One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is getting to create a special classroom community. But as teachers know, that classroom culture (and even the actual group of kids) doesn’t stay the same all year long. Oftentimes, a new student joins the class after the first day of school—a change that may come with mixed feelings for everyone involved.
For that child, being “the new kid” in school can elicit positive or negative emotions, and everything in between. And for the teacher, facilitating a smooth transition for that child is a unique task that requires care and intentionality.
The picture book We’re So Happy You’re Here: A Warm Welcome for our New Student is a classroom read-aloud to help set a positive start for such an important change in a child’s life.
It not only serves in making a new student feel welcomed into a classroom family, but just as importantly, it also helps get the rest of the kids in the best mindset for making that student feel accepted and included.
SEL Book for Welcoming New Students
Social emotional books for kids help develop emotional intelligence, and life skills such as kindness, empathy, and inclusion. We’re So Happy You’re Here serves as a mentor text that can be used to spark meaningful conversations around:
- Acts of kindness – Ways to include someone new and make new friends.
- Empathy for others – How it would feel to be in completely new surroundings.
- Belonging in the classroom – What it means to feel acceptance as part of a group.
This SEL picture book starts off by reassuring new students that their teacher and classmates are truly excited to meet them!
And while some new students may have feelings of excitement, starting at a new school also comes with uncertainty. Some children might feel sad about leaving their old school, or be nervous or unsure about how they’ll fit in. We’re So Happy You’re Here helps validate any emotions that student may have, with affirming words and inviting illustrations.
It also guides the whole class in ways that they can do their part to welcome a new classmate, making this book a valuable social-emotional learning resource for teachers.
Inviting Illustrations That Kids Connect With
The affable tone of the text combined with charming artwork from Sandie Sonke makes this picture book feel like a welcoming hug. For the kid who is stepping into an environment that is new and unfamiliar to them, the illustrations provide a visual warmth and sense of comfort.
Sunshine and colorful wildflowers reappear throughout several of the pages, as to symbolize hope, renewal, and growth. Wildflowers can thrive in diverse environments, as long as they’re given a bit of “sunshine”…just like kids!
While the challenges that come with being a new student are addressed in the book, the illustrations also help provide a positive outlook for the bright days that come from a new beginning.
We’re So Happy You’re Here Book Companion (Writing & SEL Activity)
Here’s an idea to do with your class as a We’re So Happy You’re Here extension activity, for making the most of this new student picture book.
After you read the book together welcome a new student as a classroom tradition, you could have your class create a special book for them too!
Doubling as both an SEL and writing activity, this is worthwhile for the whole class as well as a meaningful keepsake that will be treasured by the new student.
This We’re So Happy You’re Here book companion resource comes with several different options for the cover of the booklet:
The new student could get to color and decorate the cover of their special booklet, while the rest of the class writes a compliment or welcoming message on one of the writing pages. They can also illustrate and color a picture for him/her to go with their writing.
The resource includes multiple options for student writing pages, with either dotted lines or regular writing lines.
There are various page templates with 1 girl, 1 boy, 2 girls, 2 boys, or a girl and boy. You could either choose just a couple writing pages for the whole class to use, or print several of the different options and have each student choose their page:
Tip: Before having students start on their writing, brainstorm ideas together as a class (sharing examples of compliments and welcoming messages). A list of sentence frame starters is included with this book companion resource too, in case you might like to display it on the board during their independent writing time.
Everyone’s pages can be combined together into one special book for the new student to take home! You could either use a book binding machine, hole punch the pages and fasten with yarn or ribbon, or simply staple the pages together.
This booklet will not only be a special keepsake for the new student, but imagine what an amazing first impression it could make with that student’s parents or guardian at home! It will be sure to help put them at ease that their child is in a caring, loving environment with their new teacher and classmates.
Where to Buy This New Student Welcome Book
We’re So Happy You’re Here: A Warm Welcome for our New Student is currently available in hardcover or paperback through the shop on my website, and in paperback or digital eBook on Amazon.
Hardcovers will also become available on Amazon soon, but if you would like to order your copy in hardcover right now, they are currently only available direct through my shop.
If you are interested in more books geared toward classroom community, definitely make sure to also check out this blog post below! It has details and activities for all of the picture books in The Classroom Community Collection:
Whether you may be a teacher looking for the best books for welcoming new students, or a parent searching for children’s books about starting a new school, We’re So Happy You’re Here: A Warm Welcome for our New Student is truly “the one.”
It gives a new student that crucial sense of safety and belonging in their new surroundings, by making them feel genuinely seen, valued, and celebrated.
I hope you will love this addition to your classroom library and/or home library! Thanks for visiting my website today, and for taking the time to read all the way to the end of this post. I truly appreciate you, or as I should probably say…
I’m so happy you’re here! ☀️