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7 Tips for Your Classroom Set Up

Whether you’re a new teacher or a seasoned teacher, chances are, you’ll be taking some time this summer to set up your classroom for next year. Classroom set up can be a little overwhelming with all that goes into it. There are so many things you ask yourself about how you want your room to look, how it’ll be organized, what systems you’ll use, etc. Here are my 7 tips to help you set up the classroom of your dreams!

7 Tips for Your Classroom Set Up

classroom-set-up

1. Plan out your room

There are two major things that come to mind when I think about planning out a classroom: decor and organization.

Decor

Classroom decor will look different based on what grade you teach and your own personality. Being a kindergarten teacher, I love classroom themes! I chose a jungle theme for my classroom as it was fun and I felt like I could do a lot with it. I also love animals and got to incorporate this love into my theme! You can choose a theme like this or even just a certain color theme.

My advice when choosing your classroom decor:
– try to not make it too busy
– leave room for students to see their work displayed (you don’t need to cover every inch of the classroom before school starts)

Jungle Theme Classroom Reveal
Sneak Peek of my Ocean Classroom Decor Bundle

Organization

The other part of planning out your room is your organization. This means how your room will be organized as well as how your materials will be organized.

Questions to ask yourself before you start organizing your room:

  • What areas or sections do you want to include in your room? Will you have a writing center? Technology area? Space just for free play items?
  • Where will your supplies go? Will you have your teacher supplies somewhere separate from student supplies? What will the supplies go in?
  • Where will student supplies go? Will they have a pencil box? A community box that the whole table uses? A chair pouch?
  • Will students be at desks? Or tables? Or will you use flexible seating?
  • How will your library be organized? By theme? Author? Season?

If you ask yourself these questions before you begin your classroom set up, you’ll have an easier time as you’ll know exactly how you want your room.

classroom-set-up-organization

2. Make a list of everything you need to do

I am a list person. Lists help me feel super organized and like I know the direction that I need to be going in. When I have a list, I know exactly what I need to be doing.

Tip number 2 is make a list of everything you need to do. I like to type this out on a word document and section it out into categories. When I finish something on my list I change the text color to red so I know it’s been completed.

Here’s my list to get you started:

  • Organize materials into stations (word work, math manipulatives, writing, technology, free play, etc.)
  • Set up and label student supplies – pencil, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue, eraser, folders
  • Set up student desks or tables – label with name tags
  • Assign a rug square to each student
  • Organize teacher materials – teacher desk, extra supplies, files etc.
  • Organize curriculum – where will this go, how will you organize it (files, binders, tubs)

3. Make a list of everything you need to buy

Now, this will be different for everyone depending on what your classroom has when you walk into it, how long you’ve been teaching or what kind of budget you have. I like to shop at the following places to keep my classroom costs down:

  • Target dollar spot
  • Dollar Store
  • Amazon

Check out my list of  Top 10 Teacher Must Haves

classroom-set-up-diy

4. List out everything you need to make

This may be my favorite part of classroom set up. I love being crafty and I love DIY projects. My dad jokes about all my projects because he is very handy and I always pull him in when I need help with my classroom DIY.

Here are some things you might want to make for your classroom:

  • Classroom decor: print (on cardstock), cut and laminate
  • Anchor charts
  • Word Wall
  • Bulletin Boards – Welcome board with student names

If you’re interested in DIY projects for your classroom, check out these DIY Crate Seats.

classroom-set-up-bulletin

5. Start in one section of the room and work your way around

I am the type of person that wants to do all the things all at once. This gets really overwhelming when setting up a classroom because there are so many things! The way I stay organized is by starting in one section of the room and working my way around.

For example, my room is set up in sections such as the word work section, writing station, listening to reading, library, free play and math. So the way I set up my classroom is by starting in one section, pulling everything out that would belong in that section, organizing it and moving on to the next. That way, once I’ve completed a part of the room, it’s done (for the most part – of course there will be minor changes and additions).

6. Set up systems

When you have systems in place, you’re setting yourself up for success. Everything will have a place and you’ll know where to find your stuff and your extra stuff.

