The Best Get to Know You Games For the First Days of School

Today I am brining you the perfect combination of back to school ice-breakers and games for those first days of school!  Back to school is a crazy time and we all want to hit the ground running. There are routines and procedures to teach and we are ready to get to them the second those kids walk in the door. Building community and getting to know your kids has to come before or alongside all of that, though.  As a kid, I remember starting the first day of school with an ache in my stomach because I was so anxious about having to make new friends and meet my new teacher. The unexpected and unknown terrified me.  These games are meant to warm your kids up to one another and get them feeling comfortable in their new classroom one- step- at- a- time! This first one is the most comfortable for kids. They don't feel super vulnerable because it is predictable and they have the support of the whole group during a very short share.

It’s called Pick a Stick. I use these colored toothpicks in the container. You can also use colored popsicle sticks, straws, or anything else you have around. You can print the editable handout here or create a chart and hang it up.  1. Have the kids sit in a circle. 2. Model for the class by choosing a colored stick at random and matching it to the prompt. Start by sharing your name and then whatever the prompt was.  3. Have the kids take turns passing the sticks around the circle and sharing using the color code.  If you’re worried about them choosing a specific color you could put them in a paper bag or have the kids close their eyes. This is a great one to start with because kids can see the questions/prompts ahead of time and feel prepared. They don't feel vulnerable standing up in front of the class or working one on one or in a group with people they don't know at all.

The next game is perfect as kids are getting to know one another and becoming more comfortable. To play you pair kids up or allow them to choose a partner. Give each student a key.  Before getting together with their partner teach them to play “Math Pop”. Math Pop i like rock paper scissors, but instead they each hold up 0, 1, 2, or 3 fingers. They then find the sum of both of their fingers. Easy peasy! 1. Now that they know how to play Math Pop have them pair up and begin.  2. The sum of their two hands corresponds to numbers on the key. They can answer a question more than once.  This game goes by pretty quickly (5-10 minutes per partners). In my classroom we play several rounds by mixing up the partners after those 5-10 minutes.  They make lots of new friends before recess! This download is also editable. You can change the questions or prompts and if you teach upper elementary you can make it work for multiplication by having them find the product of their two hands!

Now the kids are really getting to know one another and settling into their new classroom!

Last year I took an equity course. One of the things that we did to get moving and learn more about one another was this amazing game. It didn’t have a name so I decided to call it Master in the Middle. So, here is what you do: 1.     Have kids make a big circle with their chairs. Depending on how your classroom is set up, you could also have them stay at their desks or their tables. 2.      Take away one chair. There has to be one less chair than there is a person. 3.     The teacher will demonstrate Master in the Middle first by saying something like, "My name is Mrs. Newport, and I have 2 pets." 4.     Everybody that has 2 pets has to get up and swap chairs as fast as they can. They cannot go to the same chair, but because there is one less chair than there are people there will be a new Master in the Middle! 5.     The new master in the middle has to think of something they want to share. They might say, “My name is Joey and my favorite color is green.” Everybody who has the favorite color is green has to get up and find a new chair. Whoever is chairless is the new Master in the Middle and the game continues. Each time the kids are recognizing friends that they have something in common with and they're engaging in some fast paced fun movement!

I always start by modeling and allowing them time to think of 1 or 2 things they would want to share so that they are prepared if they become Master in the Middle. In the younger grades you may even want to make a list. Some ideas might be somewhere you've gone on vacation, a favorite food that you have, a book that you read, a sport you play, that you took swimming lessons, or what your   favorite animal is.

Click HERE or any of the pictures above to grab your editable printables! I would love to hear about games and ice-breakers you use in your classroom to build community and get kids feeling comfortable! Share your ideas in the comments with all of us.

Home Visits: How I Make Them Happen

I am so excited to share what I’ve been working on with you all today! It's a little long, but I promise it's worth the read and I have a FREEBIE share for you at the end.  Last year, I began home visits along with a few other teachers from my building. Home visits are not just for head start or preschool. They are a great way for teachers to get out in the community and make the first connection with families a positive one! I have been spending some time the last couple of days getting prepared. I start by putting together little goody bags.   Inside, are a few things to get them thinking about back to school and build excitement for our year together.

