Where do you begin when there is so much to do?

Should we make something new for Back To School Night?

Every year it seems I tend to do similar things for back to school night to spruce up the classroom. This year, Back To School Night is less than a week after school begins so time is not plentiful for large, elaborate (yet beautiful) crafts.
No problem! I came up with this little three dimensional writing craft that will add a little liveliness to the student's desks for when the parents make their visit. Instead of having the students draw a picture of themselves I am going to glue down a photo of them. This will also be helpful to the parents when they walk in to find their child's desk.  All they have to do is look for his/her picture.

It is a perfect start of the school year activity as well because it helps kids focus on a goal they have and some of their favorite things about being in school.  Plus, 3D anything is a bonus!!

I know that sometimes at the beginning of the school year, students are on all different levels of learning so I also included unlined schoolhouses for students to draw pictures instead of writing.  

Whenever we do any writing projects in the beginning of the year, I always brainstorm words we might need and write them on the board. To help out the little writers a bit, I included a "words you might need" list right on the page.  

You can visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store and download one to use in your classroom. 

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Organizing Student Information

This year I'm determined to get more organized. Starting the year off in an organized way will hopefully give me the momentum I need to keep it up.  Usually somewhere around October/November I start to lose it a little bit but not this year.  My motto will be, "Everything has a place and a place for everything."
The first thing I thought would be useful is a questionnaire to collect student information.  I put together a form of questions for the parents to fill out with some information I think would be beneficial to know at the start of the school year.
My plan is to keep these triple hole punched in a slim binder near my desk.  Maybe I will take it a step further and scan them into a file to store on my computer?? Not sure yet about that one but I have high hopes for my organization this year.

Here is a free download of the Student Information Sheet I am handing out.  I am happy to share if you can please follow me on TPT and leave me some feedback :)

Have a great weekend!