First Day Activities for Kindergarten

Planning first day activities for Kindegarten isn’t as diffficult as you might think.

The first day of anything is always the hardest!

When you are a kindergarten teacher, you have several students in your classroom who are in a classroom for the very first time!

How scary and exciting all at once! When students walk into your classroom, what will you do?

How can you ensure they have a positive first day of school?

By using these first day activities for kindergarten students! 

How Do You Handle the First Day of Kindergarten 

The first day of kindergarten can be nerve wracking for everyone! Parents are dropping off their “babies” for the first time.

Students are walking into a new environment with little to no real understanding about how school really works.

You, the teacher, are being put in charge of several small minds that you will have the opportunity to mold throughout the year.

So, how do you handle the first day of kindergarten? While it might be easily said than done, it’s important to handle this first day with patience, grace (for yourself and your students), and a positive outlook. 

The reality is, there are probably going to be some bumps and bruises on that first day.

The important part is to keep calm, remember you are all learning together, and to correct as much as you can as you go. So let’s take a look at some must-do first day activities for Kindergarten. 

What Activities Should I Teach on the First Day of Kindergarten? 

While the first day of school can be one of the hardest, it’s important to start the year off on the right foot by covering some of the basics.

For example, you’ll want to immediately establish what students should do every morning they come into school. This will help make your morning run nice and smooth.

Then, you’ll want to introduce yourself. Students want to know who you are and what your favorite color is.

From there, you’ll want to go over rules and procedures and practice the normal routines you’ll be using throughout the school year. 

After giving students the “low down” on their expectations, let them be explorers for a little while.

Next, you’ll want to do a little bit of work with simple activities and maybe a few read alouds.

Finally, you’ll want to give them time to unwind and play before they go back home to tell their parents about the awesome first day of kindergarten activities their teacher had planned. 

In this blog post we’ll explore each of these activites in greater detail.

Establishing a Morning Routine 

On the very first day of kindergarten, there’s going to be a lot going on in the morning.

So, you want to make sure you establish a simple “process” for students and parents to follow. 

When students first start to come into your room in the morning, you’re going to want to have some activities laid out for them to do.

This can be anything from coloring pages to hands-on activities like blocks or Legos. Make sure what you want your students to do is very clear.

This will keep things organized while you are attending to the needs of other students and parents who are coming into their first day of kindergarten. 

Next, you’ll want to establish what you will do to signal students that it’s time to come to the carpet.

When you get to this point in the morning, you want to make sure you’re prepared for sad, confused, and scared students (and parents).

This is a hard transition for everyone, and you want to be sensitive to that. 

On the first day of kindergarten, a necessary activity is collecting all of the supplies.

You can have bins out for students and parents to put their supplies in to get you organized right away at the start of the year. 

Finally, before your parents leave, make sure you know how each student is going to get home.

Make sure you have a binder or some sort of tracker for this information. It will come in handy down the road! 

Meet the Teacher

Another first day of kindergarten activity you need to include is a Meet the Teacher presentation.

This of course will be different than the meet the teacher you presented to parents during open house. This is strictly for your students.

Creating a slideshow that tells students a little bit about you can really help them feel more comfortable because they know you better.

In your Meet the Teacher presentation, you can include information about your family, books you enjoy, hobbies and interests, your favorite color, and maybe even a fun fact! 

Cover Rules and Procedures 

Every good kindergarten teacher has rules and procedures in place to help the classroom run smoothly and to keep everyone safe.

Finding fun ways to talk about the rules and procedures that won’t overwhelm your students is an important first day of kindergarten activity.

You can talk about different scenarios in the classroom and give the students two or three different choices about what they should do in those situations.

Then, you can have students vote. If students don’t vote for the right one, you can talk about why it’s important to follow this rule. 

In terms of procedures, you’ll want to explain what you expect of them for a variety of events that will take place in your classroom.

Some procedures you’ll have to cover include: how to leave the room, how to ask to use the restroom, how to move from center to center, and more!

This can be really overwhelming, but remember you’re going to be practicing these routines and procedures. So, students will catch on, but it might be hard the first couple of days. 

Practice Your Routines

In order to get good at anything you’re going to have to practice.

Take the time to practice routines including: coming to the carpet, lining up, walking in the hallway, etc.

You can practice by telling students what they are supposed to do; then, you can practice it.

After you have gone through all of the procedures, have students go to their desks and then call out different activities that you are going to do and let students practice.

By doing this, your students will know what is expected which makes it easier for you to create a positive classroom environment in the long run. 

This kindergarten first day activity will help students get familiar with what they are supposed to do by practicing the expectations.

While this is certainly an important first day of school activity for kindergarteners, you’ll want to repeat this practice for probably the first 90 days of kindergarten. 

Explore the Classroom

Sitting and listening to classroom procedures and rules and then practicing them can be a bit wearing on kindergarteners on the first day.

That’s why I like to include an opportunity to explore the classroom as the first day of kindergarten activity.

Allowing students to look around the room and to know their space cna help them feel more at ease in your classroom.

This also gives students an opportunity to talk a little bit to one another which helps build relationships.

Plus, as a teacher, you can see what your students gravitate towards and get to know them better as well. 

Provide Simple First Day Activities for Kindergarten

After students have some time to explore, you’re going to want to give them an opportunity to use some of the supplies with simple first day of kindergarten activities.

At this time, you can have students do various activities with scissors, glue, pencils, crayons, etc.

This will give you an opportunity as well to assess how students are with their fine motor skills.

Seeing which students are capable of cutting, gluing, coloring, and writing their name without assistance can be incredibly important information for you. 

One way you can assess all these skills is to have a simple first day of kindergarten craft ready.

For example, students make a hat they need to cut out the pieces for, glue together and write their name on.

While this is a great first day of kindergarten activity, remember, your students are coming in with varying levels of competency when it comes to fine-motor skills.

It’s important to not judge and be patient and prepared to lend a hand. 

Have Some Fun with Read Alouds  

Reading is a fundamental part of kindergarten. That’s why a vital first day of kindergarten activity is a read-aloud!

Reading a book about the first day of school or about feelings can be really helpful to students.

Not only do they get read to, which is priceless, they also get to practice a procedure (sitting on the carpet), and you can incorporate a simple first day of kindergarten activity for them to do that corresponds with the read aloud!

Shake the Sillies Out with Time for Play 

After a long day of learning new things, students are going to need some time to wind down.

Using the end of the day for hands-on activities like Legos, Playdough, babies, or cooking can be just as important as all of the more academic first day of kindergarten activities.

During this time, you can guide students in organized play, or allow them to use various “toys” around the room.

While students are playing, make sure you are walking around, talking to students, and making them feel welcomed. 

That’s a Wrap for First Day Activities for Kindergarten! 

The first day of kindergarten is overwhelming for everyone! However, by creating first day of kindergarten activities that are educational and fun, you’ll start the year off on the right foot!

When students have had the chance to get to know the routines, procedures, rules, and overall expectations right away, they are more likely to adhere to them because they don’t know anything besides your expectations.

Likewise, it’s important for your students to get to know you and for you to get to know them.

You can get to know students on an nonacademic level by seeing what they gravitate towards.

You can also see where they are academically with simple first day of kindergarten activities. 

The key to remember is this is a hard day for everyone.

You want to make sure you maintain your patience and preparedness throughout the day. Don’t focus on who can’t do what at this point; they just got there!

They haven’t had the chance to learn everything yet, so it’s a good thing you’re there to teach them. 

XO – Kisha

kisha@phonicstofluency.com