A tour of the classroom showing pupils where everything is and what is allowed in certain areas will help familiarize them with their surroundings. Have your pupils participate in the tour by asking questions. For example, when showing the closet area you can ask, "Who knows what we put into the closet?" and have pupils show how it's done. Pupils who are toilet trained will want to know where the bathroom is. They also need to know where the teacher's desk is to go for help. Other classroom areas to show include the play area, group sit-down area and napping area.
Making friends is one of the joys of attending school. The more quickly pupils make friends and know each other's names, the sooner they will feel comfortable attending pre-kindergarten. Have the class sit in a circle. Inform them that we are going to learn everyone's name. As the teacher you can start; have in your hand a fun character that you can introduce. For example, "My name is Ms. Smith and here in my hands is Curious George." Tell the pupils that when Curious George is passed to the next person, we will all ask that person, "What's your name?" The person holding Curious George will answer with his name and pass Curious George to the person next to him to continue the process. At the end of this activity, ask which pupils remember the names of those sitting next to them.
Gather your pupils to sit as a group in front of you on the floor as you read "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. This book tells the story of Chester Raccoon, who is feeling what many pupils in the classroom may feel -- lonely and scared. By the end of the story, Chester finds comfort knowing it's OK to be apart from his parent. Kissing his hand and holding it to his cheek brings feelings of love and warmth to his heart just like when his mother kissed his hand. At the end of storytelling you can ask pupils to raise their hand and share feelings they had when they first arrived at school. They will find comfort in sharing their feelings and hearing how other pupils felt.
Taking off from the story of "The Kissing Hand," give each pupil a piece of white construction paper. Help each pupil to brush the inside of her hand with red paint and make a hand imprint on the construction paper. While waiting for the paint to dry, give pupils a smaller sheet of paper on which they can draw a picture of their family. When the drawing is complete, tape the family picture to the bottom or side of the hand imprint. Give each pupil a red heart sticker to stick onto the hand imprint. Each pupil in turn can explain who's in the drawing.