From Kindergarten to High School, I was the girl begging to buy school supplies a month in advance, desperate to meet my new teacher, and so ready for the first day of school in September. Not much has changed! But as a new preschool teacher (going into my fourth year of owning my own school) I get to be excited from the other end. I find that, as a teacher, by the time July hits I am tired and ready for a break to re-charge, wondering how I ever made it through the whole school year. But then, by the end of August, I am ready to have the kiddos back... and I usually have a bunch of new ideas that I am bursting to share with them! My friends are forced to help me build outdoor kitchens and sand boxes, look for special items I know the kids will love, or listen to me throw around ideas for themes and projects. By mid-August I usually feel like my life has no purpose without the preschoolers around, so I fill my time up with projects for the Fall! I thought I would start this new blog with a post about preparing for a new school year. When I opened my school I kept thinking of things every day once school started that I needed to get, or prepare, or plan. This year I feel pretty prepared!
Restock Our Supplies
I have been in love with school supplies for my whole life, and it is fun to have an excuse to buy so many as a teacher! I always watch for the Teacher Appreciation sales, and then go crazy :) I also make sure to order all of our curriculum books in August so we will have them at the start of the year. One thing I love about Fall is new crayons. There is nothing like a new box, all sharpened and ready to color. I have a lot of parents who ask me about that crayon organizer in the picture. I LOVE this thing. I found it in a dollar bin and it encourages the kids to work on both color and sorting skills. I do not keep it organized, the kids do! Often I see crayons thrown in a basket or bucket in classrooms, which makes it hard for kids to find the color they want, but in my mind it is also is a missed opportunity to work on two important preschool skills with a real-life situation. I love anything that can get more than one learning goal accomplished at once!
Welcome Packets
It is always nice to give parents a Welcome Packet. I try to give them some fun information about Fall, and a peek at all the fun things we will be doing throughout the year. It is a great way to send home my first weekly newsletter, and I also love to send home a paper with all the kids names/photos for the year (I have to make sure to ask parents to email me a photo of their child ahead of time). I started this last year and the kids enjoyed practicing the names of their new friends at home with their parents. I think the parents liked it too! A welcome packet is also a great way to communicate our Show and Share schedule, as well as send home a final daily schedule for reference. Each year I tweak our schedule a little bit! I love The Scholastic Reading Club for preschoolers, and they usually send me Fall book-orders (and sometimes free books for my class), so I send those home for the first day for any interested families. I also send home a reminder of all the Holidays, when the Preschool will be closed. Even though this is in my Family Packet that went home earlier, parents seem to misplace this information. I make a "Return" side and "Keep At Home" side to their folder so that I can also send home any paperwork that needs to come back to me (like immunization forms and USDA food program forms). I always love putting these together with good music and a cup of chai... it sure makes me excited for the new school year :)
Add Something New to Our Space!
I try to find something to improve our physical space which makes both the returning kids and myself excited for a new year. Each year I try to add something to a different area of the school...and since I think it is very important to display the kids artwork (all skill levels of artwork, all around the school, in a variety of ways!), I decided to work on my art displays for this Fall. I have framed the kids' artwork the past two years, but it is always so difficult to change out so the frames I have became permanent. I went on a search for fun and easy ways to display and change child artwork. I came up with two awesome ideas, and added both to my preschool this Summer. The first was colorful clipboards...such a fun and easy way to change pictures each week! The second was to take the glass out of frames and glue clips to the backboard. I am excited to be able to change pictures each week so easily. The kids make me pictures daily, and I always want to hang them up, but my fridge can only take so much. This is perfect for savoring their style and artistic growth throughout the year.
Think Outside!
Each year I also try to find a way to improve our outside play space. We have a large yard with garden areas, grass to run around in, chickens to play with, and a lot of play activities. But, there are always ways to improve. I remembered my love for pretend baking with dirt and sand as a preschooler and decided it was time that we had sandboxes and a nicer outdoor kitchen. We had a Fisher Price plastic kitchen the first three years I was open but it seemed like more and more pieces were falling off. And there wasn't much I could do to repair broken plastic. Luckily I have a handyman in my life and he helped me create my dream toy kitchen (that I modeled after one I saw in a Family Fun magazine)! I spent a weekend searching local Antique shops for fun, affordable, and REAL cooking tools for the kids to use for their outdoor baking. I also wanted a way for them to get water on their own to mix with the sand and I found a great water pitcher with an easy-to-use spout. I can't wait for the kids to try it out!
Think About The Kiddos!
I think it is important to stop and take a moment to think about the kids! As an early-childhood educator I realize that I play a huge role in the life of the children I work and play with. They love me and I love them. Many kids give me cards before school gets out but I also often get cards tucked into my school mailbox during our vacation. I try to make sure to send them cards back to let them know I miss them too! It is funny that by the end of Summer my life feels empty without them around. When I get cards with pop-up strawberries (my all time favorite thing, and what I named my school after) and tulips made by one of my preschoolers my heart just melts.
Is there anything you do to get your classroom or school set up for the Fall? Favorite memories or helpful tips for a successful first day? We can never be too prepared!