Back to School Tips and Ideas for New Teachers

Hi there friends, it's Emma from Clever Classroom. 

Recently I asked my Facebook fans what tips they would give a new teacher to help them save some money and get organized for back to school (see post here). 

I wasn't surprised to read that so many of them knew of different ways to save and get organized. 

Here are ten tips for new teachers, well any teachers. 

1. Be prepared to spend money. Most of our Facebook fans mentioned that they spend between $200-$1,000 per year. 

2.  Join Scholastic to get discounted books. Try their Teacher Express store by clicking the image below.

Scholastic Teacher Express

3.  Visit yard sales and second-hand stores to find discounted books and games. You can search Craig's List or your local paper for the ones in your area. 

4.  Visit discount stores like The Dollar Store or The Dollar Tree for storage containers, games, craft, stationery and even furniture.

Try Dollar tree's online store here.

5.  Save your receipts for taxation purposes.  You might like to use the new app; Expensify to scan your receipts. Here's a link to their website.  Here's a link to their FREE app.

6.  Ask your school if they have a budget for teachers to purchase consumables and or resources for the classroom. 

7.  Find a veteran teacher that is willing to help you. You might be able to borrow items. 

8.  Decide on a theme or even a color theme and shop for those items. 

9. Look for sales online and in catalogs. 

10.  Shop on Teachers Pay Teachers, there are so many resources that are bundled to help you save. 

Find 20 more tips over on my blog.

Check out even more tips and ideas from the authors here at the Primary Chalkboard. 

Be sure to follow us here at the Primary Chalkboard to see more tips and tricks from our authors. 

Thanks for dropping by. 

Helping Students Keep Their Desks and Materials Organized

Hi everyone!  Just popping by with a quick tip for Back to School.  I just finished my fourth week with my 2nd grade students, and we are chugging along.  Funny how I always forget how much work it is to start over every year, and teach 24 new students all of my expectations!

No, BTS is hard work….HAARRRRD WORK!

One of the things I really stress in my classroom is organization and responsibility.  Students know when I ask them to come down to the carpet, that I will only tell them ONE time what it is they need to bring with them. If they don't hear me, or don't pay attention (which is more often the case), they know they need to ask a friend or use their observation skills to figure it out on their own.  

My students are called down to our whole group area using a 50 second Mario Bros. song that I downloaded from Rick Morris' behavior management website (see link at end of post). If they are not down to the rug 1) sitting on their backside 2) criss-cross applesauce 3) eyes, ears, and mouth ready to learn, and 4) with all of the materials I asked for, they will turn their behavior card.  In my opinion, 50 second is more than enough time to get everything they need, and walk down to the rug….that is…IF, they are organized! 

Showing students exactly HOW to stay organized has been super helpful in reducing the number of students who arrive late to lessons, or who just can't find that paper you gave them yesterday.

So, in the beginning of the year we do a few big, guided, "clean up" sessions of our desks and materials, each week.  The first time I asked students to "clean and organize" their desks, many of them looked just like they did before we started cleaning.  Ugh!

Obviously, some of my little darlings simply did not know what "organized" meant, or looked like.  So, I started taking pictures of exemplary models using my phone.  I walk around while students organize 3 areas: 

1) their pencil boxes, 

2) their classroom folder

 and 3) the inside of their desks.  

After I take the pics, I show them to my students under my docucam.  HUGE difference!  Students work really hard at keeping themselves organized because they want to be the example I show to the class (and I let them pick a small treat before we go home).  

RESULT: Pencil boxes look tidy.  Class folders contain all their papers (and said papers are neatly placed inside).  Desks are orderly.  

Looking for more information on Classroom Management?

Read more about Rick Morris and musical transitions HERE.

Check out My Classroom Management board on Pinterest HERE.

Thanks for stopping by,

Nicole
Mrs. Rios Teaches

Back to School Routines!

Hey everyone! Karen here from Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten and I am here to talk about one of the most,

 if not THE most important piece of Back to School planning....

ROUTINES!

We all know,  both big and little kids alike need to be taught routines. Need routines modeled for them. Spelled out if you will. R-O-U-T-I-N-E-S.

Every step, every thing.

One of the best pieces of advice I remember getting way back when I first started teaching was ASSUME they know NOTHING. Good stuff right there, write that down.

But, if you don't want to write that down, that's okay, I've got you covered! Just hop on over to my blog, Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten, where you can print out my MASSIVE list of Back to School Routines to help keep you assuming nothing and creating law and order in the land of your classroom.  

It is geared towards Kindergarten, but can definitely be used in any elementary grade.

Have fun teaching! :)

Karen

Back to School {Tips, 20 Freebies eBook, and Swag}

We want to have the best school year of our lives.  We would like the same thing for you!  So we have gathered together some tips to "Bring you Bliss"  We are dying to know what your top tip is. Please comment with what you do to keep yourself sane, happy, and in a state of bliss during your first few weeks.

 In addition to tips that just might make this the best school year ever, it's nice to have a few activities to engage your students, get them back into routine, and help them all get to know each other better! You might also want a few teacher's helper pages that help you mange the chaos during the start of a new school year!  We want to help!

Presenting The Primary Chalkboard eBook! Just click {here}, print, and go! 

We are glad that you have joined us for our maiden voyage on this collaborative adventure. We hope that you want to join us and leave your back to school tip in the comment section,  follow this AMAZING blog, and enter the giveaway below.  There will be three winners. One will get a $50 TpT gift card, another will get a $50 Erin Condren gift card, and our third winner will have their choice between a 1st or second grade bundle!  Wooo-Hooo! Join in the fun on the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway