First Week Treats

I'm finally sitting down to go through old blog drafts that I started, but didn't quite finish.  I found this one from August that I finally finished.  Since I'm starting to think about tweaks for next year, it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on what I did last year and what I will do again this year.

I'm not above bribery. Setting the year off right, with food, can make a HUGE difference. 

Day 1:

They'll be hungry before lunch time. Heck, I'll be hungry before lunch time.  So I bought a few boxes of Lucky Charms and put a few cups in sandwich bags for my students.  This dry cereal will let them munch while their bodies adjust back to a school schedule.

I attached this cute note:

I'll be keeping this, just using smaller snack sized bags!

Day Two:

Last year, I made these:

While I do last minute prep, B will assemble all my treats.  In this case, it's Starburst candies. It's so great to have a supportive man who is extra patient during the chaotic start of the year.

I'll be keeping this idea.  I may even turn this into some sort of fractions lesson by having them find patterns at their table teams. 

Day Three:

You're "mint" for greatness! (With mints).  I didn't really like the sign I made last year, so I'll be tweaking it for this year. 

I'll be keeping this idea for next year.

Day Four:

You're one smart cookie (with chips ahoy).  I feel like I gave too many sweets, so I think I'll tweak this for next year with smart water bottles instead.

Day Five:

I made this sign:

He'll be attaching the goldfish to the baggies.

I'm used to "meet the teacher" day being the Friday before school starts because that's what I've known for five years.  Mid panic, I asked my grade level about this and was pleasantly surprised to learn that's not at all how they operate.  Meet the teacher night is in September. Sigh!

What do you do the first week to build classroom culture?