The systems I set up:

  • Where sheets go that need to be copied and where they go once their copied
  • What happens when you need to file something – where are the files? What goes in those files?
  • Where student work goes when it’s unfinished, finished and corrected
  • How student work goes home
  • Where extra supplies are – how students get those extra supplies
  • Where teacher supplies are
  • How you store materials for the week/for next week

classroom-set-up-jungle

7. Label items for students in your room

I always save this step for last as you never know if you’ll have late additions or people dropping from your class last minute. Also, when I get to this part of my classroom set up, I know that I am almost done and ready for the school year!

Here’s all that I label for my students:

  • Cubbies
  • Desks
  • Carpet Squares
  • Chair Pouch – inside: pencil box, any workbooks and folders
  • Pencil boxes – inside: pencil, colored pencils, scissors, glue, eraser, expo pen and eraser
  • Guided Reading Bags

Celebrating Culture in the Classroom

Creating a classroom community is probably the number one most important thing you can do as a teacher. If students don’t feel comfortable and welcome in your classroom, they’re just not going to learn. One way I like to promote a positive classroom community is to learn about each other’s cultures. Celebrating culture in the classroom leads to students feeling cared for and understood.

Why it’s Important to Learn About Culture in the Classroom

Learning about each other and where people came from is truly one of the best things you can do for your students because they get to feel important, they get to share about their family and students get to learn about other cultures.

When you make the time to incorporate culture in the classroom, you’re showing your students that they matter and their family matters.

culture-in-the-classroom

How to Incorporate Culture in the Classroom

Invite a Student’s Family Member to the Classroom

I love the opportunity to have parents join in with what we’re doing in the classroom. I think it is amazing for parents to see all that your students (their kids) are doing every day. Also, inviting them in bridges the gap from home to school and boosts up the classroom community because now everyone feels welcomed in.

One way you can incorporate cultural diversity in the classroom is through inviting parents (or family members) in to share something about their culture. This can happen throughout the year if maybe they celebrate something at a certain time, or it can happen all at once. If you’re planning on inviting families in throughout the year, you may want to send something home or mention it at Back to School Night. You can tell them that you’re hoping to have families come in throughout the year and share something about their culture. They can then email you when they want to come in and you can coordinate. When you do it all at once it might be nice to host a Culture Fair. (See next point)

culture-in-the-classroom-culture-fair

Host a Culture Fair

My whole school hosts a Culture Fair each year and it’s a great way to celebrate diversity at our school! We invite parents to bring in a special dish related to their culture, ready to serve and ready for kids to taste. We also invite students or family friends of students who do any cultural extra curriculars such as dance or art to either perform or share with the school.

On the day of the Culture Fair, a table is set up for each class with many different foods from different cultures. We take an afternoon to celebrate our diversity together, tasting foods and watching performances. It’s also fun to incorporate any games from different cultures for students to play at the fair.

culture-project

My Culture Project

To prepare for our Culture Fair, I have my students complete a project about their culture. This project helps them learn more about their culture and gets them excited to share about it at the fair.

Interview a Family Member

What better way to learn about your culture than interviewing someone in your family? Included in the “My Culture Project” is the task to interview a family member.

I ask students to sit down and write questions they are curious about. I also give them ideas of what to ask such as about special foods, holidays and traditions or dress.

They write down three questions they’re going to ask and who they’ll as them to. Then, after they’ve had the interview, they write (or draw) about one thing they learned about their culture. I like to have my students share one thing they learned to their classmates.

culture-in-the-classroom-project

Students Research About their Culture

Another great way to learn about their culture is through research. Of course, parents would have to help with this (which is why I love sending home projects). A great resource for kids to research anything is through checking out books at the library or searching on a kid friendly search engine such as Kiddle.

Other kid friendly search engines:

KidRex

Kidtopia

Kids Search Engine

Once students research and learn about their culture, have them come back and share to their classmates something interesting they learned!

celebrating-culture-in-the-classroom-food

Culture in the Classroom

It is so important to create a caring classroom community. Celebrating your students’ cultures is a great way to build relationships in your classroom. You can do this by inviting families in, hosting a Culture Fair or sending home a culture project.

How do you celebrate culture in your classroom?

