100 follower FREEBIE and another linky.

First off.... thank you to all of my followers, new and old!  I hope you are enjoying this blog as much as I enjoy reading all of yours.  Blogging has really inspired me to be a better teacher.  I wanted to show my appreciation to all of  my followers by offering my behavior calendar free of charge.  I am going to keep this item FREE on my TpT store for one week so snatch it up now.  Please let me know if you see any changes that need to be made.  Please don't forget to enter in my giveaway.  You only have one day left!!!

How my behavior calendar works??  My students actually color in their own smiley face at the end of the day if they have had a great day.  If any students have misbehaved I do color the appropriate color and write the number of the behavior code listed on the bottom of each monthly calendar.  We keep each month's calendar in our folder for the entire month.  It is so quick and easy because most of my students are doing the work themselves.  I only have to color those few students who had a little trouble that day.

I hope you can find a way to utilize this in your classroom.  Enjoy!

Now onto another great linky party!
Rachel over at Teaching with Z is having a First Day of Kindergarten linky party.  If your a Kindergarten Teacher you might not want to miss this one.



My first three days of Kindergarten is probably a little different than most Kindergarten Teachers.  In my county we do something called staggered start. This means...1/3 of my class will come to school on Monday, 1/3 will come on Tuesday, and then another 1/3 will come on Wednesday.   Let me just tell you, this is AWESOME!  We no longer have assistants in the classroom so this helps with first day jitters and criers.  It allows us to get to know our students in a small group setting.   We get to have so much fun our first day of school.

I usually start the day off with manipulatives or coloring sheets at their table.  This way when the students walk in they have something to keep them occupied.  After our morning settles down, we come to the carpet area to sing songs and discuss our classroom rules.  I model for them how to raise their hand, walk in line and use the bathroom.  And then we practice, practice, practice.  I have to admit this part of the day is a little boring but it is necessary!!!!  The sooner your class knows the rules and routines of the classroom the better off you will be.  Of course we continue to discuss and practice these rules and routines throughout the first few weeks of school.

I always end the first day of school with some fun activity.  We might play a game, go on the playground or play in centers.  I like to leave the day on a good note.  This way when they see their parents at the end of the day they tell them how much fun they had on their first day of school.  (They usually forget about all the boring rules and routines we did in the beginning of the day.)

Some of my favorite first day reads include: Miss Bindergarten, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, If You Take a Mouse to School, and The Kissing Hand. I always read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and do a painting/name activity.  I like to take a break from them constantly coloring on the first day.  With a small group it is so easy to do a painting activity so I choose to paint instead of color.  My students love when I bring out the paint!

I can't believe the first day of school is coming so soon!!!!!!!!  Thanks for reading about my first day of Kindergarten.