Tips for the new school year

Hey all, just wanted to share a few tips as the new school year is about to begin. <br><br><br>Before school starts: <br><br>1. Set up your classroom. Include a few things that are fun and interesting for the children (and parents!) to take a look at during the open house. This is a great chance for you to impress all of the parents at once (who wouldn’t want that?) and get the kids excited for the year. I hang up some fun alphabet letters and colorful charts, set up learning centers, arrange my classroom library, etc. <br><br><br>2. Clean your classroom. It’s the beginning of the year, so you have the chance to get your classroom nice and clean. Get all of the dust out of your bookshelves, wipe down your desks so that they’re nice and shiny, do some deep cleaning of things you normally wouldn’t have time for, etc. You won’t feel like doing this at the end of the year and the dust bunnies in your bookshelves will multiply (not really, but sometimes I think they do.) <br><br><br>3. Sometimes schools will let you come in before open house to get things set up. If not, and you have a lot you want to get done, speak to the secretary. She/He may be able to let you come in and get things set up. Or if you show up at 7am on open house day, nobody will bother you if you get to work right away, and other teachers will probably be there too. <br><br><br>First few weeks of school: <br><br>1. Just remember that it’s okay if you’re still figuring some things out…it’s the beginning of the year, you’re not going to have it all together right away. You’re going to mess up sometimes, and that’s okay. <br><br><br>2. Try to learn one or two names a day. I usually have such a hard time learning names, so I pick a couple of kids who I found easy to talk to on the first day, and I make a point to learn their names right away. Then the next day, I pick a couple more kids, etc. Make flashcards with pictures if you need to. Don’t spend hours trying to cram all 30 kids into your brain on the first day, or you will go home exhausted and probably won’t even remember the names that you did try to learn. <br><br><br>3. Sometimes it can be really hard to get kids to listen (especially at the beginning of the year). I use a method where I count backwards from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, then the children know that they need to be in their seat and paying attention. This helps especially if you have a lot of kids who are English language learners, because they know exactly what you mean and what you want them to do. <br><br><br>4. The first week of school is a lot of talking on your part, so try to intersperse that with little activities that the kids can do while still listening. <br><br>5. After all of the talking, sometimes it can be tempting to spend the second week of school doing activities so that the kids can start to have some fun. But let’s be honest, we all know that the second week of school is still pretty boring. You’re still explaining classroom rules, the kids are still learning how to behave in the classroom, and you’re still getting to know them. You can still incorporate activities, but you don’t need to make them too in depth or complicated. The kids just need a chance to get to know each other and the classroom at this point. <br><br>6. If you have the chance to go through a “restorative practices” training, it’s worth it. The main idea of restorative practices is that you build strong relationships with your students and help the students build strong relationships with one another. It’s pretty simple to incorporate into your classroom and really helps increase academic achievement and decreases discipline issues. <br><br>7. We all know the beginning of the year sucks. You have to be strict and make sure the kids know what your classroom is all about. Don’t be afraid to have kids pull you aside for behavior. It’s tempting to ignore it in the beginning of the year because it’s nice to be liked, but you’re doing your students a disservice by not setting clear behavior expectations. <br><br>8. For the love of God, don’t give out homework the first week of school. It’s so hard for kids to get adjusted to the school year and not dump that responsibility on them right away. Give them a chance to get settled in. <br><br>9. Take time to read with the kids on the first day of school. Happens if you’re short on time, read for 5 minutes. It helps them relax and really sets the tone for the year. <br><br>10. I know open house is stressful, but put yourself together. I don’t care if you wear a little makeup or get your hair done, just try to look your best. You’re going to be meeting a lot of parents all at once, and you want to put your best foot forward. <br><br>I know this wasn’t a traditional list, and some of the points were a little long winded, but I wanted to include a few things that I really wished I had known when I first started teaching. I hope it’s helpful. Happy teaching!<br><br>Edit: thanks for the gold!