Getting Ready for Back to School

It’s that time again! Have you started getting ready for back to school? I’m linking up with Where the Magic Happens for another great week of the Diggin’ series. This week I’m going to be looking at some ways that I get ready for back to school. These  pictures are from last year because we still have two more weeks before we go back to school.

This area is one of the central locations in my room. The students daily work is put in the tray. The first aid kit, flashlight, and nurse’s notes are  located here. This is also where my safekeeper box is kept. This is part of  the Conscious Discipline program that our district uses. 

Friends and Family Board

One of the first things I always do is setup my friends and family board. This is a great way to make the students feel like this is their classroom. I send a note home at the beginning of the year for the students to bring a photo from home to put on the board. The kids love seeing each other’s family on the board. I put my family picture on there also. This is one of the great ideas from Conscious Discipline. You can read more about how I use Conscious Discipline in my classroom here.

Commitment Board

This part of the board is also an idea from Conscious Discipline. The students come up with 3-4 rules for the classroom. I then put them on the board. Each day the students came in they would take their picture and stick in next to the “rule” they were going to commit to do their best on for that day. Then at the end of the day if they stuck with their commitment they would give themselves a pat on the back. If not they would say “Oops!” and try again the next day. Below is a copy of the commitment board from the year before.

Calming Lotions

These lotions are for the kids to use when they are stressed, sad, hurt, or just need a little extra something. You can learn more about them here  (one of my previous posts). There is also a free download of the labels there.

How I Get Home

This is a great way to see how each child gets home daily from school. I took some ribbon and used a glue gun to put the different ways students get home. The students can then attach a clothespin to the picture of how they get home.  I have a monster theme in my classroom so I made the cards with monsters. If you would like a copy of them click on the picture below. I hope you were able to get some good back to school ideas.

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Don’t forget the TPT Back to School Sale is going on Monday and Tuesday. Everything in my store will be 20% off. Then use the promo code to get another 10% off.

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The Diggin’ Series Giveaway is coming soon! Make sure to come back and check it out. It is going to be huge!

Have a great week!