The first days of school are so jam-packed with back-to-school, getting-to-know-you, and housekeeping activities, it can be a real challenge getting into the actual curriculum.

     As a new teacher, I struggled to find the optimum time to begin that first lesson: the one I believed should be delivered by me, at the front of the room, to students sitting in desks, to be followed with a paper and pencil activity.

     Over the years, I learned that there are dozens of ways to "do math" that are fun and engaging, and that involve students, not just as learners, but as collaborators and critical thinkers. Choose from some of the suggestions below and you'll find yourself rocking some math from Day 1!

Read-Alouds

     I always look forward to reading Math Curse by Jon Scieszka on the first day of school each year. I love the humor and the way math concepts are introduced. Kids love coming to the carpet and having a book read to them. It's a warm, fuzzy way to ease into the new year.

     It's also a good chance to teach some of those all-important classroom procedures. Check out my post about routines and procedures here. You could begin a longer math-oriented book, such as The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davis or The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill. Other good choices are any of the Sir Cumference books, Grandfather Tang's Story, or How Much Is A Million?

Math Games

     What a great way to develop a positive attitude toward math, strengthen concepts, and practice skills! There are so many commercial math games, such as Mathopoly, Sum Swamp, and Equate that teach math skills and concepts. Connect Four and good old checkers are always winners.

     Teachers can also fill their math tool kit with games like Contig (a super way to build number sense!) and Race to 100. Don't want to take the time for a full-fledged board or card game? Try "Where's The Math In The Date?", a quick game that only uses a few digits. Learn how to play it here.

Journal Prompts

     A favorite first-day math activity is to make a list of "Ways I Used Math Today Before School". As students share, they'll find that "checking to see if it's time to leave home", "pouring a bowl of cereal", and "tying two shoelaces" are all ways of using math. Other engaging prompts include: "How I Feel About Math" and "People who are good at math...".

Gather Data

     Asking a group question and having students answer it in different ways is a great segue into many math concepts, as well as social topics. The pictures below show a sampling of ways to do that.

Math About Me Project

     The Math About Me project has become popular recently. It can be as simple as a pre-made paper template on which students share significant numbers. It can also be more of a curation project where students bring in objects that reflect the numbers in their lives.

Math Craft

     Crafts may be more than many want to approach during the first days of school. For those who do want to build that into their new year, consider paper-folding or mosaic pictures.

Math Jokes

     Jokes are always a winning component of a happy classroom. Any joke is great, but it can be fun to spend a few weeks focused on math, science, or another specific topic. I once had a hallway bulletin board to which we attached math jokes and riddles for several weeks. The whole school appreciated it!

Math Puzzles

     It's always a good idea to get kids' hands onto their math as soon as possible. Consider spending some time with math puzzles such as tangrams, cross-number puzzles, or sudoku.

Color-By-Code

     Combine math and art with a color-by-code or color-by-number activity. Kids will get some solid math practice while they touch the artsy side of their brain with coloring.

     These are only a few ways to incorporate math into the first day(s) of school. I'd love to hear how you do it!

     No one can empathize with a new teacher better than a veteran teacher. We know what it feels like, both good and bad, to begin a teaching career. Our "If only I'd known then what I know now" conversations are rich with wisdom and experience,

     To help out any newer teachers that are cracking open their first, second, or third year of teaching, I've put together a list of 6 things that I wish I'd known about during my first years. A couple of them might not have been invented then, but they're winning tools, just the same!

     This list has a theme: Organization! This concept can make or break any teacher. It's actually not about how cute or color-coordinated your stuff looks. It's about whether you can find it when you need it. Here's the list:

1) Organizational Storage

You can never have too much. As you shop for the new year, buy whatever your budget will allow. You'll need:

• large containers like Sterilite drawers on wheels
• smaller plastic drawer units 
• buckets
• bins
• containers that close with a lid, good for stacking 
• square containers like crates 
• smaller containers like pencil cases

If you can, overbuy. You'll almost certainly find a need for them.

