The Back to School financial pinch

So your classroom is put together, your walls are decorated, work stations are prepared for little hands to come tap at keyboards and your chalk board is the cleanest it's going to be all year.

It's hectic right now, and what your students don't realize is that for every bit of time you get in the classroom, you are spending more outside of it in meetings or getting ready for your influx of students – and on a shoestring.

My hat is off to the professional educator, as they do so much with so little. So parents, now is the time to find those lists at your various office supply stores and fill them. Even if you've already gotten your own child's needs covered, take a look and if you can afford to pick up extra pencils, notebooks, paper etc for your local school...go for it. Your local school teacher will thank you profusely as you might have just saved him or her from reaching into her own pocket to pull out needed supplies.

Getting to know your student - preparation for the new school year.

Getting ready to go back to school is hard after a summer of fun. That said you can prepare your child with some fun exercises at home. Whether your child goes to homeschool co-ops or public/private school they will be answering questions about who they are and other kids will want to get to know them. We keep a 3 hole punch, blank paper and little plastic 3 ring binders handy for our kids and put together books for their work. Doing this you can put together a little get to know me book that your child can fill in and illustrate with your assistance.

Material to include could have - but isn't limited to...

About Me


I like to (listen) (talk)

I write with my (left hand) (right hand)


Things I Do At Home


I usually wake up around _______.

I usually go to bed at _______.

Before I go to bed, I _____________________________________________________________________________.

My three favorite things to do at home are:

I brushed my teeth _______ time(s) yesterday.

Today for breakfast I ate _______.

When I need a quiet place to relax I go to _______.

Last night for dinner I ate _______.

TWO chores I do at home are _______.

If I were in charge, I would be able to watch _______ hours of television every day. This would include playing video games, too.


Books
The last person to read me a book was
The last time I went to the library was _______
I like to read ______________ when I read. (circle one)
out loud silently slowly very fast

The last book I read was _______.


Lunch/Cafeteria

If the school cafeteria serves _______ I will be first in line, but if they serve _______ I will bring my lunch that day!


Colors


My favorite color is _______.

This is a picture of something that is my favorite color.


Creative

If I were a super hero, my power would be _______

When I grow up I want to be _______.

I am most like the cartoon character (write the name of a character) _______ from (write the name of show) _______

If I were a teacher for a day, I would teach _______.


Family


This is a picture of my room. (leave a page for your child to draw a picture)

The number of people in my family is _______

Their names are:


School Items

What was your favorite thing to learn last year.
What do you want to learn more of this year?
How many students do you think are in our class? _______

Summer
Draw places you went this summer:
Four other places I went this summer were:
Draw the things you did this summer:
Draw the things you ate this summer:


Five other things I ate this summer ___.

I did something nice this summer ________.

I read _______ books this summer.

Animals I saw this summer were:


Ending


Here's to a(n) _______ year!

My autograph: