• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

KindergartenWorks logo

  • Teaching Kindergarten ▾
    • Back to School
    • Guided Reading
    • Math
    • Literacy Centers
    • Activities & Ideas
  • Work Smart ▾
    • Classroom Setup
    • Teacher Tools
    • Classroom Management
  • Shop
  • About

Kindergarten Teaching Ideas » Kindergarten First Day of School

Kindergarten First Day of School

By Leslie Simpson · About 5 minutes to read this article.

Share
Pin
Email
468 Shares

There is so much wrapped up into the first day of school in kindergarten. A kindergarten first day is important to teachers, students and parents!

Here is what I do to help keep myself on track the first day of school since we have no routine, have a lot of kindergarten procedures to learn and we have the attention span of a goldfish.

I say that lovingly and {most} kindergarten teachers will agree.

How I Plan for the First Day of Kindergarten

I use a lesson plan bracelet to keep my plans directly in front of me so that I never have to leave my kinders to see what the next three things are I want to cover on this kindergarten first day of school.

I’ve got pictures from the night before school to show you what I have ready and prepared and this is my cheat sheet to help me stay focused for the day. There are no times listed since I have no idea how long any of these items will take me with the new group of kinders, but I try to use my general sense of kindergarten time-space continuum to plan smart.

We know that it feels a little bit like herding cats the first few days of school and we’re laying the foundation for a year of tremendous growth.

kindergarten first day of school - KindergartenWorks

So what is on this bracelet of mine you ask? Well, let me share it with you.

I made two bracelets this year, since my wrist is small and I wanted a tight fit. I simply broke it up at lunch so I had my am bracelet and pm bracelet. {Almost takes me back to when I taught half day}

I jot down in note form what makes sense to me and plan in this order:

TEACH move TEACH move TEACH move

First Day of School Lesson Plans

The Basics

We start by ourselves since we say goodbye to parents outside as part of our morning routine. I have them start with their stuff since that’ll be the way we start our day and then I move right into teaching them about the bathroom in our classroom.

{Seriously?} Yep.

There is always a kinder (or seven) who have to use it right away so it’s the best way to get them started off using proper procedures right away and sets them all at ease.

kindergarten first day of school - KindergartenWorks

I can plan in an extra recess into these first few days and it is a great morning break. I teach procedures like how to blow your nose, using your elbow germ-catcher and using a kleenex to get pesky nose germs out.

I’m not going to expect that someone has taught them these things, but I can expect them to do it now that I have taught them. Nose picking in our classroom, is so.not.allowed.

This was my first year starting kindergarten with a projector, so that comes with it’s own set of introductions and we do a “lite” version of the calendar.

Classroom Expectations

Before we’re too far into our day I go over the classroom expectations along with both the rewards and consequences. I find it helps us start the year off smoothly and then I can begin to hold them accountable since the ground rules are set.

It comes down to that we are here at school to learn and so every choice we make needs to work towards that and there are consequences for making choices that prevent that in ourselves or others.

I try to use natural consequences first and always reinforce that the 2 things in life we can control are our actions and our attitudes.

kindergarten first day of school - KindergartenWorks

Plan in Time to Play

Oh yeah, and I plan in play time.

I schedule it regularly for the first two weeks of kindergarten.

I use this time to snap a photo of each child that will eventually make a class list for specials teachers, substitutes as well as our class name chart and word wall.

kindergarten first day of school - KindergartenWorks

And our afternoon is relatively short (about 2 hours).

I plan an activity, more procedures (so we know what to expect at the end of the day and dismissal) and an activity if time provides that can always get finished in the morning.

kindergarten first day of school - KindergartenWorks

Plan a Flexible Ending to the Day

Mrs. Miner’s Secret Gluing Techniques is my end of the day rescue. We can do it rather quickly {for some} and can finish it in the morning {for others} and it helps make the point of gluing big globs.

We’ll use our new found technique on day two to glue a small heart onto a kissing hand hand-print {with large stamp pads} to make our learning how to glue dabs have a product.

