allergies I should know about? _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ What language is spoken at home? _______________________________ Is there any other information you would like me to know about your child?__________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Please feel free to contact me regarding anything you feel may affect your child’s behavior. You can call the school office at: ______________ and leave a message for me, or you can reach me at home in the evening at: _______________. Please be sensitive to the fact that I also have professional and family obligations and may not be able call you back until the following day. I will make every effort to return your phone call as quickly as I can. Thank you for taking the time to fill out this questionnaire. :-) Mrs. Jarboe

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Transportation Questionnaire

Child’s Name ___________________________________________________ My child: ____ Will arrive and leave by personal auto. ____ Will take the district bus. * Bus Number _________ ____ Will go to private daycare by: _____________________________ ____ Will attend school site daycare. In the event that we need to contact someone to pick your child up from school, who should we call? __________________________ _______________________ name phone number __________________________ _______________________ name phone number • Please specify if your child’s schedule changes daily or weekly. Thank you for your assistance. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Lunch & Snack Procedure Dear Parents, The children are allowed to bring a snack to eat during morning recess. When packing your child’s snack, remember that it must be healthy and able to be eaten quickly. For example, if you are packing an orange for your child’s snack please have the orange sliced or peeled and ready to eat. Also, remind your child that recess is the time to eat a snack and not his/her entire lunch! The following are some healthy snack suggestions:

Fresh Fruit Hard Boiled Egg Slices Crackers String Cheese 1/2 sandwich Pudding Celery or Carrot Sticks Beef Jerky Nuts Fruit Rolls Pretzels Yogurt

Your child may also pack a sack lunch or purchase a lunch from the cafeteria. Remember to include a bottled water in your child’s lunch. We want to make sure everyone remains well hydrated, especially on hot days. Once again, we ask that the lunches consist of healthy food items. Please do not send candy, cake, cookies, soda, or chips for snack. These items have no nutritional value and can have a negative influence on children’s health and behavior. Thank You!

Lunch & Snack Procedure Dear Parents, The children are allowed to bring a snack to eat during morning recess. When packing your child’s snack, remember that it must be healthy and able to be eaten quickly. For example, if you are packing an orange for your child’s snack please have the orange sliced or peeled and ready to eat. Also, remind your child that recess is the time to eat a snack and not his/her entire lunch! The following are some healthy snack suggestions:

Fresh Fruit Hard Boiled Egg Slices Crackers String Cheese 1/2 sandwich Pudding Celery or Carrot Sticks Beef Jerky Nuts Fruit Rolls Pretzels Yogurt

Your child may also pack a sack lunch or purchase a lunch from the cafeteria. Remember to include a bottled water in your child’s lunch. We want to make sure everyone remains well hydrated, especially on hot days. Once again, we ask that the lunches consist of healthy food items. Please do not send candy, cake, cookies, soda, or chips for snack. These items have no nu-tritional value and can have a negative influence on children’s health and behavior. Thank You!

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Library Books Dear Parents, Your child is bringing home a library book for the first time during this school year. Encourage your child to share this book with you by: 1. Discussing the pictures and reading the text together. 2. Having your child read aloud to you. 3. Having your child read the book independently and then summarize the story for you. I allow children to choose their own book independently. This means that sometimes they choose a book that is too difficult for them to read independently or too easy and they finish it quickly. I feel that children should be allowed to select their own book and through this process they will discover what type/length of book is best suited for them. Encourage your child to take good care of his/her library book and to bring it back to school each day. One of the exciting elements of kindergarten is that students begin to read books independently. It is fun to read some at school and then take the book home and read some there. This library book is your child’s privilege and responsibility. Each child will not be allowed to check out another library book if their current book is not returned to school. I hope you and your child will enjoy this sharing of library books. Thank You!

Library Books Dear Parents, Your child is bringing home a library book for the first time during this school year. Encourage your child to share this book with you by: 1. Discussing the pictures and reading the text together. 2. Having your child read aloud to you. 3. Having your child read the book independently and then summarize the story for you. I allow children to choose their own book independently. This means that sometimes they choose a book that is too difficult for them to read independently or too easy and they finish it quickly. I feel that children should be allowed to select their own book and through this process they will discover what type/length of book is best suited for them. Encourage your child to take good care of his/her library book and to bring it back to school each day. One of the exciting elements of kindergarten is that students begin to read books independently. It is fun to read some at school and then take the book home and read some there. This library book is your child’s privilege and responsibility. Each child will not be allowed to check out another library book if their current book is not returned to school. I hope you and your child will enjoy this sharing of library books. Thank You!

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Dear Parents, We are starting our homework program today. Homework packets will come home with your child each Friday and are due the following Friday. There will be a homework assignment for each day of the school week. I am sending this packet to you on Friday, so that if you are anticipating a busy week ahead, you can get a jump start on the homework over the weekend. I understand how hectic things can become with music, dance, scouting and athletics after school each day. However, it is important that homework become a priority in your household. Homework should always be completed before a child is given free time for T.V. and Nintendo type games. I have given each child a new homework folder that has been clearly labeled with his or her name. This folder is to be checked each day by you, the parent, and returned to school with your child each day. When there is completed work, assessments, important notices or permission slips to be sent home, they will be placed in your child’s homework folder. Treat this folder with respect and care. If it is destroyed or lost, it will be your child’s responsibility to replace it immediately. Homework completion is an important part of our curriculum and is graded on the report card. Make sure that your child has an appropriate place (a well-lit, quiet desk or table) to do his or her work at home. Home-work grows more rigorous each year your child is in school. Developing good study habits now, will ensure academic success in the future. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your help and support. ______________________________________________________________ Please sign and return this portion to let me know that you have received and read this information. Signature: ________________________________ Date: _______________

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Dear Parents, So often I am asked, “How can I help my child do better in school?” Besides the usual responses, “Volunteer at school, get to know your child’s teacher and join the P.T.A.”, I have compiled a few more ideas I hope you will find helpful. All of these are quite simple to accomplish, but can make a great difference in your child’s academic success.

1. Listen to your child. Encourage your child to talk about daily school events. Make sure that you give your undivided attention and respond enthusiastically.

2. Praise your child. Recognizing and praising your child’s efforts will reinforce learning.

3. Be patient with your child. Even though you may have explained how to do something once, your child may need you to explain it again. He or she may make the same mistake several times before getting it right. Don’t be discouraged. Some experts say that new learning may take at least fifteen repetitions before mastery can occur. It is more important that you do not become angry or impatient. Learning does not take place in a tense and fearful environment. If you or your child becomes frustrated, just take a break.

4. Recognize your child’s unique talents and abilities. Avoid comparing your child to other children. Some children learn faster than other children. Remember that not all children learn to walk, talk and cut their first teeth on the same day at the same time. There is no set sequence for learning and development. Praise and encourage your child’s accomplishments as they happen.

5. Develop good homework habits. Try to provide a quiet, well-lit place for studying and reading. Make sure there is room for books, papers, pencils, and other tools. Never underestimate the power of snuggle time together while sharing a good book.

