What To Do on the First Day of Kindergarten

Everyone has their own way of dealing with the first day of school. It's always tough, but this is the routine that I have developed. On the first day of school, I always teach my students Zoo-Phonics, and read a first day of school story (hopefully about first day jitters- I like the book, "Will I Have a Friend?").

Then I get out my monkey puppet and read "Bono Goes to School." Bono, the monkey, helps me read the story, and he acts it out as we go along. Of course, he breaks every rule, and the kids howl with laughter! At the end, he always gets it right, and we clap for him, and then he gets a star to wear that I attach with velcro. The kids would listen to that story every day for a month, if we had time for it. There are other Bono stories, too. Fun! This is how I teach my rules.

Then of course, we sing some songs. I teach them my Jumpin' Numbers and Shakin' Shapes motions and songs. This is similar to Zoo-Phonics, in that there is a visual cue on the flashcard embedded into the numeral, and they respond physically to it. There is a song for each number, and shape. We can usually make it through zero-five on the first day, and then I add in the rest of the songs over the next week until they know them all.

Then we all settle down to color a page from the Bono book. The Bono book is all in blackline, so it is easy to make a coloring page for them to do when we are done, and they love that. The book even comes with a reduced size booklet so that the kids can make their own! Unfortunately, it is only reduced by half, so it's a lot of xeroxing, so we just color one page. After they finish coloring, I let them choose either unifix cubes or pattern blocks to play with, and I show them how to make a simple pattern. When everyone is done, it is usually recess time. We go outside, learn the rules for the playground, and then I give them a snack and they play. Don't forget to show them what to do when the bell rings to come in, and where to line up!

When we come inside, we read another first day of school story (I like "Miss Bindergarten") and then I teach them the procedures for playing with my toys and how to put them away. I let them play for a while, and then clean up. After that, we sing a song and get ready to go home. I make sure that I tell them what the arrival procedures are before releasing them.

We also role play what happens when they see their moms or dads, etc., coming to get them. We don't run away to them without telling me that they are going! They have to wait until I release each of them by name to the correct person. I make sure that I tell the parents that as well in the morning when they drop off their kids, so that they don't signal for them and expect them to come running immediately. I had a child disappear once the first week of school, and it is not an experience I want to repeat!
Heidi