Start the Year Off Right: Preparing Your Classroom, Children, and Yourself for Success!

With a new school year upon us you will likely have a mix of new and returning children joining your classroom. Regardless of the age of children you care for, the first few weeks of the school year can be both exciting and nerve-wracking for teachers, children, and their parents. To help ensure it is a fun year with lots of learning and exploration, it is important to get off on the right foot. To do this, think about how you can be proactive in setting up your classroom environment and supporting children’s development, while also prioritizing your own well-being. Here are some tips to start the year off on a positive note and establish routines that can help ensure that it is a positive experience for everyone.

Build an environment that encourages learning and exploration

When setting up your classroom try to see the world through the eyes of the children you care for. Is the space bright and inviting? Are words, numbers, and pictures at children’s eye level? Are there different spaces for different activities? The early childhood environment can make a tremendous difference for both children’s learning and their comfort. Here are some things you can do to make the space feel safe and welcoming:

• Put up pictures of children in your care and their families. Early in the school year (and when new students join) invite them to bring in their favorite pictures of them with their family. Seeing these pictures around the classroom can help children feel comfortable, view other families and family structures, and provide them with the opportunity to share with their friends and teachers.

• Set up different spaces for different activities. It can be useful to have specific areas where children can engage in the activities that they are interested in especially when children are trying to work out new expectations. For example, set up a comfortable area that is designated for reading where children can choose from a variety of books they are interested in. It’s also important to have different areas for different types and intensity of activity (e.g., quiet and relaxing areas, areas for dramatic play, etc.).

• Be creative and decorate the classroom. Think about what the classroom looks like to a child just entering the classroom, possibly for the first time. Is it bright and colorful? Warm and inviting? Whatever you can do to convey that this is a safe and fun place will go a long way. Also feel free to put your own personality into the room. Put up pictures of your own interests and use the room as a tool to communicate your personality. This can be an excellent way to connect with the children in your care and start to build positive relationships.

Help young children with transitions and establish routines

Regardless of if it’s a new child to your program or a returning student, the start of the school year can be hard. Children may have a hard time leaving their parents, being around new people and places, and dealing with new expectations. Many children have difficulty with transitions and this can be particularly challenging during the beginning of the year. Here are some things you can do to establish routines and help the children in your care know what to expect.

• Create and share a schedule. It can be helpful to start the day with some sort of morning meeting where you will go over what you have planned. Providing reminders about what comes next in the day can be helpful as well. Incorporate a visual schedule along with a written one, which can support children’s literacy skills and may be easier for children to follow.

• “Follow” the schedule but be flexible. Following your schedule will provide children a good idea of what to expect and help them develop routines. However, it is entirely okay to be flexible! If children are engaged and actively working on a project give them extra time to finish up instead of insisting they move to the next planned activity. If a child comes in excited to share something with you, let them! A schedule is great to provide yourself and children with guidance and structure, but it does not need to be set in stone. Also, remember it can take time to transition to a new activity, particularly at the beginning of the year when routines haven’t been established. Building that time into the schedule will allow you to stay on track and not feel rushed or flustered.

• Be positive! Remember transitioning back to your program can be tough for children, especially when they may not fully understand what you expect of them. If you can remain calm, model appropriate behaviors, and be positive, children are more likely to adopt these behaviors and view school as a fun place with people who care about them.

Pay attention to and support your own well-being

The start of a new school year can feel stressful and overwhelming (as well as exciting) for teachers too! Early childhood teachers are tasked with the enormous responsibility of caring for our most vulnerable populations. You are asked to wear multiple hats and take on all sorts of different roles in your program. All of this can be stressful. At the beginning of the school year, it is important that you pay attention to your own feelings and do things to support your well-being now and throughout the year. Educators’ well-being is closely linked to the well-being of the children they care for, so paying attention to your own health and happiness benefits others too! Here are some things to keep in mind when considering your own overall well-being.

• Mental and physical health are linked. As such, eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep all have been shown to relate to individual well-being.
• Find time to decompress after the workday. This can be as simple as taking a walk to clear your head, speaking with a friend or partner about the day, meditating, or reading a book.
• Connect with your co-workers. This can benefit both you and them and make the workdays more enjoyable. Similarly, if you feel you are struggling, let someone know. Sometimes just talking to someone after having a challenging day can make you feel better.

BKC resources

For some additional suggestions to help set yourself and the children in your care up for success you can check out the Better Kid Care courses below. Have a great year!

Setting up your space

• Changing Spaces
• Preschool Foundations: Environments and Routines that Work!
• School Readiness: Lay the Foundation in the Early Years

Setting up routines

• Transition Strategies for the Early Childhood Classroom
• Plan for Learning: Create Child-Centered Schedules and Activity Plans
• Transition Plans, Practices, and Approaches: Pathways to Success
• Transitions – "Hello" and "Good-bye"

Managing your well-being

• Go Healthy! It all Begins With You
• Resilient Caregivers: 'Bouncing Back' From Stress