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6. Schedule regular homework time together. During this time check your child’s folder for completed work and important papers. Go over your child’s papers together. Praise work well done and go over concepts that appear to have been difficult for your child. 7. Make sure that school attendance is excellent. When children miss school they may miss an entire concept or an important lesson that sets the foundation for future lessons. It is difficult to make up for this lost time. Demonstrate that education is a priority. 8. Turn off your television. Time spent in front of the television should be

limited. Think about all the things you and your child could be sharing in or creating instead of watching television. When you do allow your child to watch television be sure to set time limits and choose appropriate

programming. 9. Take your child places. Visits to nature or science centers, museums, galleries, farms, factories and parks will provide exciting new learning opportunities, increased vocabulary and comprehension as well as memories that will be cherished. 10. Read to your child. Your child is never too old to enjoy sharing a story. They delight in listening to you read and learn when you model fluency and intonation. So read with your child and sometimes read to your child! 11. Help your child comprehend and extend his or her reading. When your child finishes a chapter or a book, ask him or her to tell you what happened. Ask if there were any words that they had never read before. Discuss the meaning of these new words. Notice how they are spelled and how they are pronounced. 12. Join and visit the public library. Take your child to the library at least once a month. Participate in library events such as story times and meetings with authors and illustrators. Books open up a whole new world of adventure and learning.

I hope these suggestions are helpful to you. I am thrilled to be able to work with your child and to further his or her growth and development.

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Curriculum Night

Dear Parents,

I am sorry to have missed you at “Curriculum Night”! Enclosed you will find copies of the materials I discussed with the parents who were present. I realize there are many details in this packet, but taking the time to read through them carefully now may help to eliminate questions or misunderstandings later. You are always free to contact me by phone or to send a note in your child’s folder. I will get back with you as soon as possible. Thank you,

Back to School Night

Dear Parents,

I am sorry to have missed you at “Back to School Night”! Enclosed you will find copies of the materials I discussed with the parents who were present. I realize there are many details in this packet, but taking the time to read through them carefully now may help to eliminate questions or misunderstandings later. You are always free to contact me by phone or to send a note in your child’s folder. I will get back with you as soon as possible. Thank you,

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Dear Parents, Your child has been chosen to be our “Star of the Week”! This is a special opportunity for your child to share some important parts of his or her life with our class. Please return this folder on Monday with at least three of the suggested items: * A picture of your child with his or her family. * A picture of your child’s friends. * A picture of what your child looks like when he/she is happy. * A picture of your child’s favorite place. * Pictures of things your child likes to do. * A picture of your child’s wish. * Also, please allow your child to bring in one item that is special to him/her to share with the class. Please enjoy collecting these special items for our “Star of the Week” bulletin board. We will take very good care of the pictures and return everything to you on Friday. Thank you,

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Reading at Home

Dear Kindergarten Families, There are many ways that you can help your child to be more successful at school, but did you know that the best thing you can do is read with your child? There are many reasons why this is so important.

• There is a direct correlation between reading success in school and being read to at home.

• Children learn to read fluently with expression and intonation by their parents example.

• Reading together will reinforce the concepts that are being taught in school. • A child’s vocabulary and understanding will increase greatly. • Reading will help to build imagination and creativity. • Sharing reading time together will help to strengthen and build a warm

relationship between you and your child. • Reading increases knowledge and confidence. • Time spent reading together will help to create a lifelong love of learning.

Helpful Reading Tips:

1. Try to read with your child everyday, even if it is just a short bedtime story. 2. Try to turn off the television and establish a regular reading time together each

day. Turn the pages slowly discussing the text and illustrations. 3. Share some of your favorite children’s books with your child. They enjoy sharing in

the stories that you knew and loved as a child. 4. Make a special trip to the library or local book store for story time and special

activities. 5. Start out slow and then build the amount of time you spend reading with your

child. 6. If you are reading a longer book, try reading a chapter a night. 7. Discuss the story with your child as you are reading. Ask questions and make

predictions together. 8. Get excited as your child begins to share in the reading process with you,

recognizing familiar letters and words. Be careful not to labor over the reading and interfere with the enjoyment of the story.

9. Look up challenging words in the dictionary to learn their meaning and usage. 10. Whether your child is listening to you read, “reading the pictures”, or reading the

words to you; be sure to let your child know how much fun you are having. Enjoy this time together, loosen up, be dramatic, be silly and have fun!

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# Title of Book Read Date

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

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Monthly Home Reading Log

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Parent Orientation: As we discussed, early home or classroom visits can really help get the year off to a great start. You may also wish to consider having a parent orientation before school begins or within the first week of school starting. Due to the fact that many parents work, scheduling this orientation in the evening or during lunch may make it easier for everyone to attend. This is a wonderful time for you to speak directly to parents. You will need to begin by introducing yourself and reassuring parents that you want the very best for their children. You can review all the material you mailed them or gave them during your home or classroom visit. You can go over your daily/weekly schedule, the curriculum you will be using, contact information, the assessment or grading system you will use, volunteer sign-ups, parent/home communications, and most importantly you can address parent concerns and questions. Typically parents have similar concerns and questions and having an orientation allows you the opportunity to answer these one time for everyone. Below is a description of our orientation. While there are so many different schedules, teaming situations, demographics, and so on, there is no one perfect way to conduct orientation. Hopefully our orientation will trigger some ideas for you and help you to get started. We offer our orientation on the first day of school. This is a reduced day in which the parents and students stay for a two hour period and then return home. We send home an invitation with the welcome letter one week prior to orientation. (If you won’t have your student list far enough in advance you may wish to include details about orientation on the Kindergarten registration packet so parents will be able to plan in advance for the day). We ask that each student be accompanied by a parent or other grown-up who will be responsible for gathering important information and who will be available to stay with the child for the first day. We ask that parents do not bring younger siblings as it can be very disruptive and it takes away from the kindergartner’s special day. We have both an a.m. and a p.m. kindergarten class so we offer two separate orientations. The orientation lasts 2 hours for each group and the afternoon teacher is available to assist the morning teacher and vice versa. We begin by inviting everyone in and allow time to walk around and look at the room, put on a nametag, greet friends, share a book and so on. This allows time for everyone to arrive. We then welcome the children to the circle on the rug and the adults stay seated at the back of the room. We “transition” the students away from the adults. We like to introduce ourselves and tell a little about our own families and how excited we are to be their teacher. We sing a little welcome song and share a Kindergarten book (a bibliography follows but our favorite is “Tom Goes to Kin-dergarten” by Margaret Wild). Next we take roll and ask each student

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to come to the front for a sticker and a hug. We always ask permission for the hug as some are still too shy. Usually we receive big hugs and smiles and everything is comfortable from that point on. Taking roll this way is a little time consuming but well worth it. Next the afternoon teacher (or student teacher or instructional aide) takes the children out to the playground. This is an opportunity to introduce all of the playground rules and allow them a play break and bathroom break. Inside the morning teacher is able to discuss procedures with the adults, explain paperwork and answer questions. All of this information is in print and we modify it every year as necessary. Keep all your extra copies as it is really handy to have these papers available for families that couldn’t come on the first day or for those who enroll later in the year. Next we bring the children back inside and we make a snack together. Our favorite is the four food group shish-kabob. We first read a story such as “Gregory the Terrible Eater”, model how to make the snack and then line everyone up to make their own. We put out skewers, apple chunks, cubed ham, cubed cheese, and cubed bread. Sometimes we provide box drinks, or cups of water or apple juice. This is another chance for the teacher to circulate and speak directly to each child and chat with parents as well. We always like to have music playing in the background. Once again we join at the rug and share a story that is as much for the parents as it is for the children—”Leo the Late Bloomer” by Jose Aruega. It expresses how everyone is bright and talented but it may happen at different times for different people. We end by modeling how to make a paper doll/self portrait. Children make these with the help of their grown-up and when they finish we put them up on our big schoolhouse bulletin board. We then complement them individually for having a wonderful first day, give another hug and send them off. Most of the children go home happy and eager to return. Also, the parents go home feeling comfortable about their child’s Kindergarten experience.