What’s Inside My Teacher Maternity Leave Binder

Preparing for maternity leave can be so overwhelming. Not only are you still teaching each day, but you’re also asked to put together sub plans, get your classroom ready and basically spell out all you do depending on what time of year you go on leave. One way I got ready for my leave was putting together a teacher maternity leave binder. This binder houses many important aspects of my classroom that I wanted to leave with my long-term sub to help her transition smoothly into her new role.

Are you getting ready to go on maternity leave? One way I prepared was with a teachers maternity leave binder. Check out what's inside. Freebie included!

What’s Inside My Teacher Maternity Leave Binder

Classroom Logistics

In this section, I include where things are in my classroom. I’ve never been a long-term sub but I imagine it can get pretty overwhelming, especially when you don’t know where things are.

In my classroom, I have three big storage closets. I made sure to include what was in each of these closets and how they are organized. I also include information about each section of my classroom such as the math manipulative area, word work station, writing center etc. It’s important that my sub knows where teacher materials are as well as student materials.

Procedures

These pages of the binder explain arrival and dismissal as well as how we start our day, end our day and go to recess and lunch. Kindergarten is a very special age where routine is a necessity. I wanted to include these procedures so my students would hopefully be on their best behavior, since the routine would stay the same.

Are you getting ready to go on maternity leave? One way I prepared was with a teachers maternity leave binder. Check out what's inside. Freebie included!

Important Random Information

While I was putting my binder together, I noticed that I kept coming up with things I wanted to tell my sub that didn’t really fall under any of my binder categories. This is when “Important Random Information” was born. In this section, I include how we celebrate birthdays, Scholastic information, the Art Show (event at our school) and our upcoming in-class field trip.

Random Information about Subjects

Similarly to the section above, I wanted to explain a few things about each subject that wouldn’t be covered in the schedule or the year long pacing guide. “Random Information about Subjects” tells my sub where to find certain things such as big books for language arts, or that we use interactive notebooks in science and that I have Friday math centers where we play math games. Any random piece of information about the different subjects she’ll teach!

Behavior Management

This section holds information about my three different behavior management strategies. I explain what I do for whole class, table group and individual behavior management. It also explains if student is on a special behavior plan and how to use that.

Passwords

This page holds passwords to websites I use and our page to make announcements to parents. It also includes any other helpful passwords my sub will need while she’s in my room.

Classroom Schedule

Here the sub can find our weekly schedule of what we do and when. I typed this in a table so it is easy for her to see what happens each day of the week.

Year Long Pacing Guide

Our year long pacing guide shares what we’ve covered so far in the year and what my sub is expected to cover. Luckily, I went on leave in February and I don’t have to return this year. That means she’ll be responsible for covering everything from February until May. I also typed this up into a table to explain what she should be covering each month in each subject. This will help keep her on track.

Weekly To-Do

This section is one I probably could have done without. However, my goal was to give more information and my sub could decide what she would use and not use. This section explains what I do weekly to be prepared for the following week. I included things like sending out our weekly newsletter, stuffing Friday folders and sending home sight words.

Homework and Projects

I send home monthly homework menus as well as monthly projects. This section holds all the monthly homework menus my sub will send home as well as the projects. That way, she can just grab a master, copy it and send it home for the month. No need to think!

An Inside Look at Kindergarten Projects Throughout the Year

Prep for Next School Year with These 6 Organizational Hacks

End of the Year

When I was prepping for my maternity leave, my friend (who went on leave the previous year) told me she wished she left a “how to end the year”. Of course you’ll only need this if you long-term sub is ending your school year. This section tells my sub what students can take home, what I keep and reuse for next year, how to leave the room, etc.

Of course, I don’t expect things to be left perfectly or the way I would leave them. However, I’m hoping that including this section will help her wrap the year up as best as possible.

Teacher Maternity Leave Binder Set Up

Setting up your teacher maternity leave binder is very simple! All I did was get a binder, print out all my information sheets, put them in sheet protectors and put them inside the binder!

 

If you’re interested in other ways I prepared for my teachers maternity leave, read this post.

How to Prep for Teachers Maternity Leave

On my Instagram: One_Kreative_Kindergarten, I show my entire binder and what I’ve included. If you’re interested, follow me on Instagram and check out my highlighted story – Maternity Binder.

How to Prep for Teachers Maternity Leave

Preparing for teachers maternity leave can be extremely overwhelming. Not only are you trying to figure out all that you do (which has become second nature) in order to inform your long-term sub, but you also are exhausted because you’re growing a human! This time doesn’t have to be so intimidating and I’m here to tell you that you do NOT need to do it all before you leave. Here are some tips that helped me feel prepared leaving the classroom for my teachers maternity leave.

Are you going on maternity leave but don't know where to start prepping? Check out these tips when preparing for teachers maternity leave. Freebie included!

Create Your Teachers Maternity Leave Binder

I created a binder for my long-term sub that includes classroom logistics, our schedule, any random thoughts I felt I needed to tell her and anything else I felt to be helpful. Of course, you can’t expect the long-term sub to be just like you. She’s going to change things and make things work for her while she’s in your classroom but my thought was if she wants to use what has worked for me, she’ll have it all right here in this binder.

Included in my Binder

  1. Classroom Logistics
  2. Procedures
  3. Important Random Information
  4. Random Information about Subjects
  5. Behavior Management
  6. Passwords
  7. Schedule
  8. Year Long Plan – Pacing Guide
  9. Weekly To Do
  10. Homework Menus
  11. Monthly Projects
  12. End of the Year

Include Sub Plans

This may vary from school to school but my principal asked me to leave two weeks of sub plans for my long-term sub. My best advice to accomplish this is to plan it out in your planner like normal and go subject to subject. That way, you can focus on just one subject at a time. While I planned each subject, I wrote a list of everything that I needed to get out, prep, copy etc so once I was done with that list, I knew that subject was complete and ready for my sub to teach for the two weeks after I left.

Organize Your Classroom

I’m going to preface this by telling you to take this lightly. There were a million things I wanted to organize before leaving my classroom to the long-term sub, however, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it all because again, growing a human! What I chose to do was organize a few very important spots in my classroom: my teacher desk and the cabinet behind my desk that houses all the curriculum.

I chose to organize these two areas of my classroom because they would be used the most by the long-term sub and honestly they needed the most work. I took a day over a holiday weekend and spent a few hours in my classroom organizing these spots. That is all the special attention I gave to organizing my classroom before going on teacher maternity leave. You can’t do it all. Choose what is most important!

Are you going on maternity leave but don't know where to start prepping? Check out these tips when preparing for teachers maternity leave. Freebie included!

Leave a Little Treat for your Sub

This is something totally optional but something I wanted to do to start my sub off on a good note. I went to Target and the Dollar Store and picked up a few things to put in a basket that I put on her desk for her to come into on Monday morning.

In the basket I included:

  1. A snack
  2. A treat
  3. A coffee mug
  4. Whiteboard pens
  5. Post-its
  6. A stapler (mostly because mine broke and I wanted her to have one!)

How to Prep for Teachers Maternity Leave

Preparing for your leave can be extremely stressful and overwhelming but when you chunk it into these parts, it is very manageable. Remember that you can’t possibly do everything before you leave and focus on the reason why you’re going on leave, your new bundle of joy!

Teachers who have gone on maternity leave, what helped you feel prepared to leave your classroom? Share in the comments!

What Keeps Me Motivated to Blog

This post is going to be a little different from my normal teaching tips post. I want to get personal with you and share why I do what I do and what keeps me motivated to blog. 

About two years ago, I decided to embark on a new journey, selling digital resources on TeachersPayTeachers and with that I decided to create a blog. This space is a home for my ideas, tips, resources and so much more. 

motivated-to-blog

What Started as a Marketing Strategy…

When I started my store on TpT, I felt that a blog would be a great way to get my resources in front of teachers as well as a way to share my teaching ideas with other kindergarten (and maybe even pre-k and first grade) teachers. This blog is a space where I can write to help others, while making some money at the same time. I’m not going to lie, this blog is one important piece that helps my business grow. 

What I didn’t know, is that it’d turn into a special space where I can share my love for teaching and that I’d become apart of this amazing online teaching community. 

