First Week of School Basics: The Building Blocks for Pre-K Success!

The first week of pre-k.. what exactly do I teach?!  

Rules & procedures... rules & procedures... let me repeat.. rules & procedures! 

From learning how to put a marker top back on... to learning how to sit and listen to read aloud... starting the year off teaching rules & procedures will build a strong foundation for a successful year! 

The first week of pre-k is a not just a mere beginning; it is the start of a little one's first journey into the world of learning (alongside other little human beings)! It's a fun time with teachers, parents, and caregivers come together to create an exciting environment that fosters growth, curiosity, and meaningful connections! 

It's also a time to get to know our new friends and build a classroom community! But in order to do that, students must learn the class rules, how to handle materials, how to sit & listen, how to line up, where things are, bathroom procedures, how to clean up, fire drill procedures,  etc. 

You are not going to start off teaching scissor skills OR those cute math board games with all the tiny pieces to go with it! There will be PLENTY of time for those things later on! Right now, your focus is on introducing rules & procedures and then practice, practice, practice those rules & procedures! 

You can still have FUN while teaching these things! It makes me think of Mary Poppins when she says "annnd SNAP, the job's a game!" Introduce how to use glue bottles with the picture book, Too Much Glue, and then it with an easy craft. Teaching clean up procedures for centers or snack? Sing a clean up song.. sing it every day.. three times a day if you have to! Children learn best through repetition taught in engaging ways! 

Here are some rules & procedures you will want to teach in your first two weeks of pre-k:

• Morning arrival - Where do they hang their backpack? What do they do next?

• Circle time - Where do they sit?  What does good carpet behavior look like? 

• Center time - Do they stay in the same center or is it free choice? How do they clean up? What happens when they misbehave? What is not okay?

• School supplies - How to they share? How to use them? Where do the supplies go? 

• School tour - Where is our room? Where is the principal's office? Where is the library?

• Lunch - How long do they sit? What if they have to go to the bathroom? How do they clean up?

• Fire drills - What will happen? Where do we go? 

• Line up procedures - How to not run to the line. How to keep hands to themselves. How to walk quietly.

The list goes on and on... but you don't have to do it one day or all in one week! I wouldn't introduce ALL the school supplies in one circle time either.  One morning, show a glue stick, model how to take the cap off and on, pass around the glue stick, have students practice an easy glueing task.  Pretend you are a 4 year old and you have never seen a glue stick in your life. How would you teach that procedure? 

Here's a handy list of must-reads for the first week of pre-K! 

Another day, read the tale of friendship, The Crayon Box that Talked." Talk about what makes us unique, introduce crayons and sharing, model coloring, and let students color a 1st Day of Pre-K journal page or coloring page. Introduce a little each day for two weeks and you will have confident little pre-k kiddos ready for more in depth learning! 

Here are a few resources to help you out! 

Below, is a sample schedule and of course you would adjust it to however your own school schedule allows: 

8:00 - 8:30 am: Arrival and Greeting 

8:30 - 9:00 am: Circle Time & Bathroom Breaks

9:00 - 9:30 am: Name Recognition Activity

9:30 - 10:00 am: Snack

10:00 - 10:30 am: Morning Recess

10:30 - 11:00 am: Learning Centers & Art

11:00 - 12:00 pm: Lunch & Cleanup

12:00 - 12:30 pm: Story & Bathroom Breaks

12:30 - 1:00 pm - Afternoon Recess

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Naptime

2:00 - 2:30 pm - Snack & Dismissal 

Helpful Tips:

Morning arrival - This is usually when parents drop off and sign in. Or sometimes you might be in a setting where you have to go pick up your students from cars, daycares, etc.  Smile & greet each kiddo! When entering the room, instruct them how to hang up their own backpack in their cubby and where to go next.  In the past, I always had students get their own daily folders out and put them in a tub. Set out a couple of baskets of manipulatives and a basket of books on different tables. I would not have learning centers open or exposed. 

Circle time - Begin with a few warm up music & movement songs. This gets the wiggles out! Read a picture book such as "The Kissing Hand" and pass around a racoon to hug. It might seem silly, but this is actually teaching children how to sit for a period of time, how to follow directions, and how to pass an item to another! You can also read books about characters following the rules & books that have an "All About Me" theme.  

Bathroom procedures - During circle time, is a good time to tell each child to go to the bathroom. (Hopefullly you have the luxury of having a bathroom in your room, if not.. make sure you schedule lots of potty breaks throughout the day!) You will have to teach how to use the soap, how much soap, how many paper towels, what to do with the paper towels, etc. 