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Pajama Night—An Alternate Orientation

Pajama Night can happen any time during the school year, but it is a special treat to invite the children to school the night before the first day of school. Encourage them to come for a short 30 or 60 minute story time/orientation, wearing their pajamas and bringing their favorite stuffed animal. The children come into the class with their parents and enjoy cookies and milk while looking at the room. The highlight of the evening is when you read the book: “The Night Before Kindergarten” by Natasha Wing. Below are a list of extension activities that you may wish to use as well: Pajama Graphs: Prepare a simple graph to complete following the story. If you make it a little more elaborate be sure to laminate it for reuse in the coming years. Any of the following graphs would work well with your students: Pajama Sleeves: Create a three-column graph for long-sleeve pajamas, short sleeve pajamas, sleeveless pajamas. Pajama Colors: Attach pieces of construction paper to the board or wall. It is really cute if you cut these in the form of pajamas. Have students or parents (or the teacher, if you prefer), write student names on the color of paper that matches the color of their pajamas. Graph and tally the results. You could also provide a chart with each student’s name and ask them to color in the adjacent box with crayon to match their pajama color. Stuffed Animal Graph: Try a floor graph. You may simply place the animals in rows—all the bears in one row, rabbits in another, etc. You may wish to create a grid on the floor with mask-ing tape or draw one on a sheet of butcher paper. Be sure to bring your own stuffed animal to include in the graph. Favorite Color Graph: Precut little pillow shapes in a variety of colors. Allow students to choose their favorite, write their name and post them on a graph. Rate the Story Graph: After reading “The Night Before Kindergarten” ask the students to show you with body language how much they enjoyed the story. Graph their responses. (“loved It”—big smile with hands waving; “It was pretty good”—big smile; “I’ve heard bet-ter”—little smile and shoulder shrug). Pillow “Fight” Activity: Begin this activity by sharing the book, “The Caterpillow Fight” by Sam McBratney. Briefly discuss the story and invite the students for a pillow “fight” of their own. Provide several small pillows and arrange the students in relay lines where they must toss the pillow to the student across from them and then run to the end of their own line. This game need not be an actual race. Just allow the students to toss and run until all have had a turn or two. You may also try asking students to balance a standard size pillow on top of their head and walk a short distance before passing it to the next student. Try creating a pillow “obstacle course” where students may jump over pillows arranged on the floor. Pillows may be stacked two or more high for more fun and challenge.

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Wish Upon a Star Have students make pages for a class book. Introduce the idea with the book by Iza Trapani, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. Briefly discuss favorite dreams and wishes. Ask if they have ever wished on a star. Share the verse:

Star light, star bright, First Star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might Have the wish I wish tonight. Model how to complete the book page and assist students as necessary with completing the sentence: I wish________. While the students are working play some favorite lullabies, When you wish Upon a Star, or other restful music.

A singing time with students may include: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Sweet and Low All Through the Night Rock-a-bye Baby Are you Sleeping? (Frere Jacques) One Light, One Sun Night Time Library If you have the books available (or can obtain donations), create bedtime story take home bags. Use purchased or handmade canvas bags* filled with any or all of the following:

A book (The Napping House, Sleeping Beauty, Ira Sleeps Over, Corduroy, Bedtime for Frances, Goodnight Moon, One Cold Wet Night, and so on). A stuffed animal, thematic if appropriate (a teddy bear with Ira Sleeps Over or Corduroy, a mouse or other animal from The Napping House, and so on). A special note from the teacher wishing sweet dreams, an affirmation or short poem. A bound class book with one page for each child to complete when it is their turn to take home the book bag. This book becomes part of the classroom library when each student has had an opportunity to complete a page. Be sure to include a laminated instruction sheet explaining the purpose of the take home bag and your expectations as far as when it must be returned, the condition it must be in, and a list of the items included so both you and the families can double check that all of the items are returned to the bag. *Ziploc bags work very well also. They are inexpensive and you can see the contents when they are returned. The Jumbo 2.5 Gallon bags are large enough to hold a stuffed animal. Snacktime Before the final reading by the teacher (“The Night Before Kindergarten) serve a simple snack of milk and cookies or popcorn and lemonade. Then ask students to get cozy on the rug with their pillows and/or stuffed animals as you read. Send off What better way to send off your students then with a hug and a sticker. If you have a class theme (frogs, bears, ladybugs) try to find a matching sticker for your new students. You may also send them home with a nametag for them to wear on the following morning.

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Additional Tips to Help Make That First Week Wonderful Creating a Schedule: Establishing a daily routine will really help you gain control and teach effectively. Children respond best when they know what is expected of them and can rely on a regular routine to guide them. Post your schedule each day. We like to use a pocket chart for this activity. First we create activity cards that have a picture of each activity on them and the title of the activity. Then we place these cards in the pocket chart next to the time that each activity is scheduled to begin. Each morning we review the daily schedule. Assigning Jobs: By creating jobs for the students to do you will foster ownership and responsi-bility. Children will work together to contribute to the overall classroom community and routines. We post these jobs on a pocket chart. Here are some possible jobs to get you started:

Electrician—turns lights on and off when asked. Pet Patrol—cares for the class pets. Botanist—waters the class plants. Conductor—leads the line as we walk from area to area. Caboose—brings up the back of the line. Messenger—takes the roll and other papers to the office. Custodian—dusts and organizes the room. Librarian—keeps the class library orderly. Color Guard—holds the flag as we say the pledge File Clerk—helps to pass out or file papers. Chefs—help to set up snack. Pinch Hitter—fills in for anyone who is absent. Weather person—helps with the weather graph. Calendar Leader—leads the class through the calendar activities. Comforter—helps those in need These same jobs can be assigned using thematic names if you have a class theme. Below are samples of military/bear themed jobs we have used. Our class theme was bears, but we also taught in a military community and combined the two:

Ball Bearer Roll Call Captain Paper Pilots Library Lieutenants Sign Sergeant Standard Bearer (Peacemaker Pledge Leader) Flag Bearer (Pledge of Allegiance) Dust Busters Calendar Cadet Bear Mail Carrier Back up Bears (fill in for absent children) Troop Leaders

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Manners: Yes, these need to be taught. Take time to discuss table manners at lunch, how to be a good listeners on the rug, how to take turns and share, inviting others to join in the game, how to solve peer problems and so on. Signals: You will need to establish signals to use with the children when you want their attention. Some teachers prefer to use: raising two fingers, flipping the lights on and off, a bell or xylophone, a song, or clapping a pattern. Whichever signal you choose, remember to stick with it and be consistent. Minor Accidents: Minor scraps, scratches and bruises are inevitable. Keep a well stocked first aid kit in your classroom and a supply of “Boo-Boo Notes” on hand to send home. It is very important to let parents know when one of these small accidents has occurred. Birthdays: A birthday is an important event in the life of a kindergarten child. It deserves to be celebrated. Establish a birthday routine and be consistent with every child. We make a birthday graph before school even starts and go over it during the first week of school. We make sure to celebrate birthdays we may have missed, due to summer break, during that first week or two of school. We also make sure that we celebrate every birthday that may occur over a holiday or break. Every child is allowed to bring in a special birthday snack to share with classmates. We have birthday crowns for each child to wear, a special birthday chair for each child to sit on and we do give out birthday gifts. In our class every child may choose a birthday pencil and a book to take home. The pencils we purchase from our local teacher supply store and the books we receive free from the book clubs we use in our classroom. We sing the traditional “Happy Birth-day” song and then do a non-traditional rendition as well such as: barking the birthday song, meowing the song or singing it like a cowboy. We just have FUN! Late Arrivals: You are most likely going to have some students enter your classroom after the first day of school. Remember to keep a file of “extra” important papers so they will be handy and ready to give to new students. Also, try to acclimate the new child into your classroom as quickly as possible by placing their name on the word wall, assigning a cubby and so on as soon as you can. Be sure to assign a buddy to the new student. It works best if this buddy is seated in close proximity to the new child. This buddy will help the new child with procedures, sit by him/her at lunch, and play with him/her at recess. Planning Ahead: We have yet to find the perfect plan book. Having a plan book is very important however and you may wish to consider creating your own. We have made our own plan books on our computer for years and it is simply the best method we have found. It is easy to do and can be custom designed to meet your special needs and individual schedule. We make sure that we are planned and prepared one month in advance. This is a critical skill to develop if you wish to be well prepared and reduce your stress level. Helping Hands: We create a helping hands poster in which we use Ellison die cut hands to write special needs on. Parents are encouraged to lend a helping hand by removing one of these die cut hands from the poster and purchasing the item found on it for the classroom. This is an effective and wonderfully easy way to share in the financial burden of keeping a classroom stocked. Items we may write on each hand could include: 35mm film, gift certificates to teacher supply stores, book titles, art supplies, food items, plastic bags, tissue and so on.

