Tip #10) Smile. A lot. Even when you really want to stick out your tongue, wrinkle up your nose, and roll your eyes. Smiling works equally well when applied to students, parents, other teachers, or administration. Even if it doesn’t change the attitude or behavior of the other person, it can change yours. There are going to be stressful moments during back to school, but if you can face them with the right attitude, you’re going to have a great year.

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #9) Communicate with parents frequently at the beginning of the year. Like the students, they too have to learn your procedures and policies. And they won’t get it overnight. A class handbook is a great way to communicate how you do things to parents, and it can’t hurt to send a newsletter home at the beginning and end of the first week. My school requires teachers to make a phone call to each parent in the first two weeks. It can be time consuming, but it allows me to say something positive to parents about their child and to give them a heads up if there are any areas that may need some extra help right away. Perhaps most importantly, these phone calls also allow the parents to ask questions or clarify something they don’t understand. Taking care of these questions now will alleviate being over-run on Parent Night.

Stay tuned for Tip #10!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #8) Write, write, and write. Spending a lot of time that first week writing accomplishes multiple goals. It gives students the opportunity to express their feelings, which relieves their stress about the new school year. It also allows students a way to communicate initially that may be not as threatening as a face-to face conversation. My experience is that students will write things in their journal that they would never say to me in a class discussion or even in a private conversation. Additionally, writing provides teachers with multiple samples to determine where students are at cognitively, which helps when organizing reading and math groups. Lastly, it gives teachers insights into how students are doing with the new year. Assign writing that students can share with their parents/families, writing that they can share with their classmates, and writing that they share only with you.

Stay tuned for Tip #9!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #7) Go overboard. Over-plan and prepare for the first week. If you think you can get through three activities on the second day, plan for five. Be flexible enough to rearrange, leave out, or add in as the day requires. Have all copies run, games ready, and materials gathered for the first week before the first day. This will ease your stress and allow you to be that much more flexible. It also keeps transition time flowing smoothly and lulls at a minimum, meaning fewer chaotic moments.

Stay tuned for Tip #8!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #6) Procedures, procedures, procedures. Teach procedures faithfully those first few weeks of school. It sounds preposterous that you have to teach kids how to write their names on their papers, how to turn in homework, how to get unpacked and started when they arrive in the mornings, how to get packed up at end of the day, or how to line up for lunch. But, it’s not unreasonable. Your classroom is totally new to them. They need to have numerous experiences being instructed how to do these things in your room. By the third week, I can always tell which teachers have taught procedures at the beginning of school. Those are the classes that are on time to lunch, have started working when the tardy bell rings, and are not scrambling at dismissal. A little disciplined training in the first few weeks of school will go a long way towards determining the tone of the rest of your year.

Stay tuned for Tip #7!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #5) Keep in mind that your students are really still a grade behind. Fourth graders in August more closely resemble end of the year third graders than the fourth graders who just graduated. My first few years of teaching, I had a difficult time remembering this. Fourth graders in my mind were the fourth graders that had just left me back in May. I had to constantly remind myself that my new fourth graders weren’t that advanced yet. I needed to back up a little at the beginning of the year and walk them through the adjustment to more mature expectations.

Stay tuned for Tip #6!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you just have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #4) Have extras ready to go. I provide a journal, daily take-home folder, desk folder, and separate subject area folders to my students the first day. I also have a “Welcome to My Class” treat bag on their desks the first day. Even though I’ve never had thirty students enrolled in my class, I always make thirty bags and keep extra folders, journals, name plates, cubby name tags, and supply boxes at my desk that first week. Be prepared to have some students on your initial roll who do not show up, and some not on your initial roll who will be added the first week. Having supplies ready makes the late addition’s transition into your class much smoother if they are not waiting around while you go searching for materials for them.

Stay tuned for Tip #5!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you just have a comment or experience to share.

Tip #3) Be organized and ready before the students arrive. Do whatever you need to do to make sure that your classroom is ready to go that very first day. Anything that is going to be in or on bookcases, walls, cubbies, etc. needs to be in place when the students walk in that first day. This includes centers. Have something at each center station that first week. Capitalize on skills students already know, so they can focus on getting into the habit of doing centers in your classroom.

Stay tuned for Tip #4!

Good luck, and drop me a line anytime at lisa@nationalschoolproducts.com if there’s a question I can answer, or if you just have a comment or experience to share.