Notice we opted for practicing using a glue bottle and scissors aren’t anywhere to be seen. Scissors enter my world on day three when we learn how to use glue frames and gluing dabs in four corners to put items together.

We will use a modified version of this lunch expectations craft to practice our new skills and by day three I have a better idea of who to target for individual attention with scissors {for behavior reasons and fine motor}.

That’s what I’ve got on my list. How about yours?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

You may want to get this tip and 8 others sent directly to your email over the next 2 weeks with my free Back to School Bootcamp course. You’ll get my best on starting kindergarten and be on your way to feeling more prepared than ever!

How to Prepare to Teach Kindergarten - Back to school Bootcamp Free Email Course

More Starting Kindergarten

  • Kindergarten First Day Setup Photos
  • 12 Tips to Start a Successful Kindergarten Year
  • Alphabet Identification

Beginning of the Year Activities

  • Pete the Cat
  • Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
  • Swimmy
Share
Pin
Email
468 Shares

Kindergarten Teaching Ideas Back to School, First Day

About Leslie Simpson

Leslie is the teacher behind KindergartenWorks. She believes in teaching kinders how to be pretty incredible along with teaching them to read, write and think for themselves. She enjoys drinking hot tea, making mud pies with her three kids and sharing what she's learned with teachers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wendy Murch says

    July 14, 2019 at 6:54 pm

    Tanya,
    I love your idea about using books to introduce your most important procedures. Although I have been combing many pages of your blog about this I’m still not clear on how you put your books together. Could you give me some information about that? I would love to have these ready this year for my kindies! Thanks

    Wendy

    Reply
    • Leslie @KindergartenWorks says

      July 16, 2019 at 1:00 pm

      Hi Tanya, thanks so much for letting me know that wasn’t easy to find! I’ve got three examples online for you to check out:
      1) Bathroom – https://www.kindergartenworks.com/classroom-management/classroom-procedures-bathroom/
      2) End of the Day – https://www.kindergartenworks.com/classroom-management/classroom-procedures-end-of-the-day/
      3) Pic only / Lunch – https://www.teachjunkie.com/management/back-to-school-lunch-procedures/
      As I mainly used these multi-step processes to teach with a book. I took photos of the steps (usually starring me!) and then added words on each page using Microsoft Word or powerpoint/Google Slides. I highly recommend them for teaching multi-step things at the beginning.
      Does that help?
      – Leslie

      Reply
  2. Tanya says

    September 08, 2013 at 10:52 am

    I have to tell you, I used your bracelet idea this year. I had at least 3 teachers say, “what is on your wrist?” And, when they looked at it, they were shocked at the simple brilliance of it! LOL Teachers are funny, and easily impressed. Thank you for the great idea. BTW, I teach first grade, but my new firsties come from half day kindergarten, so my first days are also like herding cats! LOL

    Tanya ☺
    First Grade is Fantabulous!

    Reply
    • Leslie @KindergartenWorks says

      September 08, 2013 at 12:19 pm

      Thanks for sharing Tanya – that’s awesome to hear how something so simple made a difference and perked up the ears of others. Enjoy the first few days with your cats too 😉
      – Leslie

      Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

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

Primary Sidebar

Let's organize, think and teach smart so you can make learning fun, age-appropriate and the cool thing to do.

Ready? Hold tight to the beauty in teaching kindergarten so they will love it and you will too. I'm Leslie - welcome! Have we met yet? ➤

Popular Now

  • 7 Christmas Books for Kindergarten You Don’t Want to Skip
  • 73 Cool Pete the Cat Freebies and Teaching Resources
  • The Truth About Kindergarten Classroom Management

Shop Printable Resources

Teacher Shirts For K Teachers

Footer

Learn to organize, think and teach kindergarten in smart ways. Make learning fun, age-appropriate and the cool thing to do.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

© 2019 KindergartenWorks

Information

  • Newsletter
  • Printable Resources
  • T-Shirts
  • Contact
  • Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Topics

  • Back to School
  • Classroom Management
  • Guided Reading
  • Guided Math
  • Literacy Centers
  • Teacher Tools