First Day Planning

Yesterday, a teacher friend texted me something important:

Yikes!

Also, yesterday, my 2nd grade team got together. These three people are going to help this be a Great Year! I just know it! 

Somehow, I've become the teacher who's been around the longest - wow, how'd that happen? And my male co-teacher, who's been here two or three years. And a sweet gal who's moving up from 1st. And a newbie gal, who seems to be on top of things. 

So we met and got acquainted a bit and shared some ideas - and suddenly two hours had passed. How does that happen! 

But this all adds up to - - - I need to start doing some serious thinking about the first of the year. 

So yesterday afternoon, I got out some of my PD books I meant to read - - - and decided to watch Netflix with my daughter.

So this morning, I decided I'm super serious. And that's when the panic set in. 

Let me tell you that my whole goal in life for the first day of school is to have 1 - that's all, just one - activity that lets my kids go home and tell the grown up at their house this is going to be a great year. Or this was so much fun. Or I'm going to like 2nd grade. Or some variation on those. 

I have struggled mightily with this.

And as I was looking at Pinterest, and TpT, and just flat out googling - ack! Heart Palpitations. 

Why is this so hard? 

I tell myself - I'm smart. I'm creative. I can do this! {But still....}

I've done Sunny Days' necklace idea - with various tweaks and wasn't sure I wanted to do that again. {But after looking at it again, maybe I do.}

My co-teacher had an idea to read "Where the Wild Things Are" and have groups cooperatively make monsters. But I have to say, I LOVE "Where the Wild Things Are" but I'm not sure it's the tone I want to set on the first day of school. 

So, just brainstorming here with you all - I have "There's a Monster at the End of the Book" with Grover from Sesame Street on my iPad. I thought I could do that {it's narrated and animated} and maybe let them make monsters. And then a little brainstorm came to me, I could get my scrap box out, because it really seems like kids love using scraps from my scrap box. 

OK, so I'm seriously asking for help.

Please don't let me be like Calvin! What great activity do you do on the first day of school?