Common Core Freebie #2 On the Way!

I am back from the best four days you can imagine in Vegas! I am washing my clothes and I am packing up to head for Chicago and the primary conference on Common Core. I catch a flight early in the morning. I am exhausted but pumped to go on to the next event. I am leaving the freebie I promised you so you can start to get your ducks in a row, preparing to go back. I know some of you start back soon. Where did the summer go? I am not ready for this but you probably are:

Drum roll please.... This freebie is not a big deal but you can use it on the very first day before they go home so the parents do not think they cried all day. You know what I'm saying. They act so depressed and then they look around at a million kids their own age and decide to join the party (or not). Do you always have one that cries forever? He is always in MY class. Stick with me on this. His birthday is in the fall and the idea of sitting on a carpet and listening to a teacher depresses him to the core! I hope that little boy does not show up in your room this year! Honestly he always has a parent that fills my ear with how much he knows and how smart he is. Oh well... the life of a kindergarten teacher! Stop laughing.

This is just enough literacy on the first day. Make them ahead of time in case your class is hard to manage. That means run them off and fold them up yourself. Hint: Never ask a five year old to fold up a book while they are crying! This is not guided reading at this point but you can read it "my turn" and "your turn" or all together blah, blah. Have them touch the dots as you do it and with all the drama you can pull together act shocked that they have been in school one day and can already read! Amazing!

I also made a necklace that they can color and wear home so mom and dad can appreciate that their day was fun even when they left them sobbing! Right?

Be sure to read them a great story about school before doing these activities and you can break them up  and way you see fit. What do you think? Can you use this?

What do you do the first day that is super cute? Leave me a comment and I will post the freebie as soon as I get back from Chicago! I ran out of time... gotta finish packing.

I will post about these conferences next week. You won't want to miss it... trust me.