Just like a football coach scripts the first few plays of a game, you can script the first 20 minutes of your classroom, and in this episode, we’re walking you through exactly how to do that. We’re sharing our top first day of school teacher tips, including five essential goals to guide your opening moments: how to greet students, which procedure to teach first (hint: not your attention signal!), and how to keep students calm and engaged while you handle behind-the-scenes tasks. These practical strategies will help you kick off the year with confidence, clarity, and a classroom that feels warm and welcoming from the start!

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/first-day-of-school-teacher-tips/

Resources:

• Pattern Block Activity Mats
• Lego Activity Mats
• First Day of School Lesson Plan Guide
• Back to School Brain Breaks
• Laurel Denise Portrait Week + Month planner
• Join the Teacher Approved Club!
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 98, 5 Reasons Your Attention Signal Isn’t Working and How to Improve It
• Episode 209, The Most Important Back-to-School Prep No One Talks About
• Episode 211, The 3 Questions Every Student Needs Answered in the First 3 Days of School
• Episode 213, 6 Simple Goals to Make Open House or Back-to-School Night a Success

Mentioned in this episode:

Join the Teacher Approved Club, where members get seasonal morning work pages for grades K–5 this month to add fall and holiday fun without throwing off their routines: https://secondstorywindow.net/club

This is episode 215 of Teacher Approved.

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping

educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story

Window, where we give research based and teacher approved

strategies that make teaching less stressful and more

effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from

each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to

the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's

episode, we are diving deep into the first 20 minutes of the

first day of school, and we're sharing exactly how to use those

crucial opening moments to set yourself up for a successful day

and year. Plus, we'll share a teacher approved tip for

handling those inevitable first day tears.

But let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share

a favorite quick win that you can try in your life right away.

Emily, what's our suggestion for this week?

This week, try giving yourself a compliment out loud.

I know it kind of sounds silly, but research shows that speaking

positive self talk aloud is more effective than just thinking it.

So tomorrow, when you do something well, maybe you handle

a tricky situation smoothly, or remember to send an important

email, say something like, Good job me, or I handled that so

well. It will feel silly, I'm sure, but your brain needs to

hear that encouragement, especially during busy times

like back to school.

I love this. This is so whimsical and it's effective.

And if you find that saying something out loud feels too

weird, you can try writing yourself a quick note in your

planner. Future you will appreciate the reminder that

present you is doing great things.

If you like this idea or anything else we share here on

the podcast, could you take a minute and give us a five star

rating and review on Apple podcasts? That's one way that

new listeners find us. So every rating and review is just super

helpful.

Over the years, Emily and I have created an extensive

library of back to school products. So to help you find

the tools that will make the start of your new year easier,

today we are spotlighting our back to school brain breaks.

Well, since today's episode is about how to make the

first day of school run smoothly, we wanted to share an

important tool for the first few days, your emergency time

fillers. So until you get everyone into their new routine,

you have no way of knowing if an activity is going to take five

minutes or 25 minutes. And that's why you need to have some

ready to go time fillers that you can grab at a moment's

notice. And that's where these brain breaks come in handy.

We intentionally designed these to work without

You'll be so relieved to have these on hand at the

technology, so that you can use these on the fly without needing

to prep anything. You just print off the cards of the activities

that sound interesting and you're all ready to go to fill

any unexpected downtime, or, you know, to help kids get their

start of the year, but we also have brain breaks to help you

wiggles out if they've been sitting too long for all of your

rules and procedures.

manage your class all year long. So you can find a link to our

brain breaks in the show notes.

Okay, picture this. It's 7:30am on the first day of

school. You've been planning for weeks. Your classroom looks

amazing, and you're as ready as you'll ever be, but then the

kids start arriving, and suddenly your mind goes

completely blank. Where do you even start?

Yeah, that's a rough moment. When you're standing

there with 20 something little strangers looking at you

expectantly, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the 50 things

that feel like they need to happen at the exact same time.

