The Corriganite Nation: Back to School Prep

A new school year is finally here! I know everyone always says this, but... Time really does fly when you're having fun! I'm not sure if I should be sad that summer is ending, or if I should be happy to meet all my new Corriganites. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Now that it's back to the grind it seems like my to do list is never ending. It's almost as if once I mark off one thing from my to do list I'm adding at least 3 more! Does this work EVER end?!

I have found that it is so much easier to prep things I'll need later in the year at the beginning of the year when there more (hahahaha!) time. It saves time later in the year, and we all know that extra time is a hot commodity once school starts. Here is a list of things that I prepare before the school year starts so that I can ~~at least feel like I~~ save time later in the year:

1. New student supplies

My school has students constantly coming and going. Some times it feels like you have a revolving door - once you get a new one an old one is leaving! Preparing new students in advance has been a HUGE time saver for me as the year goes on!! This may be the best thing ever for schools with mobile populations, and it's not even that complicated. It takes almost no time to prepare several extra sets of new student supplies at the beginning of the year because you're making it for your new students anyway. Then once you get a new student you just give them a bag with all the things they need and they're good to go! Once the year gets going the LAST thing you'll want, or even remember to do, is gather all the supplies your new student will need. Save yourself a ton of time and prepare a few extra bags, or a lot of extra bags if you get a lot of new students as the year goes on!

Quick side note - These pictures are from last year, and I took these pictures SUPER quickly this morning so it's not my best work. Don't judge me based on my poor photos!!

Folder on each student's desk on Meet the Teacher Night

On Meet the Teacher Night I have folders, which I make from construction paper, on each student's desk. I write their first and last name on the front of the folder, and it holds all of the information that the students need to take home that night. I put any papers that they need to complete next to the folder in hopes that the families will complete the info that night.

Getting to Know You Form

This is an old Getting to Know You form that I used the past two years. I have updated it this year to add some clip art and new fonts that I have. I had a hard time finding a form that included all of the information I wanted so I used what I needed from several forms that I had received from other teachers. I will post about my new forms after my Meet the Teacher Night in a few weeks so stop by then to see the makeover and pick up the new form for free!

Everyone needs a Student Handbook!

Breakfast and Lunch Menu for the year.

These journals are not included in the packet, but they are inside the file for new students. I created the labels, which you can pick up for FREE in my TpT shop. Click on the image to check it out!

We also have a Literacy Folder, which I could NOT find for the life of me in my new student supplies from last year. I'm not sure how that happened, but it looks the same as the other folders. It said "Literacy Folder" on a red folder. These labels are also included in the freebie in my TpT store.

That is what the new student supplies look like all together. I store them in the mailbox in the cabinets if there aren't any extra cubbies. I just pull it out when I get a new student and the new kiddo has all the supplies they need!

2. Birthday Bags

This isn't a new idea, but it is one that I am so happy that I stumbled upon last year. It is such a great time saver as the year goes on, especially if you're like me and can never keep track of your students' birthdays. I prepared about 30 birthday bags last year with little goodies inside to give to my students when I hear their name on the announcements ~~at their completely planned birthday celebration~~! I still have some from last year, so I don't even think that I'll need to prepare any more this year. If you prepare more than you need you might not want to include any food since it will probably go bad. In my birthday bags the student gets a birthday card (glued to the front of the bag so I can write on it), a bookmark, and a pencil. Nothing too crazy, but enough for the student to feel special and recognized on their birthday!

3. Absent Student folder (new this year!)

We all have those students who are chronically absent, and if you're like me you ~~always~~ never remember to send home make up work that they missed. In my defense, most of the stuff we do in class is in journals or other interactive activities so there isn't a ton of stuff that I can send home! Anyways, I am going to glue an absent folder sheet to pieces of construction paper so that when a student is absent for more than 1 day, I can put the things they need to make up in the folder along with a note about when the assignments are due or any other special instructions. I think that this will be a real time saver, and beneficial for my students so that they can make up the work they missed while they were out.

I haven't made the folders yet, but I will as soon as I get the construction paper. Click the image to pick up the list for free!

4. Anchor Charts (also new this year!)

Oh, anchor charts. They are such great resources for students to use, but when you are making several a day it can get old real quick! I make most of the anchor charts with my students, particularly in math, writing, and grammar, but there are some anchor charts that I can pre-fill in ahead of time. I have anchor charts for the reading genres and strategies that go along with the reading curriculum, and I can at least write the definition of the genre and strategy ahead of time.

I will leave plenty of space where I can add in information from the students' input, but I think writing the definition for all the genres and strategies I'm going to use in advance will save a ton of time!