It’s back to school week, as you can tell by the droves of parents and children pouring into stores like Kohl’s and Target. If you’re a teacher like me, you know that children spend the majority of their day in school. It’s not always easy to get them excited about the new school year, so how can you start the year off right? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Clean the classroom: Germs and bacteria have been building up for months, so you need to have the classroom disinfected first. If you decide to clean it yourself, only use natural, homemade cleaners or chemical-free green cleaning certified products. You can also hire Teresa’s Family Cleaning to do the job. We are the premier chemical-free, green cleaning company on Long Island, servicing Suffolk County, Nassau County and the Hamptons. By using ionized water, vapor steamers and Sanitaire vacuums to release clean air back into the room, we keep you and your family healthy and safe.

2. Send home a letter or postcard to each student: This is an incredibly creative and personal way to welcome students back to school. Introduce yourself and give a brief synopsis of what will be happening in the new school year. Make it fun and challenging by including a trivia question, challenge or assignment (such as bringing a family photo) that will be completed during the first week of school. Students will be excited about coming back to school when they have a challenge to complete beforehand.

3. Welcome Back Pack: This is a fun and creative way to welcome students back to school on their first day back after summer vacation. The Welcome Back Pack is designed to introduce classroom procedures to all of your students, so make it interesting and useful. Include essential items such as a magnet for the attendance/lunch board, a highlighter for highlighting directions, a pencil for all classroom and homework assignments and a water bottle for their personal use throughout the day. It’s a fun and creative way to get your students excited about the new school year.

4. Establish classroom rules: Have your students come up with the rules and consequences themselves on the first day of school, then post them on a clearly visible wall or bulletin board in the classroom. When they create the rules and consequences themselves, the probability of them disobeying them drops significantly. It provides students with a sense of responsibility and ownership over their classroom behavior and education.

Source: Tips #1 and #4 are from my own teaching experience.

Source: More tips can be found here – http://www.squidoo.com/10backtoschool-tips

There you have it, the four most important tips for teachers in preparing for the new school year. Some you may have heard of before and some may be new. Go ahead and try them out, then let me know in the comments how they worked out for you. I’d love to hear your feedback, teachers! Happy teaching!