• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

A Quiet Simple Life

Sallie Schaaf Borrink

  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Subscribe
  • Categories
    • Christian Faith
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Gracious Christian Parenting
      • Gifted/2e Parenting For Christians
    • Homemaking
      • Free Homemaking Printables
      • The Prudent & Prepared Homemaker
    • Homeschooling
      • Relaxed Homeschooling
      • Homeschooling a Creative Child
      • Homeschool Mom Encouragement
      • Homeschool Planning
      • Gifted/2e Homeschooling
    • The Library
    • Our Cozy Family Life
    • Simple Living
    • Unit Studies & Resources
      • Unit Studies
      • Unit Study Printables & Worksheets
      • Unit Study Books
      • Unit Study Activities
  • Tags
  • The Shop
    • Explore The Shop By Category
      • All Products For Women
      • All Products For Children
      • Clip Art & Digital Papers
      • A Quiet Simple Life Series
      • Poetry
      • Editable Homeschool Planners
      • A Full Year Shopping Pass
    • Cart
    • Digital Products Terms of Use
    • Your Account Details
      • View Your Orders
      • Go To Your Downloads
      • My Account
    • Lost Password Help
  • Donate
  • Go To: SRA
You are here: Home / Our Cozy Family Life / Simple Classroom Activities For the First Day of School

Post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure statement.

Simple Classroom Activities For the First Day of School

June 6, 2013 by Sallie Borrink
Be The First To Comment
100         
100
Shares

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The first few days of school set the tone for the entire year. Getting started with fun, informative, and relationship-building activities for the first day of school can go a long ways in developing a positive classroom environment.

Here is a list of simple to prepare activities that work well on the first day or days of school. It includes activities for helping the students get acquainted with their new teacher, quiet activities for the introverts, and funny activities for building camaraderie.

All About the Teacher Get Acquainted Book

Make a book about yourself. It can be done in a premade book or sheets in a three-ring binder slipped into page protectors. Read it to the students and leave it out so they can look at it.

You can include your hobbies, pictures of vacations, or favorite sports. It’s also fun to include pictures of your family and/or pets since students find this part of your life especially interesting!

The Teacher in a Bag

Another way to introduce yourself to the class is to do the teacher in a bag. Assemble a group of items that tell about your life and put them in an opaque bag. Pull the items out one at a time and share a sentence or two about each one. Or you can have students guess why they think you put something in the bag and what it represents.

Teacher Q&A Time

Give the students the opportunity to ask questions. This is especially good to do at the end of the morning after you have covered a lot of ground, but haven’t covered everything. If a student has a burning question on his mind, he has the opportunity to have it answered.

It is also wise to let the students know they can come to you privately with their question if they don’t want to ask it in front of the class.

Some Quiet Down Time

The first day is full of emotions and information. It is also the first day of getting back into the school groove. Give the students some quiet down time to read, color, draw, etc. without any pressure. The introverts in your class will love you for it!

Decorate a Desk Nametag

Prepare ahead of time by writing each student name on a namecard. Give students the opportunity to personalize their nametag with crayons, markers, colored pencils, or stickers. Use precut strips of clear shelf paper to attach them to the desks when the students are done.

Read Aloud

Choose an appropriate book to read aloud. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Voist is a great book for this at almost any grade level. Even though many students may already be familiar with the book, it makes a good discussion starter regarding the fact that everyone has a bad day at times.

Tell the students that if they are having a bad day at some point during the year, they should tell you. And, likewise, tell the students that if you are ever having a bad day, you will tell them. It opens the doors of communication in the future and it also makes the teacher a real person.

Procedures, Procedures, Procedures

Procedures will make or break a classroom. The first hour of the first day of school is the time to let the students know that this is a classroom with procedures. They will find it comforting to know that the classroom functions in a predictable way.

Abbreviated Morning Meeting or Circle Time

Most classrooms have a morning time that consists of going through the same information each day such as the date, weather, counting, thematic information, etc. This can start the very first day of school, if only in an abbreviated fashion.

Room Rules

Let the students know what is expected and the consequences for not meeting those expectations. Show them where the room rules are clearly posted. Keep the rule list short and positive. Ask for questions to find out if any of the students need something clarified. If appropriate, role play the rules so they are perfectly clear.

Pass the Paper Roll

Pass a roll of toilet paper around the classroom and instruct the students to take off however many pieces they would like for the next activity. When everyone has some, instruct them to pass their piece to the person on the left. And then pass it to the next person to the left. And then to the person on the right. And then two people to the left. When they are done passing, each student counts how many squares of toilet paper they have. They must tell that many facts about themselves.

(Since some students might be familiar with this activity and only take one piece, the passing element eliminates students trying to outwit the teacher and adds a bit of fun as they realize they’ve been had!)

There are so many great ways to get the school year off on a positive note. Here are the rest of the posts in this series I’ve written to help and encourage new teachers!

