Clark the Shark and Back to School

Hi All!

  School is in FULL swing this week and I must say it's been an absolute joy to return to

a "normal" routine,

 first grade kiddos,

and early morning coffee.

Life can be so sweet.

Since my body hasn't completely adjusted to the early morning alarm and standing for the better part of the day, 

I'll be very brief this evening.

In fact, I just wanted to share two 

"back to school" 

kinds of things with you. 

First, I wanted to share with you my "Open House" classroom door.

I'm not required to decorate my door however, 

I like to just the same.

This year's door, though...

 did not materialize 

into the vision in my head.  

I was aiming for a soft, dream-like sequence. 

You know... kid friendly.

Instead, what I got was a flashback from Lemony Snicket's 

A Series of Unfortunate Events.

(Did you see the movie?)

It's quite dark.

Too dark for first grade.

But given that Open House was fast approaching,

I had to go with it.

Secondly...

we've been busy this week getting acquainted with one another.

While I was searching for activities to develop classroom culture,

I found THIS post by Wendy from

in which she described a back to school activity 

she did with Clark the Shark.

(For the freebie she offered, you can visit her TPT store HERE.)

Using her idea as a springboard, I ordered this book 

in which Clark learns what it means to share.

After reading, we discussed what it means to be a friend and we created this chart.

Then, we completed the writing prompt from Wendy's TPT store and finished it off with a shark craft I found at Almost Unschoolers.

If you'd like the Good Friend labels 

to make a chart of your own, 

you can access them HERE.

My own kiddos loved this project and 

I believe yours will, too!

When do you return to school?

Leave a comment if you have the time.

I'd love to hear from you!