…Turned into a Space for Helping Others

I’m naturally an introvert. Yes, I like being in a career where I am around others and get to teach young children. When you’re a teacher, you are on all the time and especially in kindergarten, there’s no downtime to even think about time to yourself. But when it comes down to it, I recharge by having alone time and time with my husband. 

This blog and online teaching community has inspired me to step outside my box and share with others. You keep me motivated to blog. 

I have met so many amazing teachers and feel inspired by them to be the best I can in my classroom. My goal for this blog is to inspire at least one person in each post. If I can help one person in each blog post, it’s worth it to me and I will continue to be motivated to blog.

It’s a Way to Reflect

My blog has also become a space for me to document my classroom and my learning. For two years, I’ve written (mostly) consistently about many things I do in my classroom and about the resources I’ve created to help other teachers. 

This blog is a great tool for me to be able to go back a month, a year, even two years now and be able to reflect. I reflect on my teaching, my classroom, and my organization. I even reflect on how my resources have improved, how I’ve become more comfortable writing posts and how my business has grown. Seeing this growth keeps me motivated to blog.

motivated-to-blog

A Way to Push Myself to do More

When it comes down to it, I want to make a difference. I want to make a difference in my students’ lives yes, but I have a much broader reach when I help other teachers. When I inspire teachers with my words or resources, they make a difference in their students. When I reach teachers, I reach their students as well. Helping this bigger audience keeps me motivated to blog.

My Motivation to Blog

This blog started as a marketing tool and turned into a platform for me to be able to help teachers.

I am motivated to blog when I help teachers, when I see them implementing ideas or using my resources in their classrooms.

I’m motivated to blog when I take the time to reflect on where I started and how I’ve grown, both in my classroom and in my business.

Lastly, this blog motivates me to push myself to do more. Through this blog, I make a difference in more than just my own students’ lives. I make a difference in other students’ lives through inspiring their teachers.

I can’t wait to look back on my blog and this post in another year or two and reflect on how I’ve grown and how I’ve helped others through this platform.

What helps you stay motivated in your teaching, your business or your blog?

You may also be interested in…

Teacher-Blog Post Ideas for When You Have Writers Block

Your Cheat Sheet for Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent teacher conferences are coming up and they can be a little nerve-wracking. When you share so much with your students’ parents, you never know how they’ll respond. Just remember that as long as you come across as wanting the best for their child, they’ll appreciate whatever you say. You are a team!

I like to be as organized as I can and get everything ready about a week before conferences. We have to put in grades and get report cards printed, find examples of student work and get together any other important resources for parents so this time can be pretty busy! The sooner you’re organized, the better!

Here are some tips I’ve learned that will help you during parent teacher conferences.

Parent teacher conferences can be a little stressful. However, I've given you a cheat sheet to all you need for a successful conference! Read to learn more.

Format of the Parent Teacher Conference

At my school, we have 15 minutes with the parents. I like to do most of the talking for 10 minutes, then take questions and then we bring the student in to showcase some of their work!

First 10 Minutes:

  • Explain Report Card

I use this time to explain the report card. This is their first report card so I explain standards based grading and what they’ll see on the report card. I also highlight a few of the standards in each subject category.

  • Discuss a Few Standards

I like to highlight what we will be learning this year in kindergarten. Since this is the only face to face meeting we have with parents (unless we schedule something else) I like to explain some of the learning they’ll see within the year.

  • Tell Student’s Reading Level

We use Fountas and Pinnel to assess students’ reading levels so I mention what level their child is. Most of the time, students at this point in the year are only a level AA (pre-reader) or an A. I mention where we want students at the end of kindergarten as well.

Parent teacher conferences can be a little stressful. However, I've given you a cheat sheet to all you need for a successful conference! Read to learn more.

  • Give Parents Resources to Help at Home

I like to print out some resources of how parents can help their child at home in reading or sight words and explain how important it is that they help their child with their learning at home so it reinforces what we do in class.

Final 5 Minutes:

  • Time for Questions

I give parents time to ask any question they have that they might not want their child to hear, before the child comes in.

  • Student Joins

When the student joins, he or she shows their parent a few things they are proud of. I like to have their writing folders at the table because it shows their growth from the beginning of the year. I like having students run this part because they get so excited to share with their family what they’ve done in school!