Name games - We don't need to teach letter formation or how to grip a pencil just yet! Not in the first few days. Right now we are focusing on learning each other's names and identifying our own names. A fun name game is that old familiar favorite... Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?! Put each child's photo and name on a construction paper cookie and put all the cookies in a cookie jar or basket. Repeat the rhyme and pull out a cookie at the end of the rhyme. You can do a few names each day! Or create a classroom book with a child's photo on each page. Flip through and read it together! 

Recess - Remember, some of those kiddos have never slid down a slide or swung the monkey bars. Walk around the playground in line, point out the equipment, model the equipment, and then let them play. They WILL make mistakes & forget the rules. It's your job to keep a watchful eye & give reminders. 

Learning centers - Have two or three centers open each day. Model the centers and go over what's in each center and how to use it. Practice with blocks and pretend the first few days. You can have other centers empty or I always faced the cabinets toward the walls. You can do free choice or assign centers, that's up to you. Allow extra clean up time at the beginning of the year. Centers is usually when I pulled kids to the art table in groups of four to do an easy activity. Your pre-k aide can do art time or they can watch over play in the centers. 

The laughter and discoveries about to be had will be the building blocks for the wonderful journey ahead! Remember to keep your schedule flexible and make room for modifications. Laugh, smile, dance, and enjoy this time and they will to! 

How to survive your first Meet the Teacher night - with confidence!

I remember my very first pre-k "meet the teacher night"  ...my palms were sweaty and I was anxiously counting down the seconds on the clock till my new little students and their parents would enter through my classroom door. I had on a new cute outfit and was proudly wearing my first teacher badge. I felt like a looked the part on the outside, but I didn't feel confident on the inside! Me, talking in front of four year olds... no problem! Me, talking in front of parents.. that's another story!  With practice and little organization, added each time Meet the Teacher came around, the years got easier!  

As a new teacher, "Meet the Teacher" night can be both exciting AND nerve-wracking, let me tell ya!  To calm those jitters and make the day a successful experience, FOCUS ON PREP and STAY POSITIVE! : )  Remember, parents (and kids!) are just as eager to meet you and learn about your teaching style as you are to meet them! 

First things first, SETUP - organize and clean the room, set up welcoming displays, and having all necessary materials printed and ready. 

DON'T have all your manipulatives & learning centers fully stocked! I repeat.. DO NOT have all those bright and shiny centers bursting with the fun games you worked so hard on over the summer! Let me tell you why... You will spend 2 hours after those kiddos leave cleaning and reorganizing all of those centers! Those students have learned how to play with those items and where they go. Have the open cabinets empty or face them toward the wall.  You don't want the pretend center exploded with play food and costumes either as the next family walks in. It is also a good idea for families not to linger tooo long! 

DO, however, have a few baskets of manipulatives on tables. One or two baskets filled with manipulative toys like linking cubes are easy to clean up.  A table with crayons with coloring pages are easy and kids can take home their pictures. Also, a basket of picture books are a quiet activity and familiar to young children. 

Don't be afraid that your classroom will look bland and boring without the centers fully stocked. You can still express new school year excitement with the decorated bulletin boards, cubby labels, posters, and what not on the walls! 

You can also set out labeled baskets or tubs for students to sort their school supplies in. This makes putting away the supplies easy and already organized! I've made some helpful labels that you can use HERE! 

Secondly, PREPARE THE PRINTABLES  - plan what you want info you want to say to parents and be genuine in your approach.  Do you want to have handouts, a slideshow going, or both? 

Meet the Teacher events can vary from school to school. At a few of my schools it was very formal and the families sat down and listened all together as I talked. It was about a 30 minute long meeting. At my other schools, it was very informal. Students basically showed up for five minutes to greet me and see their new room. 

In either situation, I would say having printables ready to go is key! 

Must-have items you will want to have printed and ready to give to parents: 

- Welcome note

- Class schedule

- Your contact info

- Have them fill out important info cards 

It's also fun to include a "teacher favorites list." Parents love to know what special things you enjoy and often surprise you during the year or with holiday gifts! 

Creating a power point slideshow is is an easy aide to guide you and remind you of what to say! If you are doing a slideshow, focus on these things:

- Your first slide can be about your background and teaching style. 

- Then, talk about your class schedule and what the pre-k day will look like.

- Explain your daily folder system if you have one.

- Give info about snacks, nap time, and/or field trips.