2) 3-Ring Binders

Three-ring binders have been a life-saver to me. I learned the hard way that laying papers down in piles - and forgetting what was in the pile - spelled certain disaster. 

I learned to store things standing up. When binders with clear plastic covers were invented, it was even better! Acquire binders for every topic that works for you. Make a cover for each one and don't forget the spine! It'll save you so much time pulling out binders looking for titles.

3) Sticky Notes

Slapp a sticky note on your to-do list, a pile of papers, or your purse and you'll save yourself time and energy. In addition, they are a marvelous teaching tool. Kids can use them to answer survey questions, to quickly share opinions or answers, to give feedback to classmates, and for personal organization.

4) File folders and labels

This amazing duo is another super organizational tool. You can print off multiple sets and have them ready when you suddenly need a new set of student folders. You can create folder games, organize center materials and directions, and keep yourself organized.

5) A great electric pencil sharpener

Yes, they can be pricey, but my life changed for the better when I could finally shell out for one. Sharpening pencils each day was faster and quieter. My kids did fine using it, but consider making your pencil sharpener off-limits to students until they can prove they'll be careful with it.

6) A Go-To Book

There are so many times during the year when you have just a few minutes before the next task and you want to spend it wisely. I remember times like just before lunch or a class change, having to hold students in class for a few minutes for an unexpected reason, or when you need revitalize the class with a brain break. 

The books I always depended on included joke books (especially math jokes), critical thinking books with short problems to solve, a book with trivia-type facts on different subjects, and great poetry books by authors such as Shel Silverstein. Having books like this improves the quality of your instructional time and can improve your classroom management.

     Even before the back-to-school email from administration comes, teachers are often thinking, planning, buying, making, training, reading, meeting, cutting, pasting, collating, and creating for the new year. It's part of the job, part of the lifestyle. There are so many things to do, however, that even the most seasoned veteran can feel overwhelmed as they prepare for the new beginning.

     After a career of new school years, I have picked out four essential items that should head every teacher's to-do list. They are not the most important things you'll do all year, perhaps, but they can make or break a good beginning, set the tone for a successful school year, and calm the butterflies that may have taken flight in your stomach. I can say this for sure: I wish someone had told me these things when I started teaching.

1.  Plan for the first day. Really? That's news? I can't tell you how many years I spent frantically trying to make my classroom Pinterest-worthy (before Pinterest was invented), attend all the meetings, label all the file folders, pull all the data...then realize at 5:00 p.m. the day before the kids arrived that I had not planned for the first day! 

     Serious heart-in-throat time. Before you put up a bulletin board, make desk tags, or attend a meeting, start sketching out everything that you will wish you had done or said on that all-important first day.  Even when you're feeling the pressure, put on the blinders for a bit and focus on first-day plans.

2.  Plan for the first week. Again, it may seem like something that teachers just naturally have done but we don't always. Planning for the first week presumes that you've been given a schedule of bells, specials, lunch, and recess. Once you have that, it's vital that you look at your remaining minutes and divide them over everything you have to cover.

3.  Walk through your day as a student. Once you've planned your first day and week, physically move through all that you will ask your students to do, from walking into the classroom to lining up to restroom breaks to the last minute of the day. I guarantee this will highlight what works and what needs to be tweaked. You'll be glad you did!

4.  Remember that less is more. I would never have believed it, but teachers can overdo it sometimes. One of my classes once told me that my classroom decor was overwhelming to them at the first of the year. As much as I appreciated the heads-up, I was totally taken aback. What?  Kids don't always like over-the-top decorations? 

     Truly, when I stepped back and looked at it through kid eyes, it really did look like my room had thrown up on itself. Take this as permission to go minimalist, leave some bulletin boards bare - perhaps waiting for student work, and actually leave some stuff at Target for others. You can always add as you go and a little waiting can open your eyes to particular class needs and wants that you couldn't have anticipated.

     Please share your best back-to-school ideas. Best wishes to everyone who is approaching a new school year!