This has been a BIG week! We officially found out that we will be starting the school year out virtually. Fortunately, I will be able to go in to my classroom to teach and I am sooooo thankful for that. We are getting some new technology, so hopefully that makes this go a little smoother for us as well. I’m still wrapping my head around the idea of starting kindergarten out virtually and working out details, but I’m sure it will still turn out to be an amazing year!
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| Here I am administering screenings in my Kentucky Wildcats mask! I ordered one with the clear front, but I couldn't breathe! 😂 |
Wednesday was my first official day back to work. It was also the day I got to start meeting my students….in person!!!! I scheduled a time for each of them to come in individually because I had some screenings I have to do. Since they aren’t going to get a real “first day of school” experience, I decided to jazz things up a little and try to make it special. This was their first time seeing the classroom, so I made sure their desk had a name tag (it was a bit short notice, so I just had to use what I had but it worked) and they had a cubby with a name tag. They were so excited because they got to check out their space and sit at their desk. On their desk, I had a clipboard with a form their parents had to fill out, a flip book with back to school information, a book about kindergarten, a few cute little gifts, and a cookie.
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| The kiddos were so excited to sit at their own desk! |
I wanted everything to look fun so they would have something to be excited about. I am so fortunate to have some amazing support from my community and had enough books donated to give each of my students a fun kindergarten book! I made an Amazon wish list, posted it on Facebook, and so many people purchased a book to help my kindergarteners have a special year! 💙
One of the fun little gifts on their desk was water beads. The labels were a FREEBIE from TPT and turned out super cute! I can’t wait to hear what the kids think about it once they get their little bag home to try it out. The bubbles were purchased from the dollar store (6 for $1!) and the tag was also a FREEBIE on TPT. So, that was another cheap gift that turned out cute! And I’ve got to give credit to my Kinderbestie, Mrs. McGinnis, for hooking us up with the bubbles!
The flipbook is something I love to do every year. There are many versions out there, but this is the one I have been using the last few years. I can get all kinds of info out to the parents in a fun way, and it only uses half the paper! It always looks exciting and colorful, so they actually want to read it! It’s such a great way to get a lot of information out there and answer some of those questions they all have. You can get this one from Chalk & Apples here on TPT.
The last item on their desk was the beautiful cookie that was made by a local bakery. They turned out so cute and I just thought it would be fun for them to have an individually wrapped treat! Thank you so much for Karen’s Konfections for making those, especially on such short notice! All her goodies are amazing, so click the link to check her out on Facebook!
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| Excited about that cookie! 🍪 |
I also wanted the students to be able to have a special photo memento since they won't get a traditional "first day of school" picture. So I threw this backdrop up on my whiteboard, printed some colorful letters, blew up some balloons, and it all turned out perfect!
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| Posing in front of the cute backdrop I created from bulletin board paper and balloons! |
My first few days back were very busy, but it did my heart well to be back in my classroom and meet my Kinderbabies! I’m excited for this new school year and now it’s time to get back to planning for Virtual Learning. 💻
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