GETTING YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW - BEING PROACTIVE WITH YOUR BACK TO SCHOOL PREP

Don’t look up . . . I mean it.  Just keep your head down and your eye on today!  Do you know what’s here?  A-A-A-A-August.  Can you believe it?  Where did the summer go?  (Gosh . . . I am full of questions today).  Anyway, as we cruise into this end of summer reality (we start on 8/17), I am working my tail off these days to get my ducks in a row before the true back to school chaos begins.  Here are a few things that I always like to do a few weeks before the kids come.  This list isn’t new and many of you are probably already on it, but I figured a little reminder post might be nice.

PENCIL BOXES

The dreaded shopping trip to that big box shop already happened a week or so ago.  You know . . . the one where you witness the poor soul who saddles up behind accept his/her fate of having to wait for 30 of each item to pass over the scanner.  On a mildly related side note, have you noticed that once this acceptance has been made, the same BIG question is ALWAYS asked??  It goes something like this . . . “Are you a teacher?”  One of these days I'm not going to give the straight answer  . . . "No, I just like organizing my new crayons.

I don’t have my class list yet, but I will put together all of my pencil boxes next week.  Each kiddo gets his/her own box with crayons, two pencils, a pink eraser, scissors, and a glue stick.  I’ll just stuff these “Henry Ford – Style” so they are all ready to go.  I don’t want to be sweating this at the last moment.

I know some of you number you kids out there . . . I definitely do.  With this said, I number my supplies too.  Yes, I write a little as all get out ## on the top of each yellow pencil (ultra-fine Sharpies work great).  I have found that this helps a ton when supplies are found on the floor.  Most of the time these lost items actually get returned to the correct student.  And, usually you don’t have a kid scream out . . . “WHOSE PENCIL IS THIS?”  They can look at the number and quietly figure it out with a little training.  (Notice I used the word MOST here . . . you gotta heart that kid who will still holler out . . . “HEY MATTY, I FOUND YOUR PENCIL.”

  

FORMS, LISTS, & NOTES

I took a day earlier this week and updated all of my back to school forms, notes, and such.  I also already made most of the needed copies on bright paper!  I absolutely LOVE crossing this one off of my list. 

The main forms/nottes that I know I need during the back to school rush are pretty straightforward.  I broke these pages down in a handy-dandy list just in case you wanted to see ‘em.  I run each one on a different color so I can easily sort them as they are returned.

• Supply Wish List – my top ten school supply items
• Meet the Teacher Invite – my welcome back note that intros me and invites kids to my Meet & Greet
• First Grade Handbook – a little pack that outlines everything from home reading to birthday celebrations.
• Contact Form – a quick one sheet for me to keep by my phone
• Parent Helper Form – a quick form for volunteers
• Class List – I’ll make this as soon as I get my awesome new line-up

If you are interested in a quick and easy EDITABLE packet of my forms and letters, they are available in my shop.  The line-up above is just a sampling of the forms that I use.  There are oodles of other handy back to school pages in this pack.  Oh, and I recently updated this set to include ALL of my text.  All you have to do is change the words you don’t like in the editable section and click print!  If you have already purchased this one, be sure to download this one again to snag the snazzy updates!

I am going to toss up my recently updated Parent Helper Form for free today.  Those “extra hands” are oh so helpful in the primary grades.  Hopefully, this note will help you snag a bunch of GOOD helpers right off the bat this year. 

CLICK HERE to snag the generic version of this form.

FRESH START

Although I moved schools this year and deep cleaning was bound to happen, I always take a moment to "wash off" the last year over the summer.  That sounds funny.  What I mean is that I take the time to wipe out all of my book bins as well as wash all of my free time toys and math manipulatives.  And, I scrub my student chairs.  I hosed everything off in the driveway and put oodles of items through the dishwasher. This was completed a few weeks ago with my mother's awesome help (I am so lucky to have her around).

BIRTHDAYS

Many of you do this, but just in case you don’t or forgot to put on your back to school radar . . . this might be something you would like to try.  During the year birthdays are the thing that always seem to sneak up on me.  I was caught on more than one occasion in my early years.  You know . . . that moment during one of your hectic teacher mornings when a smiling parent strolls in with unannounced cupcakes and you try with all your might to hide your deer in the headlights look.  With this said, I now fill out all of my birthday certificates, prepare my small gifts, and make a handy dandy list before school even starts. 

Just in case you missed my old post on birthdays, I am going to roll off on a tangent here and chat about these special days.  I am a sucker for a good party and the little guys get so jacked up about their birthdays.  With this said, I play b-days up a bit.  I have the cutest ever cupcake chair.  This dons their seat when they walk in and their desk has a crown, certificate, and gift waiting for them.  At the very end of the day (whether or not the parents toss a treat into the mix), we have a quick little celebration.  The kid gets my special birthday cape and I play the Birthday Boogie – a fun little tune where the birthday boy or girl gets to lead the rest of the class in a birthday conga line.  The giggles are contagious.  If you want to snag these elements before school starts, check out the links below. 

I purchased my b-day cape from SUPER CAPES.

Both colors are up for grabs.
I snagged the blue one at Glitterville.

I noticed that Oriental Trading also has a set of chair covers.
These are much cheaper . . . not sure how they will hold up, but wanted to toss it out :)

Listen to a sample of the Birthday Boogie HERE (from Ron Brown's Intelli-Tunes).
It's only 99 cents for a limited time :)

NEW STUDENT SURVIVAL

Thanks to this genius post by Miss Kindergarten a few years back, I now proactively make new student bags to help me survive those “surprise” adds.  I place all of the forms and handouts in a Ziploc bag.  I also put all of the items that will need to be completed after he/she is added (birthday card, VIP card, independent work folder, etc).  This SO helps me stay on track and not run around like an idiot when a new sweetie gets dropped off.  In addition, I always take a moment to make up 5 extra pencil boxes.  I don’t number the items as I am not sure how that will turn out – I just label them at the end of the day.  Ready-made supply boxes have also proven to be an absolute life saver over the years. Take a moment and check this BLOG POST out . . . Hadar nailed it :)

So there you have it.  A few proactive tips for a solid back to school prep.  I’d love to hear any other things you do to get your ducks in a row before your new crew comes!  Good luck these next few weeks my friends.  Just hold on tight, go with the flow, and enjoy the ride . . . we can do this :)