Back-to-School Prep!

We actually just started our summer vacation about 3 weeks ago but I like to jump start my back to school prep work in the summer so it's one less thing to do come September.

Here's a look at some of the things I do...

BACK TO SCHOOL FLIP BOOK

There is so much information we like to tell our parents that, instead of 4000 individual papers, we compile them all together in this flip book. I like to include daily communication (we use a Mailbag/Communication Folder), school hours, information about how snack time/lunchtime works, what "Play-based Kindergarten" is all about, and more!

I have this product available in my TpT store and it's completely ***EDITABLE*** so you can add whatever you'd like! It comes already filled with my own school information but it's easy to change. You can find the Back to School Flip Book here.

MAIL BAGS/COMMUNICATION FOLDERS

I've been using these zippered pouches from Dollarama for years as a way for students to take home work, notes, forms, etc. and for parents to communicate back. I made these ***EDITABLE*** mail bag tags last summer as I've had many requests for various versions.

You can find the Mail Bag/Communication Folder tags here.

Each morning when the students come in they take out their mailbag and place it in the basket (from Ikea).

TEACHER CALENDAR/PLANNER

I like to write down what my month looks like (staff meeting, parent meetings, birthdays, etc.) so I created this Teacher Calendar/Planner a few years back. It's set up so you are able to type right onto it! There's a spot for Notes and also Things To Do. Best part is...when you purchase this item, you get it updated each school year for FREE!

You can click here to see my Teacher Calendar and Planner.

DAILY SCHEDULE CARDS

I've had many questions about what my daily schedule looks like. Here's what it looks like from last school year (2018-2019).

Stay tuned in the next few weeks as I work on the daily schedule for this coming school year!

If you'd like to download it for FREE, click {here}.

Each week during this past school year (2018-2019) I also posted my Week-at-a-Glance plans. Be sure to check my weekly blog posts and you can download all of them for the entire year to see what we did each week!

I like to post our daily schedule, for the students to refer to during the day, on the white board. I bought these magnetic photo cards from Dollarama and the schedule cards fit perfectly inside! If you can't find them, you can also attach a magnet or piece of Velcro to the back.

One colleague adds these inside a small pocket chart!

Students move a magnetic dot (seen below) on top of each card as the day progresses. This helps children feel less anxious as they await dismissal.

You can find these Daily Schedule cards in my TpT store by clicking here.

PARENT/GUARDIAN QUESTIONNAIRE

This form we send home and ask parents to fill out all pertinent information about their child (i.e. pickup, telephone numbers, allergies, etc.).

You can download this for FREE by clicking here.

I've had a lot of requests to make this questionnaire EDITABLE.

To do so, download the ***editable*** questionnaire for FREE {here} and be sure to download the free font KG Primary Penmanship.

GUESS WHO? - HELPER OF DAY

I have one student helper each day - that person is responsible for taking the attendance down to the office, leading prayers, delivering notes to other classes/office, etc. That student also gets to choose a peer and sit together in the Dramatic Centre where we have a small table for 2! It's a special role and students eagerly look forward to being the Helper of the Day.

To reveal the helper, I hide a name card behind the "Guess Who?" sign with only the first letter showing. All the students who begin with that letter stand up and we guess who it could be as more letters are revealed.

Once the helper name is revealed, we see how many words we can find within the name!