Tips to Help Parent Teacher Conferences Run Smoothly

  • Make Note of Key Talking Points

It’s important to know what you are going to talk about in the conference. That’s why, I like to make note of what I want to be sure to say (both positive and negative) during the conference.

This year, I’m going to use Stephanie’s (Teaching Little Leaders) Parent Teacher Conference Forms. She includes everything you need to prep for your parent teacher conference! Check it out below.

  • Keep Everything for the Conference in a File

I like to use files for each student because they’re easy to pull and keep everything safe and in one spot. When you have so many conferences, it’s best to just have to pull one file instead of a bunch of different forms or documents.

*I even like to put a post-it on the front of the folder with the child’s name and when the conference is. Then, I put them in order by day and time.

  • Keep the Student Occupied

If your school is like mine and students join the conference at the end of the meeting, give them something to do while you’re meeting with their parents. I like to keep books in the hallway next to a chair so the student can sit and read.

 

Here are my tips and tricks for parent teacher conferences and I hope you find something that helps you out! What have you learned during your conferences? Comment below!

All About Star of the Week

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on or buy something from one of the links, I may receive a small income at no additional cost to you.

Star of the week is one of the best ways to get to know your students on a deeper level. I start star of the week right in the beginning of the year so we can get to know each other right away. I love incorporating this in my classroom because students feel special for a whole week and it promotes classroom community.

Star of the Week is such an important aspect of a lower elementary classroom. Check out the ways my class celebrates the Student of the Week.

The Importance of Star of the Week

Star of the week (or Student of the Week) is one week in the school year where a student gets to be celebrated. Each day, they get a special privilege or activity all about them. After the week is up, we feel more connected and the student feels appreciated.

Daily Specials

Here is the list of specials that I do each week for our Star Student. There many other options you could include (I’ve listed these ideas after my daily specials).

Monday

On Monday, the Star of the Week brings in their Star of the Week poster. (I give these posters to them a week in advance because they are pretty large and I don’t want them to rush it.) The student gets to tell us about their poster and I let a few students ask questions about the star. Then, we create a book for the Student of the Week. The Star of the Week colors the cover page to their book and all other classmates write a letter about why this person is a star. After everyone is done, I bind the pages into a book and the Star of the Week takes it home.

 

Tuesday

On Tuesday, the Star of the Week gets to bring in a show and tell item. They tell about the item and then classmates get to ask questions about the item. (A lot of the time the question is “can we play with it at free play?” Ha!)

Wednesday

On Wednesday, the Star of the Week gets to start free play first! Always a favorite day for my kinders!

Thursday

On Thursday, the student of the week gets to bring in a book that we read as a class. I love seeing which books they bring in and sharing them with the rest of the class.

Star of the Week is such an important aspect of a lower elementary classroom. Check out the ways my class celebrates the Student of the Week.

Friday

Friday is my favorite day of the week! On Friday, I read a letter written to the student from their parents. These letters are so heartfelt and so sweet to read as parents are so proud of their little ones.

Some other ideas for celebrating your student of the week:
  • Bring in special pictures to share
  • Have a parent come to read
  • Pick a prize from your prize box
  • Bring in a treat to share with the class
  • Plan a special reward for the class
  • Sit at a VIP table
  • Get to use markers on everything
  • Be the teachers assistant all week

Check out my Star of the Week resources on TpT

Also available is a Jungle Theme and an Ocean Theme.

What other ways do you celebrate your Star of the Week? Let me know in the comments!

Easily Communicate with Parents through a Weekly Newsletter

Parents can be your biggest advocate and a great teammate to have. As it is, we all have the same goal, to help the kids succeed whether it be at home or at school. It’s important that as teachers we communicate the best we can with our students’ parents.

Bridge the Gap Between School and Home

To bridge this gap between school and home, I send home a weekly newsletter. This goes out on Fridays after school (or toward the end of the school day). I’ve found this to be a very successful way that I keep parents included in what their children are learning and what to expect coming up.

Need an easy way to communicate with the parents in your class? Use my editable weekly newsletters! Check out what I share with the parents in my class.

What I Include in my Newsletter

You can include whatever you want in your newsletter! I include various aspects of the week in school including: what we’re learning, highlighting special events and upcoming events.

