15 FABULOUS 1st Week of School Must-Haves

Oh, Happy Day! Thanks for visiting Reading Tails!

How exciting…it’s BACK TO SCHOOL season and the stores are full of decor, supplies, and everything ‘teachery!’ If I could figure out how to make the smell of school supplies into a perfume, I would!! 🙂

Starting the year off successfully is every teacher’s desire. We don’t want to fail… we don’t want to ‘be called into the principals office’ because something went wrong so soon. Well, because of some of my mistakes and ‘interesting’ First week situations… I have taken notes on things I believe are MUST HAVES for the First Week of School!

 

Below are My 15 FABULOUS- First Week of School MUST HAVES: 

1~ Boo-Boo Box– I keep 2 of these in the class. One my desk & one at circle. I also have a ‘boo-boo bag’ when we go to the playground or lunch. Whoever’s job is the ‘DOCTOR’ is responsible for carrying the bag when we leave the classroom. You just never know 🙂

 

 

 

2~ Airborne- An airborne a day keeps the sub away! 😉

 

 

 

 

 

3~ Circle magnets- Ok y’all. These are a MUST! These babies do not curl up after you put them on the back of a picture. I put lots of things up on my magnet/dry erase board and was so annoyed when I would come in the classroom and things would have fallen down. CIRCLE MAGNETS= MUST HAVE

 

4~ Line Up System- Know in advance how you are going to line up the kiddos to exit the classroom! Have sparkly markers (duct tape/ABCs) so they know where to stand! If you are not thoughtful and have a well-defined ‘line up system’ things will NOT GO WELL! hahaha

 

5~ Extra Journals- I always have my kiddos do first week journal entires to document and have them see their growth! Since these are so popular, many parents do not find them because stores run out, so I keep extras and have the parents pay me! The longer they go without a journal the more entires I have to tape in and that is just a time eater 🙂

 

 

6~ Storage Clip-Board- I always seem to have other teachers or parents giving me papers and this just helps me to keep them organized and in a safe place until I get back to the classroom. I also leave my #7 MUST HAVE item clipped on top for quick referencing if needed

 

 

 

7~ Parent Reference Sheet- I keep this with me all the time for 3 reasons!! ONE= I do not like seeing my student’s parents and forgetting their names, TWO= Reminds me how each child gets home, THREE= easy access to parent’s contact info if something happens  CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOR FREE FROM MY TPT STORE!

 

 

8~ Bell- I start teaching and training the students on how I use my BELL in the classroom from day 1. This is such a helpful ‘transition’ or ‘quiet down’ tool. Who doesn’t love a good teacher bell!??!

 

 

 

9~ First Days of School- For the love of everything… READ THIS BOOK! Get a latte, curl up somewhere, and take notes! The Wong’s know what is up!!

 

 

10~ Water- After a relaxing summer, you may not remember that you need to drink lots of water! You talk so much in the first week of school and you move around even more… stay hydrated!!

 

 

 

11~ Heaven in a Cup- Need I say more? Find a cute mug and enjoy those sips 🙂

 

 

 

12~ CLEAR bins WITH lids- Key words here are CLEAR and LIDS. You want to make it easy for your little learners to know where everything is located in the classroom and lids just help less spills…. so spend that extra .50 on these beauties.

 

 

13~ Necklace- Is this one weird to you? Well, I noticed that when I have a pretty “eye-catching” necklace my kiddos look at me more… haha I will do whatever it takes!!! And I feel pretty when I do 🙂

 

 

14~ Camera- I use my camera during ‘MEET THE TEACHER‘ to take pictures of my new students. If someone doesn’t come to ‘Meet the Teacher,’ then I just have a few pictures to take on the 1st day and not the whole class. I use the pictures at circle time and around the classroom during the first week. Also, the last thing I want to do after the first few days of school is run to Walgreens to print pictures.

 

15~ TO-DO LIST- Ok… you spend days (or even weeks) getting your classroom set-up perfectly for the school year. You think it is all perfect and then little johnny trips on a bookcase and falls. Well, after the first days with the new kiddos, you will find that you have to change things around! I wish someone told me that in my 1st years teaching because then I would have anticipated the changes I would need to do after school (or even on the weekend). Take notes on what doesn’t work in your classroom and be active on changing things quickly.

 

So… anything you want to add to my list?! I would love to know!!!
Prayers to you as the beginning of the school year approaches!

Love, Mush Mush 

@mushmushreaders   #mushmushreaders