It’s a brand new year! Whether you’re a first-time CCD teacher or a seasoned veteran, the first day of a new religious education year is an exciting time. It’s a fresh start and an opportunity for you to put all your new ideas to work.
On the first day, it’s important that you make all the students feel welcome and comfortable, especially new students to the program who don’t have friends in the class.
Arrive early and prepared for a fun-filled first day. Here are some suggestions for first-day-of-class activities.
Make name tags
Have the students make and decorate a name tag or nameplate for their desks, using crayons, markers, glitter, stickers and other creative materials. Large name tags can be made by cutting plain white Contac paper into shapes.
Go over the basics
Let the students know what is expected of them. Write down classroom rules on a poster board or a large sheet of paper that you can roll up and post halfway through the year when the class forgets the rules. Let the students add their own suggestions for class rules.
Introduce yourself. The more your students know about you, the more comfortable they’ll be in class.
Tell the class what you’ll be doing this year. Explain the theme and focus of the program and what they can expect from class sessions.
Break the ice
Get rid of any first-day anxiety and allow the class to get to know each other better by doing some team building icebreakers.
Make a class project
Do you have a theme for the year? Launch it on the first day by making something that represents your class as a whole. For instance, if your parish CCD program has a theme of Growing in the Spirit, have the students make paper flowers by writing something about themselves on each petal of a pre-drawn daisy on paper. Take photos of each student and hand them out at the next class to cut into circles and glue to the flower’s center. Attach to dowel rods and place the flowers in a flowerpot that the class has decorated. The flowerpot can be a centerpiece for your class throughout the year and can be placed on your prayer table
Make a prayer cloth for your prayer table that allows each student to contribute something – their name, their handprint or something they’ve created.
Make a class banner that you can add symbols and items to throughout the year, representing what your class is learning.
Get input
Kids want to know that their opinions count. Prepare a questionnaire for the first day that asks them about their likes and dislikes, what they’d like to learn this year, and what they really don’t want to do this year.
Get organized
It wouldn’t be the first day without passing out books, putting names on folders and workbooks, and passing out informational notes to parents. If you plan to do a newsletter to parents this year, have one ready to send home on the first day.
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