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©The Mailbox ®
Celebrating a New School Year
Backpack Memory Test students’ visual memory with
this simple game. Display a child’s back-
pack and a few basic school supplies,
such as a pair of scissors, a box of
crayons, a pencil, a glue stick, and a
pencil box. Invite students to study the
supplies for a few moments; then ask
them to cover their eyes. Hide one or
two supplies in the backpack. Have
students uncover their eyes and ask
volunteers to name the missing items.
For an added challenge, hide all the
supplies in the backpack; then, as
students name each supply, remove it.
Tasty School BusIngredients for one: whole graham crackeryellow-tinted frostingsquare cereal pieces (windows)
2 mini chocolate sandwich cookies (wheels)
Preparation: Break apart the sections of
the graham cracker and then break one
section in half. Discard one half of the
broken section. Directions: To make a bus shape, have
each child place the graham cracker pieces
as shown. Then invite her to spread frosting
on the crackers. Direct her to add windows
and wheels to complete the bus.
CRAYONS
5
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The Wish Jar
Megan
Our ClassbyMs. Petersen’s Class
I want to play with blocks.Daniel
I want to learn to tie my shoes.AmyI want to make friends.
OliviaCelebrating a New School Year
My New Class Help students get to know their classmates with this class book. For each child, attach her photo to a sheet of paper. Help her write her name below the photo; then invite her to decorate her paper. Collect students’ finished pages and bind them to make a book. At group time, read the book aloud. Once students are familiar with their classmates’ names, cover the name on each page and encourage volunteers to name the pictured student.
Make a Wish This activity encourages students to think about things they want to do during the school year. To begin, assist students in brainstorming a wish list of things they want to do at school. Invite each child to choose a wish from the list as you write it on a slip of paper along with his name. Then have youngsters put their slips in a wish jar (a clean plastic jar decorated as desired). Set the wish jar aside. At the end of the school year, return each wish to the child who made it. Invite him to share his wish with the class and announce whether it came true.
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School
1
Activities
JasonAugust 25, 2015
JasonMay 27, 2016
First Day___________________________’SKeisha
First Day Fun Send these booklets home so youngsters can tell their families about their first day of school. Help each child personalize a copy of page 11. Instruct her to cut out the booklet backing and pages and then order the pages atop the backing. Staple the booklet for her and have her draw herself on the cover. Then read aloud each text page and have her illustrate the page.
Then and Now After completing this activity, tuck students’ projects away until the end of the school year. Give each student a 12" x 18" sheet of white construction paper folded in half. Instruct him to open the paper and draw a self-portrait on the left side of the paper. Label the drawing with his name and the date. File the finished papers for safekeeping. At the end of the school year, give each student his paper folded so that his drawing is facedown and the blank side is up. Have him draw another self-portrait and help him write his name and the date. Encourage each child to unfold his paper and compare his drawings to see the progress he’s made.
Celebrating a New School Year3
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Songs
School
Welcome, Everyone
Lead youngsters in singing this song to greet
their classmates. Repeat the song until each
student’s name has been used.
(sung to the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)
Welcome, welcome, everyone,
Everyone, everyone!
Welcome, welcome, everyone.
We’re glad [child’s name]’s at school.
Hooray for School! Little ones share their excitement about the
new school year when they sing this song.
(sung to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”)
A new school year is here!
A new school year is here!
Oh, hey! Let’s say, “Hooray!”
A new school year is here!
Celebrating a New School Year2
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Quick Tips
Celebrating
a New School Year
Calendar Time
• Tape a yellow school bus cutout to the end of your classroom pointer.
Centers• Have students find crayons hidden in a container of colorful paper shreds
and sort the crayons by color.
• Place toy school buses at your block center.
Decor• Display on a bulletin board personal photos and items to help students get
to know you.
• Display a large bus cutout. Attach a square photo of each student so he
appears to be looking out a bus window.
Good Behavior
• Reward your good apples with apple stickers.
Group Time
• Use colorful crayon cutouts to designate
seats in your group area.
Rest Time
• Encourage each youngster to bring a small stuffed animal
from home to be her resting buddy.
Transitions
• As each student gets in line, have him name a
classmate to line up behind him.
12
Crayon PatternsUse with “A Brand-New Pack” on page 8.
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11
a fu
n ac
tivity
Firs
t Day
____
____
____
____
____
____
___’
S 1
3
4
2
Scho
ol
my
teac
her
a ne
w fr
iend
Booklet Backing and PagesUse with “First Day Fun” on page 4.
©T
he M
ailb
ox®
10
Scurrying to SchoolName _____________________________________________________Trace.
Tracing
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SCHOOL
9
___________________________________’s
first day of school
was great!
___________________________________’s
first day of school
was great!
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_______________________teacher
_______________________teacher
_______________________date
_______________________date
8
A Brand-New Pack
Ms. Dalton’sClass
Provide each child with a white
crayon cutout (patterns on page 12) and
have her color her crayon her favorite
color. Personalize each youngster’s
crayon. Then post a large crayon box
cutout and the colored crayons on your
classroom door.
Welcom
e to School
Kelly
Eric
Leah
Tonya
Reyna
Luis
Barb
Holly
Javier
Ashley
Barb
Display
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Arts & Crafts
Marvelous Me!
To make this adorable self-likeness, staple
a small paper plate to a large paper plate
half. Color the small plate (head) to match
your skin tone. Then look in a mirror and
draw facial features to match. Next, glue
paper shreds to the head so they resemble
your hair. Then color the plate half so it
resembles a favorite shirt.
Janet Boyce
Shining Stars
Little ones get a surprise when they complete this back-
to-school craft. Use a white crayon to personalize a white
star cutout. On the first day of school, have youngsters brush
yellow watercolors over the entire star. As each child paints,
prompt her to watch what magically appears on the paper.
After the paint dries, display the stars on a space-themed
board titled “Preschool Is Out of This World!”
Janet Boyce
Cokato, MN
