Tips and Tricks for Back to School

Back to school—it's here!

There are many emotions and thoughts about returning to school: excitement, joy, pressure, sadness, and anxiety, to name a few. How you feel depends on your role—whether you're a first-year teacher, a veteran teacher, or maybe it's your last year; a new student in a district; a graduating senior; or a parent dropping your child off for the first time. Returning to school means something different to everyone. Let's make this back-to-school the best one yet for everyone involved!

Tips and Tricks for Teachers to Make the Beginning of School the Best It Can Be:

Being the best teacher you can be can mean so many things. To me, it means:

• Being prepared.
• Approaching each day with excitement and a positive attitude.
• Genuinely caring about my students and their families.
• Committing to being present at school every day.
• Encouraging each student to succeed and ensuring they have the best possible experience that year.
• Building strong home-school relationships and setting goals for each child.
• Personalizing learning to reach each student and allowing them to learn from mistakes.
• Practicing mindfulness.
• Embracing a growth mindset.
• Continuing to learn and attend professional development.

These are two articles I've written exploring various ways to engage students and ignite their excitement for learning:

• Get Students Excited About Learning
• Set High Expectations for All Students

Organize Your Classroom:

An organized classroom is bright, colorful, engaging, warm, and welcoming—a place you look forward to every day. From my very first year of teaching, I decided that my classroom would be my second home—because, honestly, for all of us teachers, it truly is! I wanted my students to feel excited about coming to class, just as much as I wanted to love the place where I spent my entire day.

Organization encompasses how your classroom is arranged, the weekly planning you meticulously prepare, the daily schedule and routines you establish, the procedures you implement, and how you manage your classroom. I often describe my classroom as "organized chaos" because I taught four- and five-year-olds, but amidst the energy and movement, my students knew what to expect, were fully engaged in their learning, and the environment buzzed with activity.

This article prepares even veteran teachers for a fantastic first week:

• How to Prepare for the First Week of School

Teach Procedures:

Procedures are the steps for how to do something. I believe that sometimes procedures and routines are incorrectly intertwined. While they do go hand in hand and should be established simultaneously, procedures require repeated teaching and reinforcement. If not executed correctly, they must be revisited and practiced again.

Some procedures that need to be taught from the beginning include: how to enter the classroom, what to do upon entering, how to take attendance, how to line up at the door, how to wait for restroom use, how to sit during group time on the carpet, how to engage in center activities, how to clean up, how to prepare for lunch, and how to get ready to go home. These are just a few examples that must be ingrained from the first day of school and reviewed until they become routine in the classroom. If any procedures are missed or performed incorrectly, it's essential to go back and teach them again. Often, procedures need to be re-taught after winter break or long weekends.

Teach Routines:

Routines are the predictable sequences of events that occur each day, where students know what to expect next, and there are no surprises. Daily routines are especially crucial for young children as they provide a sense of security, nurture, and confidence in themselves and their learning. A routine dictates how your classroom operates. For instance, group time might start each morning, followed by carpet time, center activities, a restroom break, lunch, recess, and so on. A routine resembles a daily schedule and should be closely followed.

Teach Transitions:

Transitions involve moving from one activity or lesson to another. When you teach your procedures and routines well, transitions happen smoothly. You can use various methods for transitions: bells, musical instruments, playing the same song each time, clapping, or even a specific word. My students knew when to begin cleaning up their centers because I played the same song every day. They also understood that after the goodbye song during group time, they would transition from carpet time to their assigned center to start learning. When they heard the bell ring, they knew it was time to get ready to go home.

Here is an article about teaching transitions in the classroom:

• Totally Terrific Transitions

Build a Classroom Community:

A classroom community begins forming on the first day of school. It comprises members who respect and support each other, understanding that everyone is different and makes mistakes. Each student has expectations, duties, and responsibilities that contribute to a positive learning environment. Team-building activities and icebreakers help students connect with each other. Show-and-tell, student of the week, and All About Me Bags foster understanding of diverse cultures and family backgrounds. Classroom jobs give students responsibilities and a sense of ownership. Building a strong classroom community is essential for all members, including the teacher.

Here are two articles on building a classroom community of learners:

• Planning, Managing, and Running a Classroom Community of Learners
• Building a Classroom Community of Learners

Over Plan:

Ensure that you are prepared for all situations and types of students as you begin back-to-school activities. Remember, some students have never been away from their families. You are the very first person they are in contact with outside their immediate family. Plan fun, engaging, and developmentally appropriate team-building activities and lessons that you can present and work on as a group. Build that community of learners so they have ownership of the environment.

Build Relationships:

Home-school relationships are vital. I started building relationships with my families from the very first meeting, which is the back-to-school night before school even began. When you build relationships with families, you feel better about calling home, sending home notes, and giving families ideas and advice. Families also begin to trust you and your ideas and realize that you really do have their child's best interest in mind.

These are two articles that I have written on how I involved families in my classroom:

• Involve Families Through Social Media
• Family Forums

As you prepare for back-to-school, remember that you set the tone for the classroom and the entire year ahead. Make this your best year yet! Try something new from this article or the embedded resources, explore fresh ideas in early childhood education, collaborate with colleagues, and take time for self-reflection. Each year brings new students, families, learning opportunities, and themes—embracing change is essential in our dynamic profession of teaching. Start today with a growth mindset!