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Snacks: We have used two different snack methods in our class. The first is having each child bring in his or her own snack each day. The second is assigning a community snack day to each child. This makes snack a special event. Each child is assigned one day each month when he or she brings in a family style snack for the whole class. They are always so excited to share their special snack and enjoy helping to set it up as well. Pen Pals: You may consider developing a pen pal relationship with a kindergarten teacher in another state. We have thoroughly enjoyed writing to another class and learning all about the state that they live in. These letters usually begin as one large class letter on chart paper and then by the end of the year the students are sending each other individual letters. It is a wonder-ful way to teach letter writing and integrate social studies, geography and science concepts as well. Email: We also enjoy teaching computer skills and letter writing by encouraging children to email their parents. Both parents and students really enjoy this activity. Kindergarten Ambassadors: If you have the opportunity, it is fun to have the departing kin-dergarten students leave letters and pictures behind for the incoming kindergarten children. You may also consider inviting the new first graders to your orientation to buddy with an incoming kindergarten child and take them on a classroom tour and play games or center activities with them. Talking Sticks: Making talking sticks out of tongue depressors or popsicle sticks is a wonderful tool that has multiple uses. These sticks can be used when calling on students simply by pulling one out of a “waiting to share” cup, and then placing it into a “I have shared” cup after the child has had a turn. This really helps you make sure that everyone is receiving a turn to speak or share equally. These can also be used when choosing teams, groups or special helpers. They are an effective tool in class discussions as well. The children can learn that the only person who is allowed to speak is the person who is holding the talking stick. When this person is finished speaking, the talking stick is then passed to another student. Supplies: One of the first projects we do together as a class is look at our new supplies and discuss how to use and care for them. We complete a student made book together that further emphasizes the manner in which we care for our supplies. We begin by discussing crayon usage: how to take the crayons out of the box, how to color in one direction, pressing lightly, using the lines to guide you, how to sharpen crayons and then how to put them away nicely. Then we discuss how to use our scissors, what to cut and what NOT to cut, scissor safety, and where to store the scissors when they are not in use. Lastly, we discuss how to care for and use our glue. We pay special attention to the fact that the glue bottles must be kept clean and closed. We also demonstrate that a tiny drop of glue will do—we do not want glue puddles. All of this can be discussed and put into practice while completing the student book together.

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Coloring lightly is such fun, in the box when your done.

My Supplies

By:______________________

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No drips or puddles of sticky glue, just a little bit will do.

My scissors cut and clip, only paper may I snip.

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I can color. I can cut. I can glue.

circle square triangle

rectangle oval

Color, cut, and then paste these shapes on the previous page.

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Make Class Stationary Create class stationary for notes home, newsletters, or even as a border for student stories that have been dictated or typed. You may choose to design a border or just a header that can be easily reproduced. You may then add your correspondence as you wish. Some of our favorite designs follow: • Take photos of your students. They may be portrait or posed individual shots.

This works best with a plain background. These photos can be reduced in size on the photocopier or on your computer if you are using a digital camera. Arrange these photos around the border of an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper in collage fashion. Use this sheet as your master copy and print stationary.

• Provide students with a 3” x 5” card or piece of paper. Have them draw a self

portrait and print their name on the paper using black ink or pencil. It is best to model this first. If you use pencil, the teacher may need to trace over the draw-ing with a fine tip black marker for added clarity. Reduce these images to the desired size and then arrange them around the border of 8.5” x 11” paper. Use this sheet as your master copy and print stationary

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• 3. Pose the entire class in a horizontal orientation. It works best to pose the children on a play structure, a stage, or in front of the classroom or school sign. Have some children stand, some sit and others kneel to fit in a large class of students. You may choose to have your students create and hold a class banner or school motto. Just be creative and have fun. Reduce this photo and paste it on the top of a 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper. Use this sheet as your master copy and print stationary. Then write your message below.

• 4. Make letter posters that spell “Thank You” or any other message that you

wish. Pose the students holding the posters in order and then take a photo. Arrange the photo on the bottom half of a sheet of paper so that it maybe folded as a note card with the photo on the front. You may wish to draw or use a computer generated border as well. These are great to have on hand for parent volunteers, chaperones, or for those who donate supplies to the class.

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Sample First Day Schedule Using Activities Provided in this Packet

* If you are greeting your children in line outside, you may want to have them come into the classroom and go straight to the rug for roll, pledge and story. This procedure is outlined in depth below. Or, if you allow parents to stay for the first hour or so, then alter the below plan to allow for a shared activity to begin the day. Have the students come in the classroom and go straight to work at their desks. This allows you to greet everyone and then gather together on the rug later when everyone is present and the welcome activity has been completed. Parents love to help the children come in, find their seat and get to work.

8:30—Open your door and welcome the students to school. Ask the children to come into the classroom quietly and place their backpacks under their cubby, find their seat on the rug and get ready to hear a wonderful story. Remember that we have taken time to prepare our classroom for the students arrival. Each students name is written on a poster on the door welcoming them to the class. Their name is also on their cubby, on their desk and on their rug space. (If you do not want to assign rug seats, at least have lines or dots for the students to sit on.) When the children are seated on the rug remind them to give their parents a wave goodbye or blow them a kiss. Reassure the children that they will be seeing their parents at 3:00 after the school day has ended. Wait for the parents to exit and then begin to read a story as an ice breaker activity. (If you have a child that is experiencing separation anxiety you may wish to have this child sit by you or your assistant on the rug. You could ask this child to be your special helper by holding a reading pointer or special puppet to redirect their anxiety. If a parent is having separation anxiety, take a phone number where they can be reached and call them at recess or lunch to update them on their child’s progress.) After reading the special story introduce the students to the morning rug routine: take roll, say the pledge, introduce the calendar, sing a patriotic or hello song, introduce classroom behavioral expectations and read the morning message to the students. In the morning message be sure to tell the students that you have special surprises for them (a desk with new supplies and a first day survival kit). Ask the students if they are ready to receive the surprises that await them at their desks.

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9:30—Explain the procedures for leaving the rug and walking to desks. Dismiss the children to their desks, praising their quiet walking. You may dismiss students by small group such as: row by row, boys then girls, name that begins with a particular letter, a color worn, an item worn such as: lace up shoes, velcro shoes, buckle shoes or slip on shoes. Try to be creative with the way you dismiss students each day. This keeps them attentive and alert.

