It's here! The beginning of a new year.  Recently my team and I got together to plan the first few days of school.  Each year we all come with fun ideas and activities that we'd like to do.  The first day needs to be fun but there is also a LOT of learning to do!

The first thing is getting to know the students.  We like to let them know how special they are and how much fun we are going to have right away!  We usually start with some sort of gift or fun treat.  This year, each student will get a bouncy ball!

Some other fun ideas we've seen are: 

1. A bag of gold fish with a label saying "You're oFISHally a first grader."

2. A bag of Starburst with a label saying "I'm BURSTING with excitement that you're in my class this year!" 

3. A bag of M&M's that say "We're going to have a Marvelous and Magnificent year!"

There are LOTS of cute ideas on Pinterest! Just search "first day of school gifts."  The best part is, most people provide free downloads of the products they have made. :)  You can click here to download the "Have a Ball" label that I made for this year!

I like to kick off the morning each day with a "morning meeting."  All of the students sit in a circle on the carpet and read the question of the day.  You can make the question anything you'd like.  My favorite is, "How are you feeling today?".  For the first day of school, I like to ask each student tell share their name and something about themselves.  Since this can be difficult for students to do in front of all their classmates, they first share with a partner.  I ask the question, they turn to the person next to them, and have a conversation.  After they students have had enough time to share their responses with a partner, we all face the circle to share with the group.  I have a toy microphone that we pass from student to student.  The only person allowed to speak is the person holding the microphone.  I LOVE morning meetings for several reasons, and here they are:

1. It gives students a moment to share as much as they'd like about themselves.

2. It creates a welcoming environment where students feel safe and respected.

3. It builds on the students' comfortability to talk in front of a group.

4.  It teaches students to listen to and respect their peers. 

5. It gives me the opportunity to learn more about my students. 

This time each day is a really great opportunity to build on the social and emotional needs of our students. 

Sorry this post is SO late!  I wrote it and forget to publish it!  Pregnancy brain seems to be a permanent thing these days. ;)  Thanks for reading. :) Feel free to comment with your thoughts or ideas.