Day 2 & 3 = lots of back to school fun!
Day 2
Day 2
For morning work on the 2nd day, my students will decorate the cover of their "All About Me" book. Super Simple! I'm currently using a book that my team passed along to me a couple of years ago...I think it's from a teacher resource book??
After the kids come back from activity, it's calendar time & another round of the name game. Another fun ice breaker I play on the second day is "Mrs.Brantley's True/False Quiz". On the first day, I tell the children a lot about myself...my family, where I live, my favorite hobby, etc. I quiz them on this information w/ a true/false game! For example, I might say "Mrs. Brantley has a son named Parker!" and they would all say "True!!!". It's loads of fun and gives the students another opportunity to get to know me better!
Then we have fun with our names all day long!! I'll begin our "Name Day" with....
After I read the Chrysanthemum, we'll talk about everyone's special name! I send home the printables below to help with this activity. Click on the pictures to download the parent letter and "My Special Name" homework sheet!
Here are some other fun things you can do with names:
*Graph the number of letters in your students' names and discuss who has the fewest letters, who has the most, who has the same, etc.
*Let students create an acrostic poem using their name.
*Let your students write & decorate the letters in their name with sequins, noodles, pom poms, etc....
*Play the name scramble game. Students make letter tiles with paper squares to spell out their name. Pair everyone up with a partner & ask them to try to unscramble their friend's name. Lots of fun!!
Day 3....
My students will continue to work in their "All About Me" books for morning work! After calendar time, they'll complete this learning profile questionnaire. I like to review these over the weekend to prepare for the following week! Click the picture to download it!
Then we'll play a game called "Find a Friend". I'm using the fabulous Babbling Abby's creation for this! You can get it HERE on her blog, The Inspired Apple! Thanks for the freebie, Abby!
For snack, we are making "Friendship Fruit Salad"! I found this idea online last year here. You have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to find it! Here is how you make Friendship Fruit Salad...
In a large bowl....
Add one can of fruit...."These are the kind kids in our room."
Add another can of fruit..."These are the hard workers in our room"
Add another can of fruit..."These are the kids who share"
Add some marshmallows..."These are the kind words being said in our room."
Talk about how good the salad will taste & then pretend to peel a rotten banana. The kids will usually look at you like you're crazy & yell "Stop!!!".This is a good time to explain to them that the "Rotten Banana" causes trouble in our happy classroom by teasing, not sharing, being off task when it's time to work, etc....YUCK! That's when I ask my students if we want a "rotten banana" in our classroom or fruit salad. We all agree that we want a rotten banana-free fruit salad and classroom:)
Talk about how good the salad will taste & then pretend to peel a rotten banana. The kids will usually look at you like you're crazy & yell "Stop!!!".This is a good time to explain to them that the "Rotten Banana" causes trouble in our happy classroom by teasing, not sharing, being off task when it's time to work, etc....YUCK! That's when I ask my students if we want a "rotten banana" in our classroom or fruit salad. We all agree that we want a rotten banana-free fruit salad and classroom:)
While they are eating their yummy salad, I'll read....
Then we'll have a class meeting about what makes a good friend and why friendship is important! Afterwards, they will illustrate four ways they can be a good friend!
At this point, I *hope* my kiddos have a good grasp on how to be a good friend so we move into some math fun! The first game I'll teach my students is called Roll & Record! This is a number identification game in our Investigations Math series. I found it online {here} if you are interested in using it, too! Students roll a die & record whatever number it lands on! During this time, I'll keep busy by going around the room & praising everyone for their great teamwork/friendship skills!!
Then we'll wrap up our day with a classroom scavenger hunt! You can download the one I'm using with my kids here!
I forgot to add one thing to my 1st day plans yesterday! I give each of my students a "special bag" when they meet me at Open House! They put an object that means a lot to them in the bag to share with the class! The students love sharing what's in their special bags on the first day of school! Click on the picture to download the note I'm attaching to my bags this year (pics to come soon)!
I had many requests for the editable version of my lesson plan format. I had to ask permission to share it since one of team members created the format for me! You can thank her for being more than happy to share it with you. BUT the word doc format is going crazy on me! I've spent way too long trying to get things to look right on google docs, but it's just not happening for me right now...ugh! Click on the pics (page 1 and 2)to download it anyway...hopefully y'all can fix it up on your computer! If you can figure out how to keep the format, please help a girl out & I'll upload it here!!
Next week, I'll be in my classroom working hard on my jungle theme! I'll take lots of pics to share here...until then...
Have a GREAT weekend!
