classroom is in order- now to plan out the pace and opening weeks

After a week and a half of painting, alphabetizing, and removing extra furniture, the classroom is looking ready for the welcoming touches. I found a closet full of borders, posters, and resource materials and placed what was most relevant to the initial curriculum and basic grammar review- the eight parts of speech and the many regions of Indian tribes of North America. Had a clever aha moment as I was posting the boards on the different tribes to place them according to their location...ie. the Southwest, the Far West, The Plains, The Far North, the Eastern Woodlands. If it helps me remember it will probably help the kids, right?!.I also put up some book covers of some of the classics by the library to inspire reading of books above and beyond Goosebumps and Captain Underpants. I found a beautiful hardback edition of The Secret Garden at the used book store for a couple of bucks; I think of it as the jewel in the haystack that is our classroom library. Hopefully someone will discover it and have the sheer pleasure of holding it as she/he reads it.
I am researching on line, reading textbooks, and gathering supporting materials from Creative Teaching and various Scholastic booklets. There are no shortage of activities to help the kids get the concepts- it is the mapping out of the introduction/review of the concepts that I am working on. Where to start? I want to see how well the kids write at the start, but realize there will be a huge gap between the highest and most basic of readers and writers. I am trying to accommodate the lessons and activities to engage everyone- a tall order to be sure.
I know that the first week will be a combination of team building activities, review, clarification of rules, responsibilities and expectations. I also know that it is best to over plan and to schedule every minute of the day - especially for the first few days . Seating arrangements, establishing hand raising protocol, how kids can communicate need to use the restroom or sharpen a pencil without interrupting the rest of the class- those are the kinds of details that I am trying to work out mentally in advance- sometimes in the middle of the night :)