- Note important events or dress up days coming up.

- Provide ways parents can volunteer. 

- Open up Q & A at the end for parents to ask questions or concerns. 

- Thank parents for coming & say how excited you will be to start teaching their children soon!

Other printables to have ready: 

- Welcome poster  (Post this on the door or near the door. This can instruct parents what to do when they enter.. you can say something like "Please sign in, sort school supplies, take a photo in the photo booth, find your child's packet and fill it out, etc.")

- Sign in sheet (then you can easily see who you met & gave info to) 

- Volunteer sign up sheet

- Snack sign up sheet

- Transportation sheet (How will your kiddos get home? Car, bus, daycare?)

I place all the sign up/sign in sheets, in a line, on one table. That way parents don't miss a form. I also put student packets, labeled, and in one tub on the same table. And don't forget the pens! 

If this feels overwhelming to you or you need to get this done quickly... I've got you covered! My meet the teacher printables are easily editable and come with step-by-step guide posters for parents to follow. Click on each photo to see more of what's included! 

Next, PRACTICE - Practice how you want parents to flow into the classroom. Do you have flow? Will parents and kids know what to do?  Where will you stand? Do you have a teacher aide? What will they do? 

Practice your greeting... 

As a new family enters you can say something like "Hi, I'm ________! It's so nice to meet you. (Shake hands and even the hands of the kids.. or give students a hug!) Let me show you where your cubby is...OR... Sallie, you can go check out those baskets of toys while mom fills out your papers! Don't forget to take a photo in the photo booth before you leave!"

And if you are doing a slideshow presentation, run through it a couple times! Often you will find you need to add some things! 

Then, LEAVE STUDENTS (& PARENTS) WITH A SMILE - You can have a small treat bags in students' cubby, gift them with a coloring page to take home, or offer a fun photo booth for them to take pictures in! 

Last, TREAT YO' SELF! Grab one of those big Sonic drinks & a bag of snacks to get yourself thought the event!  And reward yourself after! Remind yourself that it's okay to feel nervous; it shows that you care about making a great connection with your students and their families! 

You WILL survive, I promise! You will feel CONFIDENT knowing that you are well prepped and ready! Taking a few deep breaths before you start the event and focus your excitement on the upcoming school year! It will help ease those nerves and make the day a memorable and enjoyable experience for EVERYONE involved! 

Get Ready for a Tech-Savvy Start to School! Back-to-School Boom Card Bundles for Pre-K!

Are you looking to kickstart the new school year with exciting and interactive learning activities for your pre-K students? Look no further! Pre-K Tweets' Back-to-School Boom Card Bundles for August and September, are specially designed to engage and captivate young minds while building essential skills for their educational journey! 

Why Choose Boom Cards for Pre-K?

As technology continues to play an essential role in modern education, integrating interactive learning tools becomes increasingly vital. Boom Cards offer an innovative approach to education that combines fun with learning, making it a perfect fit for your pre-K classroom. With these digital task cards, your little learners will embark on a tech-savvy adventure while mastering key concepts.

What's Included in the bundles?

Our August and September bundles are thoughtfully curated to align with pre-K curriculum standards and are perfect for the beginning of the year! Each bundle includes a diverse selection of interactive activities like:

Llama Llama Color Sort - A great supplemental activity to the Llama Llama Red Pajama book! Reinforcing color knowledge AND classification with entertaining images and engaging game play!

Sticky Glue Alphabet -  These cards will strengthen students' early literacy skills and is a great activity to read after the story, Too Much Glue! 

Crayon Counting -  Counting and basic math concepts come to life with interactive counting and number recognition!

Mouse Shapes -  Watch as young learners identify, sort, and analyze different shapes in a playful environment!

School Supply More or Less - Students will have a blast sorting school supplies in jars and will be able to proudly compare and contrast! 

...AND MORE!  Each bundle comes with 10 learning games! 

How to download these bundles:

Visit the Pre-K Tweets TPT Shop or find us on Boom Learning website.  Browse through the August and September Boom Card Bundles. Choose the bundle that suits your pre-K classroom's needs and add it to your cart. Once you've completed the purchase, you'll receive instant access to the digital task cards, ready to be used in your classroom! (You must have Boom Learning account to access Boom Cards.)

How to set up a Boom Learning account: 

1. **Set Up an Account:** Go to the Boom Learning website and create an account. You can sign up as a teacher or school. And yes, homeschool parents and moms & dads can sign up too! 

