Kick off the first day of kindergarten with an easy to implement activity paired with this fantastic picture book The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes. It’s an upbeat and victorious account of a little boy’s first day in kindergarten! These story supports and craft will give your own kinders a chance to connect with the story and share some first day cheer just like the “King”

The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and Vanessa Brantley-Newton
(Nancy Paulsen Books, 2019)
If you need to purchase a copy for your classroom library or home, you can here. *amazon aff link*
After Reading Activities
I absolutely love packing the first couple of weeks of kindergarten full with meaningful read-alouds. Since the first few weeks of teaching are so busy, I like to organize my plans with book activities that allow different options/flexibility throughout the day or can spread over a couple. In this support resource, you’ll find a few easy to implement activities perfect for the first day of kindergarten or to spread throughout the first week.

Transportation Chart or Graph
The first day of kinder comes with the FIRST *leaving* school experience and IT’S a big deal. In the King of Kindergarten, the “king” rides a fortress (aka bus) to/from school. This transportation chart & chat activity gives kinders an opportunity to connect and review how they’ll be getting home from school.

First Day Reflection Craft
This little bulletin board inspired craft matches the cute sun throughout the story! You can pick from a simple 1 page sun or a no cuts, pre-made template to let your kinders tell about their first day!

Connect & Chat about Routines
“The King” shares his first day routine with the readers and it’s a very relatable one!
Chat with your kinders about their daily routines and help put the King’s in order using the picture tiles.

Become Kindergarten Royalty!
Because every kinder needs a crown to celebrate their week of school! On the last day of the first week, I’ve always started our morning making a little crown! This one is simple to make – print, color, cut and glue to a sentence strip.
This resource also has extra printables that would work great for practice pages to build up stamina during that first week of school.
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