It’s the middle of summer, and I know thinking about the first day of school is probably the last thing you want to do right now.
But every year, there are three things I set up well before the first bell rings. Not because I’m trying to win some overachiever award. Because skipping this step always comes back to bite me in week one. If you do these now, future-you in August will be so grateful.
1. A visual schedule, printed and laminated before the year starts
Even if your roster shifts. Even if your daily routine changes in week two. Having this ready on day one means you’re not trying to design and print it while you’re also learning fifteen new names.
A visual schedule gives your students something predictable to hold onto immediately, before they even know you, your room, or their new peers. For many of our preschool, early intervention, and special education kids, that predictability isn’t a nice extra. It’s the thing that makes the whole day possible.
I use my own CLASSROOM SCHEDULE CARDS for this every year. Print once, laminate, and they’re ready whenever the year throws something new at you.
2. A calm corner or break space, decided before kids ever walk in
Pick the location and the contents now, while you still have the headspace to think it through calmly. If you wait until a student is mid-meltdown to figure out where the calm space is and what goes in it, you’re trying to build calm in a moment that’s the opposite of calm.
This doesn’t need to be elaborate. A small rug, a few sensory tools, a visual card showing how to use the space. That’s enough to start. You can always adjust once you know your actual students and their actual needs.
These CALMING STRATEGIES might be useful for you to implement in your classroom.
3. One simple data collection system, chosen in advance
Whatever works for you. A clipboard, a binder, an app, sticky notes filed at the end of the day. Pick it before the first day. The first two or three weeks of school go by fast, and if you’re still deciding how you’ll track progress as it happens, you’ll lose information you can’t get back.
I personally use a variety of easy assessments, but my go-to definitely centers on these FILE FOLDER GAMES! They are engaging, easy to use, easily accessible, and students don’t feel like they’re being assessed- just having fun!
None of these three things take very long to set up. But all three take much longer to fix once the year is already underway.
Now, do I have all three nailed down perfectly every single year? Of course not. Some years the calm corner doesn’t get finished until week three. But I try, and that’s really all any of us can do.
What’s the one thing you always set up before the first day, no matter what? I’d love to know.
Happy you are here,
Mary Kay