2. **Browse and Select Decks:** Explore the Boom Card Library to find decks that align with your lesson plans and subjects. There are various topics and grade levels available.

3. **Get Decks:** You can access some free Boom Card decks, but there are also premium decks that require purchase. Add the decks you want to use to your library.

4. **Assign Decks to Students:** Once you have the decks in your library, you can assign them to your students. You can even create classes and invite students to join or share the deck's link directly. Students can get in extra practice, even from home! 

5. **Monitor Student Progress:** As students complete the Boom Card activities, you can track their progress and performance through the Boom Learning platform.

Remember that Boom Cards can complement your teaching strategies but should not replace other forms of instruction and interaction in the classroom! Boom cards on ipads are great to use in a technology learning center! 

*Note: My boom card bundles are compatible with computers, tablets, and interactive whiteboards, providing ultimate flexibility for your classroom setup! 

Preschool Pages and New Beginnings: First Week of Pre-K Read Alouds

As little ones step into this new chapter of their lives, they are not only greeted with new friends and teachers but also with valuable life lessons! Among the treasure trove of pre-k books there are those that hold special significance - stories about sharing, taking care of school supplies, exploring feelings, and celebrating families!  Oldies but goodies (as I like to call them!) and a few new stories too! 

Here's a tried and true list of read alouds for the first week of pre-k:

The Kissing Hand - Probably the most read & most popular first week of school book out there! It is the sweetest story about a little racoon with seperation anxiety as he prepares to go to school for the first time. There are SO many activities out there to go along with the story and parents LOVE the story too!

Llama Llama Red Pajama - This one is great for learning color words and it rhymes! Students love this book because it has a memorable character to whom they can identify with. It's one children love to hear read over and over again! 

Llama Llama Time to Share - Another fantastic llama story.. as all the Llama LLama books are! Rhymes and encourages sharing, what could be better than that?! This is a great book to keep in your calm down area too! 

Grover Goes to School - A classic! I still remember MY mama reading this to me as I started school! I remember so vividly Grover wanting friends to like him so he shared his school supplies TOO much! Love, love, love this book and I read it to my students every year!

The Night Before Preschool - Natalie Wing books are THE BEST! I own quite a few and the holiday ones are hilarious. This book is charming and has great illustrations!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus - Another fan favorite! Funny, engaging, and a great one to start off a lesson on bus safety! 

Berenstain Bears Go to School - Another classic and who doesn't love the Berenstain Bears?! Although Sister Bear is starting kindergarten, it is still a wonderful story about first day jitters! 

Pete the Cat: Rockin in My School Shoes - I don't know when Pete the Cat stories popped up but my students were hooked! I own several Pete the Cat stories and they are super silly.. just what kids love! 

Our Class is a Family - This is a #1 best seller and has modern AND CUTE illustrations! It's a quick read but has lots of rhyming! I love it because it talks about building a classroom community!

Too Much Glue - Awesome story for introducing glue! I always taught a whole lesson about how to handle glue..how to twist the top, how to close the top, etc. Many craft ideas for this book go with this book as well! 

As you are gearing up for the first week of pre-k, consider adding a few of these titles to your teacher wish list! An easy way to make a simple wish list is to write needed school supplies, snacks, or books on post-it notes and stick them on your whiteboard/bulletin board during meet the teacher day. Parents can take choose a post-it and bring back the item during the first week of school. 

You can also create an Amazon wish list of book titles. That way, whenever parents ask if there is anything you need, you can refer them to your already organized list!

Another idea is to search your local thrift stores. When I was a brand new teacher I brought a whole stack of children's books to the checkout counter at Goodwill. They asked why I had so many and I explained I was starting my classroom library.. they gave me the books for free! This might not always happen, but you can always give it a try! 

Cure the Chaos with a Calm Down Space!

Picture this... little Ethan's excitement is off the charts, and little Caroline’s frustration level is creeping up. You are in the middle of morning drop off, pen in hand, checking students in.  You have successfully peeled crying Ethan off his mother (yay!) but now he won’t un-attach from your leg!  Your non-writing hand now has the job of holding Caroline’s tiny little fingers. She’s in a grumpy-I-woke-up-too-early attitude and you’re keeping her from wreaking havoc in the block center. You have one hand and one leg left. You are instantly “teacher hangman” and if you don’t figure out something soon, you’re going to come home looking like Stretch Armstrong!

