Coming back to school is always exciting for students and teachers alike. Here are some ideas to make the first day of school run smoothly. I usually send a postcard to each student before school begins so the students feel like they already know me when they come in the first day of school. Another good back to school idea is to send a letter to each student written by one of your previous students describing what your classroom is like. You should already have your classroom organized and decorated so the students feel like they are welcomed into a warm environment on the first day of school. It's a good idea to have a class list outside the door. In primary classrooms, it's fun to decorate the hallway or the door with the names of incoming students. For example, you could have each student's name printed on a frog with a title above the frogs that says "Look Who's Hopping Into First Grade!" You could have each student's name written on an apple with a title that says, "We Have the Pick of the Crop in Kindergarten". On the first day of school, the teacher should always be standing at the door to greet the students. This way, you can meet each student individually and introduce yourself to parents who might be accompanying their child. You can direct the students to their desks and have them empty their backpacks. While you are waiting for all the students to arrive on the first day of school, the other students can look at books or do a coloring activity that is waiting for them on their desks. Older children can fill out a questionnaire about themselves that can be used in a "getting to know you" activity later in the day. When all the students arrive, you should establish your routines right away. Take attendance, listen to announcements, do a calendar activity, and whatever else you plan to do in your daily classroom routine. You should assign jobs to the students and describe each job, so on the second day, the students can enter the classroom and get right to their classroom job. Then, you should establish classroom rules. It's a good idea to have the students help create the classroom rules so they feel a sense of ownership. The rules should then be displayed in a visible spot in the classroom. Your classroom management techniques should now be explained. You should explain what happens if a rule is broken so there are no surprises if someone is not cooperating. Also on the first day of school, you should take your students on a tour of the school. This reacquaints the students with the building and helps new students feel comfortable with their new surroundings. You should also have the students introduce themselves to one another. You can have each student say their name, tell who their previous teacher was, tell one thing they enjoy. You could make this activity into a game or a song. You could also do a craft activity to decorate the classroom so the students feel that the classroom is theirs. You can use some of the ideas listed on our First Day of School page. Print the patterns from our Patterns page. You can also send in your ideas to ideas@bulletin-board-idea.com to be included on our First Day of School page. September is almost here! Enjoy your year!