Color Code
🔴 Only you — cannot be skipped or delegated
🟢 Can happen simultaneously — another adult handles this
🟡 Get ahead move — do on prep or night before
Day at a Glance
📖
Read Aloud 1
The Kissing Hand
🚌
Read Aloud 2
Is This the Bus for Us?
🖐️
Craft
Handprint + Headband
📚
Curriculum
None today
⭐
Routines Introduced
6 today
🎯
Priority #1
Everyone gets home safe
📋 Prep Box
🔴 Before Students Arrive
- Morning tubs on every table — puzzles, coloring, books
- Sheep timer visible on the rug
- The Kissing Hand on your chair
- Headbands pre-cut and stacked
- Ink pad + paper ready for handprints
- Crayons and scissors at every table
- Confirm: half day or full day?
🟢 Another Adult Handles
- Sort folders as students arrive
- Pull dismissal info for every student
- Build bus list by color and number
- Figure out lunch for every student
- Post red star / green star labels
- Help students find cubbies and unpack
🟡 Night Before
- Post Jitter Juice video on Class Dojo — kids watch at home tonight and walk in excited tomorrow
- Review class roster with photos — know every name before they walk in
- Confirm bus list is complete
🚪
Arrival — Greet Every Student at the Door
9:20 · Morning tubs already on tables · Sheep timer already set
9:20 — ~20 min
Stand at the door. Greet every student by name.
Eye contact. Get on their level. Smile. Use every student's name — even if you have to look at their name tag. This is the most important 30 seconds of their entire kindergarten year. It signals: you are known here, you are expected here, you belong here.
SAY: "Hi! I'm so glad you're here. Your name is [name], right? I've been waiting for you. Go ahead and find your cubby — your name is right on it — then pick a spot at the table."
⭐ TEACH THIS ROUTINE: Point to cubby. Say: "This cubby has your name on it. This is yours. Every day when you come in, you hang up your backpack right here." Show them. Have them practice once.
🧰 TOOLBOX: Student crying and won't let go of parent — do NOT peel them off. Let the parent say a clean goodbye. Redirect immediately: give them something to hold, point them to the table, give them a job. Proximity and calm work better than any words.
Another adult circulates — unpacking, cubbies, folders.
While greetings happen at the door, another adult helps every student find their cubby, unpack their backpack, hang it up, and get to a table. Morning tubs are already out — students self-engage immediately. This runs the entire arrival window simultaneously.
🐑
Sheep Timer → Bumblebee Spots
First introduction of the morning signal · Practice it twice today
~10 min
Pick up the sheep timer. Hold it up. Let every student see it.
SAY: "This is our sheep timer. Every single morning, when this little sheep goes off, it means it is time to come to the rug and find your spot. Here is the challenge — can you beat the sheep? Let's find out. Ready? Go!"
Set the timer. Watch students come to the rug. Celebrate whoever makes it.
⭐ ROUTINE — BEAT THE SHEEP TIMER: Happens every single morning. Introduce it today. Practice it again tomorrow. And every day after until it is automatic — which takes about two weeks.
🧰 TOOLBOX: Assigned rug spots eliminate 90% of rug conflict before it starts. Show every student their bumblebee spot — their name is on it. Point to it. Say their name. They sit there. No negotiation, no exceptions.
Sing the bumblebee spots song. Show every student their assigned spot.
🎵 SING: "Bumblebee spots, bumblebee spots, find your bumblebee spot!" Clap and point as you sing it. Students go to their spot.
👋
Name Games on the Rug
Names names names · Every student needs to feel seen · This is the whole job today
~15 min
Hickety Pickety Bumblebee — go around the whole circle.
Sit on your spot facing students. Sing the song first so they hear the tune. Then go around the entire circle — every single student says their name and claps it out together.
🎵 SING: "Hickety pickety bumblebee, won't you say your name for me? [clap clap] [student says name] [clap the syllables together]"
🧰 TOOLBOX: Student who won't say their name — whisper it to them first, then say it together, or say it for them. Never put a student on the spot. Come back to them at the end when the room feels safer. Often by then they're ready.
One movement name game — stand up when you hear your name and do a silly pose.
Go around the circle. Each student stands, does their pose, sits back down. Keep the energy light — some students are still on the edge of tears. The goal is one genuine laugh per student before they sit back down.
🌋
Hot Lava Line → Hallway Practice → Bathroom
Do this before students explode · Everyone goes · No one skips
~15 min
Sing the Floor is Lava song. Then line up at the door.
Floor is Lava Song →
Play it. Let them be silly for 60 seconds. Then:
SAY: "Okay — the floor in the hallway is ALSO lava. If you step off the line, you fall in. Let's line up and see if we can make it to the bathroom without anyone falling in."
⭐ ROUTINE — HOT LAVA LINE: This is how we walk in the hallway. The floor is lava. Stay on the line. Hands to yourself. Quiet voices. Model it yourself first — walk the line, show them what it looks like. Then they follow.
Whole class bathroom trip. Everyone goes. No one skips.
Walk there on the hot lava line. Walk back on the hot lava line. On the way back — point to one red star and one green star.
⭐ ROUTINE — RED STAR / GREEN STAR: Point to a red star. Point to a green star. Sing once: "Twinkle twinkle little star — red means stop and green means go." That is all. Just plant the seed today. Teach it fully tomorrow.