Sometimes, even the most well-behaved students need a breather from all the classroom excitement!  Having a “calm down area” in place is a game-changer! Providing a dedicated space for children to self regulate and manage emotions is ESSENTIAL in the early childhood classroom! The calm down area is like a thrilling rollercoaster for emotions – it can be the one-stop-shop for the wildest emotional rides!

 

Here are 5 easy items you can start collecting to create a calm down space:  

1. A feeling of home – Soft carpet and plump pillows can re-create a familiar environment and provide comfort. Ask for donations of carpet squares from parents, search summer garage sales, or even a bathroom rug will do! You can even ask Home Depot if they have any carpet remnants they would like to donate to your classroom.. and often times they will!

2. A place to share secrets – Often times students will share their emotions.. not with you, but maybe with a stuffed animal or two! Incorporate a few huggable stuffed animals and maybe an enchanted seat! A cozy child sized chair (renamed the Unicorn Whispering Chair.. or whatever you want!) will encourage students to express emotions. This enchanted seat has the power to hear feelings, from happy giggles to "oopsie-daisy" mishaps. Kids whisper their emotions, and guess what? The unicorns keep secrets safe while we find our happy place!

3. A Funny Faces Mirror - Have students step right up to the hilarious funny faces mirror! When emotions have students mixed-up, this mirror will turn those frowns upside down with its silly reflections.

4. Relaxing Reads – A basket of familiar picture books are attractive to children and also provide a quite calming down activity. You can incorporate family stories like “The Kissing Hand” or stories about sharing, caring, and being kind.

5. Soothing Sensory Bottles – Sometimes students need a few minutes just to refocus and breath. Sensory bottles are mesmerizing! I like to use empty water bottles and fill them with glitter, tiny plastic toys, food coloring, water, and baby oil. I hot glue the lid tightly on. Michaels craft store has inexpensive bottles to purchase and fill HERE.

During the first week of school it’s important to teach students:

- where the space is

-when to use the space

-how to use the space

-how to take care of items in the space

A well-thought out calming down center is a POWERFUL TOOL in the pre-K classroom!  By fostering emotional awareness, teaching self-regulation, and promoting positive behavior, this nurturing space equips children with essential life skills that will serve them WELL BEYOND their early years!  Emotions may come and go, but now you know how to start building a space to embrace every feeling!

How to have a potty accident system in place!

Oops! 🤷🏻‍♀️ Accidents DO happen and can happen quite a lot! Have you ever had a student with an unexpected potty accident, and you find yourself frantically rummaging through the extra clothes bin HOPING & PRAYING 🙏 for a for a pair of underwear that fit? How about TWO students, one got sick and now you gotta find a clean shirt (and fast!) and the other spilled their lunch on all over their pants… AND it’s PICTURE DAY! 😱📸 Okay.. maybe it wasn’t not that chaotic of a day or maybe it was worse! Been there! Many times! Trust me!

Worry no more, because I’ve got the perfect solution for you! 🎉 These printables are a LIFESAVER! The labels make it super simple to keep track of each child’s extra clothes, so you can QUICKLY grab what’s needed and get back to having FUN in no time! 🙌 Send home the included note with labeled bags for parents to fill & return! EASY!

No more mix-ups, no more added stress –you will have an organized SYSTEM, 🙌for these sticky situations, READY TO GO for the new year! 👏👏👏 🎉🎉🎉

⭐️Tips on using these labels & notes:

✨Have plastic bags labeled and ready to hand to parents on meet the teacher night and put the “change of clothes note” INSIDE the bag!

✨Print labels on brightly colored paper so the bags don’t get lost.
Print on Astrobrights neon sticker paper.. it’s perfect to use with these labels!

✨Avoid running to the copy machine, pre-print a stack of the “Oops! Bring back these clothes note” so you have them on hand.

📚🦸‍♀️Teachers are already loving these change of clothes labels & notes! Here’s what they have to say:

“I cannot thank myself enough for using these this year! I printed them over the summer so they were ready to use once school began and I was able to quickly and effectively communicate with parents when students had accidents.” – Ann B.

“I cannot rave enough about this perfect change of clothes bundle! This helped me to be prepared and ready for when all of those accidents begin!” – Jennifer K.

“I use this in my kindergarten room and am extremely happy with this resource. I include the note about sending a change of clothes in their packets they get at orientation and then keep the other notes on hand for if accidents happen or the students need different clothes sent. It also saves time on writing a full note home to the parents about what clothes need to be changed and is quick to fill out and slip into their agenda without the other students catching on to what happened.” – Danielle G.

Click HERE to save yourself STRESS & have a HASSLE-FREE year!