Two Stars and a Wish {Getting to Know Everyone & Staying Organized}

It is almost time to go back to school! I am linking up with some fabulous teachers to share some great ideas in the Two Stars and a Wish blog hop.

The first week of school can be a little chaotic. There are supplies to sort, items to label, and 20+ little students to get to know. So, I wanted to share some things I do to make the first week fun and easy.

Getting to know your students is important. Knowing their likes and hobbies will allow you to engage them throughout the year.... if Little Johnny loves baseball he will enjoy solving baseball themed word problems in math.

One 'get to know you' activity that I love is NAME ART.

It is a minimum prep activity (love that too!).

All I do it type my students name in bubble letters using Power Point.

Print their names out and have them decorate the letters with things the love. While they are working on this you will have a few minutes to do those tedious first week tasks (you know- organizing 20 packs of paper so they fit in your cabinet). Then, when everyone is done have the students share their name art.

I like to hang their name art somewhere in the room.

You have gotten to know you students, not it is time for them to get to know you! I like to play a little game... 25 Facts About Your Teacher! I tell the students 25 facts about me, and when I am done I try to see if they can remember them all. I have played the 'game' several ways...

 *Students can call out facts until you get to 25

*Students can work in pairs/groups to list as many as they can

*Students can list as many as they can on their own - see who can list the most

I created a Power Point that I use to share my facts. This ensures I won't forget a fact as I am introducing myself and allows me to quickly check off the facts that they can remember.
You can download this editable template HERE for FREE!!

My wish for this school year is to start off being organized and STAY organized!

The focus of my concern is all of my Essential Question and I Can statement posters!

I post these daily, for each subject. I store them in sheet protectors inside a binder. They often go from the board to the pocket inside the binder and not put away until it is busting at the seams. I've got them organized by standard, so I plan to pull all the EQs and I Cans for the next week on Friday and put away the last week's at the same time. I think having a set time will help me stay organized.

If you are interested in EQs and I Can statement posters for ELA, Reading, & Math [K-4] they can be found in my TPT store {HERE}.

I have enjoyed sharing some of my STAR ideas and my WISH for organization with you! If you liked my ideas please follow me on Bloglovin' and my TPT store.

For more STAR ideas from about 40 different bloggers browse the link-up below!

An InLinkzLink-up