Miniature composition books: How cute, right? You can find them at Walgreens 6 /$1. It cost $4 for my entire class. I added a cover to encourage them to write or draw about their summer and to bring it to share with all of us on the 1st day. Bookmarks: These are from the dollar section at Target.  Still only totaling $5 for the whole class. Pencils: 3 packs from the dollar section at Target. I’m still only totaling $8 Treat bags: From the Dollar Tree. I only had to buy one pack, so total I spent $9 for my entire class. Last, I printed and cut a set of flashcards to practice and review the facts they began learning last year. After the bags are ready to go I print these letters on Astrobright paper.

The letter gives a little preview of all we’ll be learning together and gets them pumped about 1st grade! I also include important dates like Back to School Night. I print a few for the families that aren’t home when I stop by, as well. They just have a little extra line that says, “I’m sorry I missed you.” Now, before you check out and think that you can’t find time for home visits or they’re unrealistic let me show you how we structure them at our school. I promise you will see the possibility. When you think of home visits, you might think of days and days, or hours and hours, of time that you have to commit. You might picture stopping into each home and sitting down with every single family for who knows how long. That is not how home visits have to be. That's not how we do home visits. When we know something is important we have to begin thinking outside of the box. This is how we’re able to make it happen: I stop by, completely unscheduled. They have no idea that I'm coming. You might think this sounds crazy, but I promise it works. The visit is quick and informal and this is what makes it possible. I knock on the door. Parents, or sometimes the child answers the door, and I say something like, "Hey, I'm your first grade teacher," or, "I'm your child's first grade teacher." I introduce myself and I say, "I'm just stopping by for a second. I wanted to drop off a little goody bag and let you know that I'm excited to start our first day together and that I'm excited that I get to meet you early." I give them the goody bag, maybe ask how their summer is going, the parents talk a little and that’s it. Done. I made my first family connection and I’m on to the next. Here’s what has happened during these visits. Parents are blown away. I hear a lot of, "Wow, I can't believe you stopped by." or "We've never had a teacher stop by before and can’t believe you took the time." and “This is so cool that you’re doing this.” They're always really excited and surprised that we are coming to them rather than the other way around. It’s a really good feeling that were able to make this happen. I have had families invite me in and I always let them know that I have to go visit so many other families and I really appreciate it, but that I am unable to come in. They're always really understanding. This keeps your visits short, but still has the same impact. The time spend allows you to get to know families and build a relationship that will last for the rest of the year. The families and kids feel at ease having seen me, knowing that I care, and that I am dedicated to teaming with them this year. That’s it. That is how we run home visits at my school. I finish them all in one day and I would say it takes me about four hours to do them all. Now, hopefully I have you seeing the possibility! There is one last thing that I do to prepare and that is simply planning the best route to be as efficient as possible. Using our school attendance system I print out an address list for my class. Our lists sort by common addresses so all the students who live in one apartment complex are grouped together.  I visit the apartment complexes first because I park at one and walk around to each home. One of my favorite parts about being out in the community and in the apartment complexes is that you get to a couple of houses and by then the word is out that you’re there. After a while you have these little groupies following you around because they're so excited. After I do all of the home visits at the apartment complexes, then I move on to the houses. When I'm planning out the houses, I put all of the addresses into Google Maps. Usually, I only have about ten or so. You have to do this on your computer, you can't do it on your phone. Put in each address and it will show you the most efficient way to go in order to stop at each house. I follow along the route and before I know it I’ve visited the home of every family. So, I just spent four hours of really quality time connecting with kids and families. I feel really good about having already seen them.  They see me out in the community and know that I care, that I am truly excited to be their teacher, and that we're going to have this amazing year together. Are you thinking outside the box yet? Seeing the possibility? Feeling hopeful? Are you going to try home visits? Maybe, you already do them? Leave a comment. I know we would all love to hear from those of you who are going to try home visits this year and those of you who are still unsure of how you can find the time. Let’s work it out together because teaching is better together. We all need to hear one another and find ways to feel hopeful and inspired! To help get you going I have the editable forms for you in my TpT store for FREE! Just head HERE or click the picture below to download.