So that's why we're breaking down exactly what

should happen in those first 20 minutes of the first day. Of

course, we have some suggested activities, but we're also

sharing the why behind each choice and how they all work

together to create the calm, confident start that you're

looking for.

Think of this as your game plan. Just like a football

coach scripts the first 15 to 20 plays of a game, we're going to

script those opening minutes so that you can focus on connecting

with your students instead of frantically trying to remember

what comes next.

Don't worry, you don't have to keep track of 15 to 20

football plays. Instead, we're going to organize everything

that needs to happen into five goals. Each of these goals

serves a specific purpose in helping to make the first 20

minutes the key that unlocks a happy and successful first day

of school.

So first we'll talk about what those goals are, and then

we're going to walk you through exactly how to achieve each one.

So your first goal is to welcome each student and help them

settle into this new space. Remember, some of your kids woke

up so excited that morning, but others might have really been

anxious about this moment for weeks.

This is where greeting at the door becomes so powerful.

When you stand at your classroom door and personally welcome each

child, you're sending the message that they belong here

and that you're genuinely happy to see them.

to be able to say good morning and send them off onto

their routine, but on the first day, your students don't know

anything. So you need to be situated where you can explain

exactly what they need to do when they walk into your

classroom.

So as you greet each student, you're also giving them

their first mini lesson. Good morning, Sophia. Hang your

backpack on any hook with a green dot, then choose a lunch

from the chart on the board and find your desk.

Keep it simple and specific. It will be helpful to

post these steps on the board, and if you really want to take

the stress level down, consider adding picture cues next to the

words for anyone who might be feeling a little shaky in their

reading ability at that moment.

And still be prepared to repeat these directions to each

student individually as they arrive. It is tedious for the

teacher, but it's better than leaving kids wondering and

confused. That will only amp up their first day nerves, and we

do not want that.

If it's handy, you can have name tags with you at the

door, or you can have them waiting on your students desks.

Consider what makes the best sense for your situation.

Helping your students get their name tags on can be a calming

point of one on one connection, but on the other hand, it might

further complicate an already complicated morning, if you're

holding up the flow of traffic and you have a big line of kids

trying to get into the room. There's not a right or wrong

answer for this, just make sure that you are thinking about the

pros and cons of your different options well in advance.

Yeah, do yourself a favor by making as many decisions as

possible ahead of time, because you've got enough on your plate

without having decision fatigue draining your energy on that

first day.

And then once you've welcomed your students, your second goal

is to provide an activity that calms nervous energy while

keeping everyone engaged. And that is where we circle back to

one of our all time favorite strategies, which is pattern

blocks.

If you have been with us for a while, you know we are

obsessed with pattern blocks for this exact moment. In fact, we

are so passionate about this, we would recommend investing in a

class set of blocks, even if you never use them a single time to

teach math. And Emily and I really don't recommend spending

money on much for your classroom.

Yeah, but pattern blocks can be your secret weapon for

inside recess, keeping the siblings of your students

entertained during parent conferences, rewarding your

class with a fun and easy activity, and so much more.

Everyone loves pattern blocks. I've even had to drag teenagers

away from playing with them. They're so versatile, but let's

talk about what makes them especially perfect for the first

morning of school.

Well, we have a list of reasons. Of course we do. First,

pattern blocks require zero explanation. Kids see blocks on

the table, they immediately know what to do. Little kids are

going to dive right in. Big kids are going to maybe act like

they're too old for them, but they still get drawn in. There

are no complicated directions for you to give or for students

to follow, and that is crucial to your success when you're

creating new arrivals every few minutes.

The second reason that pattern blocks are so amazing is

that they're naturally calming. There's something about the

tactile nature of the blocks and the way they invite pattern

making that just settles kids down. Even your most anxious

student can find success building with blocks, and if you

can afford it, a set of wood pattern blocks is even better

than plastic. It just adds to the relaxing vibes.

The third reason that pattern blocks are ideal for the

first morning of school is that they are completely open ended.

