The FIRST Day: Morning Meeting Ideas

The first day of school is right around the corner for a great many of us teachers. If you're like me, you have been making plans (or at least thinking about making plans) for these first days. The first Morning Meeting of the year sets the tone for the rest of the day. It's worth taking a few minutes to really plan it out, even if you usually don't make detailed plans for the meeting.

I want to share my top 2 things that MUST be accomplished during your first Morning Meeting of the year. Then I'll share a new idea that I'm looking forward to implementing in my first Morning Meeting of the year.

Practice-This is my first MUST. Consider this your first routine to teach-how to come to the carpet for your meeting. Take the opportunity to do the modeling yourself, since it's the first day-show the right way to do it, and have your kids point out what they notice. Then be a little silly to show the wrong way to do it. This can show your kids that while you have high expectations for them, you also have a sense of humor and don't mind being a little silly when you need to be.
Make Introductions-Here is the second MUST. Introduce each student to the class. When you do the introductions, you can avoid putting individuals on the spot. Nerves are high, and even something as simple as sharing names or other personal information can be uncomfortable for a lot of students. Yes, it can feel a little strange, but that's ok. Here are two procedure ideas for this:

Introduction 1:
T: Everyone, this is my friend/our crew member/3rd grader Amelia.
S: Good morning, Amelia!

Introduction 2:
T: Everyone, this is my friend/our crew member/3rd grader Amelia.
<Student gives high fives to their circle neighbors>
Mindfulness Activity-I have recently been doing my own personal research on using mindfulness in my own life. Mindfulness is simply about being present in the moment. Mindfulness activities are also things that anyone can do and be easily successful at. There are no right answers or right way to do things, and they are usually very simple. And for a lot of us, they just make us feel good!

Now, I am no expert, but I found this great post with ideas: 7 Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids Mindfulness. I plan to use a Raisin Activity on the first day. In addition, if you use GoNoodle, you may select an Empower video which will guide your students through mindfulness exercises.

Here's to a great FIRST Day!
xoxo,
Stephanie

P.S. You can check out my other "First Day" posts here:
The FIRST Day: Morning Work
The FIRST Day: Lunchtime

Monday Made It: July 11

Click here to visit the rest of the link up. 

Recently, I finished reading The Book Whisperer, by Donalyn Miller. I really enjoyed it! I was inspired to create my own Reading Inventory for my future 3rd graders. When I sat down to create, I was immediately struck by the idea of gamify-ing it a bit by using the arrows, yes/no paths, and emojis. I hope the kids will enjoy it, and I hope you will, too! It's free in my store. Click here!

Guys, I don't know if this really counts as a made-it, but I made my favorite boxed brownies for a little Independence Day shindig! If you haven't tried Ghiradelli's Double Chocolate brownies, you simply must! So delicious.

My husband asked me if we had any left on Thursday. Um, is he crazy? Of course there aren't any extra! It's Thursday-I already ate them all!





I've probably said it before, but this is my favorite link up. I can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to! Time to get lost in blog-world!

xoxo,
Stephanie

The FIRST Day: Lunchtime

I once heard a school administrator say that on the first day of school, we really have only three jobs:

Get 'em here-Get 'em fed-Get 'em home

and as teacher going into the ninth year of my career, I think that is a pretty accurate statement. Lunchroom procedures and expectations can be one of the most stressful parts about the beginning of the year. And if you're like me, you know you are going to have "lunch duty" for at least a couple of days at the beginning of the year, and for good reason! Today, I want to offer just three "to-dos" to remember for your First Day Lunchtime.

1. Go To The Bathroom. Seriously. As soon as your kids get through the line, get seated, and  start eating, ask a teammate or some other adult in the room to keep an eye on your class for 30 seconds. Go do your business. Your bladder will thank you.

2. Eat. Seriously. Eat, people. Eat some protein. Eat some chocolate. Drink some water. You should be all set to conquer the last half (or less!) of your day.

3. Send a Remind Message. I like to use the Remind App for reminders, but also to send photos and compliments about the class as a whole throughout the week. Take this opportunity to send everyone a "We're having a great day!" text. Your parents will love it. Of course, this means that you need to have sent out info for how to connect via Remind at Meet The Teacher Night or through some other avenue prior to this. I guarantee you, even if less than half of your parents have signed up at that point, they will appreciate it, and then they will talk to other parents later. These parents who have not signed up yet will feel left out and they will immediately go home and make sure they are signed up, too. Try it.

xoxo,
Stephanie

P.S. You can check out my other "First Day" post here:
The FIRST Day: Morning Work Ideas

Monday Made It: June 27

Click here to visit the rest of the Link Up.