What We’re Learning

Something I always include in our weekly newsletter is what we’ve learned during the week. I like to break it up into subject area but I mainly include language arts and math. I also alternate between science and social studies.

Parents enjoy reading about what their children are learning in class. I don’t know about you, but when you ask my kindergarten students what they did at school they either say “nothing” or “free play” or “recess”. And although free play and recess are important, it’s nice to send out what we’ve done in class so parents know their children are learning. They can also ask them about this learning and talk to their kids about school while they’re at home.

Need an easy way to communicate with the parents in your class? Use my editable weekly newsletters! Check out what I share with the parents in my class.

Highlighting Special Events

Another thing I put in my newsletter is special events that we’ve had during the week. I like to highlight events like 100th day of school, a field trip or a special art project.

Upcoming Events

Lastly, I put in some important upcoming events that I don’t want parents to forget. This is an extra reminder as I put upcoming dates and events in other places as well.

Newsletter Templates

I’ve created newsletter templates (one for every week in the year, plus more!) for kindergarten, first grade and second grade. If you’re interested in another grade, please email me and I will make it happen! My favorite thing about these templates, they’re super editable!

Need an easy way to communicate with the parents in your class? Use my editable weekly newsletters! Check out what I share with the parents in my class. Need an easy way to communicate with the parents in your class? Use my editable weekly newsletters! Check out what I share with the parents in my class. Need an easy way to communicate with the parents in your class? Use my editable weekly newsletters! Check out what I share with the parents in my class.

How do you communicate with the parents in your classroom? Comment below!

 

Two Weeks of Training for a Year of Success

The first two weeks of a new school year should be spent training your students. Don’t worry about teaching curriculum, just focus on training, getting to know your students, creating a classroom community and assessing where your students already are. When you spend these weeks training, they’ll have a better understanding of your expectations, both academically and behaviorally, how to transition from subject to subject and the logistics of your classroom. These two weeks will set up your entire year!

Related: 6 Ways to Create a Caring Classroom

It's so important to train your students on your expectations in the first two weeks of school. Read how I train my students in this post!

Expectations

It’s important for students of all ages to know what your expectations are. For the most part, students want to do well and want to be successful in your class. When you train them on your expectations, they feel successful because they understand what you want.

Academics

Train your students on what you expect academically. I tell my students that I expect them to always try their best. When I tell them this, I show them concrete examples of what it looks like when you try your best. We also discuss that everyone’s best is different.

A lesson I really enjoy teaching is “3-Star Coloring”. Now, I did not make this up and I do not know who did so if you know, put it in the comments and I’ll give credit where credit is due. During our 3-Star Coloring discussion, students learn that to try their best during coloring they need to stay in the lines (as best as they can), make the colors make sense, color until there’s no white space and use more than five colors. I ask the question “is this 3-Star Coloring?” many times throughout the year, but students know that this is an academic expectation and they know how to get their coloring to be 3-Star.

It's so important to train your students on your expectations in the first two weeks of school. Read how I train my students in this post!

Behavior

It’s also very important to train your students on your behavior expectations. Some teachers try to be stricter in the beginning of the year and then loosen up by the end. I like to try to keep my expectations the same all year-long. Students learn very quickly that when they do something extra, like helping a friend pick up their crayons or saying nice words, they’ll get to move their clip up. They also learn that when they are not so nice or are goofing off (after having a warning) they’ll move their clip down. I also do not tolerate any hitting, kicking, or contact of any kind (intentional, hurtful contact). Students know that if this happens, I will contact parents and they lose a privilege.

It’s important for students to know your expectations when it comes to behavior so they can strive for good behavior and be successful. They know what’ll get them in trouble and what gets them recognized.

Transitions

Especially for the little ones, transitions are key to a smooth schedule and believe it or not, you have to teach this. Before a transition, I’ll get everyone’s attention and have them put their hands on their head (so they’re not playing with anything at their table). Then, I tell them to clean up and either stay at their table or carpet, or move to one or the other. I teach students that to clean up means nothing is on their table. Crayons, pencils, colored pencils, scissors, glue etc should be in their pencil box and in their chair bag and whatever worksheet or book or activity should be put away in its place.