Everything the students will need should be out for them, ready to go. We have a name card taped to each desk. We have found that clear packing tape works great. It is easy to find, sticks securely and can even be repositioned when student seat assignments change. (Name cards are available at any teacher supply store or on line at www.reallygoodstuff.com.) We also have a supply box at each child’s desk wrapped in butcher paper with their name on it. Inside they will find two sharpened pencils, one box of crayons, one glue stick or one Elmer's glue bottle, one box of colored pencils and one pair of scissors.) Allow students to open their wrapped supply boxes. Look at the items inside together and discuss their uses and costs. You may even wish to have catalog pages on the overhead projector to demonstrate the process of ordering supplies and their cost. This gives students ownership of, as well as pride in, and responsibility for, their classroom supplies. There is a work packet on each desk that consists of: a printing page to demonstrate how to use a pencil, a color page to demonstrate how to use color pencils or crayons, and a cut & paste page to demonstrate how to use scissors and glue. Complete these pages together discussing how to use and care for these supplies as you go. When you are finished allow the students to place these completed packets in their cubbies to take home at the end of the day and then line up by the door.

Optional: Have out “First Day Survival Kits” and share these before you begin the above activity. This takes some preparation, but is a very effective ice breaker and the children are comforted by this special activity. See page #72

10:30—Take a classroom tour. Have the students line up and walk them in line around the classroom explaining the different areas and their purposes as you go. Then proceed outside and show the students how to get to the bathrooms, drinking fountains and playground. Discuss correct use procedures for each as you go. Go over the different pieces of playground equipment and demonstrate how to use each one. Discuss playground rules and consequences. Then give the students 15 minutes of playtime. Line the children up and then return to the classroom.

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11:00—Have the students sit on the rug again. Be sure to praise the children who remember the correct procedures. Read “Chrysanthemum” by Kevin Henkes to the students and then graph student names on a pocket chart by the number of letters in each name. Discuss who’s name had the most letters and who’s name had the least amount of letters. You may find it fun to read each child’s name from the book “What’s Your Name—A Guide to First Names and What They Mean.” If student names do not appear in this book—ask the students what they would like their name to mean—this way no one is left out. Keep this name graph/pocket chart up in the classroom and revisit it each day during the first week. Later in the week or month, you can use these name cards to alphabetize names, spell names, clap the syllables in each name, use the names in other extension graphs such as boy/girl, eye or hair color, age, likes and dislikes. The uses for a graph of this nature are unlimited.

11:30—Sing a song as a transition activity. Try to incorporate movement with your songs. This allows the students to get their wiggles out and stretch. Read the story “I Like Me” by Nancy Carlson. Then demonstrate the self-portrait art activity by drawing a picture of yourself in front of the students. Be sure to explain everything that you do as you do it. “First, I am going to walk over to the art center a bring one paper to my work area. (You may wish to have the papers on the children’s desks ready to go.) Then I am going to carefully open up my supply box and take out my crayons. Now I am ready to begin my drawing. First I write my name on my paper. Then I will draw my head at the top of the paper. My head is oval shaped. Now I will draw my face...” Continue on until you have drawn a portrait of yourself. “Be sure to check that you have written your name below your drawing so that everyone will know who the artist is.” Explain that your drawing may not be perfect, but what matters most is that you did your best. Dismiss the children to their desks to complete this activity. Once again review procedures and praise those who follow them correctly. Be sure to save these drawings for either your class memory book, an assessment piece or as bulletin board art. These first drawings are a wonderful assessment piece and can be used to show growth as the year progresses. We always complete another self portrait at the end of the year to see how much the children have grown. We have provided two drawing pages for you to choose from—one requires writing and the other does not.

12:00—Clean up and discuss the lunch procedures. Each school has it’s own lunch routine & schedule. Be sure to know yours in advance!

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12:10—Lunch & recess—Be prepared to spend a great deal of time with students during lunch for the first week. We usually eat our lunch with the students for the first few days until the procedures have become routine.

12:40—Bring students back to the classroom for SSR—Sustained Silent Reading. This is a ten minute period where students are allowed to choose a book from the class library and read quietly. We allow the students to read anywhere in the room where they are comfortable, providing they do not abuse this privilege. If they do then they must read at their desk. If you prefer, bring the students to the rug and read the entire class a story, poem or nursery rhyme instead of having individual reading time during the first days or weeks.

12:50—Review the classroom rules and procedures. Praise the children’s wonderful efforts and the ways they have demonstrated correctly following the procedures through out that day. Read the rule book (provided on the following pages) to the children and demonstrate how to color the pages. Talk about staying in the lines, coloring in one direction, and pressing lightly with the crayons so they do not break. Dismiss children to their seats and allow them to color their rule book. You may choose to complete this activity page by page together, reading each page as you go. Another option is to allow the students to color the book and then read the entire book together afterward. Either way is fine, just remember to demonstrate touch tapping the words, directionality, and concepts of print as you read.

1:30– Introduce center time to the children. We usually begin with only a handful of centers during this first week. Our favorite beginning centers include: block play, listening center, library/read the room, puzzles, and art. On this first day we have a special first day of school hat available for the children to make at the art center. (The pattern is located later in the book.) We like to keep the centers simple at first. For example: the art center may have a color activity during the first week, a color and cut activity during the second week, a color, cut and paste activity during the third week and painting during the fourth week. By gradually increasing the ex-pectation, students achieve success in managing and completing the center activities. At 1:55 ring the bell for clean up and walk around the room sharing aloud as you see students following the correct cleanup procedures. Have the students return to the rug.

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2:00—Have the children come to the rug for sharing. Allow yourself to be interviewed and share personal items (photos, personal effects and so on). Place your photos on the “Star of the Week” board. You can do this by allowing the students to ask you questions or by using the interview sheet we have provided on the overhead projector. Let each student know that they will also have a turn to be interviewed as “Star of the Week” and to share items they will bring from home with the class. Announce who the first “Star of the Week” will be and send home the appropriate paper work. Some teachers prefer to have a star of the day, thus you can get through the entire class in one month. We usually take this first week to allow classroom personnel to be the star each day. For example: day one—teacher, day two –partner teacher, day three—instructional assistant, day four the principal and so on. This not only models the correct procedure for star of the week, but also helps to develop a sense of trust and bonding between the students and the teaching team.

2:15—Closing message, song or game, and discussion about dismissal procedures.

2:30—Dismiss children to go home after you give out “First Day” certificates and treats. Tip—usually the parents will pick up the children on the first day of school, but not always. Make sure you know where each child is to go on that first day. Dismissal can be a frightening time for kindergarten students.

* Sometimes on that first day of school the office will send home an unusually large amount of paper work. We like to go over this paper work with the students, so they know what it is and offer an incentive such as a special sticker for those who remember to bring the required paper work back to school the next day. 2:40—Take a deep breath… you did it! Now prepare for day 2 and then treat yourself to dinner out! * Half or reduced day Kindergarten teachers may choose to eliminate one or more of the above activities or shorten the amount of time spent on each. The eliminated activities may be completed on day 2 or 3.

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Welcome Hats

1. Photocopy the hat pattern onto white construction paper.

2. Have students color the hands, draw their face, color the border and letters, and write their name.

3. Then cut the pieces out and attach them to a 2” x 18” strip of construction paper. The hands are placed with one facing upward as if waving and the other holding the right hand side of the name tag.

4. Wear the hat all day and then take it home! (This same pattern could be used to make a necklace or puppet if you prefer.)

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First Day of School Hat Pattern … Boy

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First Day of School Hat Pattern … Girl

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Raise your hand to speak.

Work and walk in line quietly.

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Always do your very best.

Follow directions the first

time they are given.

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A Picture of Me!

/My/name/is/////////////// /I/am/////////////years/old. /I/like/to/////////////////// /////////////////////////// /////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////

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School Begins

Summer is over, yes it’s true, A kindergarten classroom waits for you.

Brand new pencils, paper and glue, There are so many things for you to do.

Your teacher greets you with a smile, She says come in and stay awhile.

Sit right down and read a book, Then write about the trip you took.

Friends are there both old and new,

With brand new clothes and backpacks too. At recess time we laugh and play,

We’re back in school hip-hip-hurray!

Poetry - We try to teach a new poem each week. We photocopy each poem and place it into each child’s poetry book for them to illustrate. They practice reciting and rebuilding the poem daily on the pocket chart in class. We have written a back to school poem that we hope you will enjoy using in your classroom with your students during that first day or week.

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My Book of

Poetry

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First Week Activities and Ideas

The following pages contain activities and ideas that you may choose to use during the first week of school. We have also included a brief description of each pattern and how we use it in the classroom.

1. Every morning we recite a peacemaker pledge. We usually do this immediately following the “Pledge of Allegiance.” We have found that reciting this pledge and referring to it throughout the day helps to create and maintain a positive environment. During the first week of school we complete a peacemaker student book. The children are encouraged to read this book at school throughout the day and then at home throughout the first week. This process helps the students to commit the pledge to memory.

2. Good Citizenship certificates are a wonderful way to encourage star behavior. We give each child a certificate each week. In each box we put a (+) for outstanding citizenship, (v ) for average citizenship and a (-) for citizenship that needs improvement. This helps the students evaluate their success during the week and identify areas that may need improvement. It also allows the parents to see how their child is doing on a regular basis. You may choose to send these home daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

3. We have found that children love to receive bookmarks as one form of a tangible reward. We photocopy bookmarks on white card stock and allow the children to color them using colored pencils or markers. They are always a big hit. You may prefer to photocopy the bookmarks on colored construction paper, laminate the pages and then cut them apart for the children.

4. Special “first day” and “first week” certificates are a nice way to encourage students and start the year off on a positive note. These certificates may be embellished with stickers, ribbons, or candy kisses for a special twist.

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I am a Peacemaker

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Peacemaker Pledge

I am a kindergarten peacemaker. I pledge to praise others, To never use put downs,

To seek wise people, To speak up about hurt feelings;

Mine or others, And to solve problems.

I will build peace at home, At school,

And in my community each day.

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Name _____________________ Date _____________________

I can be a super citizen!

Name _____________________ Date _____________________

I can be a super citizen!

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

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My First Week of Kindergarten _____________________

I had perfect attendance.

I turned in all my papers.

I remembered to bring my folder.

I arrived on time each day.

I followed the class & school rules. Signed: _______________________________________________

My First Day of Kindergarten ____________________

I tried my best.

I made new friends.

I followed directions.

I learned new things.

I had a great day. Signed: _______________________________________________

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5. We take every opportunity to point out good citizenship when we can. One

way to reinforce good behavior is to keep a stack of outstanding behavior certificates on hand and pass them out whenever you see a child making a good behavioral choice. These awards are taken home and shared with parents. We encourage parents to make a “big deal” out of these certificates when they come home.

6. Homework certificates are very helpful as well. We have found that homework

is completed poorly when there are no consequences for doing poor work and not taking it seriously. For this reason we carefully model all homework pages before they are sent home. When the homework is returned, we share the very best pages with the class and discuss why these pages are worthy of recognition. Then we give the children that did outstanding homework a special certificate and a pack of “smarties” candies. This method has helped us to maintain outstanding homework throughout the year.

7. Parent survival kits are a warm and personal touch designed to create a

positive climate right from the very beginning. We usually send these out with our before school packet. They can also be given out at orientation, on the first day, or at back to school night. We have included two different versions to use. The first note is attached to a pack of seeds, “forget me nots” are a wonderful selection, but any flower seeds will do. The second version is sent home attached to a bag that includes a tissue, a tea bag, and a silk flower blossom. There are many different variations of this, but we hope these two will get you started. Kindergarten parents have a difficult time letting children go. These are always a hit.

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Outstanding Behavior Award _____________________

Signed: _______________________________________________

Outstanding Homework _____________________

My homework was on time.

I did neat and careful work.

I completed all the assignments.

I read everyday.

I tried my very best. Signed: _______________________________________________

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First Day Survival Kit

Dear Kindergarten Student,

Welcome to our class! Here are some items to help you feel at home. Have a wonderful day.

Love, Your Kindergarten Teacher 1. A pencil to get you off to a good start. 2. An eraser because we all make mistakes. 3. A snack in case you forgot to pack your own. 4. A sticker to let you know that you are special. 5. A candy kiss because I care about you.

8. Student Survival Kit — Place the items listed above and the letter in a paper lunch bag for each student. You may also wish to attach the “Welcome Back” art (reduced 50%) to the front of the lunch bag. We usually use a chewy granola bar and small bottled water for the snack, but you can choose your favorite items. This letter can be easily modified to allow for more items to place in the bag as well. Here are some other suggestions:

1. Chocolate kiss—to comfort you when you’re sad. 2. Apple—you’re the apple of my eye. 3. Bandaid - to heal hurt feelings. 4. Happy face—keep smiling. 5. Lifesaver—you can come talk to me anytime. 6. Pipe cleaner—we all have to be flexible. 7. Flower—we will all bloom this year. 8. Penny—you are valuable to this class. 9. Toothpick—to pick out everyone’s good qualities. 10. I.O.U. note— I owe you the opportunity to learn.

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9. Welcome Back Art — This page can be used as a journal cover, back to school packet cover, seat work cover, color page, or just about anything you would like. It can be reduced on a Xerox machine to half page size as well.

10. Time Capsule Page — This is a fun activity to use on the first day of school.

Simply ask each child to answer the questions and write their responses in the “first day of school” column. (You will have to do the writing.) Collect and save the papers. Then on the last day of school give this paper to each student again, but have the first day column folded back. After the students have completed the last day column they are then allowed to flip up the first day column and compare responses. They love to see how they have changed over the year.

11. “Classmate Connections” Book - Create a flip book by placing each child’s photograph on a piece of paper on the left side of the book spiral bound at the

top and then placing each child’s name on a piece of paper on the right side of the book spiral bound at the top. The children are the encouraged to use this flip book to match the student picture to the correct student name.

12. Writing — During the first week of school we like to get independent writing

samples from each child. We place these in our memory books and use them as an assessment tool. We have provided two options for to use. One is a name writing attempt and the other allows for more writing. Use the one that best matches your students ability levels. Remember that in kindergarten the first writing sample may be scribble or random letters strung together. This is used as an authentic assessment and should represent each child’s independent ability level.

13. Interview Form—This form may be used as a template for teacher and/or

support staff interviews. We enjoy using this on the overhead projector. We invite a staff member into the room and the children ask the questions while the teacher writes down the replies. You may then photocopy this interview and place it in a book or on a bulletin board with the interviewees photograph.

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Name/////////////////////

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Item Last Day of School First Day of School

1. today’s date 1. 1.

2. favorite color 2. 2.

3. best friend 3. 3.

4. favorite game 4. 4.