 

Since I will be moving grade levels and classrooms, I am doing a little classroom color update. Last year was all about red, black, and white, because the table tops in my classroom will all red. Well, my new classroom does not have red tables, so I decided to go the rainbow brights route. Conveniently enough, that works out pretty well for me and my friend, The Target Dollar Spot. On the other hand, I have a few things that need to be updated (luckily not too much-when you have red tables and red paper on your bulletin board, you don't really find yourself going crazy with the reds in other places). This Owl my mom and I made last year was one of those things. I simply bought a pack of paint markers from Michael's and went to town. I was even able to cover up one of the red stripes with orange. I think it turned out pretty cute! 

This terrarium, filled with plants from Home Depot, is my new favorite thing in my home! I love the way the plants, soil, and rocks add a rustic touch to our urban loft. I also love the little gnome that I impulse bought at Michael's when I was buying those paint markers from #1. 

Made It number 3 is something that has been on my to do list for a while. Lately, the hubby and I have been taking a big look at our budget, and FOOD is the one area that we could really work on. What can I say? We love to eat! I had heard that meal prep is a great way to save money and time, but I was always hesitant to try it because the recipes seemed bland and uninteresting to me. Well, once I got to really looking into it, I found that was not the case! Check out this great Pin. I chose the 10 Healthy Crockpot Freezer Meals recipes. 

Between shopping and prepping, this probably took about 2-2 1/2 hours. I think the shopping was the longest part, but it wasn't bad at all because the blogger provides the complete and organized shopping list. Anyways, we will be trying some of these out this week. They will last for 3 months in the freezer, though, so I plan on saving most of them for Back To School time. As far as $$ goes, I spent about $110. With that said, I ended up with some extra chicken and a bit of extra veggies as well. Some could probably do it cheaper, but for us, $11 per meal (which will yield leftovers for our family of 2) is a good deal on our road to food budge recovery ;) 

The FIRST Day: Morning Work Ideas

I just completed my eighth year of teaching 2nd graders, but I can remember my very first day like it was, well, yesterday! There is something exhilarating and frightening about that moment when the bell rings and your students start entering your classroom on the first day. There is so much to be accomplished in the first hour of a new year, and yet, we haven't trained our students on the routines and expectations of our classrooms. For that reason, it can be very tricky to find something for our new kiddos to "Do" during that time. 

Don't stress! I have 3 super simple and classroom tested suggestions:

1. Play Doh. This is all about using resources you already have. Since I have a Play Doh center for indoor recess, I simply took that Play Doh and distributed it out evenly among the desks. As the kiddos entered my classroom, I told them they could create anything they wanted with it. This started our day on a calm, social, and fun note. You could, of course, challenge your students to create their family, something that represents their favorite summer activity, etc. if you want. Play Doh is pretty affordable at Wal Mart and the Dollar Tree, and click here for a recipe I found on Pinterest!

2. Name Word Search. I think that one of my fellow teammates gave me this idea during my first year of teaching. The kids love it, and most 2nd graders find word searches challenging enough (of the horizonal, vertical, and diagonal kind) that you may be able to have them work on completing it during free time throughout the first week. I like to use Super Teacher Worksheets' word search creator, however, it is not free. Here is a free Word Search generator. I include everyone's first name and my own as well. Be sure to double check that you have everyone's names included before you print it off! I'm paranoid enough to triple check so that no one feels left out. Could you imagine if your name was missing out of the Class Word Search on the first day of school? Yikes!

3. Come To The Carpet. It is what it sounds like. You don't HAVE To have something ready to entertain your students at their desks right away, especially if you have a short arrival time. At my old school, my students could arrive within the span of 30 minutes, so I would have never done this. But, at my current school, they arrive within 10 minutes, so this is a perfect morning activity. As your students enter, you could simply invite them to hang up their backpacks and join you in a circle on the carpet. Begin giving words of welcome or affirmation, asking questions, making introductions, and sharing. Easy Peasy!

I hope that you have found some ideas to help you through your first days of school this year!

xoxo,

Stephanie