I often think it is more about you starting the new term rather than the children.  The children are just going back to school same friends, same games at break time, different teacher and classroom, but let’s face it, it’s the friends and break times that really matter to the children!  A lot of effort is put into ‘getting to know you’ activities, but the children do this every year, and with the same peers!  This was really brought home to me in my parents’ evening when I told the parents of Boy that he’d settled into class really well, and Dad told me with a curious look on his face that he’d only moved to the room next door, then asked how I was fitting in with this class that had already been together for over 6 years? Yes, I was the outsider!

I found these cute little bags on Amazon, (30p, 12 designs) sold as lunch bags.  I think if I were supply teaching now, I’d be ordering half a dozen!  One for raffle prizes, one for foam lolly sticks with ‘What to do when you’ve finished’ ideas on them, one for my lunch, one for my second lunch (on the way home in the car, I couldn’t eat breakfast back then, but still fitted in my 3 meals a day!) one as a pencil case including stapler, hole punch etc., and a final one as a Magic Bag with a surprise in it for the children.