Feelings about starting school

The first time going to school or starting a new grade can be exciting. It is a special time filled with the smell of fresh school supplies and the anticipation of a new classroom. There is also a little anxiety and a great way to diffuse these feelings is to remind the child that they are not alone. Reading a book about starting school / a new grade or a poem can help children feel less alone and anxious. 

It is normal for children to express their feelings of sadness and learning how to address those feelings helps them to build self-confidence and independence. Assisting with problems will help students learn and grow in a positive way from the stress. The change in routine can be tough for some students and the fear of the unknown can be stressful. Students who can not clearly articulate their feelings might feel overwhelmed.

What do children get most anxious about when it comes to starting or returning to school? Children can get anxious about lots of different things from missing their summer friends to taking the bus and not having the right supplies for school.  Being away from parents and about the unknown is also common. They may worry about making new friends, big kids and getting to know a new teacher. What appears to be rather simple activities such as eating lunch can cause anxiety when they are not familiar with the environment. 

Children may have stomachs in the morning before school or in the evening before going to bed. Changes in behavior or attitude may appear and the child may not be able to say what might be causing them to feel anxiety or stress. Children may become more argumentative or ask more questions. These questions may be unrelated to school, making it more difficult to pinpoint the underlying stress and anxiety related to starting school or returning to school.

After a couple of weeks of school, children usually feel less nervous and more comfortable with the school routine. If the student's anxiety appears to be worsening or lasts for several weeks, it is important to seek help as soon as possible. Letting your students know what will happen next is a great way to build that important trust.  Schools can communicate with parents so that they have knowledge about what is going to happen during the first weeks. Helping your students to express their feelings will help them to perform better in school and display fewer behavioral problems. Look for worksheets and activities to help students express their feelings. Nothing is more important than helping your students feel safe in your environment.

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Sales and Giveaways, Oh My!

Hello!  Every single resource in my store will be 20% off!  Starting Aug. 2 and 3. If you use the promo code (BTS22), TPT will give you an additional 5% off!

That is a total of 25% off of all of my resources, including bundles. This amazing offer will only be available for two days.  You need to be quick. So how about getting your cart ready now? 

  To help with the purchasing of Back to School resources for your classroom, a team of amazing teachers and I have grouped together to gift ONE awesome teacher with a TPT gift card!

  Prize includes 1 $100 TpT gift card.  Giveaway opens  August 6.   Link will be posted in a few days for joining.

REMEMBER: each entry counts as ONE entry, the more links you complete, the higher your chances of winning!! The giveaway will end August 13! 

 

Good luck!

Assessment Products for the Start of School!

August is Here! Are you thinking about what activities to use when your students are back in the classroom? It can be daunting to prepare for back to school but also tremendously fun and stimulating to plan the start of a new year. Students need time to adjust to the learning environment and the first weeks can be tough. You may feel overwhelmed by the desire to show students that learning in your classroom is exciting while you also want to ensure that you can support the learning needs of all your students.

You need to know if your students are learning so assessment is a vital aspect of teaching. A quick assessment of sight words at the beginning of the year is important to see where the children are starting out. Sight words, high-frequency words, core words or popcorn words are important to master. These words represent a high proportion of English text and a child will gain confidence, in the beginning, to read a text if they already recognize a high proportion of the words. Look for resources that you can use to make assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. An editable resource gives you the freedom to include special words that you have talked about in your lessons. 

Assessments do not have to be time-consuming and boring. They can be engaging and fun. Using Boom™ cards is a great way to make sure that students have a wide selection of activities during the first weeks and is also a great way to include some critical thinking and challenges during the stage when you are trying to get to know your students. What is their favorite breakfast food or color? Boom digital task cards can also be used to assess students’ readiness skills such as identifying shapes, colors, upper and lower case letters and number recognition 1-10. 

Boom™ cards are like task cards. The self-grading activities have been designed to be interactive  The cards are loved by students. Creative ways to get acquainted with your learners will help your students to explore different aspects of themselves as their differences and similarities. You’ll be amazed by the amount of information you learn from All About Me activities by using colorful digital task cards. 

A data binder and boards are a great way for the students to see their own growth throughout the year. A data binder is a smart way to help the students take responsibility for their learning. It can also be used for parent conferences and having well-documented information about students' needs and abilities allow schools to provide students with a detailed plan that sets out targets and strategies to help the child learn. 

All products may be found in my store.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher

A Warm Welcome to a New Exciting School Year!