Products for Prep: Back to School Ideas

It's beginning to look a lot like... school supplies!

I can't deny it any longer - school is quickly approaching and it's time to get busy and start prepping for next year.

If you're a local, you might have seen me at Jacques Toys and Books today! It was Teacher Appreciation day and I got so much cool stuff for back to school! I got stickers, stickers, stickers!! For composing with stickers and for those ~~pesky little~~ sweet Kindergarteners at the beginning of the year who need some external inspiration.

I'm so excited because I got a goodie bag filled with stickers, die cuts, pockets, pencils and even a math card game. And a huge desk calendar (yay!) on which I will doodle all year long! Plus, I got to spin the wheel and get a prize - I won a bulletin board set. Fun!

The sweet lady running the spinner was so excited because I was the only music teacher to win a bulletin board set all day. The ladies at Jacques are so cute. ;-)

And as a bonus, from one of the vendors, I got to take a selfie with their cute photo booth and put it on Facebook for a discount on my purchase.

If you know me, you know I like a good deal, so here is the proof! I got $2 off my purchase of stickers and I got to keep the cute little mustache. "You must pay the rent!" "I can't pay the rent!"

Here are some of my ideas to get you excited about back to school!

The first set of cards I use each year is the sun and moon for loud-soft (nighttime voice / daytime voice). I use the cards without words in the visual preparation stage - students have to select the card that they hear: "Did I use my daytime voice or my nighttime voice?"

Here's another life-saver that I use ALL year:

I'm required by my district to put up "I Can" statements (think: Objectives in "I Can" language) for each class every week. That's a lot of statements! I made these little half sheet statements so I don't have to keep writing out the same thing over. and. over. again. amen.

And hopefully this will keep my whiteboard space open for doing draw alongs and practicing writing note heads and important stuff. :-) I love a deal, so I put together $-saving bundles for K-2nd and 3rd-5th. (They won't all fit into one file!)

I will also be using my new polka dot Dynamics cards as a spectrum. They printed out so pretty and crisp! I will post pictures as soon as I get back in my room (Monday!).

I have to admit, I've been planning and thinking all summer. What order should I teach the concepts? What extra activities can I stick in to cover the new TEKS? What pieces do I want my choir to learn? What warm-ups to go with those pieces? What goodies should I make to spice up Kinder? It is never-ending! But I love it!

Happy planning to you!

What have you found to be helpful for the beginning of the school year?

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