Making the First Day of School an Easy One for New Students

Back to school time will be here before you know it, and with it often will come a lot of back to school jitters. There are several things that teachers and parents can do in order to make the first day of school easier for students. Take a look at the list below and feel free to add your own tips in the comments section below the article.

Prep the classroom

One thing that many parents have said about the classrooms, on the first day of school is how cluttered they look. Parents feel that teachers try to cram so much into one small room it makes it look very cluttered. Instead of covering every inch of the walls with posters and displays, focus on making the classroom a comfortable one. Some teachers personalize the room a bit by making a comfortable reading area in the room, and putting the kid's names, around the room. Make a place for everything, so that all supplies and items are easier to find. You can create a welcome back display that will include these students' names, and a friendly message.

Welcoming activities

Plan out some fun welcoming activities, that will help each of the students get to know each other. One teachers I spoke with suggested setting out a bunch of age appropriate board games. Remember that kids are coming from summer vacation so you will have to gradually get them out of play mode. There are plenty of educational board games that you can incorporate into your first day activities.

Post the rules of the classroom

One thing that many teachers stress is the importance of putting the rules up in the classroom. This way one of the first activities that you can do with your students is to go over the rules. This helps to ensure that the school year starts out on the right foot.

Prepare a welcoming letter for parents

If you make the parents feel more comfortable about the school year, it may help the students as well. You can create a special letter for parents that tell them a little about what their children will be learning. You can also include what is expected of their children during the course of the year. Parents also like reading a little bit of information about the teacher. Having an about me section in the letter can certainly prove to be helpful, and be sure to include contact information for the parents.