First Day Tried & True A COLORFUL FIRST DAY!

First Day Tried & True

A COLORFUL FIRST DAY

1st Day of School Activity!

OK, I love this one. Right after we take attendance, find our seats and get those cute little name tags on, we do this first day activity.

 CRAYON-BANNER-Colorful-Bulletin-Board-Display-BACK-TO-SCHOOL
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 3-D CRAYON Bulletin Board Display Pattern FREEBIE!
These 3-D COLORFUL CRAYONS are on our outside bulletin board as our new students enter the room. This year I have added a COLORFUL BANNER to accent the bulletin board!

When students get settled at their desks, they find a piece of white construction paper and some crayons on top. Their first assignment for my first grade class is to draw a SELF-PORTRAIT.

We talk about drawing the features of their face and hair, their first day outfit and any other details they can think of.
They draw themselves in the center of the page.

Next, they draw pictures of their favorite things all around the border.

We brainstorm and discuss the kinds of things that they may draw; like ice cream, baseballs, rainbows, dogs or cats, etc.

Then we meet in a circle and share their portraits and borders. This is their first opportunity to start practicing those SPEAKING & LISTENING Common Core Skills!
I keep a stack of index cards with me to write up a mini-interview with favorites about each kiddo.
The last fact is what they would like to be when they grow up.

I staple their portraits and index card Me Facts to colorful construction paper and hang them up for display. This GET-TO-KNOW-ME bulletin board will be up and ready for Back-to-School Night!

We also work on reading some great books about Colors and Numbers like,
*MOUSE PAINT &
*MOUSE COUNT by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Then students create their own COLOR BOOK with NUMBERS book that they illustrate and practice reading. We leave this out on their desks for parents to bring home with them on Back-to-School Night. We tell them to ask their first graders to read it for them when they get home, (or in the morning!).

My Color Book with Numbers

OK, now the BEST part!
On or near the LAST DAY of SCHOOL, I ask the kiddos to draw a SELF-PORTRAIT again.
They also draw their favorite things all around the border again. 
Only this time, I pull out their FIRST DAY of SCHOOL self-portraits and when they share this time, we can see the amazing growth that they have experienced throughout our year together! There are a lot of laughs too when they see how they did things almost a year ago.

I put their FIRST DAY & LAST DAY Self-Portraits, with their 1st & LAST Day photos and their interview card all together in a Keepsake Display for their families.

Tried & True 1st Day of School Very Special Activity!