Classroom Organization Ideas You Won’t Believe You Did Without

11:05 am By Proud to be Primary 4 Comments

22 classroom organization ideas, tips, and tricks that will help teachers get organized and set-up their classroom during back to school!

By the end of the year school year, our classrooms are always a mess, right? We had stacks of paper, broken crayons, pencils with missing erasers, and bins and files were everywhere. So let’s ban together this year and start the year off with an organized classroom! Here are some back-to-school classroom organization ideas that should help.

Classroom Organization Ideas, Tips and Tricks

Start the year off right and get things in order for back-to-school time. You’ll have peace of mind that your classroom is ready for kids and the year ahead. You can focus on teaching and shaping young minds, instead of trying to find that missing anchor chart. Let’s do this!

Checklists for Classroom Organization Ideas

Start off your tasks by making a list of what you need to accomplish. Prioritize and then tackle the items on your list one by one. Here are some handy checklists to give you a place to start. Add your own tasks as you see fit.

FREE beginning of the year checklist: Create a list of things you need to do at the beginning of the year and check them off as you complete them. This will help you remember all the important things, big and small, that you must do to get your classroom ready for the first week back to school.

FREE daily, weekly, & monthly to-do list: Get and stay organized with these handy lists and manage your classroom like the star teacher you are!

Classroom Organization Ideas for Teacher Materials

Keep your files and supplies organized so you’ll never have trouble finding what you need when you need it. Spend a little time before school starts setting up your file cabinet, organizing digital resources, and refreshing your chart storage.

File Cabinet Makeover: It’s amazing what a few brightly colored sheets of cardstock can do for your file cabinet! Download a free printable template and read all about this 30-minute file cabinet makeover.
Anchor Chart Storage: All those detailed anchor charts you make this year will need a place to go so you can reference them later. Don’t throw them away! Store them in a repurposed trash can, like this creative storage bin (made from a trash can)!

Classroom Organization Ideas for Student Work

Give students every opportunity possible to show pride in their work and be involved in displaying it, storing it, and sharing it with others. Here are some ways to store and organize it in ways that encourage children for their efforts.

Student Portfolios: Use student portfolios to organize their best work by month, and then use them during parent-teacher or student-led conferences.
Hanging Space – It’s always important to have a place where you can display student work. Kids enjoy looking for their work on your classroom wall. This encourages and motivates them to do their best work. Have a classroom work display to show that your room is an active learning environment. Have spaces labeled with a child’s name, or they assign them a number so they can easily find their work.

Classroom Management and Organization Ideas

Prepare a few things that help your classroom run smoothly and efficiently. Plan how your classroom will function, how materials will be stored and accessed, and how you will manage behavior. Here are a few tips:

Class Jobs: Assign regular class jobs to keep your class moving right along through the days and weeks.
Monthly Organizing: Some things can be easily organized month by month, in boxes stored away until they are needed. The best items for this type of storage are seasonal items like holiday games, stickers, and manipulatives related to events, seasons, and holidays throughout the year.
Parent Communication: As you’re organizing your classroom procedures and schedules, take a moment to consider informing the parents of your students about these things. Provide them with a handy flip-book of all the important information about your classroom. Include things like how to contact you, what your classroom schedule looks like, dress codes, and homework policy.
New Student Bags: There’s nothing more stressful than a last-second notice that you’ll have a new student joining your class after you’ve already gotten everything set up. While you’re setting up your classroom, add a few things to a New Student Bag so that you’ll be prepared in advance to make that new child feel welcome.

Classroom Organization Ideas for Student Materials and Supplies

No matter how you store or arrange student materials and supplies, they’re bound to get misplaced, broken or disorganized by kids at some point. Start the year off right by having your storage and organization just the way you want it and show students what your expectations are. Model good organization habits by having your room well-organized ahead of time to prime kids to keep it that way!

Baskets or Bins: A good idea for storage is simple baskets or bins. Organize student supplies such as crayons, markers, glue, stickers, etc. in them and keep them stored neatly but within reach on a common shelf. Your local dollar store or Target have good small baskets for these purposes.

Label Everything: You can also number student baskets or bins, shelves, cubbies, books, or really anything with these FREE number labels.
Individualized Storage: Provide students with their own bins or boxes for supplies or books with their name or assigned number with these FREE editable student labels to label books, cubbies, and more.
Mason Jar Storage: Store pencils, markers, paint brushes, and other tall items is within cute and colorful mason jars. Add a ribbon and a label on the outside, and place them on a shelf for DIY decor.
Table Caddies: If you place students into work groups at tables, table caddies can help keep things within reach and organized. Things like markers, scissors, glue, rulers, and pencils can be stored for anyone at the table to use. The dollar store usually has something similar to this kind of bin, or here are some on Amazon in different colors.

Craft Supplies Closet: Do you absolutely love doing arts and crafts with your class? Then you’ll love this idea for a classroom craft supplies closet.

Classroom Organization Ideas for Books and Reading

For organizing your reading areas and displaying your classroom books, here are a few helpful ideas.

Home Reading Program and Leveled Library: Take these home reading folders and set up your own home reading program. Organize books into “Just Right” Bins so students can easily access books at their reading level.
Class Library Set-Up: Your classroom library is a major part of your Reading program, so make it fabulous! Check out this amazing classroom library setup. You can do anything with a few brightly colored labels and some large book bins!
Guided Reading: For your guided reading groups, a well-laid plan and organization is a must. Try these awesome tips and grab a free planning sheet.

Classroom Organization Ideas for Math Set-up and Supplies

Math manipulatives, worksheets, activities, and resources are often the hardest things to organize in a classroom. Read about how these teachers fixed that problem.

Math Workshop: Ever wondered how to plan and run an effective Math Workshop in your classroom? I have explained how I do it so you can too!
Math Centers: Find a wealth of ideas for organizing your math centers with this roundup of Ten Math Center Organization Tips. In it, you’ll find ways to plan ahead so activities flow freely without wasting time looking for supplies.
STEM Resources: What to do with all those wonderful STEM supplies and materials? Here are five easy ways to organize them.

Need More Classroom Ideas? Check out these posts:

Effective Classroom Management Tools

Classroom Essentials

Tips for New Teachers

30 Back to School Ideas for a Stellar First Week

1:39 pm By Proud to be Primary 1 Comment

Plan the first days with 30 back to school ideas for the classroom teacher. Try the activities, community building ideas, and classroom management tips!

30 Back to School Ideas for a Stellar First Week

Are you gearing up for the first days and weeks back to school? These 30 fun and inspiring first-week activities and back to school ideas will make your start to the school year memorable. Sit down, grab a pencil and your planner, and use these creative ideas as a starting point as you begin to map out your return to the classroom. You won’t be disappointed!

Back to School Ideas that Seasoned Teachers Know

The first week of school is often harried with anxious students, the uncertainty of schedules, last-minute finalization of plans, and lots of coffee! Begin thinking about what you’ll do now – well before the first day, and remember these important points:

1. Get organized, plan your classroom management strategy, and don’t forget any important details with these ten tips for teachers for the first week of school.

2. Are you a new teacher? This list of tips for new teachers, based on what I wished I knew in the beginning, can help you get started!

3. Communication and showing that you care are important when meeting with parents that first week. Take these three tips into consideration to create positive relationships with families.

4. When you’re initially setting up your classroom routines, don’t forget these important details.

5. You will find awesome, actionable tips and activity ideas for your first week in this post geared for 3rd-grade teachers that first week!

6. Model appropriate behaviors, keep things positive and plan well, and you’ll be on your way. These 9 things will help you start your year off right!

Community Building Back to School Ideas

Everyone wants to ensure that their classroom is a haven for community and collaboration. A place where everyone feels comfortable and invited to participate. Help your students feel part of the bigger plan by engaging them in some of the following activities.

7. It’s always fun to throw in some cooperation and teamwork activities throughout the day to build community. Try these fast and easy games and activities.

8. A classroom contract is a way for everyone to mutually agree on the goals and attitudes desired. Creating the contract together, encouraging students to follow it, and enforcing it are key to a successful classroom community.

9. On the first day of school, get warmed up with these five cooperative learning activities. Watch as your kids get to know each other and learn how to work together and communicate, setting the first day up to be a hit!

10. This easy activity to inspire a growth mindset will encourage your students to think positively about challenges and mistakes. It will also give them the vocabulary needed to promote courage and persistence.

11. These chit-chat cards (free printable) are really great for opening up lines of communication and breaking the ice. Try them with your class!

Classroom Activities for Back to School – Ideas that Work

Start the year off with engaging activities that get kids excited about coming to school, and encourages them to grow and learn. These classroom activities will keep students smiling and looking forward to the next thing you have in store for them.

12. Give your students an opportunity to practice listening and following directions with this fun back-to-school bus directed drawing activity.

13. If you are looking for a meaningful literature-based activity that builds character and name recognition, this unit centered around the book Chrysanthemum will certainly do.

14. Help kids learn the names of their classmates with some of these fun name activities! You’ll even pick up on the new names quickly, too.

15. Here are lots of educational and motivational activities to try during the first week back. There are puzzles, games and exploration activities that will get the students talking and working together.

16. Browse these FUN back-to-school activities for neat ideas, including leaving a can of Playdoh on their desk the first day and quizzing the teacher on the first day.

17. Get to know your students, and help them to get acquainted with each other through these four first-day activities. including a FREE first day of school cootie catcher!

18. Toss a beach ball with get-to-know-you questions on it, and watch students engage in the friendly game and build connections.

Back to School Ideas for Effective Classroom Management

Classroom management is something you really must have a handle on. Without effective strategies for maintaining order, teaching and reinforcing expectations for behavior, attitudes, and productivity, your classroom can very quickly become a chaotic mess.

19. Try a few of the 10 positive classroom management tips and tricks I’ve found to be the most effective.

20. Prepare ways to reward your students ahead of time with these 5 creative and cost-effective options. Achievements, successes, and good behavior deserve praise and recognition!

21. Need a unique way to reward a child with something special, being a good listener, showing kindness, or some other achievement? These class coupons will come in handy.

22. One way to show students the power of hurtful words is to use this “Sticks and Stones” activity. They will learn the harsh reality that words can cause as much damage to the heart as physical harm to the body.

Classroom Organization Ideas for Back to School

An organized classroom is a well-run, predictable haven for your students, and saves you your sanity! Take a little bit of time in the weeks before school to make sure you’ve got your classroom organized and ready for kids.

23. Check out this roundup of 20 things that teachers absolutely must have for back-to-school! See if you have all these things on your list.

24. Have you thought about how your students can help out? Having classroom jobs makes the day run smoother, and gives everyone responsibility in the classroom.

25. Looking to save time and work smarter, not harder? These 10-time saving tips for teachers can help you accomplish this! Grab a copy of the FREE beginning of the year checklist for teachers too!

26. If you have a Silhouette Cameo, you’ll love these ideas for how to organize and create pretty things for your classroom!

27. Looking to spend the least amount of time as possible on classroom set-up? Rachel shows you how to set up your classroom in less than two hours! Impressive.

28. If you’ve ever considered alternative seating, check out this description of different possibilities as well as how well they worked for one teacher.

29. Pamper yourself by buying yourself these school supplies for teachers you can’t live without!

30. Be prepared and ready for any new students to be added to your roster by creating a new student welcome kit.

These 30 back to school ideas and activities are sure to get your classroom students motivated and excited at the beginning of the year! Try some of them out and your future Teacher-of-the-Year title will be well-earned. Have a great year!

Back to School Social-Emotional Learning Resource

This back to school social emotional learning resource is the perfect companion to your start of school lesson plans. It includes mini-lesson ideas and engaging activities that build connections in the classroom and teach important social and emotional skills to children during the most important time of year!

The mind+heart SEL back to school resource and activities will support kids as they learn to be positive members of the classroom community, develop self-awareness, build new relationships, and act with kindness and empathy.

More Back to School Ideas

Back to School Guide

Community-Building Activities for the First Week of School

First Week of School Activities to Make the Start of the Year Memorable

20+ Classroom Essentials that Teachers MUST Have for Back-to-School

1:41 pm By Proud to be Primary Leave a Comment

20+ classroom essentials for back to school. These teacher must-haves include supplies and activities, books, class management ideas, and more!

Classroom Essentials for Back-to-School

Are you ready for the first day back to school? The students’ smiling faces after a summer of fun, and their anticipation about their new classroom, friends and of course, their new teacher, is always an exciting time. Here is a list of 20+ back to school classroom essentials!

Classroom Essentials: Supplies and Resources for the First Week Back

Your school may have the basic things like pencils, paper, sticky notes, and even bulletin board decorating supplies. But do you have the extras? You know, the things that make teaching FUN! These things are certainly classroom essentials for any teacher.

It’s the Little Things: Before you think about things to make learning fun for your kids, do something for YOURSELF. Collect some fun colored pens and markers, highlighters, sticky notes, and some pretty things for your own desk and window. You know, the little things that make your teacher heart happy. As you go throughout the day, having these little things will give you a little boost to your senses and some fun to YOUR day!
Classroom Provisions: The kids will love some special things to make their day bright and cheerful. A few extra things like brightly colored storage bins for organizing, some cheerful desk labels, and some fresh new scissors, markers, and crayons will make their first week back special. Think about what you would have enjoyed in your classroom as a kid – and if you can, provide that for your students. They’ll thank you with smiles on the first day of school.
A Handy Checklist: Be sure to print out my free beginning of the year teacher checklist. It will help you get organized and remember those important details.
Prepare Your Portfolios: Will your students have portfolios this year? They are great for organizing student work and for during conferences.
Plan Some Themes: Thematic units are so much fun, and the kids don’t even realize how many different subjects and learning activities are melted into each theme. Here’s a great one for the beginning of the year – a fall Science and Nonfiction ELA unit.
Decorate: Decorate your classroom in STYLE and create a cohesive theme! Pastel colors are soft on the eyes, look beautiful on walls, and will brighten your students’ day.

Classroom Essentials: Books for Back-to-School

Here are some books I recommend that are classroom essentials that new and seasoned teachers will enjoy. Some are for you; some are for your students. Either way, here are a few suggestions to stock your classroom or personal shelves.

Get Inspired: Treat yourself to some inspiration, focus, and motivation with Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action K-5, by Debbie Miller. This book will help you define your purpose at the beginning of the year and motivate you to stick to it year-round.
Tools for Success: Create an environment in which all children can succeed, no matter their needs, differences, or circumstances. Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why by Paul Tough is a great book to give you the knowledge you need to do so.
Build Your Classroom Library: Gather the necessary books for your classroom bookshelf and teaching reference. I highly suggest having lots of books that help to teach alphabet recognition, such as these.

Classroom Essentials: Classroom Management Ideas

Classroom management is the foremost important thing to make sure you’ve planned well. It may be the most important of all classroom essentials. Without a solid structure of rules and consequences, methods for managing behavior and routines, and motivational strategies, you may struggle to be productive and meet your goals for the year. Try out some of these ideas.

Top Ten: My top ten ideas for classroom management can be found here. These are the ideas I’ve found to be very effective and would recommend them to anyone!
Classroom Jobs: Consider assigning classroom jobs to your students, to keep your classroom running efficiently and giving everyone a sense of responsibility.
Creative Rewards: Reward your students for their positive efforts daily with these 5 creative and cost-effective solutions. They are kid and teacher approved!
Establish your Classroom: Be sure to check out these ten teacher tips for the first week back to school. It includes recommendations for establishing routines and procedures, decorating the classroom, and ideas for initial assessments, plus more! Use this list as a checklist to help you!
Early Finishers: Keep those fast finishers busy, by preparing these activity cards in advance, and teaching your students how to reference them and keep themselves busy while others finish their work.
For First Year Teachers: Are you a new teacher? Be encouraged and inspired by reading my tips for new teachers. You’re going to have a great first year!

Innovative and Inspiring Ideas to Start the Year Right

There are so many new ideas and opportunities in the world of teaching. So many ways to do it right, and yet it can be overwhelming. Here are some innovative and inspiring ideas that you can perhaps try out this year. They are proving to be great methods with which other teachers are finding success.

Building Community: Making a conscious effort to build community in your classroom will get your class off to a great start!
Flexible Seating: Have you heard or seen classroom teachers find success with flexible seating? It could be a positive new change for your classroom too!
Working with Parents: Begin to foster positive relationships with your students’ parents. Make a plan for making an effort to communicate consistently and show that you care.
STEM and STEAM: Don’t forget to incorporate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) or STEAM (add Art to the mix) activities into your lesson plans and themes. Highly favored in the school system, STEM and STEAM provide opportunities for kids to practice skills they will need in their careers one day. It’s up to us to develop those skills. For more information on STEM and STEAM, check out this post.

First Week Back Activities to Plan

Get to know your students by having them create a self-portrait. Provide them with a variety of art and drawing supplies, and let them be creative. Encourage them to write a description of themselves for you to read. This is a fun self-awareness project for them and an ice-breaker for you to learn a little bit about each child.

The Rules: Don’t forget to go over rules and expectations, procedures and schedules with your students, starting on the first day. In fact, it should probably be one of the first things you cover. Think of what rules you will enforce in your room, and go ahead and put them up on your wall for easy introduction on the first day.
Engaging Activity: This school bus directed drawing is an engaging art activity to grab students’ attention and begin instructing them in how to follow directions.
Establish New Routines: Classroom meetings are a great thing to place within your routine, and play a huge role in building community within the classroom. Here are tips for how to hold effective classroom meetings. End the day with another routine: the “end-the-day box.” Write conversation starter questions on small pieces of paper and place them into an empty decorated tissue box. Bring the kids together and have a quick, 5-minute group discussion about a question or thought drawn from the jar. Waiting for the dismissal bell will be a community-building culmination of the day.

Back to School Related Posts

Back to School Social-Emotional Learning Resource

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Effective Classroom Management Tools for the Clever Elementary Teacher

The Ultimate Guide to Teaching Social-Emotional Skills in the Classroom

Fun Sight Word Classroom Games that Actually Work

Rewards for Kids: 5 Creative and Cost Effective Motivators!

10:08 pm By Proud to be Primary Leave a Comment

Teachers will love the 5 creative, cheap, and fun rewards for kids, that include coupons, reward tags, and more ideas that are positive and motivating.

Rewards for Kids: 5 Creative and Cost Effective Motivators

There is no doubt that children respond to rewards. The key is finding the right kind of rewards for kids that don’t break the bank, yet keep motivation up. Teachers spend enough of their hard earned money already. Filling those treasure boxes with dollar store items can add up. It’s time for teachers to save their money and use alternative methods.

We all want our children and students to develop intrinsic motivation. Moving away from store-bought items is a step in the right direction. Kids don’t need more “things” to add to their pile at home. Store bought items are exciting to get, but they quickly lose their “uniqueness” after they are received.

The key to success here is thinking of rewards for kids that are creative, fun, and make a lasting impact. Giving rewards that create moments and have meaning is what matters and what sticks in a child’s mind.

Below are 5 Creative and Cost Effective Rewards for Kids.

1. Rewards for Kids: Praise and Kindness

Praise a child when they do the right thing. Tell them descriptively what they did well. Give compliments when their actions and choices are the right ones. They are more likely to do those things again if they see and hear from an adult they trust that they did the right thing. Smile and be kind to students even on bad days. They look up to you and they want and need to see that you like them. Children are more willing to try and do the right thing if they feel supported and valued. Kindness and praise go a long way.

HOW: This type of rewards does not require any prep, but it does require acknowledgment and possibly a change in your thought process. Smile and say “Good morning!” to all of your students at the door. Make a plan to say something nice to each student at least once a day. For those students needing a bit more help and encouragement, make it a point to intact positively with them twice a day or more! Work hard to fill those invisible buckets!

COST: $0 and the positive results are endless!

2. Rewards for Kids: Coupons

Coupons are the perfect versatile reward system. Reward any behavior or accomplishment of your choice any time of day. When a child does something positive, they earn a coupon from a coupon box or drawers. Give children a choice of what coupon they would like to have. The coupons says things that children enjoy doing. They say things like “Wear Shades” or “Lunch with a Friend” or “Special Supplies”. Students love choosing what is important to them. Each coupon is motivating and fun.

HOW: Make an anchor chart of your classroom expectations and rules. Reward students who follow the guidelines with coupons daily. Whatever your class is working on or improving, use coupons as a motivator. Give the quietest students at the carpet or the student who solves a problem independently a coupon. Surprise students with coupons out of the blue when they deserve it, work hard, or try their best at something.

COST: There is only the initial cost of buying the coupons, printing and laminating them, and buying a coupon box or drawer organizer. You can try a free coupon pack to see how your students like it. Coupons don’t cost a thing once your materials are organized. They require some planning and time, but the enjoyment of getting and using them is limitless. Getting to pick their own coupons and experience fun at school is the reward.

3. Rewards for Kids: Marbles

This class management method is incredibly simple to initiate and effective for whole-class goal setting. Every time a marble is dropped into the jar, the class is one step closer to a predetermined reward. The goal is to fill up with marble jar. Students work together with their classmates to listen, work hard, and follow classroom expectations. They are rewarded at first with the marble in the jar and later with the class chosen reward. It’s the “hard work pays off” mentality. Success is achieved when everyone works together towards a common goal.

HOW: Have a class discussion about teamwork and working cooperatively towards a group goal. Create an anchor chart together and have students suggest ideas of whole class rewards. Encourage students with ideas such as getting extra recess, having a dance party, or going outside for a picnic lunch. Have a vote as a class and let the top choice be the whole-class reward once the jar is full.

Create a list for yourself of the time of the day that you will use the marble jar. Put the jar somewhere visible to everyone and easily accessible. Marbles make a sound every time they drop into the container. The sound will draw students’ attention to what is happening and remind them of what they are working towards. Remark to students how full the jar is getting as you add marbles to motivate them further. Once the jar is full, celebrate with your class.

COST: A few $ dollars at the dollar store to buy a few bags of marbles and a clear jar or container.

4. Rewards for Kids: Certificates

Students need recognition to know that what they are doing is right. Especially at school. Certificates are one way to give validation. Go a step further from praise and kindness. Let students know they have done a great job and to keep it up. Certificates are tangible and something to hold. They serve as a keepsake. Children often take them home to share with their families and post on their bedroom walls. They are a source of pride.

HOW: Decide what actions and behaviors warrant certificates. Ask yourself when they will be given, how, and to whom. Certificate rewards are great for celebrating milestones, such as reading achievements, having a birthday, or losing a tooth. They are equally special at the end of the year during a class awards ceremony led by the teacher. Prep the certificates ahead of time and organize them together in an accordion folder.

COST: Getting the certificates, paper, and ink are the only costs. The positive feelings are completely FREE!

5. Rewards for Kids: Brag Tags

Reward Tags are mini versions similar to certificates. Reward Tags are given out at various times of the year to celebrate school events and to recognize achievements along the way. They are small and kept together on a chain necklace or binder ring. Classes may hang their tags together as a symbol of pride. Children love to collect them and to see their collections at the end of the year.

HOW: There is a bit more involved in preparing Reward Tags. You will want to print and laminate a class set of each type you plan on giving out ahead of time. There are many drawer organizers available that can hold Reward Tags in an organized fashion. Plan a way to give the tags out and how you will add them to their necklaces or rings.

COST: You will need white cardstock or colored paper, a printer, laminator, a heavy-duty paper trimmer, a box with drawers or display shelf to house the tags, and chains or binder rings to hold the tags. Once you have your supplies ready to go, the excitement can begin! Consequently, kids will feel so special as their collections grow!

FREE Creative & Cost-Effective Rewards for Kids

Upon deciding which type of reward to use, click one or both of the images below to grab your free reward coupons, Reward Tags, and certificates!

Class Coupons

Reward Tags

Do you use rewards? What are your favorite rewards for kids?

MORE Ideas Positive Rewards for Kids

Classroom Management Ideas: The Positive Teacher’s Guide

Effective Classroom Management Tools

The Ultimate Classroom Management Resource Bundle

PIN for Later

First Week of School: 10 Teacher Tips You Must Remember

9:35 am By Proud to be Primary 7 Comments

10 teacher tips for the first week of school that will help teachers have fun, while saving time. Tons of back to school ideas and organization tips.

Back to school has got to be the most important time of the entire school year. There are so many things to think about in order to have a smooth transition from summer vacation to classroom instruction. From classroom management and organization to choosing curriculum and planning units to getting ready for your students to enter your classroom door, you must be ready and equipped ahead of time for the first week of school! This can be stressful…but enjoyable too! These back to school tips should help.

Adequate preparation for the first week of school is essential for success. I am excited to share with you the most important tips of what has worked for me as you head into and during that all important first week. I hope to help you start the new school year off feeling confident, ready, and at ease! If you are a new teacher just starting out, make sure to also read this post with tons of tips to start you off right and this post with many ways to save time.

10 Teacher Tips for the First Week of School

Head Into School Ahead of Time

Maybe this is a no-brainer, but it must be said! Setting up a classroom and getting things ready for a new school year takes time. There is a ton to prep and set up. Leaving it until the day before or even during the first week can add unnecessary stress to your week.

Go into your class at the beginning of the week before school begins. You may already be there to have meetings with the staff or your team, and if not, this is a great time to reconnect with your colleagues. Check in with your administrators and let them know you are looking forward to a new school year.

Find some time when you can close your door and stay focused on what needs to be done. Get those bulletin boards ready and set up your furniture and seating plan. Be comfortable with the layout of your classroom and make sure it is organized and ready for kids.

Now I am not telling you to spend the entire last week of your *precious* summer vacation in the classroom! Just make sure that you get some things done so that you can enjoy the time with your new class once the first week hits.

Create An Organized Classroom for the First Week of School

Having a classroom that is organized and ready for students is incredibly important. Making sure the important items in the class have a place and that they are accessible is key. Everything does NOT have to look perfect and have matching colors, labels, bins, etc. While those things are great and nice, they are not necessary.

Having a clean and organized set-up for your classroom books is helpful. I use a standing bookshelf that holds my theme and seasonal books. I also have shelves of books in bins that are labeled to make it easy for students to find what they are looking for. This post HERE outlines how I set up my classroom reading program and how I organize the books my students read. One Sharp Bunch has an amazing classroom set up with tons of great organizational and back to school ideas (check it out HERE).

I suggest also taking the time to organize your classroom resources either in tubs, boxes, folders, or whatever works for you. Keep them together and ready for when that time comes. Organize learning materials for the different subjects in different areas of the classroom. Have an area for school supplies and math manipulatives, have a different space for your centers, and of course, a teacher area with your own personal materials and supplies.

Where do you start? Use the free beginning of the year teacher checklist to help you get organized. Let me also suggest Pinterest. It is a fantastic place to go for ideas and to see what you might like in your own classroom. Check out my Classroom Organization board for a ton of helpful ideas!

If you can get a hold of your class list, LABEL EVERYTHING!

Pick Classroom Management Strategies for the First Week

Decide before the first week of school what your classroom management will look like. If the strategies you choose require certain materials, have those prepped and ready for the first week of school. Spend a good chunk of the first week of school teaching your students those strategies. Practice and role-play different scenarios so they understand the expectations in your classroom.

I am HUGE believer in the power of GREAT classroom management. Classroom management can take on many different forms and it means so many things in a classroom. Without it, our classrooms would probably fall apart and total CHAOS would ensue (kidding, but seriously it’s important)! I have my favorite strategies in a MUST READ post HERE.

My 4 favorite classroom management systems are class coupons, class jobs, class meetings, and team points (click to read the posts). I love these approaches to handling children because they are positive, rather than punitive. They encourage kids to be their best selves and work to improve themselves. They encourage kids to be open-minded and responsible. If you are looking for more strategies and ideas, check out the ultimate classroom management resource HERE!

There are many fun class management tools available on the market today that can help and keep things light. I adore the No Yell Bell and the chime!

Choose a Classroom Decor Style

Let me start off by saying that you do not need to have the most beautiful classroom or the most color-coordinated one either. Your classroom will be wonderful no matter what colors you choose for your bulletin boards or your bins. But chances are if you are a teacher, you have an idea of how you want your classroom to look. You have probably searched Pinterest or Teachers Pay Teachers for design inspiration…and there is a lot out there.

I encourage you to choose a theme or a few colors and stick with them. Decorate your classroom like you would a room in your home, with care and consideration of its purpose and who will be in that space. Ask yourself if it will encourage student learning or distract them.

Once you have picked and thought up a style that suits you, you get to GO SHOPPING (kidding)! TpT has a ton of classroom decor products. Some of my favorite looks are OMBRE, rainbow chevron, and neon. There are also a ton of DIY projects out there to get you a certain look (HELLO Pinterest). Amazon and the Target Dollarspot are my ONE-STOP-SHOPS for affordable class decor items.

Plan Out Your Year before the First Week of School

I cannot stress enough how important it is to do some pre-planning. It is an overwhelming task, but one that needs to be done and better sooner than later. Read and know the curriculum for the grade you teach inside and out. Spend some time before the school year begins mapping out the units and themes you will be teaching. Have an idea of what each month will look like in your classroom. With some planning done ahead of time, you will feel much more relaxed and in control during the first week of school.

To organize the school year, I suggest creating a year-long curriculum map with the themes and topics that you will be teaching each month. Jamie from Play to Learn Preschool has some helpful suggestions when planning out your year in PreK. Her ideas and FREE unit planner would work in many primary classrooms.

Once you know what your weekly schedule looks like, create a weekly plan layout with the different subjects in different blocks of time. Enlarge the template and make many copies to leave in your workspace. Keep your plan ready and easy to glance at whenever you need. Below is an example of a weekly planning sheet I used previously.

You may also need detailed plans for your individual lessons. Have a template ready that you can use during your lesson planning. Create a template for the different subjects (i.e. math, reading) you teach daily and attach those to your weekly plan. Stay organized and on top of your daily tasks with a FREE teacher task list template that will help you save time!

Get Your Resources Ready before the First Week of School

If you have a yearly plan ready and know which resources you will be using to teach different themes and topics, prep them ahead of time. Get to the photocopier when no one is there and run off your class sets of booklets. Get those notebooks ready. Prep those unique materials for different subjects. Print those resources that need cutting and laminating (with these amazing laminating sheets) and get them prepped and ready. Set up your centers, gather your materials, and get bins of manipulatives together.

Use that first week of school (and before if you can) to get everything together that you will need for your first few weeks or even months of school. You WILL be exhausted once school is in session and will not feel like creating, setting up, or organizing your resources. Don’t be the chicken with your head cut off! DO IT EARLY! (you’ll thank me later)

Prepare Activities for the First Day and Week of School

The first day and week of school will come and go very quickly, but they are super important. Those days and moments with your new class will set the stage for the rest of the school year. It is important to make good use of that time together. Think of what kind of year you want to have and how you want things to run. Plan activities that will help set those plans into motion. Take time to build a community together through community building activities (read THIS POST with tons of ideas).

Have a few activities for each day of the first week of school planned ahead of time. This post with back to school tips suggests a few fun welcome activities, including the name art seen above. Over plan activities that encourage new relationships to form. Be flexible because important topics, discussions, and activities may need more time. Teach and use brain breaks frequently! Go outside to play and enjoy the nice weather before it’s gone!!

Teach Classroom Rules, Routines, & Procedures the First Week of School

Spend a good chunk of your first week of school teaching classroom rules, routines, and procedures. There is nothing more important during the first week. Take the time to teach each procedure and routine that you want students to learn one at a time and practice them. Do not assume that they will remember them or do them properly if they are not told, shown, and allowed to try!

Decide early on what your classroom rules will be either on your own or decide together as a class. We spend a few class periods working on our classroom contract. This contract starts as a brainstorm of what we want our classroom to look, sound, and feel like. We vote and choose the ideas that we like best. From there a contract is written that we can all agree on. The contract is something that is referred to often throughout the year. It helps start the year off on the right track!

Each day we recite the Whole Brain rules. They are combined with actions and this encourages students to really develop a connection to their meaning. You can grab a FREE set of Whole Brain rule posters HERE.

Get to Know Your Students during the First Week of School

Get to know your students before they enter your classroom door. Send a note or make a quick phone call home to your new students welcoming them and their families to your classroom. Encourage them to stop by and say hello when you are there prepping your class before school starts.

Read each student’s file ahead of time so that you can NOT MAKE JUDGEMENTS, but be better prepared to meet their individual needs. If necessary, set up times to have informal meetings about particular students with the resource and support teachers to be more informed and ready.

Set up a time to chat with the previous year’s teacher and see if there is anything you need to know ahead of time. Ask them for any assessments they completed at the end of the year and copy those for your files. PLEASE Stay open-minded! Know that each child responds differently to different people and different styles of teaching. What one teacher may have found to be a problem student, may be a perfect match for you.

Quick Assessments for the First Week of School

Make or find some time during the first week of school to do a quick assessment of your students. Make observations. Take note of how students act in the class, how they respond to you and their classmates, and what basic skills they have or lack.

Create a quick assessment that you can give to students. Assess those skills that they should know from the previous year to see where they are academically. Add also those skills that you plan on teaching to them over the next few months and see what they know. Do what you can to get a basic overview of each student to help you plan the future.

Do not worry too much about what they do and don’t know. Focus more on getting to know them during the first week. Make them feel comfortable and at home in your classroom.

First Week of School Social-Emotional Learning Resource

More Ideas for Back to School Fun

Community Building Activities for the First Week

Lessons and Activities for the First Week of School

30 Back-to-School Classroom Essentials for Teachers

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New Teachers: Tips and What I Wish I Knew

2:13 pm By Proud to be Primary 2 Comments

Tips for new teachers and students during back to school time. Be successful and avoid the first year mistakes with these ideas I wish I knew!

If you are a student teacher or new teacher just starting out, then you are probably feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of your new responsibilities. Running your own classroom and making sure that your students learn the curriculum can be an excited and challenging endeavor.

We go to post-secondary to “learn” how to be a teacher, but there is so much we don’t learn there. Most of the “real” learning happens once we reach the classroom. It is the experiences we have with children that help us grow and show us how to be good teachers. It is having to plan, organize, and manage our OWN classrooms ALONE that really helps us learn and grow.

In this post, I hope to share a few of the tips that I wish I knew as a new teacher. Those tidbits and suggestions that if only I had known would have saved me time and helped me be more prepared. Teaching is not easy, but it should be rewarding and fun too!

Tips for New Teachers: What I Wish I Knew…

Classroom Management for New Teachers: the Key to Success

I wish I knew how important classroom management was before I began. New teachers can set up the perfect classroom decor, have all your materials organized, and have the most fabulous lessons ready, but if those management strategies are not ready, it can be a hard beginning. I’m not saying that you should have all the answers to the issues you may face, but having some ideas ready to go is essential for a smooth start. Every year, every class, and every student will be different. Management strategies will need to be changed, tweaked, and adjusted to suit your current classroom.

You also need to decide what type of teacher you are and what your philosophy is. Are you a teacher that is uncomfortable or okay with punishment and consequences? Do you prefer positive, motivating strategies? Are you comfortable with rewards? There are many questions to answer. Many you won’t know until you begin, but having a few tricks up your sleeve will make for a smoother beginning. Your students will be looking to you for the answers and you need to show them that you have them.

I prefer positive classroom management techniques that encourage good behaviour and actions everyday. Positive strategies, such as reward coupons, classroom jobs, and brain breaks, leave students feeling empowered and responsible. I like to build a strong classroom community through weekly classroom meetings and community building activities. We spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year creating our classroom contract and learning the rules of the classroom. These strategies pave the way for a well-run classroom. Above all showing kindness, patience, and fairness when dealing with children is important. Try to remember that they are learning and part of that means making and learning from their mistakes. Help them not only learn the curriculum, but teach them how to be socially responsible.

The Importance of Organization: What A New Teacher Must-Do

We all know how being organized can help us feel more in control and keep stress down. It is no surprise that being organized in the classroom, as well as having a classroom set-up that is organized is essential. When you begin teaching and see how much stuff is involved in terms of materials and resources, you quickly realize that you need to develop a system of sorting, storing, displaying everything you will need.

Get prepared ahead of time. Head into your classroom and assess the space. Research ways to organize your classroom and get creative with your space. Play around with the furniture until you are comfortable with it and it is functional for your needs. Develop systems of sorting materials and resources in bins and drawers, ways of storing them by theme or subject, and display important items so they are accessible for your students.

Not only the physical items need to be organized. You will need to plan out your year, themes, units, lessons, and more. Develop a way to organize your thoughts and ideas. Think of ways to work “smarter” not “harder” with these time saving tips for teachers and grab the freebies there to help you get organized.

Make an Effort to Develop Parent Relationships

Work hard to develop relationships with the parents of your students and it will pay off in numerous ways. Be kind and welcoming on day one. This is what will make a lasting impact. Make parents feel like you want to get to know them as well as their children. Attempt to build a partnership with parents by openly communicating the good and the bad. Develop trust with parents by being available and accessible when they need to contact and connect with you. Strive to form connections with parents by showing them that you care about their child and their child’s success. My 3 tips for creating positive parent-teacher relationships is a must-read and is full of suggestions.

New Teachers Depend on Others for Advice & Support

While many schools have grade “teams”, some do not. New teachers must find someone or a small group within your grade or subject area to connect with. Ask questions, borrow resources, and seek information for your colleagues. Run ideas for lessons past them and see what they think. Ask them to collaborate or team teach with you on a project or new activity. Don’t be shy! You will have ideas that will be new to them also, so don’t be afraid to share what you know!

Remember that every teacher started off somewhere and had to learn what they know today. No one can do things completely on their own. Don’t depend only on yourself. Depend on others to help guide you. Learn from each other.

Familiarize Yourself with Available Resources for New Teachers

Find out what resources are available for new teachers to use in your school. Ask your admin, colleagues, and coaches to show you the resources that you should or could be using. Examine those resources closely and become familiar with them. Read them ahead of time over the summer or at home on your free time. Meet with your librarian and explore the library and the literature available.

From there you will need to gather additional resources to supplement what is provided to you. Build your classroom library with books you have collected or bought to support your teaching. Scholastic and Amazon are great sources for affordable books. Pinterest is an amazing search engine of images and ideas for the classroom. Simply search for any word, topic, or theme and you will find a ton of awesome ideas!

Teachers Pay Teachers is by far my most favorite place for quality resources. I love it because I can find tons of variations on so many ideas and I can pick and choose what will work for my classroom and my students. If you have not visited TpT yet, YOU MUST! Head there and set up your free account.

Then, start searching and downloading quality free and paid resources for your classroom. You can also read the TpT blog for tips and current educational content.

New Teacher Tip: Be a Lifelong Learner

You should never stop learning as a teacher. Set goals for yourself as a teacher each month, week, and year, and strive towards them. Know your strengths and what you are good at, and work on those that aren’t. Be willing to try new things and adapt your instruction to meet the needs of your students. Every school year and every student will be different, so it is important to differentiate and learn how to do that effectively.

Educational trends come and go, but it is a good idea to stay on top of the quality ones. Seek professional development opportunities if they become available. Ask your administrators if you can attend a conference you have heard great things about. Set out to continue learning in different ways. Observing teachers in other classrooms, reading the latest research-based educational literature, and subscribing to educational podcasts and blog posts are great ways to stay informed.

Be Kind to Yourself, New Teacher!

You cannot do everything and make everything perfect…and that is okay! You will do a great job anyway! Just try your best and be happy with that. Know that lessons can go wrong and things can fall apart sometimes. Be strong enough to learn from those mistakes and to try a new approach. Be flexible.

Some days will be harder than others and some days you may not want to step into the classroom. Know that you make a difference every day in many lives. Know that your students care about you and how you made them feel, not that your anchor chart looked perfect or that your bins are color coordinated.

Take care of yourself. At the end of the day, leave work at school. Go home and relax. Spend time doing the things you love with the people you care about. Find a hobby and make time for it. Kristen from Easy Teaching Tools has this post with thoughtful ways for teachers to relax and find balance. It’s a must read!

Remember to be kind to yourself and that above all teaching is a journey of learning, not just for students, but for teachers. Never stop learning, growing, adapting, and adjusting to meet the needs of your learners as they change and develop. Best of luck to you on your new journey!

Back to School Social-Emotional Learning Resource

New teachers will find this back to school social emotional learning resource the perfect companion to your start of school lesson plans. It includes mini-lesson ideas and engaging activities that build connections in the classroom and teach important social and emotional skills to children during the most important time of year!

More Great Tips for New Teachers

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First Grade Teacher Tips

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Community Building In the Classroom: Activities that Create Smiling Kids

11:06 am By Proud to be Primary 3 Comments

Community building in the classroom: Activities for kids, to help students learn social skills, develop friendships, and build classroom community.

Community Building In the Classroom: Activities that Create Smiling Kids

Encouraging community building in the classroom is a passion of mine, and here I will provide you with plenty of activities for kids. These are activities that can be easily implemented daily to help build social skills, responsibility, and community.

Why Teach Community Building in the Classroom?

Participating in activities together as a class to help build relationships, problem-solving, and community is extremely valuable. They can help build a sense of trust and togetherness between peers and with their teacher. They encourage different topics of conversation, opportunities to solve problems, and new experiences. Being active and sharing also builds teamwork. These are all things that will help a child develop a strong sense of self and solid social skills. The best thing about community building activities is that they are enjoyable and bring out the best in kids.

When and How Should We Implement Community Building in the Classroom?

Community building activities for kids are great any time of year and any time of day. I use the following as culminating activities to our weekly classroom meetings to help bring closure and closeness after our meetings. They can be quick and take a few minutes, like a game of “telephone”, or can be a project that takes longer and has steps, like a STEM activity. How you add your community building activities to your day is up to you. I suggest finding a gap in time or before or after a transition where an extra activity can be added seamlessly.

Community Building in the Classroom: Activities for Kids

Community building activities can be just about anything you choose to do as a class together. Activities for P.E. lend themselves well to this, as well as games you can play at the carpet. Below are 5 community building activities for kids that I teach in my classroom to connect and strengthen our relationships.

STEM Building Challenges for Community Building

STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) activities and building challenges are a great way to build teamwork and cooperation. Giving students a task they have to figure out, plan, and complete together builds problem-solving skills and a sense of accomplishment. These tactile activities work the mind and the body together. You can create STEM challenges with materials you have ready in your classroom. Give your class a set of materials, the task or a question, and let them get to work in small groups.

We enjoy using and building marble mazes in small groups. Marble mazes are not simple to build, especially when there is more than a few people. It requires communication and planning. We also have a set of red solo cups ready to go for a quick activity. Give your students a challenge to complete, such as “build the tallest tower using 30 cups,” and let them get to work. Students also love it when you hand them marshmallows, Play-Doh, and some toothpicks and ask them to build a structure.

Here are some must-have materials to get your class started with STEM.

(Amazon Affiliate links)

Check out this STEM Pinterest board with tons of engaging activities for skill and community building.

Cooperation & Teamwork Activities for Community Building

Activities that get kids moving and working together help build cooperation, teamwork, and community. These types of activities work well during P.E. class or during recess when your class is in a larger, open space. They require a few pieces of equipment found in most schools.

Parachutes is a high energy activity that requires children to hold onto the edge of a large parachute and move it up and down. Whenever we play parachute games, there is instant and uncontrollable laughter. Everyone works together to get the parachute to do different things. There are many games you can play with a parachute (check out Mom Junction’s post with 15 games).

Setting up relays where children must complete a sequence of activities while working as a team with peers is an excellent way to build teamwork. Teaching children to cheer on and encourage others and to show good sportsmanship is essential for success. You can use so many different items in creating relays. Hula hoops, skipping ropes, beach balls, and the outside playground set-up works great.

Here is some must-have equipment to get your class started with teamwork activities.

Get to Know You Games for Community Building

Games, where we learn more about each other, are great for building community. We feel closer and develop acceptance when we get to know each other better. It is essential to play these games at the beginning of the year to help students get to know their peers and develop new friendships. They are also fun to play throughout the year to learn something new, especially during classroom meetings.

Get to Know You Game #1: Everyone writes a fact about themselves on a small sheet of paper. Encourage kids to share things that nobody knows already (a summer vacation, an accident, a fear, etc.). Fold up the papers and put them inside the hat. Whenever you have a few extra minutes to fill, pull out a sheet, read it to the class, and have them guess who it is about. After that person is revealed, get them to tell the story of what happened.

Get to Know You Game #2: Complete a self-portrait lesson during art. Once they are complete, collect them and sue them during this game. Put up a portrait of a student. Take turns as a class sharing things they know about that person and nice words (adjectives) about that person.

Communication Games for Community Building

Communication games are an amazing way to build listening and thinking skills. Children work together to solve a problem, listen to questions and answers, and share strategies and ideas. Providing children with opportunities to “play” together builds community and fun into your day. Children love to play these games and they are quick and simple to implement.

Play “telephone” in a circle as a class or in small groups. Share a message and watch it whispered to each person in a circle. See if the message is changed or remains intact. It makes it extra fun to use a toy telephone. It lends itself well to discussions about how to focus and listen closely.

Another fun game is Headbanz. Give a student a card to put in their headband that they cannot see. They have to ask questions and their peers give answers without telling them what is on their card.

Class Jobs for Community Building

Giving students their own jobs in the classroom builds ownership and respect for one’s classroom. It requires teamwork as children work together to complete tasks and help the teacher around the room. Students love having their own job to take care of each day. They take responsibility for their classroom jobs and for the most part put in a good effort, with some guidance along the way. Read more about how I use classroom jobs in my classroom HERE.

Class Transitions

Every class transitions throughout the school each and every day. Take advantage of those times with something fun, quick, and engaging. Use class call-backs anytime to need your class to listen and focus. They respond to the call you give. Below are some examples. Line up chants are also useful is readying the class for transitioning through the school. Students work together to repeat the chant aloud with the teacher.

Social-Emotional Development Resource

Looking for more lessons and activities to help build community and social-emotional skills? Check out the mind+heart SEL curriculum!

What do YOU do to encourage community building in the classroom?

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A Class Meeting with Kids that Builds Important Social and Emotional Skills

4:00 pm By Proud to be Primary 11 Comments

A classroom teacher explains her experience running a weekly class meeting, including tips, tricks, and advice for improving the classroom routines to create a positive atmosphere.

Your Class Meeting: Make it Effective EVERY Day

In this post, I will be sharing how-to run effective classroom meetings with a schedule and specific plans to help children learn and apply interpersonal skills for their social-emotional well being. My hope is that you will be able to implement these strategies to start your own classroom meetings or improve your routines and outcomes.

Why Have a Class Meeting?

I am a strong advocate for social responsibility being taught and reinforced at school. Class meetings allow you to teach things that are not be written in your Math, Reading, or Science curriculum but are equally important and deserve your time.

Children will learn how to express feelings and emotions in constructive ways. They will learn to deal with anger issues and how to calm oneself down. In addition, they will build the skills needed to independently solve problems. Also, they will learn how to make and maintain healthy friendships through listening, expressing themselves, taking turns, and playing games. Most importantly, effective classroom meetings mean there are opportunities to connect as a class and share and learn from each other. Through sharing our good and bad feelings, we can relate to each other. We can share what we are thankful for, give compliments, and solve problems together. Classroom meetings allow us to grow as a group and individually.

Having taught class meetings in primary classrooms over the years, I have seen great results. I have seen children learn to cope and handle difficult situations with ease. In additions, I have witnessed children go from needing a lot of help to deal with anger and issues with friends, to being completely 100% independent in doing so. Therefore, I hope that you will see similar results.

The Class Meeting Schedule

Classroom meetings can take place at any point during the day and for as long as you see necessary. I prefer to have our meetings on Fridays in the afternoon. That is the day and time that we are finishing up work and decompressing from the week. Children have just completed a full week of activities and playing with friends. They often have plenty to talk about and share. Our meetings usually last around 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the lesson and need for talk time.

Opening the Class Meeting

We start every class meeting sitting together in a circle at the carpet. I like to set an intention for the meeting to get children focused and ready to listen. We use our chime and some deep quiet breathing to clear our heads and calm our bodies.

I review a few rules about respectful listening (looking at the speaker, listening to what they are saying, having a calm body). We remind ourselves that the only person allowed to talk is the person with the “talking stick” or any item that you have chosen for children to hold when it’s their turn to speak. We wait for everyone to look and sound ready and we begin.

Temperature (Sharing Feelings within the Class Meeting)

We take turns going around the circle and passing our “talking stick” or another item. We take turns giving our temperature out of 10 to express how we are feeling at the time (0 being not good and 10 being great). Children can say their temperature and give a reason if they wish. For example, I am an 8 because I played a fun game of soccer with my friends at lunch. As we go around the circle, if children are not ready for their turn, they can have a pass and we will come back to them.

During our very first meeting, we spend a lot of time learning about the scale of 0 to 10. I encourage children to think about their feelings on this scale and how even if they are having a bad day, they are probably are not a zero. This requires practice and help. I give examples along the scale to illustrate this for them. Having a small chart with the scale on a number line with some examples is helpful.

Gratitude (Giving Thanks during the Class Meeting)

This is another variation to include instead of temperatures during meetings. Take turns going around the circle and expressing gratitude for something. It can be absolutely anything. We use the words “I am thankful for…” when the talking stick comes to us. For example, I am thankful for the nice weather outside or I am thankful for my mom because she takes good care of me.

Again giving gratitude is something we spend time learning about initially. We share all the things we are thankful for and brainstorm them on a chart for ideas in the future. I encourage children to be authentic and to think with their hearts when it is their turn. Some children prefer to use an idea from the chart or an idea they have heard from a friend, which is fine as well.

Bouquets (Giving Compliments during the Class Meeting)

I teach children that a bouquet of flowers is something you give someone you care about to say something special. Giving each other compliments and saying nice things is like giving a friend a bouquet of flowers. This helps children to visualize the importance of saying nice things. We discuss how it makes them feel when someone says nice things to them and we brainstorm ideas during our first meetings. We talk about the difference between a “surface” compliment (I like your haircut!) and a “deeper” compliment (You are a kind friend!). We agree that deeper compliments, the ones that are about our character and who we are, are more meaningful and require more thought.

Children put up their hands for a turn to give a bouquet to a friend in the circle. We practice and I support them to use the line “I have a bouquet for… because…” These are very powerful! Often as children give their bouquets, more hands go up as others remember things they want to express to their peers and appreciate. Not everyone has to give a bouquet during a meeting, just those that want to.

Beefs (Using the Class Meeting for Problem Solving)

It is important for children to learn problem-solving strategies that they can eventually learn and use independently. During the “beefs” portion of effective classroom meetings we talk about and learn problem-solving strategies. There requires teaching ahead of time about the different ways to solve a problem.

Teach students that when a problem occurs they can do a few different things:

Tell the person to “STOP”
Say how it makes them feel “It makes me feel… when you…!”
Suggest a solution to the problem
Walk away and leave the situation
Get help from an adult you know

There needs to be a few rules set during this time to avoid intentionally hurting feelings. Limiting the number of “beefs” expressed during a meeting to 3 or 4 is helpful. I also have a rule against naming the names of friends in our classroom or school that the problem is with to maintain and show respect. As adults, we wouldn’t want to be “called out” for our mistakes in front of our peers and therefore we wouldn’t want our students doing that to each other either.

If a child has a problem and has a hard time solving it on their own, they are encouraged to share it with the class. They are asked to explain what the problem is and then take 4 suggestions from the class on ways to solve. Their problems usually consist of issues with cooperation, sharing, taking turns, and unfortunately bullying and negative physical contact.

An example of a typical problem, At lunch I wanted a turn on the swings but nobody would let me. Examples of typical solutions, you can ask nicely and say “May I please have a turn?” or find something else to do on the playground instead. I allow the class to give their suggestions first and then I give my own thoughts, usually to reinforce what has been said already. Sometimes children are not sure what problems they should be solving on their own and which require adult help (bullying and any negative contact). This is a great opportunity to teach this.

Social Emotional Learning (Discussion/Lesson/Book)

This is the culminating part of an effective classroom meeting. This part can take on any shape or form depending on what you want to teach your class or what your needs are. You may want to see how the week goes and see if there are any issues that stand out and need to be addressed. Or decide to have a short discussion with your class after a book about the topic. You could have a discussion and have students write and draw about what you discussed. In addition, you might choose to have your students role-play different scenarios and discuss their feelings. Finally, you may choose to do a separate lesson and activity to help build a certain social-emotional learning area.

Your school or district may have a specific social responsibility or SEL program that they like to use that has lessons for you to pick from. There are usually opportunities to attend conferences and workshops to learn different approaches available to teachers. The Social Emotional Learning Curriculum mind+heart is a comprehensive program perfect for K-2 and includes 8 units filled with lessons and activities to add a ton of value to your class meetings. Some of the other programs I have used in my classroom and am especially fond of are Roots of Empathy, Mind-Up, Tribes, and Restitution.

Topics for lessons

During each week, I have AT LEAST one meeting and a lesson on a specific social and emotional learning topic. Some of these ideas are listed below.

Self-regulation (expressing emotions appropriately, calming down, self-control)
Friendship skills (taking turns, sharing, listening)
Empathy (caring about others, thinking of others before ourselves, helping others)
Bullying (how to stop it, how to recognize it)
Conflict resolution (problem-solving skills)
Respect (recognizing differences, appreciation, acceptance, kindness, love)
Cooperation and responsibility (for oneself, with others, in the classroom and school)
Basic needs (versus wants)

Find everything you need for an entire year of class meetings in the mind+heart SEL curriculum. Available for K-2 and 3-5.

mind+heart K-2 SEL curriculum

mind+heart 3-5 SEL curriculum

Class Meeting Must-Have Book List

Books can be a very powerful tool in expressing what is sometimes difficult to explain. They provide another perspective and example of what is discussed. I like to keep a box of special books that I save for classroom meetings. I pull the books out to share with the class to support our discussions during meetings. The following list of books are highly recommended. I own each book and have read it to children over the years with success.

How to Be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them by Brown
Two by Otoshi
The Name Jar by Choi
My Mouth is a Volcano by Cook
Bad Case of the Tattle Tongue by Cook
Interrupting Chicken by Stein
The Juice Box Bully by Sornson
Stop Picking on Me by Thomas
Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Dismondy
Enemy Pie by Munson
The Recess Queen by O’Neil
You’re Mean, Lily Jean by Wishinsky
How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids by Rath
Chrysanthemum by Henkes
The Way I Feel by Cain
The Way I Act by Metzger
How Are You Peeling? by Freymann

Community Building Activity

As a final quick activity, I like to do something fun as a class. We usually play a game or complete a teamwork activity. I start the year by teaching the class a few games and activities that we can use throughout the year. We use the community building activities for kids weekly to help us stay connected and having fun together!

Class Meeting Resources

FREE Class Meeting Planner

To support your effective classroom meetings, I have created a template for you to print and use to plan and prepare your meetings. The schedule template includes a brief description of each part and includes an area for notes and specific plans. I hope you find it useful. Click the image below!

mind+heart Social Emotional Learning Curriculum

Looking for more lessons and activities to help build community and social-emotional skills? Check out the mind+heart SEL curriculum!

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Goal Setting for Kids Made Simple!

2:39 pm By Proud to be Primary 4 Comments

Goal Setting for Kids: A list of steps for teachers to take when teaching children to reflect and set goals, using the 3 stars and a wish approach.

Goal Setting For Kids

As teachers, we all want our students to succeed in life, right? RIGHT! We want our students to be effective problem solvers. We want them to set goals and ACHIEVE them. Teaching children to reflect and set goals is an important lesson that needs to be taught starting at a young age.

Why is Goal Setting for Kids Important?

Goal setting is a lesson that should be revisited and worked on throughout life. Adults continually reflect on life and past goals and use that information to set new goals. Aristotle said, “Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.” Having something to focus on and work towards, helps us to be productive human beings. It is our responsibility to teach these skills to children.

It can be frustrating when a child doesn’t try hard enough when you see the potential. We try to encourage them to try harder or care, with little result. Is there a solution? One thing you can do is teach them how to set goals and achieve them, one step at a time. Setting goals and working towards them teaches children perseverance. This is an important skill in life and one that they will need along the way.

How to Teach Goal Setting for Kids

A part of it is teaching children to reflect on things they do well and things they need to improve on. Another part of it is teaching children what a goal is, how to pick the right one, and making a plan to achieve the goal that they set. This needs to be taught at home and at school.

Children need direction and encouragement in this. Parents are useful is having daily conversations with their children and checking in to see how things are going. Parents may find special checklists or charts helpful in keeping their children on track, along with certain incentives to gain interest.

Teachers are useful in providing an approach to goal setting that is systematic (i.e., can be done during each term of the year) and age-appropriate (i.e., develop lessons for their particular grade level). Teachers can set a few times in the year to reflect on, set, and plan for achieving goals.

Goal Setting Activities for the Classroom

Below are some strategies for teaching children to reflect and set goals. Try these strategies in your classroom. Hopefully, your students will learn the skills to tackle their own challenges in the future.

Goal Setting Activities: Reflect on Things They Do Well

Start by having a discussion about the things that children feel they do well. Brainstorm these ideas on a chart or whiteboard. This is a positive way to start the goal-setting process because they are thinking of things they have achieved and learned already. Discuss how these things make them feel. Encourage them to recall how they went about learning those things. What steps did they take? Did they set a goal and work towards it?

Goal Setting Activities: Reflect on Things They Need to Improve

It is also important to reflect on the things they need to work on, improve, or learn. Before a child can decide which goal to set, they have to think of something that is worth working towards. Children should choose something that interests them or a skill that they need for life. Steve Garvey said, “You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.” Some examples of goals for children are learning to swim underwater, tying their shoelaces, or riding a bicycle. Some examples for school could be counting to 100, learning to read a particular book, or climbing the rope in gym class.

Goal Setting Activities: 3 Stars and a Wish

Before making a plan with the teacher, I suggest that students record their ideas in the form of stars and wishes. You have probably heard of “3 Stars and a Wish” before and it’s a great idea! I use this approach for many things during the school year. We think of STARS, the things we do well, and WISHES, the things to work on. Students use the ideas they come up with during our reflection as a class and record their ideas. The idea they choose for their wish becomes their new goal for school.

This form provides a valuable assessment tool. I use the 3 Stars and a Wish reflection sheets during meetings and conferences with parents. Parents want to see how their children are doing and appreciate that they get to hear how their child sees themselves. They appreciate this information because then they can discuss it at home. I keep a copy of the reflection sheets in the student portfolios with a collection of work completed that year. This helps provide a timeline of the progress made. To read about how I create student portfolios and use them during student-led conferences, head HERE.