5. favorite TV show 5. 5.

6. favorite book 6. 6.

7. favorite sport 7. 7.

8. favorite song 8. 8.

9. favorite food 9. 9.

10. food I don’t like 10. 10.

11. who I sit by 11. 11.

12. favorite subject 12. 12.

Name://///////////// Date://///////

A Time Capsule About Me

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Classmate Connections Book

Place 8.5” x 11” pages with student photographs on the left side of the book. On the right side of the book allow students to build their names on 8.5” x 11” paper using letter stickers or letters that been copied on colored pieces of construction paper and cut apart. Comb bind the pages to the top of the book. The students may then flip the pages of the book to match the correct name to the picture of each student in your class. This is a wonderful way to get to know one another and learn names.

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Interview Form

1. What is your name and position? //////////////////////////////////

2. How long have you had this position? //////////////////////////////////

3. What do you do each day? ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

4. What do you like the best about your job? ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

5. What do you like the least about your job? //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 6. What advice can you give us to help us to be successful in kindergarten? //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////

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13. Name Poem - Ask each child to write an acrostic poem about him or herself. We have found it helpful to have written each child’s name vertically on a piece of paper before the lesson begins. Model this activity using your own name. Once the students have written their acrostic poem then they can color the child pattern to resemble themselves.

Sunday is my favorite day of the week. Teaching school is great. Eleven is my favorite number. Feasting with my family is fun. Art is my favorite subject. Nice is the way to be. I like Chinese food. If this is too complex for your beginning kindergarten. You may consider using

the same template, but one of the following activities in place of the acrostic poem:

* Have each child print his/her name in the writing frame. * Bubble write each child’s name in the frame and let each child decorate their name. * Write a thematic frame poem. * Simply draw a picture in the frame. 14. Personal Puzzles—Learning to write and recognize names can be tons of fun if

you create little puzzles with tongue depressors for each student. You will need a photo of each child. You may photocopy a photo as well. Place the tongue de-pressors side by side in a row using one tongue depressor for each letter in the child’s name. Write the letters found in the child’s name on the bottom of the tongue depressors—one letter on each tongue depressor. Be sure to print using the letter formation style you will be teaching the children to print, capitalizing only the first letter. Glue the photo on the tongue depressors above the letters. When the photo is glued securely to the tongue depressors, coat the photo with Mod Podge. This is available in both matte and glossy and will help to protect the photo puzzle. When the Mod Podge has dried, carefully cut between each tongue depressor using a razor knife. These store nicely in snack-size Ziploc bags. Challenge students to assemble a friend’s puzzle. Then as the year progresses, mix together two or three names for the students to separate and spell.

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Name Poem & Portrait

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Math is my favorite subject Athletic and fast Tall for my age Talkative and friendly

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Personal Puzzles

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15. Homework Assessment — This is a fun and meaningful way to introduce students to the correct procedure for completing weekly homework and how to take a multiple choice test. This activity can be completed whole class on the overhead (Kdg.) or each child can do their own (1st). If students complete the homework test independently, be sure to correct it together as a class and to discuss each answer.

16. Classroom Search — This is a fun activity that allows everyone to familiarize

themselves with the classroom. Each student must search for the correct answers to the questions. These answers should all be found in the classroom. You must remember to have your name on the board, rules posted, and so on before beginning this activity.

17. Getting to Know Our Class — This is a class tally activity. Simply create an overhead transparency using the tally form pattern. Have each student ask a question and then tally the number of student responses in the box next to the question. Feel free to ask more questions to get to know the students better. (If you have a student raise his/her hand to show he/she is bilingual, you may want to take a moment to ask what languages he/she speaks.) 18. Sunshine Students—Using the sun pattern, have each student draw a picture of her/himself in the center of the star. Be sure to have them write their names on the back. Then have each student color the star. When they are finished, hand them from the ceiling or on a bulletin board. 19. Searches — These are always fun activities to put out during the first week.

They make wonderful seatwork, center, or independent activities to complete. You may need to model this activity before you begin. You may wish to make an overhead transparency of the pattern so that the puzzle can be

corrected with the class. Try creating letter, number, word, sound or picture searches.

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1. I do my homework a at a desk b in front of the TV 2. I work best a in a noisy place b in a quiet place 3. My work area should be a well-lit and tidy b dim and disorganized 4. While doing my homework I should a eat messy snacks b wait to have a snack 5. I should complete my homework a when I get home b in the car going to school 6. If I have a question about my homework, I should a not do it b ask for help 7. When doing my homework I should use a yellow marker b a well-sharpened pencil 8. My homework should always be done a quick and messy b neat and careful 9. After I have done my best work I should a show my cat b have my mom or dad check it 10. When I finish my homework I should a put it in my folder b leave it out

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Classroom Search 1. What is my teacher’s name? //////////////////////////////////

2. What is my classroom number? //////////////////////////////////

3. What is one of our classroom rules? ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

4. Where is the flag located? ////////////////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////

5. What are three things that are in or on my desk? /////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

6. What is the date today? ////////////////////////////////// Name:////////////////////////////

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Getting to Know Our Class

Who has a brother?

Who has a sister?

Who has a dog?

Who has a cat?

Who likes Harry Potter?

Who plays soccer?

Who likes pizza?

Who likes broccoli?

Who can ride a bike?

Who can swim?

Who is bilingual?

Who is new to our school?

Who loves to read?

Who likes math?

Who plays an instrument?

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Sunshine Student Pattern

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Welcome to Kindergarten

R S K T V V M O N K

P Z K R E K H J I C K L S B T

K

K is for Kindergarten!

How many K’s can you find in the schoolhouse? There are 7 altogether. Be careful because some may be hidden!

Name:

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Welcome to Kindergarten

2 1 4 3 6 7 8 10 5 1

9 7 1 4 3 8 3 4 6 1 7 3 2

1

The 1st day of Kindergarten!

How many 1’s can you find in the schoolhouse? There are 5 altogether. Be careful because some may be hidden!

Name:

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School is Cool!

School is Cool

Color the things you will use at school. Cross out the things you will not use at school. Draw a picture of something you will use on the playground in the box at the bottom of the schoolhouse.

Name:

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20. Name Art — Have each child’s name written on a large piece of white construction paper in hollow or bubble letters. Allow each child to decorate his/her name using markers, stickers, scraps of material, or whatever you have. 21. Super Star Work Art — This takes a little bit of prep work, but

sure is worth it in the end. Go to a craft store and purchase one wooden clothes pin, one flat wooden star, and a magnetic adhesive strip for each child. Allow each child to paint or decorate a star with marker and then print “Super Star Work” on the star. Then glue the star onto the front of the clothes pin and place the magnetic strip on the back of the clothespin. Now each child has made a special clip to display their best work with at home. You may wish to choose something other than a star to match your theme.

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22. Super Star Work Poem — This poem is really good to attach to the Super Star Work clothes pin when you send it home. We do not know who the author of this poem is … sorry.

Each day I will do my best, And I won’t do any less.

My work will always please me, And I won’t accept a mess.

I’ll color very carefully, My writing will be neat.

And I simply won’t be happy, ‘Till my papers are complete. I’ll always do my homework, And I’ll try on every test. I won’t forget my promise,

To do my very best!

23. “Pledge of Allegiance” - Everyday we say the pledge before we begin our day. Teaching the pledge and it’s meaning can be challenging for beginning kindergarten children. We have designed a student made book that we find helpful in teaching both the pledge and it’s meaning. The children color the pictures and read the book with you. Have them revisit the book several times, reading it to themselves, buddies, and parent helpers. When the children have mastered reading the book and learned the pledge, send the book home for the children to read to their parents.