That means at no point will you have to answer the dreaded, 'I'm

done, now what' question. No one is going to race to the end and

start pestering their neighbors. Kids are happy to keep exploring

and creating for as long as you need them to.

And the fourth reason is that the prep of pattern blocks

couldn't be simpler. Get some dollar store trays, put a pile

of blocks in the middle of each table or on each desk, and

you're good to go. Really, any container will work for this.

But if you have kids sharing the blocks, it's easier for them to

reach into a container with low sides instead of having to dig

the blocks out of one of those bins.

You really, really do not have to stress over this step. I

have gotten as low key as dumping them onto sheets of

paper because I didn't think ahead to get containers. And you

know what? It worked great. Pattern blocks for the win every

time. And look at that. You have your first morning activity

planned, prepped and ready to go in about two and a half minutes.

If you want to add a little more structure, we do

have a set of back to school pattern block mats that we

designed specifically for back to school. So there's a school

bus and a backpack and all that fun stuff, and there are two

versions of each map. One is more open ended with a blank

outline of the shape so students can explore and see which shapes

can fill the space, and then the other version has outlines of

the specific shape blocks.

We did include both sets so you can differentiate as

needed. But when Emily and I taught preschool, we used the

open shapes with our preschoolers, and they can

handle it fine, so I definitely think any elementary age student

should be able to handle it without a problem.

Plus, the more open ended the task, the more engaged they

will be. And we need to keep them busy for a few minutes so

we can get this new school year underway.

One thing I love about this back to school pattern

block set is that each of the mats has a get to know you

question at the top. The questions relate to whatever the

shape is. So for the pizza slice, the question is, what's

your favorite lunch?

Yep, and that's a simple way to help kids feel welcomed

in class. If they can read, they could talk about the questions

with their neighbors as they work, or when you're walking

around as the kids are creating, it gives you an easy way to

initiate conversation.

And we also included some editable slides. If you want to

have something posted for the kids to do, you can easily add

your welcome message and then direct the kids to explore with

the blocks until it's time to get started.

Okay, that's a lot of information, but don't feel like

you have to remember all this. We also include a Teacher's

Guide to walk you through all the whys and hows. In the show

notes, you will find a link to the pattern block set and to our

Lego activity mats. It has similar activities to the

pattern blocks, but might be a little more appealing to your

older kids, assuming you have access to a bunch of basic

Legos.

Yeah, but it actually might be easier to track down a

tub of loose Lego pieces than to buy a class set of Lego blocks.

Good point.

You could probably even get donations from your

neighborhood if you want to do this as cheaply as possible.

But you really aren't obligated to use either pattern

blocks or Legos. Any calming and engaging activity will work as

your first morning of school activity. The key is just

choosing something that's open ended but doesn't require a lot

of setup or explanation from you.

Now, once you've welcomed each student and offered them an

engaging activity, the third goal of your first 20 minutes is

to teach the most important procedures. These are the ones

that your students absolutely need to know to be successful

today. And we've said this before, but it bears repeating,

the first thing you need to teach is not your attention

signal.

We know lots of class management experts recommend

starting with your attention signal, but we disagree, because

we have weirdly strong opinions about this and many other

things. Don't start with your attention signal. Start with

your bathroom procedure. There's always at least one kiddo with a

nervous tummy on the first day, and you definitely don't want

them sitting there worried about what to do if they need to use

the restroom.

Plus teaching the bathroom first sends a message

that you care about their comfort and well being. This is

actually a really welcoming way to start. You're essentially

saying, I want to make sure that you feel safe and taken care of

here.

Keep it simple and clear. Teach the routine you want to

use all year. Make sure they know where the restroom is

located and how to re enter the classroom without causing a

distraction.

And you can really just play up the silliness. Get your

most serious face on and tell students you're going to teach

them the most important thing they're going to learn all year.

Just pause and really let the drama build, and then tell them,

let me tell you how to get to the bathroom.

Yeah, that's a sure fire way to break the ice with kids.

And once that's out of the way, then you can move on to your

attention signal. Choose something that feels natural to

you. Maybe it's a chime, maybe it's a clapping pattern, maybe

it's just raising your hand. The key is being consistent about

how you introduce it.

You can try something like, when you see me raise my

hand like this, that means stop what you're doing, look at me,

and raise your hand too. All right, let's practice. You keep

building with your blocks, and when you see my signal, remember

to stop, look and raise your hand.

We did a deep dive into attention signals in Episode 98

where we shared all of our best tips and troubleshooting hacks.

Definitely make sure to go back and check that one out if you

want some pointers or if your attention signal needs some

help.

Practice your attention signal a few times while

students are working with the blocks. This gives them a chance

to experience success with the signal while doing something

they enjoy, rather than feeling put on the spot.

Once you've taught about the bathroom and your attention

signal, tell students that they have five more minutes to finish

their designs while you handle the fourth goal, and that is to

get your administrative tasks out of the way so you can focus

on your students. So this is when you handle all of your

teacher tasks, like attendance, lunch count, any forms that need

to go to the office, all the behind the scenes stuff that

keeps the school running.

Here's where having a clear script for the day really

pays off. Write yourself notes like, send attendance, in all

caps, so you don't forget in the chaos of the moment. Trust me,

you don't want to start off the year with the front office

having to track down your numbers.

Okay, so you got that taken care of. Good. Now here's

a real veteran teacher hack. Don't be in a rush to jump into

the day. Once you've sent in your attendance and dealt with

your tasks, just take a moment and pause. This is our fifth

goal. If the kids are still engaged with their activity,

take two minutes to step back and just watch.

Yeah, this might be your last quiet moment until three

o'clock. So make it count. Observe how things are going.

How are the kids interacting with each other, who seems

comfortable, who might need some extra support? Maybe even snap a

quick candid photo of the last moment when it's all still

peaceful.

And this is the perfect moment to give yourself a little

internal high five. Look around at your beautiful classroom, see

your students engaged and calm, and acknowledge how much work

you put in to make this moment possible.

You prepared for this, you planned for this, and it is

working. You can imagine Emily and me there in spirit cheering

you on. You deserve to take a few seconds to appreciate that

success before diving into the conveyor belt of busyness that

is about to kick off.

When it's time to transition, prepare students

with a cue in advance. In one more minute, we're going to

clean up our blocks. This preview of what's coming reduces

anxiety and gets them into the rhythm of listening for

directions.

Once the minute is up, make use of that attention

signal you just taught. Make sure everyone is focused on you,

and then explain how you want them to clean up and what they

should do after. This transition becomes your first opportunity

to practice following directions as a group, which sets you up

beautifully for the rest of the day.

So let's recap what those first 20 minutes might look like

when you put all five goals together. First, you're

welcoming and settling. You're going to greet students at the

door, give them clear directions for what to do when they enter,

and then they're going to be hanging up backpacks, making

lunch choices, and managing anything else that needs to

happen.

Next you're making sure everyone is calmly engaged. That

might be sitting down to explore pattern blocks or Lego mats or

another open ended activity.

Once everyone is in their spot and the bell rings, wait

for any announcements, and then start your third goal,

establishing essential guidelines. Teach your bathroom

procedure first and then your attention signal.

Tell your students they have a few more minutes to

explore with the blocks while you attend your fourth goal.

Handle administrative tasks, take attendance, make your lunch

count, and observe how the group is settling in. Don't forget to

pause to appreciate this moment that you have worked so hard to

create.

And as your first 20 minutes wrap up, cover your

fifth goal and set students up for a successful transition. Use

your attention signal to bring them together and give them

clear directions for cleaning up and transitioning to the next

activity.

And just like that, you have accomplished five crucial

goals. Your students feel welcomed and safe and you're

ready to move into the rest of your carefully planned day.

You've set everyone up for success and opened the door to a

calm and confident first day of school.

