There aren’t many events more exciting and nerve-racking than getting ready for the first day of Kindergarten. Teachers busily prepare their lesson plans and bulletin boards and parents hurriedly go back to school shopping as kids bounce off the walls with nervous energy. The first day of school can be so exciting that kids may have trouble falling asleep the night before and end up overtired on their big day.
One teacher in Jacksonville, FL has found a way to turn this anticipation into her first lesson of the year, a lesson that takes place before school even begins. Mrs. Hope Teper, a Kindergarten teacher at Beauclerc Elementary, types up a poem titled, The Night Before School, and attaches it to plastic bags full of confetti. She then passes out the poem during Kindergarten orientation to all of her incoming students to read the night before school begins.
The Night Before School
Author Unknown
The night before school is exciting and fun.
There are always so many things to be done.
Your clothes are ready, your backpack is too.
Your classroom is full of fun things to do.
There are so many questions that go through your mind,
All types of thoughts of every kind.
But sometimes we all get the jitters down deep
And that makes it hard to fall fast asleep.
So I've made you some magic confetti for under your pillow in bed.
On the night before school starts when you lay down your head.
The confetti will help you sleep through the night
And you will wake up in the morning feeling fresh and bright.
I'll sprinkle the confetti under my pillow, too.
And remember I just can't wait to see you!!!!!
Mrs. Teper’s students read the poem with their parents at bedtime. The poem talks about how it may be hard to fall asleep on the night before school starts and offers a way to help. The poem and the magic confetti help calm any fears the incoming students may have by telling them how excited their teacher is to meet them.
This creative gesture on the part of Mrs. Teper engages the students right off the bat and starts the Kindergarten school year off with a smile. The kids come to school feeling loved by their teacher and ready to be part of their classroom community. And parents can relax knowing that their child's teacher cares so much about their children. Using a poem to engage students before school starts is a great way to reach out to incoming Kindergarteners.
Megan Sheakoski - Megan Sheakoski is a teacher, mom and writer whose ideas have been featured in college text books, graduate courses, on websites and on ...
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