Hard to believe 'back to school' is just around the corner from now. Let's be honest, we all wish setting up our room was as simple as asking Alexa to make it happen... but, alas, it's not. Here are a few hacks to make the transition a little bit smoother.
1) I love to give my new kiddos some back to school treats. These could be given out at meet the teacher, on the first day of school, or as a "congrats you survived the first week" reward. Really we both deserve something for that last one! I love these simple pencils tags and these free bookmarks! Cheap & yet fun to receive!
2) Last year I spruced up my student cubbies with two different colors of contact paper from Dollar Tree. Such a cheap DIY project to revive some old and boring cubbies. If you measure and cut them all at once you'll get the hang of the accurate peel & stick quickly! Look what a difference it made!
3) Beside my beautiful cubbies is where I house our book baggies for Reader's Workshop! These hooks were a life saver this year! They kept bags organized, off the floor, and anyone could put a classmates bag away in the correct place. These hooks were originally not being used. There were rows and rows of them in our copy room. I put in a work order and voila- here they are! I snagged these bags on Amazon and stamped each kid's name on theirs! They were cheap and lasted all year. They were also great for sending home lots of miscellaneous things the last week of school. Just another thing I gift my students with!
4) Have you ever made a class directory? It's a game changer! I include a release form with my back to school paper work. All families are given the chance to opt in to the class directory with mailing address and/or email address. It's so helpful for referencing when you need to contact parents. You can share it with any other teachers that work with your students- SPED, EIP, ESOL, OT, etc. I know I am always being asked "Do you have an up to date phone number for so and so?" The best part is, parents can mail out birthday invites directly and they don't get passed out at school! haha Obviously, run it by your administration to make sure it's allowed at your school. My directory is pictured in the bottom left corner of the pin below.
5) Freshen up your supply baskets with a magic eraser and some new labels! I have found these to be so helpful! The kids can easily keep their baskets organized throughout the year. For a teacher who is a bit of a neat freak, this is a god send! Within this product there are lots of options and pairing. You're bound to find something you need!
Best of luck with the start of the school year! You're going to nail this year! If you have hacks I need to know about, please drop them in the comments below.
No comments