We'd love to hear your best first day of school

suggestions. Come join the conversation in our Teacher

Approved Facebook group.

Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an

actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and

simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is have a

plan for first day tears.

Oh yeah, you know how it goes. No matter how perfectly

you plan those first 20 minutes, someone might still end up in

tears. That is just to be expected.

Yeah, especially in the younger grades. First, remember

that tears on the first day are usually about big feelings, not

about you or your classroom. Kids might be sad about leaving

mom, worried about making friends, or just overwhelmed by

all the newness.

The way to manage this is to have a comfort plan all ready

to go. Maybe it's a special stuffed animal in your classroom

that gets to sit with the student. Maybe it's a quiet

corner with soft pillows, or maybe it's just sitting next to

you while the rest of the class continues with their activity.

Keep in mind that often the best comfort is just a calm

routine. When that crying child sees other kids happily building

with blocks and following simple directions, they usually start

to feel more secure too.

Trust the process. Your thoughtful planning and calm

energy will help even your most anxious students settle in. And

remember tears on day one don't predict how the rest of the year

will go.

Alright, to wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving

extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra

credit?

Well, I've got some high art to tell you about, because

I'm giving extra credit to the new Netflix family movie, K

Popdemon Hunters. I had heard all the buzz about it, and my

daughters both watched it on their own, and they're nine and

15, and they both loved it. So I was like, Okay, let's just watch

it. So we watched it last night for movie night, and I have to

say, I went in with very low expectations, but it was

actually really good.

Good.

The characters are like interesting and nuanced, and the

music is super catchy. But the biggest surprise for me was that

it was actually very funny. I rarely find kids cartoons

actually funny, but this was legitimately funny. So if you

need an idea for family movie night, check out k pop demon

hunters. And even without kids Heidi, maybe you should give it

a watch.

I didn't realize it was animated.

Oh yeah. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

Well, I'm giving extra credit to not an animated movie.

It's very different. I'm giving extra credit to my new Laurel

Denise planner. I have not had an official planner, planner,

grown up planner, since I started teaching, and that's so

funny, because all through high school and all through college,

I was a dedicated Franklin Covey girl. I had the binders for each

year, the whole bit.

Oh yeah, I think I still have some of those in my closet

at mom and dad's house, like the past, the past years, because it

was so important to keep my what I wrote on them in high school.

Oh, absolutely, of course it was. But since then, I just

haven't found anything that I could keep up with. I think when

I was teaching, I just used my plan book.

And I've tried different things over the years, but what

Yeah.

I ended up using was just a notebook that was basically one

long row for the week with like, a to do list for each day. And

that worked well, but I hated that I didn't have a calendar

that I could reference. Stuff would catch me off guard all the

time, because I couldn't see the month at a glance. So I would

have to, like, remember to look at my phone and see what's going

on, and I didn't always see that. But this planner keeps

that same format with the long row for the week, with the

little to do list at the bottom, but there's a monthly calendar

at the top. It's exactly what I needed, and I have actually been

able to stay on top of using it. Haven't fallen to my bad planner

habit of, like, trying something for a few weeks and never

keeping up with it.

Oh yeah, every time for me.

Yeah. But I am like, six weeks into this one, and it has

been great. I love it. There's a link to it in the show notes if

you also need a grown up planner.

Maybe I need to check it out.

Yeah, I will say it does take up a lot of space on my

desk, so that is the downside. I would, like half the size would

be perfect.

Yeah.

But you know how things go.

Well, that's it for today's episode. Remember that being

intentional with those first 20 minutes can help the rest of the

day flow much more smoothly. With clear goals and a solid

plan, you can create a calm, confident start that sets

everyone up for success.

And make sure to check the show notes for links to our

back to school pattern blocks mats, first day Lego mats, and

our brain breaks to help you avoid any unexpected time.

Because when you've planned this thoroughly, you can focus on

what really matters, which is connecting with your students.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow

or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an

episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.

Bye for now.

Bye.