As teachers, I think we all want to make our new parents and students feel at ease at the beginning of the year. I am constantly racking my brain during the summer to think of different ways I can help my new families feel welcome in my classroom. I mean, dropping your baby off at kindergarten {and being dropped off at kindergarten} is a HUGE deal! It may sound sappy, but it really is like leaving a chunk of your heart with someone else for almost 8 hours a day! {I may or may not have cried leaving my 2 year old at Mother's Morning Out, so I'll be a mess when she starts kindergarten!}

The very first thing I do after getting my class list {and I realize some don't get it until the day of Open House, but I'm blessed to get mine in advance} is write a postcard to each of my kids. Who doesn't love getting mail?!? {You can grab these here for grades prek-5th} These postcards are an easy way to get students and families excited about school!

I also plan on sending more postcards throughout the year. Click the picture below for a copy of the generic postcard :). 

At my school, we first meet parents at Parent Orientation. We have orientation on a Thursday night {before school starts on Monday}, and only parents attend. When parents walk in, I make sure my room looks clean {even it means shoving tons of stuff into the closet 30 minutes before} and inviting. Parents sit at their child's seat, and I have this sitting on their desk.

The folder has the 1,000 forms {not really, but close - ha!} that parents need to fill out and return. The orange card on top is the one thing I have them fill out that night and return before they leave. I also have them fill out this transportation form before they leave.

I am a fanatic when it comes to knowing how kids go home, so by getting this paper before school starts, I can be ahead! You can grab the info card, transportation sheet, and a questionnaire here. The transportation sheet is specific to my school, but you may be able to use it :).
I also have a little gift for the parents. It's nothing fancy, and an idea I got from the teacher I mentored with in high school, but it's thoughtful, and parents appreciate it. They love that a little extra time was taken to make them feel welcomed. I buy a big bag of apples, use some tulle I already have, and a cute tag {you can grab it here}.

The next day, we have Open House for students to meet their teachers. It is always such a crazy day, and I often feel like I don't get to spend enough time with each family. To help me feel better about making parents and students feel positive about the new year, I have this little set-up at their seat.

This is where I did spend a little more money than I probably should have, but after hearing all the sweet comments from families, it was more than worth it! I gave my kiddos two Mr. Sketch markers {they love them}, and usually I attach a balloon to the smelly markers. However, this year, I wanted something a little more personal, and I decided to give each family a book. I was able to get The Night Before Kindergarten on Amazon for fairly cheap {if you couldn't spend that much at one time, you could order a few each month during the year and save them for next year}, and I wrote a little note inside each book. I'm telling y'all - parents appreciated this more than I ever expected! They read it, and sprinkled their ready confetti {I got this idea from Denise at Sunny Days in Second Grade - the confetti is inside the card with a sweet poem} the night before school started and many told me it was a sweet way to celebrate school starting together with their child.

The last way I try to make the transition into kindergarten special and meaningful, is to have one last thing for parents on the first day of school. In my school, parents can bring their child to class the first day. When families walk in, there is a nametag, coloring page {from my Let's Get it Started pack}, and a pack of tissues for parents. The tissues have a little poem attached {grab it here and here - there are separate boy and girl versions}, and it gets them every year!

I know it may seem like a lot, but I truly think putting in the extra effort at the beginning {even when you're tired behind tired} really does set the tone for the year, and parents and students will appreciate it!

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Vickie

Whew! The last two weeks have been a whirlwind! We survived parent orientation, open house, and 2 full weeks of school! I've got so many things to share with you that we've done, but I thought I would start by sharing how I implemented Kagan these first weeks. Many of you asked lots of questions after I wrote this post about how I incoporated Kagan last year, so hopefully, I can give you some more ideas!

In a nutshell, this is why I love Kagan...

Before I introduced an actual structure, I taught my kids about "Think Time." Think time is huge in Kagan {and research shows its benefits}, and to help my students understand that think time is not talking time, I taught them that before we discuss with partners or teams, we put our fingers on our head for think time. They rocked it!

The very first structure I introduced was Inside-Outside Line. This is most definitely NOT an easy structure to master. However, I really wanted to use it to sing our good morning song each day, so I figured I would dive right in! Basically, half the class lines up and faces the other half of the class {also in a line}. Then, we sing one round of our song {Dr. Jean's Hello Neighbor}. After that round, one line stays "planted,' and the other moves one person down. The last person goes to the other end. This goes on for 3 more rounds until the song is over. Later, I'll use this structure in conjunction with Quiz, Quiz, Trade and others to review skills. The kids love singing the song with each other, and I love that each child interacts with random friends, not just kids they knew prior to start kindergarten. Look how happy they are!

The second structure I introduced {because we use it multiple times a day} is Rally Robin. Basically, this is where partners go back and forth discussing a question/prompt. These can be just for fun {we did types of candy}, or academic {character traits, words that start with a letter, etc.}. This structure is great, because no one can hide. Every student has to talk, and every student has to listen {thus meeting a ton of our speaking/listening standards}. When I went to Kagan for Little Learners this summer, the presenter suggested giving young students talking balls when teaching Rally Robin to give them a visual of when it was their turn to talk. I ordered these little smiley balls on Amazon, and they worked perfectly! I love how engaged my kiddos are in just the first week of school!

Another structure similar to Rally Robin that I used these past 2 weeks is called Primary Interview. Usually, this structure is done in a team, but we used it in whole group when we introduced it. The kids are working with their shoulder partners and they interview each other based on a question/questions I give. Since most of my students are not accustomed to having to really listen in a conversation, I started small. I gave my students one question to ask their partner, and they had to be a very good listener, because they later shared with the class what their partner's answer was. Later, partners will share with their teams, which cuts down on how much time sharing takes. Some of the things my partners interviewed each other about what their favorite food, their favorite thing to do, and their favorite color {we were doing this for fun, but you can absolutely use this as an academic structure as well}. To make the structure a little more fun, I bought these inflatable microphones on Amazon, and my kids loved them!

Next week, I'll introduce more structures, and review the ones we already know. I am already seeing the positive benefits in my classroom, and I would love to hear from you if you try them!

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Vickie