Top Tips for the 1st Day of School - Back 2 School Link-Up

Welcome back for week 4 of my Back 2 School Link-Up. Thanks to all who linked up last week. This week's topics is:  Top Tips for the 1st Day of School.

The night before the first day back to school is always a long one.  Butterflies flutter in my belly and dreams of the first day wake me up multiple times throughout the night.

Here are a few tips to keep those butterflies at bay...

1. Prepare the night before.  Have your lunch packed, your clothes laid out, your car already filled with a fresh tank of gas. 

2.  Get to school early the first day.  Even if it is just a few minutes early, the extra time will provide you with a chance to go over your plans for the day, take a deep breath and relax.

3.  Come to school prepared and with a strong knowledge of what your expectations are for students.  Make your expectations clear.  Students want a teacher who is firm, fair, and consistent.  They need boundaries set and they want to know where those boundaries are.

4.  Think about which procedures and routines will be most important the first few weeks and teach them immediately.  My main focus the first few weeks is mastering those procedures and routines.  Don't stop when students kind of get it....stop when they are doing what you'd like well.  It will make classroom management one hundred times easier in the future.

5.  Most importantly, take a deep breath, relax your tense muscles, and smile.  Have fun!  Chances are, the students are more nervous than you are!


What tips would you give other teachers for the first week of school?