Most teachers carry out activities on the first day of school or in the first week of school to learn more about their new class of students. Each year, students different in likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. Understanding the previous experiences of the students, their responses to the world, and their interest helps teachers better meet the needs of the children.
While kindergarten students are often full of stories about their family and pets, understanding the thoughts of a five year old is not always as easy as it may seem. Many teachers assign students to write about their summer vacations or families. However, this is simply impossible to do on the first day of kindergarten (or even latter in the year). Many kindergarten teachers feel bound to picture drawings. They ask the students to draw pictures of family members and then tell about the people in the picture. While this activity is acceptable, there are more interactive activities that teachers can carry out to learn about young students.
"All About Me" Bag
The "All About Me" Bag is a great assignment as a beginning of school activity. The assignment encourages parents to work with their children. It requires children to think about their likes and dislikes as well as the factors that influence their lives. It also entices other students to become more activity listeners as they learn more about their new classmates.
Preparing for the Activity
The first step in the "All about Me" Bag is to send home a brown paper lunch bag and a note explaining the project. Write the child’s name on the bag. The children, along with their parents, are to fill the bag with small items that reflect something in their lives. The children may choose a plastic dog to represent a favorite pet puppy or a picture of a pizza to depict their favorite food. On the note be certain to give at least one or two examples.
Carrying out the Activity
On the due date of the assignment, collect the bags as the students walk into the room. This will prevent students from removing items from the bag before presentation time. During presentation time, ask one student at a time to pull items from the bag and discuss what each means in correlation to their lives. Other students are more likely to pay attention to the speaking student due to the variety of visual aids brought in by the class. At the end of the activity, make sure that all items are placed back into the bags. Collect the bags and send them home that afternoon.
Getting to know the students is fun and exciting for the children and the teacher. Using props, such as the ones in the All about Me Bag, add to the enthusiasm as each child anticipates what other children will bring to class.
Find more first day of kindergarten activities from Kinder Plans and First School.
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