Kindergarteners often need to be reminded that this should be done in a timely manner. I’ve had some students start cleaning up and putting their crayons in rainbow order only to get throw into their chair bag and get mess up again. I help them move quicker by giving them a count down.

It's so important to train your students on your expectations in the first two weeks of school. Read how I train my students in this post!

Logistics

When I say logistics, I mean how your classroom is set up and where things belong. It’s important for students to know how to navigate your classroom so they can feel independent and successful and so you don’t have to clean up after them. I start teaching this on the very first day of school. I do this by giving my students a tour of the classroom. Of course they’ll forget where things are but after the tour, they have an idea what goes where in my room.

It’s also important to have an organized, well thought out classroom, so it makes sense to students. This means, they know where to get a new pencil if theirs breaks. It also means they know where to turn in papers that are done. Training students on the logistics of your classroom means you won’t spend time re-answering “Where do I put this?” (as much as you normally would.

 

The first two weeks of school are so important to a school year. When you take the first two weeks to train your students, you’ll set them up for a great year. How do you train your students on your expectations? Comment below!

Sneak Peek of my Ocean Classroom Decor Bundle

Have you started thinking of your classroom decor now that summer is winding down? I’ve had the same theme for 4 years (jungle theme) and I’ve loved it so much but I’m ready for a change! That’s why I created an Ocean Theme Mega Bundle for all my classroom decor needs!

This pack has everything you need to set up your ocean themed classroom. Here’s a sneak peek of everything that’s included!

Have you thought about your classroom theme for next year? Check out this sneak peek to my ocean classroom decor bundle to see all that's included!

Ocean Classroom Decor Bundle

Classroom Banners and Posters

This banner set comes with 5 ready to print signs and also is completely editable. Print these out and hang them in your classroom. The poster pack includes 7 encouraging, ocean related quotes that will motivate your students!

Table Names and Table Points

With this resource, you have the option of 10 different ocean animal names for your table groups! Also included is a group behavior management system with the table points signs. Simply laminate, hang somewhere easy to see and use an expo marker to give table points!

Schedule

The schedule comes with 36 subjects or specialties that are apart of your day plus 16 editable options so you can add specific things you do in your classroom that may not be included!

The Importance of Free Play in the Classroom

Have you thought about your classroom theme for next year? Check out this sneak peek to my ocean classroom decor bundle to see all that's included!

Calendar

The calendar includes 6 different ocean themed calendar pieces that you can mix and match and use all year long!

Circle Time Set

I love starting my day with circle because it sets the tone for the entire day. This set comes with a “Yesterday was”, “Today is”, “Tomorrow will be” chart, a “Last month was”, “This month is”, “Next month will be” chart and space for students to tell the weather, temperature and count how many days you’ve been in school.

Circle Time: What does it look like in kindergarten?

Classroom Jobs

This set comes with 28 ready to print jobs but is also editable incase you have certain jobs that aren’t listed. My students love the responsibility of having a classroom job and it makes my life way easier!

Give Students Responsibility: Classroom Jobs

Clip Chart

This has become a controversial behavior management tool, however, I love my clip chart and use this as an individual behavior management tool. This ocean clip chart has 6 different levels that students can climb or fall throughout the day.

Behavior Management Systems You Need in Your Classroom

Have you thought about your classroom theme for next year? Check out this sneak peek to my ocean classroom decor bundle to see all that's included!

Alphabet and Numbers

What is a primary classroom without an alphabet and number display? These sets are both ocean themed and will look awesome on your wall!

Word Wall

This word wall set comes with a word wall banner, the letters of the alphabet and 314 site words! These sight words are Dolch site words: pre-k through 3rd grade.

Birthday Display

The birthday display includes two options for a birthday banner, the twelve months labels and editable student labels. Student labels come in 4 different color options.

Birthdays in the Classroom: Celebrate in a Unique Way

Want your own ocean or jungle classroom? Click the pictures below!

Have you thought about your classroom theme for next year? Check out this sneak peek to my ocean classroom decor bundle to see all that's included!   Have you thought about your classroom theme for next year? Check out this sneak peek to my ocean classroom decor bundle to see all that's included!