First Day Jitters

Tomorrow is the first day of school and I couldn't be more excited!  I feel more prepared than ever and looking forward to meeting my new group.  Plus, I get to see my old students and catch up with them on how their summer was.

For now... Meet- Minnie.  She is the newest member of our class.  I think class pets are so fun.  One of our student jobs is pet/plant caretaker.  I hope the kids love her as much as I do.  I know, I know:  "just a fish..." but pets are family.  So this one better not die!

I'm trying a few other new things this year.  I found this great lesson idea from  A Cupcake for the Teacher:  Magic Playdoh.   I've already made the playdoh and couldn't believe how EASY it was!  The idea behind magic playdoh is you put food coloring in the center and let the kids think it's just a white ball of playdoh.  Little do they know that when they start playing with it (while it's still inside the bag at first because of the dye), it changes color!  This is super cute and a fun idea.  I can't wait to see the looks on their faces :)  I got this idea from Teri, but she did not create this poem- like me, she borrowed from a teacher, who also borrowed.  I love this community of sharing!

The big poster is for the whole group setting.  It will be displayed on the SMART Board at the front of the class and we will read the poem together.  They will have the smaller labels on their ziploc baggies.  

The ingredients are as follows (one batch makes 8 decent balls of playdoh):

2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

4tsp cream of tartar

2 cups water

2tbsp vegetable oil

food coloring

*Steps*

1.  Mix all the ingredients EXCEPT the food coloring together in a pot on the stove over medium heat.

2.  Stir continuously until playdoh becomes a ball and you can't stir anymore.

3.  Set it aside on a plate to cool.

4.  Form balls of playdoh and poke a hole at the top.  Add 3-4 drops of food coloring in the center.  GENTLY seal the hole so there is no sign of food coloring.

 Put all the balls in individual ziploc bags for the students and Voila!  Mission accomplished.

As for First Day Jitters... if you're a teacher and haven't read it yet, it is a must.  I am reading it on the first day of school as a fun ice breaker.  I'll also be reading the new Pete the Cat book I bought over the summer and doing a craft activity.  The second day of school I will give students this survey to complete with their peers to get to know each other.  I got this idea from fellow blogger, Kristen Smith.

Stay tuned for many stories of the first day of school.  Only 15 hours away... haha