Routines - Unpacking and Packing

Whew! Last week was a wirlwind! I "finished" decorating and setting up my room. Well, to be truthful, it looked nice enough for the meet and greet, but nothing is really the way I want it. I think I need to get the year started to get in gear with organizing my materials and making the room functional. I am finding that I want to keep some things from first grade and some things from third grade in second grade. I'm just not quite ready to wrap my brain around it yet without feeling dizzy and a little bit anxious.

One thing I have resurrected from first grade is my little Build-a-Bear backpack. I have a stuffed frog collection and one of them gets to teach the kids how to pack and unpack their backpacks using the set. I did a little makeover today so that I have the appropriate materials to somewhat match the kids.

I take the kids step-by-step through the process of unpacking in the mornings and putting everything away. Then we make a chartkf the expectation and they practice. Theni do the same thing with the end of the day. The updated pieces are not super cute, but they'll get the job done!

We also talk about snack routines and keeping ourselves occupied on the bus while riding to and from school with the backpack. It works wonders!

Off to enjoy the last few hours before the first day!