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I/Pledge/Allegiance I promise my loyalty and will be faithful and true.

United/States/of/America There are 50 states, individually represented

on the flag, yet formed into one nation.

Republic Our government in which people are sovereign.

One/Nation/Under/God 50 states united under the Divine providence of God.

Indivisible 50 states united and can not be separated.

Liberty/and/Justice A people who are free and treated fairly.

All Every American

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Vocabulary Pledge Republic Allegiance Nation Flag Liberty America Justice

United States Indivisible

I Love America

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24. Read the book “A Fine, Fine School” by Sharon Creech and then give the following discussion prompt. Mr. Keene was very proud of his students, teachers and school. He was so proud that he wanted to have school everyday of the year. What do you think it would be like to have school everyday of the year? Let’s list 3 things that we feel would be good about it and 3 things that we feel would be bad about it. 25. Read the book “Tom Goes to Kindergarten” and complete the class book entitled: “We’re going to Kindergarten”. Each student will write and illustrate what they are looking forward to doing in Kindergarten.

26. Read one story from “It’s Back to School We Go!” each day. Compare and contrast that country’s school event’s and customs with our own. This is a wonderful book to share and create discussions about.

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Name://////////////////

In/kindergarten/I/will/////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////

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27. Class Graphs — We have provided 5 class graph titles for you to use. Each graph can be used in different ways. We like to laminate a piece of lined cardstock or use a small white board as our graph. We place a title at the top each day or week and graph! The “Boys & Girls” graph can be used to graph the number of boys and girls in the class or the number of boys and girls present each day. The “Our Names” graph can be used to graph the number of letters in each students name, the number of vowels in each name, or the number of syllables in each name. The “hair and eye color” graphs are fun and easy to use on the first day of school. It is a graph that most of the student’s are familiar with. The “families” graph can be used to graph the number of people in each student’s family or the number of siblings each student has. Be creative and have fun. Tip — Color and laminate these graph titles so that you can use them year after year. We also like to write each child’s name on a piece of card stock paper and then laminate it. We then place a piece of sticky tack or Velcro on the back and this name card so that it can be used on all our graphs throughout the year.

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28. Read “Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten”. Then make an alphabet graph to graph student names. How many Student’s names begin with A? B? C? And so on.

29. Numeral Writing — Have the students print the numbers 1 to 20 on the number chart. Use this as an assessment piece and add it to each child’s portfolio.

30. Kindergarten Entry Assessment — If you do not have a district kindergarten assessment then use this assessment to see what your students know and what they need to know. Tell the students that if they come to a question that they cannot answer they should skip it and go on to the next one.

31. Hidden Pictures — Color the pieces to reveal a hidden picture. 33. Shape Puppets—Color and cut out the shapes with poems inside. Place each one on a popsicle stick and use as puppets to help the children learn their shapes.

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1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20

Name///////////////////////// Write the numbers 1 to 20.

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1

20

Name///////////////////////// Write the numbers 1 to 20.

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Kindergarten Assessment Date:________________ Plus sign means student has mastered the concept. (+) Minus sign means the student has not mastered the concept. (-) Student Name ___________________ Birth Date ______________ Please print your name.

Name:///////////////////// Please draw a picture of yourself.

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

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Name:////////////////////

Fill in the missing number.

1, 2, ___, 4, 5, 2, 4, 6, ___, 10 10, ___, 20, 25 10, 20, ___, 40 Find the sum.

3 + 1 = ___ 1 + 4 = ___ 2 + 0 = ___ 2 + 3 = ___ Find the difference.

5 - 2 = ___ 4 - 0 = ___ 3 - 1 = ___ 2 - 2 = ___

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z x c v b n m l k

j h g f d s a q w

e r t y u i o p

Letter Sound Letter Sound Letter Sound

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Z X C V B N M A S

D F G H J K L Q W

E R T Y U I O P

Letter Sound Letter Sound Letter Sound

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Can you extend the pattern?

How many hearts are there? _________

Can you make a pattern?

One to one correspondence:

Counts to the number __________

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Write the time for each clock.

Ae} AiY

___ ___ Show the digital time on the analog clock by drawing an hour and minute hand.

Z04:00 Z06:30 A A

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These are sample assessments for you to look at. When assessing we do use manipulatives such as “unifix cubes” for patterning and plastic items to count for one to one correspondence. We also write down any comments we need to as we are assessing. You may use any system that works for you. We simply used a (+) and (-) as an example. You may choose to check off the items answered correctly and leave the others blank. You may re-use the same assessment paper and simply change the color of pen you use for each grading period. This is just an example for you to modify as needed.

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1 1

1 1

1 3

2

2

2

2

2 2

Name////////////////////Date///////// Color the 3’s yellow. Color the 2’s green. Color the 1’s purple.

2

2

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green

Name////////////////////Date/////////

green

red

red

red

red

Brown

red

red

red

red

red

Read the color word in each apple piece and use that color to fill in the space.

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Name///////////////////Date///////// Color the 2’s brown. Color the 5’s blue. Color the 4’s green. Color the 1’s white. Color the 3’s red.

2

2

5 5

4

4

3

3

3

1

1 4

4

5 5 4

4

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Name///////////////////Date///////// Color the sums of 2 brown. Color the sums of 3 blue. Color the sums of 4 red. Color the sums of 5 yellow. Color the sums of 0 orange.

2+1= 0+3= 1+2=

1+2= 0+3= 2+1=

1+4=

0+0=

2+3=

0+0=

0+5=

0+0=

1+4= 0+0=

0+0=

0+5=

1+3= 2 +3

0 +0

0+5=

2+3=

2+1=

2 +1

0 +3

1+1=

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Name//////////////////Date///////// Color the 6’s brown. Color the 10’s blue. Color the 7’s red. Color the 8’s green. Color the 9’s orange.

6

6

6

6 6

6

8

8 8

9 10

10

7

10 10

10

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34. Journal Covers -We have provided some journal covers that you may find helpful in your classroom preparations. We have journals for almost every subject in our classroom. Math, Science, Writing, Reading, Music and Art all lend themselves nicely to journaling. 35. Ordinal Position Game—Kindergarteners love to line up by ordinal position. Simply ask for 5 volunteers. Give each volunteer a different color construction paper jelly bean. Ask the red jelly bean to line up first, the green jelly bean second, the blue jelly bean third and so on. The volunteers get a jelly bean for helping out of course and all the children can then complete the accompanying worksheet. You can do this using a variety of manipulatives.

Have Fun !

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My Math Journal

By: ____________

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All Star Writing Journal

By: _________

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Science Journal

This Belongs To: ______________

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Personalize journal covers by adding student photographs. We also used decorated contact paper which was die cut as a frame.

Use a decorated tongue depressor as a spacer while writing. This little trick really helps beginning writers learn to space appropriately. Store it by affixing a Vel-cro dot to the spacer and the journal or by placing it in a library card holder or a small envelope.

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Cindy C

ircle I’m

Cindy C

ircle, W

atch me bend;

I’m a curved line

That never ends!

Robby Rectangle Robby Rectangle is m

y name,

My four sides are not the sam

e; Two are short, two are long,

Count m

y sides...count right along!

Tomm

y Triangle Tom

my triangle is

The name for m

e; Tap on m

y sides; O

ne, two, three!

Sandy Square Sandy Square is m

y name,

My four sides are the sam

e; Turn m

e around, I don’t care;

I’m always the sam

e… I’m

Sandy Square!