Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Bargains Found and Ideas for "Meet the Teacher Day"

I love to read all the blogs about wonderful bargains found at different stores. Well, yesterday I was able to score a couple myself and I am so excited about this one especially!!

This is a rolling metal cart that has an electrical outlet in it!! And it works!! And it only cost $9.88 at my local thrift store! I might paint it or not. I am thinking we will use it either as an overhead projector stand for station work or we can use it for our "Elmo". Not sure yet.

I also hit up my favorite Dollar Tree and found sets of magnetic letters. We give these as a goody at student orientation or "meet the teacher day". Below I have attached the list of ideas we give the parents with the set of magnetic letters and a copy of the scavenger hunt we use. Don't leave without downloading them if you like them!!

I found this little four pack of signs that I thought could work well during different parts of the school day.
I am thinking we could take the "Quiet" sign with us in the hallways or cafeteria. We could also teach our students to watch for us to stand up and hold the "Please Line Up Quietly" sign when we are at recess as a signal for them to come off the playground and get ready to go back inside. The "Eyes On Me" sign could be used during whole group activities as a reminder to listen and watch quietly. And, the "Please Raise Your Hand" sign could simply be held up when there is too much calling out. Since I teach kindergarten, I know I will have to go over what each sign says and means several times before the students will catch on. I like these because they are a way of communicating with our students silently. I found these at Dollar Tree!!

Okay, so here is what we do during student orientation. Our students are invited to our classroom a couple of days before their first day of school. This is a teacher work day for us. We ask the students to bring all of their supplies. We set up places for them to put the supplies around the classroom and even in the hallways for the big items like paper towels, kleenex, etc. We try to greet each student as they come in and direct them to their seats. At their seats, we have a copy of a scavenger hunt for them to complete with their parents. Once they have finished the scavenger hunt, they will have put away all their supplies and become familiar with where they will hang their backpacks. As a treat for completing the scavenger hunt, we give each student a set of magnetic letters to take home. We wrap the letters in clear cellophane bags tied with a ribbon. We attach a list of 15 ways to use magnetic letters. This list is for the parents. It gives them several ideas on how to help their child work and learn with the letters at home.
Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt

15 Ways to Use Magnetic Letter

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