📖
Read Aloud 1 — The Kissing Hand + Handprint Craft
by Audrey Penn · Chester didn't want to go to school either
~25 min
RL.K.1RL.K.3RL.K.7SL.K.2
Why this book today
Chester the raccoon doesn't want to go to school. Neither do half the students in the room. This book says: school is safe, and the people who love you are always with you.Read the whole book without stopping. Let them feel it first.
Sit in your chair. Hold the book so every student can see the cover. Read it all the way through without stopping for questions. After the last page:
SAY: "Chester's mom gave him something to carry with him all day — her love, right in his hand. Today I am going to give each of you a kissing hand too."
Handprint craft — call students one at a time to the ink pad.
Call students one at a time to the stamp pad. Press their hand on the paper. Write their name underneath it. Send students to tables to color their headband while you do handprints.
⭐ TEACH THIS ROUTINE — SCISSORS: Before anyone touches scissors: "Hold the scissors with your thumb up, like a thumbs up. Cut away from your body. Take small snips — not big chomps." Model it. Have every student show you their grip before they cut.
Cut out headbands. Staple to fit each student's head. Put them on. Take a photo.
🧰 TOOLBOX: While students are coloring headbands, circulate and learn more names. Check in with any student still struggling. This is the best window of the morning to make individual connections. Use it.
Kissing Hand Read Aloud →
🎉
More Name Games + Brain Break
Back to bumblebee spots · Keep it fun · Energy is still high
~10 min
Beat the sheep timer back to bumblebee spots.
Practice it again. Second time today. It will take a week before it's automatic.
Second name game — soft ball toss. Say their name, toss it, they catch it.
Keep it moving. Then: 2-minute GoNoodle or freeze dance to reset bodies before the next read aloud.
GoNoodle →
🧰 TOOLBOX: Food bribe if energy is low — "When we finish our name game, everyone gets a small treat." Use it. It works. Five year olds are straightforward. Reserve it for moments when the room needs a reset.
🚌
Read Aloud 2 — Is This the Bus for Us? + Dismissal Practice
Most important logistical task of Day 1 · Everyone gets home safe
~20 min
RL.K.1RL.K.3SL.K.2
Read the book. Talk about colors and the sequence. Sing the song.
🎵 SING (tune: Hi Ho the Derry-O): "Is this the bus for us, is this the bus for us, hi ho the derry-o, is this the bus for us?"
Dismissal practice — non-negotiable. Do this 2-3 times.
⭐ ROUTINE — DISMISSAL BY TICKET: Every student has a colored ticket. Red ticket → line up. Blue ticket → line up. White ticket → line up. Lunchbox → line up. Teach this now. Practice it now. Do not skip this.
Call each group by ticket color. Students stand up, line up, practice walking to the door. Repeat 2-3 times. Make it a game.
SAY: "Who has a red ticket? Stand up! Great — walk to the door, line up, perfect. Walk back. We are going to practice this every single day until we can do it in our sleep."
🧰 TOOLBOX: Any student whose dismissal is unclear — flag them RIGHT NOW. Resolve it before 3:25. Do not guess at dismissal time. Ever.
🍎
Shutdown Sequence → Specials
Snack → Pack up → Line up → Walk · Same every single day
~20 min
Snack → Pack up backpacks → Line up → Walk to specials.
Call 4 students at a time to get their snack. Sit. Eat. Do not rush this.
⭐ TEACH SNACK ROUTINE: "Snack comes from your backpack — not your lunchbox. Your lunchbox is for lunch. Find your snack, come sit down, eat it."
⭐ TEACH PACK UP ROUTINE: Model it slowly: open the zipper, put the folder in, close the zipper, put the backpack on, push your chair in. Have students do each step one at a time with you.
Line up at the door. Hot lava line. Walk to specials.
⭐ SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE: Snack → pack up → line up → walk. Happens the same way every single day. Students who know what comes next do not ask "what are we doing." Narrate it every day for the first two weeks.
⭐
End of Day — Back from Specials
3:20 · Quick reflection · Dismiss by ticket
3:20–3:30
Beat the sheep timer one final time → bumblebee spots → quick reflection → dismiss.
SAY: "You did it. You survived your very first day of kindergarten. I am so proud of every single one of you. Before we go home — what was your favorite part of today?"
Take 3-4 answers. Keep it brief. Then dismiss by ticket color. Use the list. Do not guess.
🧰 TOOLBOX — HALF DAY NOTE: If today is a half day — cut the second name game block entirely. Go straight from Kissing Hand craft to Is This the Bus for Us and dismissal practice. Dismissal practice is non-negotiable regardless of schedule length.
⭐ Routines Introduced Today — Reinforce Every Day Until Automatic
🐑
Routine 1
Sheep timer → bumblebee spots
🐝
Routine 2
Assigned rug spots
🌋
Routine 3
Hot lava line
🔴🟢
Routine 4 (intro)
Red / green stars
✂️
Routine 5
How to use scissors
🚌
Routine 6
Dismissal by ticket color
🎒
Routine 7
Pack up sequence
🍎
Routine 8
Snack from backpack
📱
Class Dojo Message — Send Tonight
Copy and paste · Takes 2 minutes
📱 Copy + Paste Tonight
"Hello families! What an incredible first day! Today we learned each other's names, made kissing hand crafts, practiced walking in the hallway, and rehearsed how to get home safely. Ask your child: 'What is the sheep timer?' and 'What color is your bus ticket?' Thank you for sharing them with us — we are so happy they are here. 🐝🍎"