Why You Should Keep Bulletin Boards Bare for Back to School

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Hi everybody. I am Hope, and I blog here at Teach With Hope. If you don't know who I am, or you haven't visited before, it’s important to know that here I’m all about inspiring teachers, and encouraging teachers to inspire one another. It’s important find hope in everything we do.   Think about those days when you're feeling like nothing is going right. You totally missed the boat on a lesson, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing all day and you have a very unhappy parent on your case. We’ve all had these days.   Then we’ve had the days where we rock that lesson, everything's going perfectly, all our classroom management techniques are on point and we can't believe that we were ever doubting ourselves. When you're having that day, you can bet that there is somebody who is having the day of doubt. Those are the times where we need to come together and lift one another up. We need to help one another find hope in what we do, and inspire one another in any way we can. That is what “Teach with hope.” is all about!

Today, I am coming to you with a post that completely relates to this. I've seen a lot of teachers feeling a lot of doubt about themselves, and their classrooms. With all the social media out there, we see so many classrooms that are looking gorgeous and fab. They’re labeled and bordered and everything is just pristine.  I'm not going to say that I don't spend a lot of time in my classroom, or that it's not important to me to make my classroom all cutesy, but that doesn't have to be important to you. I know some incredible teachers that would kick my teaching butt! I go to these teachers for mentoring, ideas, and inspiration. Cutesifying their classrooms however, is something that's not important to them. When it comes down to it, how your room looks does not impact the way your students learn. I truly believe that.   If you are feeling discouraged by all the classrooms you see ask yourself, "Would the hours and days I spend increase the amount of student learning that happens in my classroom? You'll likely answer no.  If making your classroom "cute" isn't important to you then forget it.

With that being said, I'm going to show you my classroom. It's not done. I still have a couple weeks until kids come back. What I want to show you is that I don't cover every wall, every bulletin board. I don't have to have every single thing up. There's purpose for that. I choose to focus on two to three bulletin boards or wall spaces, just to make myself feel better. The kids need to come into this space and make it their own. Right? That's what's most important.

I have all of these blank bulletin boards. Over here I have my evidence wall, but there's no evidence terms on that. There's another blank bulletin board. Here’s my work display board. I've got another blank board over here. Okay? You get the picture. I have a couple of boards that I've focused on. The rest of them, the kids will take care of. They will come in and they make the space their own. That, has so much more meaning behind it.

If you feel like you need to do something make a work display board. Even if you put a sign on there that says “Masterpieces Coming Soon!” Kids and families will come in and see that it has purpose and most importantly that the purpose is all about kids.

Anchor charts are meant to anchor and cement student learning. When we co-create charts and and make them together the kids have the opportunity to interact with what we're learning. It is so much more meaningful than if we pre-make a poster and put it on the wall. Feel good knowing that you are going to fill that blank space with all you are going to learn together! Do you have an alphabet, a number line, or a word wall in your classroom? If the kids have a hand in creating those tools again, it is so much more meaningful. Yes we can print things in beautiful color or purchase punch out number lines from the teacher supply store, but not only are you creating more work for yourself you’re spending more money. Think of ways that you could create or add to your tools together. You could have kids draw pictures to match each letter of the alphabet or have them create the pieces that you will use for the calendar. I thought about buying a number line to hang up, but instead we’re going to make one together during those first days of school.

In the past, I've been so guilty of putting things up because they're cute and pretty. That can still happen here and there, but I am conscious about everything we hang on our walls. I always ask myself, “What part did my students have in interacting with this?”  Often I will prepare things that I plan to hang, but before doing so we will talk about them as a class. These are the numbers I use for our “Math Fact Masters” board. Before hanging them up we will talk about their purpose and I will get the kids pumped about signing their names all over them. So remember, as you’re preparing for the first day if you don't have everything printed in color, and laminated, if you don’t have borders on every board that is not a reflection of who you are as a teacher. Be confident about who you are and what you are going to do for your kids this year. Some letters and laminating don’t tell you that!

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