  • How To Prepare Your Classroom For The First Day Of School
  • Classroom Management Strategies for New Teachers & the New School Year
  • Teacher Tips For a Successful First Day of School

Have a great year!


100         
100
Shares
Category: Our Cozy Family LifeTag: Practical Tips From My Teaching Career

Related Helpful Content For You

World Breastfeeding Week and the Formula Nazis are Loose in NYC

Our Experience With Childlessness

In Our Cozy Home This Week – No. 68 – Building Up Christian Women, Being Useful For The Kingdom

Birth Plans, Post-Partum Depression, and Getting Real About Being a Successful Mother

Previous Post:Teacher Tips For a Successful First Day of School
Next Post:Kindergarten & First Grade Fall Unit Ideas, Crafts, and Books

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Thank you for your comment. I read and appreciate each one even if I am unable to respond.

Sidebar

I’m Sallie, Christian wife, mother, homeschooler, and homebody. Do you desire to create a quiet simple life for your family? If so, I invite you to explore my helpful content about the faith-filled and home-centered life. Please start here. Welcome! ♥ 

Categories

Find It Here

My Other Website: Sallie’s Rebuilding America

Popular Right Now

  • Classical Conversations Negatives And Why We Didn't JoinClassical Conversations Negatives And Why We Didn’t Join
  • Home Office Ergonomics - The One Choice That Will Save or Cost You Thousands of DollarsHome Office Ergonomics – The One Choice That Will Save or Cost You Thousands of Dollars
  • Occupational Therapy For Dysgraphia Or Writing ProblemsOccupational Therapy For Dysgraphia Or Writing Problems
  • Margin, Rhythm, and Decision MakingMargin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • The Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food RecipesThe Ultimate List of AIP Comfort Food Recipes
  • Understanding Eosinophilic Esophagitis and ResourcesUnderstanding Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Resources
  • The Cozy Life In America (and Why I Prefer It To the Danish Hygge)The Cozy Life In America (and Why I Prefer It To the Danish Hygge)
  • Eyewitness To History - Firsthand Accounts Of Historical EventsEyewitness To History – Firsthand Accounts Of Historical Events
  • Free Printable Prayer Journal PagesFree Printable Prayer Journal Pages
  • My Beautiful and Peaceful Christmas Music Station On PandoraMy Beautiful and Peaceful Christmas Music Station On Pandora
  • Banana Grape-Nuts BreadBanana Grape-Nuts Bread
  • Red Bliss Potato SaladRed Bliss Potato Salad
Receive new post notifications from A Quiet Simple Life

Powered by follow.it

Popular Today In The Shop

  • Rocks & Minerals Copywork – Print & CursiveRocks & Minerals Copywork – Print & Cursive
  • True or False? Activity - ApplesTrue or False? Activity – Apples
  • True or False? Activity - U.S. PresidentsTrue or False? Activity – U.S. Presidents
  • Pilgrims Sentence Scramble Printable ActivityPilgrims Sentence Scramble Printable Activity
  • Making Tally Marks Activity - ApplesMaking Tally Marks Activity – Apples
  • Cursive Handwriting Practice - 100 Sight WordsCursive Handwriting Practice – 100 Sight Words
  • Shapes and Colors Bingo Printable Game 3x3Shapes and Colors Bingo Printable Game 3×3
  • Thanksgiving Fun Facts CardsThanksgiving Fun Facts Cards
  • 21 Days of Scripture for Simple Living21 Days of Scripture for Simple Living
  • Scrambled Sentences Worksheet - GardenScrambled Sentences Worksheet – Garden

Join The Conversation

  • Birdie on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Peggy on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Alison Ward on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Patti Gardner on Margin, Rhythm, and Decision Making
  • Mrs. White on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Pam on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Cheryl on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Lauren on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Amanda on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Marilyn on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Sue Elvis on Happy Birthday To Me!
  • Peggy on Late Winter Days at Home

Blogging Is Better With Blinkies!

My Blogroll

  • Adventures In Keeping House
  • The Blessed Hearth
  • The Bluebirds Are Nesting On The Farm
  • By Sun and Candlelight 
  • Coffee Tea Books and Me
  • Creekside Cottage
  • Elefantz
  • Exquisitely Unremarkable
  • Generations Before Us
  • Heavenstretch
  • Homemakers Thoughts
  • Hope and Thrift 
  • A Housewife Writes
  • Jane Austen's World
  • The Legacy of Home
  • Like Mother, Like Daughter
  • Love My Life
  • Mama's Learning Corner
  • Mountain Housewife
  • The 1940s Experiment
  • North Ridge Farm
  • Rural Revolution
  • Something From Almost Nothing
  • Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth
  • Stories of an Unschooling Family
  • Sugar Pie Cottage
  • Thinking About Home
  • Thrive On One Income
  • Upon Hope
  • Vox Popoli
  • A Working Pantry 

Lifetime Visits

17,545,753

Archives

Contact Me • Privacy Policy • Disclaimers & Affiliates

Copyright © 2023 · A Quiet Simple Life · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

Scroll Up