The 3 Stars and a Wish printable is available for FREE by clicking the image below. You will receive 2 variations and each has either 2 or 3 stars to suit your needs.

Making a Plan for Teaching Goal Setting for Kids

Whatever the goal may be, children need to make a plan! Antoine de Saint Exupery said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

I meet with each student individually and we discuss their new goal. We make a plan together and discuss the plan of action. We come up with small, workable steps together. They will most likely need a teacher’s help along the way. Check-in periodically with your students to see how they are doing and feeling about their progress. Having a chart visually available to a child is extremely helpful. This way they can see what they’ve done and what they still need to do. Kid Pointz has a free printable chart that you can download HERE.

Goal Setting for Kids Requires a Timeline

It is also important to have a timeline when teaching children to set and achieve goals. Different goals take different amounts of time and effort. Teachers can help guide students to choose goals that are smaller and can be completed within a reasonable time. I suggest teaching children to reflect and set goals 3 times during the school year. With this approach, each goal should take about 3 months or so to achieve. At the end of the term, a particular goal may continue to be a student’s focus for the following term.

Rewards and Incentives to Encourage Goal Setting for Kids

A big motivator for children is the reward they receive when they accomplish their goal. To some, achieving a goal is the intrinsic reward. However, that might not be enough of a motivator for some children. Teachers may want to offer another incentive. Stickers are a fun and simple reward that can be used on charts like these. I like to use classroom coupons as rewards. They can be given each time a student completes a step towards their goal. A classroom party might be a fun way to reward the entire class at the end of the term.

Looking for another fun way for your students to set goals for the new year? Create a fireworks display of goals in your classroom!

I suggest printing them on colored cardstock to create a colorful display! You could also make a mobile of fireworks hanging from a string.

Grab this FREE Fireworks Goals for the New Year printable by clicking the image below. It includes 2 types of firework goals for you to choose from.

Do you teach goal setting for kids? I’d love to hear from you!

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you would like more tips and ideas from me, be sure to follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to stay connected with the latest news and freebies!

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Parent Communication : Creating Positive Parent-Teacher Relationships

12:00 pm By Proud to be Primary Leave a Comment

Parent communication is a priority. Here are 3 tips for teachers on creating positive parent-teacher relationships. With a FREE editable planner sheet!

Parent Communication: Creating Positive Parent-Teacher Relationships

Today I am sharing my tips for creating positive parent-teacher relationships at the beginning of the school year and throughout the year. Parent communication should be a priority! Here’s how to communicate well.

In my 10 years of teaching, I have taught many children and have developed many relationships with parents. I continue to connect with many families today that I have known for many years. I can honestly say that taking the time and making the effort to connect with families pays off in many ways.

Today I hope to share some honest advice and tips from someone who has been there as a teacher and a parent. As a primary teacher, I understand that the children I teach are still young. Their parents need and deserve to have an understanding of what goes on in their child’s day. That’s why parent communication is key.

My biggest piece of advice would be to be kind and welcoming on day 1. This is what will make a lasting impact. Make parents feel like you want to get to know them as well as their children. Attempt to build a partnership with parents by openly communicating the good and the bad. Develop trust with parents by being available and accessible when they need to contact and connect with you. Strive to form connections with parents by showing them that you care about their child and their child’s success.

PARENT COMMUNICATION: MAKE IT HAPPEN

Find a way that suits you and works with your parent group to communicate regularly. Be diligent!

I make sure to say “hello” and introduce myself to as many parents as possible on the first day of school. Letting your parents know that you are a person, and a kind one too, can go a long way towards good parent communication. Make a good first impression by inviting parents into the room to look around. Smile and have a few light-hearted jokes or comments to ease the nerves that they (the parents) are also probably feeling.

After a positive first impression, it will be up to you to continue to reach out to chat and keep parents in the loop. Parents deserve to know what happens in the classroom and how their child is doing regularly. Find a way to communicate that suits who you are and get that started. Keep it up, even when you are exhausted and stressed. Remember parents are at home wondering how things are going. If you take the initiative and are proactive, parents will come around less because they feel well informed.

Suggestions for Communicating with Parents

Use a daily planner for important notes, events, and anything else you want them to know about the week.
Have a monthly newsletter that shares learning goals, classroom events, and student successes.
Send home a class handbook at the beginning of the year with important information about how you run your program, what the expectations are for students, and how families can help.
Create an email list to send out important time-sensitive info.
Make phone calls home to share the good days, as well as the bad.
Respond to calls, emails, and notes at the first opportunity. Use technology to communicate if it’s convenient for them.
Let parents know the best way to contact and communicate with you. Whether it is email, in person, or on the phone. I suggest giving the best 2 options for those parents that cannot visit in person due to work or other reasons.
Send home mail in an organized fashion to ensure parents receive important info.
Post important notices in the window or on the door for parents to see.
Meet with parents more than the few mandatory times each year.
Ask your parents questions and be open to feedback. Consider sending a letter home asking for this information.

BE AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE FOR PARENT COMMUNICATION

Have an open door policy and allow parents to be a part of your classroom!

This idea is closely related to communicating with parents. It is important to make yourself available to parents to connect with you regularly. Each day in the morning I open my window blinds so that my students and their parents can see into the classroom. I welcome my parents to come in with their child to the class at the bell until their child is settled in their seat. After school, I stand at the door and chat with parents. I have built the strongest relationships from doing this.

My suggestions for you is to reach out to parents to get them involved. Welcome parents who want to volunteer and ask for parent helpers during special classroom events or to help with a special project.

Make yourself available by email, phone, and in person. Let parents know they can contact you at any time to set up a meeting. Give them your availability of when you are available. I suggest trying an open door policy and if there is something of extreme importance, they can reach you to chat anytime. Check emails before class starts every day because often parents will contact you to let you know there was an issue the day before or if a child is away for some reason.

Suggestions for Communicating with Parents

Have time before or after school when you are available to talk. Leave your door open!
Stand at the door with a smile when the bell rings in the morning and after class is dismissed.
Give parents your business card or a magnet with your information that they can post on the fridge.
Be open and available to set-up meetings when parents have concerns or want to check in on their child’s progress.
If possible, have a few ways for parents to contact you (i.e. phone number and email).
Invite parents into the class to share in a celebration or to share learning.
Have parent volunteers.

PARENT COMMUNICATION: SHOW THAT YOU CARE

Take the time to build connections with students, showcase student work and achievement, and share successes big and small!

Each and every child that you teach is important. Whether they give you the run for your money or if they are the most well behaved, each one of them deserves to be celebrated. Parents appreciate that this goes on every day, but they are extra pleased when they are invited to witness it as well. My classroom has student work everywhere. I post it on bulletin boards, in hallways, from clotheslines, and in windows. My blinds are always open and parents can see the work that their children complete every day. Parents are welcome to come into the classroom often where they can see the work and their child’s personal spaces up-close. When an extra amount of effort has gone into a special project, it gets sent home with a positive note. This “wow” work is saved and put into portfolios that become special keepsakes for students and families. Read more about student portfolios and student-led conferences.

But more importantly than what you show is how you make children feel. You are a teacher and you became one because you care about children. I show my students I care every day by getting to know who they are, caring about their well being, and making sure they are safe and their needs are met. I take care of them as I would want someone to take care of my own children. The way you make them feel at school is going to be reflected at home.

Suggestions for Parent Communication

Show parents that you care about teaching their children by creating a classroom that is organized and set-up with children in mind.
Create special places for your students to call their own. Give them a desk or table spot, locker or cubby, and supplies with their name on it.
Post student work on bulletin boards and invite parents to come to the class to see.
Create a classroom management system that keeps parents involved.
Send completed work samples home to share with parents.
Send positive notes home about successes small and big.
Show your students you care about them by being open, kind, and available. This will translate home to parents.
Make conversation with parents and remember important events in their lives.
Have fun with your students and families. Go on field trips together, plan mother’s day celebration ideas, or invite parents to watch your students perform at an assembly.

Parent Communication Resource

One of my favorite ways to connect with my families is to send home a weekly planner sheet. I created a planner sheet instead of having my students pay of planners. On the planner sheet, I include the weekly words, important memos for each day, and an area for an extra message. My students and I both write the information in. I photocopy our weekly poem on the back side for families to practice as well. I make sure it goes home on Monday.

This system works really well for me and I receive a lot of positive feedback from families. If you would like to grab your own FREE EDITABLE copy click HERE or the image below!

parent communication - free editable planner sheet

I hope that these tips and suggestions for parent communication help you cultivate lasting and healthy relationships with parents that benefit everyone.