Mindful Monday is a great way to start the school week. If you are looking for a way to bring some mindfulness into your classroom, you are going to love this Mindful Monday activity.
Steady Beat music class activities. TONS of ideas that are easy to implement in the elementary music classroom.
Here is a super fun and easy STEM project for your kindergarten, Pre-K, or first grade class that features a favorite nursery rhyme: Humpty Dumpty! So grab some extra plastic eggs and get ready for some Nursery Rhyme STEM Time … Continue reading →
Crossing the midline activities for kids. What on earth are those? Sometimes in the educational world we start speaking a slightly different language than 'normal' people. Not that teachers aren't normal ... though ... you do need to be a little insane to work with small children all day long, don't you? Anyways. I had
Teach young children about road safety, water safety, fire safety, body safety and more with these interactive activities and stories.
Teaching young children about Christopher Columbus can be fun and exciting. Not only can you teach children about Christopher Columbus, b...
Coloring class activities for PreK-3rd Grade. Lean about Famous Artist: Jean-Michel Basquiat The Artist Summary includes the artist's portrait, name, country of origin, and a few famous artworks. Kids can learn about the artist in one coloring sheet.
My school has been very fortunate to offer a drama residency to students. The PAC and district joined together to fund this. We invited Ted Sloan, a local celebrity, in to help us out. Ted was a local radio personality for 10 years. Ted has an acting degree from the University of Alberta and he's currently going to Capilano University to complete a diploma in backstage studies. We took the school and split everyone up into one of three weeks. Everyone gets 45 minutes a day with Ted for a week. My class was in the first week. This residency was excellent for students in so many ways. It was great to push some of my more serious kids out of their comfort zone. For my outgoing students, they were provided an outlet for their personality I unfortunately can't provide often enough. I also strongly believe in the importance of male role models in kids lives - there just isn't enough male teachers and kids can easily go their whole elementary career without having a male teacher. When he first arrived, there were some simple expectations put in place: 1) Respect (for yourself, each other, him) 2) Not my prop (essentially, if it's not yours, don't touch it) 3) Ask "is it safe?" (if it isn't, don't do it) He also shared with them a strategy he calls "Focus In, Focus Out". Often in drama you can get overwhelmed or over excited. He said that if he noticed this in the students he would say "Focus In, Focus Out". When they heard this they were to take a deep breath in and out to refocus themselves. I was so grateful for these expectations as they set the tone for the entire week. Ted started every day with a check-in. This was set up very similar to what I do daily, Circle Talk. (From Tribes Learning Communities). He passed a ball around for the talking person, gave the right to pass, and reminded students of the respect piece which meant they couldn't take information they learned at the check-in to use against people out on the playground. What he did differently, which I loved, was that he set some limitations on the words they could use. They were not allowed to use "good", "okay", or "awesome" unless they justified it. He also challenged them not to explain their feeling with a word someone else has used (if I say I'm fantastic, then you need to pick a new word.) By the end, my kids were starting to come up with some great vocab! Ted also threw in fancy words (ecstatic, loathe, detest, elated) which helped build the vocab for them. In this video, he is teaching them level one of a concentration game. (Sorry the quality is not awesome - they came off my iPhone and then I think compressed some more when uploaded.) Students have to switch places with someone else in the circle without speaking to them or touching them to indicate the place switch. They also need to do so fairly quickly. Once this is mastered, they play a game of Zap simultaneously in level 2. The levels get harder after that with a ball being passed around and other crazy antics. Here he is going over the parts of a play: 1) Status Quo 2) Problem 3) Solution 4) Did it work? with a fun made up story the kids improv-ed. He uses "Focus In, Focus Out" at the end of this clip. Finally, a clip from the "8 Count Shake Out" which I will totally be using as a brain break. I was a bit slow with my camera, so I start at 4. The shake out halves each time - 8, 4, 2, 1. I started filming at 4. Thank you Ted for coming to our classroom! It was a fantastic experience for the students and myself! Readers, what is your favourite drama activity? Share with me in the comments! Pin this post.
Environmental print ideas, activities, and games for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten classroom to promote emergent literacy.
Preschool themes: Doctor Theme
Every summer we see the startling stories. The statistics are gut wrenching. As a parent, it makes our stomach turn and our heart breaks for the victims' families. I'm talking about the number of drownings we see every year in the U.S. Water safety is more prominent these last several years with the help of
Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...
Here is a quick guide to the vestibular system, as well as some fun and simple vestibular activities to try with young children.
Use these hands-on engaging crafts and activities as part of your all about me unit.
Origami for Preschool. Origami patterns for young children. Origami for dementia. Origami for dementia patience. Kindergarden and Preschool Origami Projects. Easy Origami for beginners. Origami basics. What are the benefits of origami. How to make a fortune teller. How to make an origami bookmark.
Spending the first week of school teaching classroom expectations and procedures is essential for a successful year. Glue is a tricky school supply for many little learners and there definitely needs to be instruction dedicated to teaching learners how to use this tool.Glue BottlesWhen learners are not taught how to use their glue correctly things
How does the saying go? "Do as I say, not as I do" or the other way around? We all know that children learn by example. They learn by what they see. But we are
20 ideas for teaching shapes to young kids, including fantastic toys that promote shape learning.
Rewards and incentives can be a critical component to classroom management success. They are also the perfect tool to help learners to go outside their comfort zones and learn new skills. Simply put, providing rewards and incentives encourage positive behaviors. Sometimes rewards are seen in a negat
Developing empathy in children has never been more fun than with this collection of 19 simple empathy activities for kids!
Even from a very young age kids can enjoy woodworking activities. These 5 fun woodworking activities for young children have been carefully selected to be suitable for our younger (aged approx. 4+) DIYers but older children can also get enjoyment from these woodworking projects. Our daughter went through a
I have a delightfully easy chant that teaches simple musical concepts to young children. It can be found in my Fast and Slow Music Lesson Plan but can be used in any context and repeated throughout the year. This is a great song to greet your class or say goodbye. You can clap and ... Read More about Easy Chant For Teaching Musical Concepts: Bread and Butter
Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...
Teach your young kids that they are natural scientists with by using the scientific method for preschoolers'. This simple guide and printables makes it fun and easy for young kids to engage with
10+ music and movement activities for toddlers and preschoolers that get them up and moving their bodies, strengthening their fine and large motor muscles.
The crayons were spilling out of the container chubby... skinny... broken... used... donated... restaurant collected... You name it We were up to our elbows in crayons, (but instead of throwing them out) I had several activities in mind... Crayon Bundles What I did: I grabbed a crayon from each "color family", grabbed a small rubber band, and made crayon bundles. (Language and Literacy, Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Development) What they did: They picked up the crayon bundles and began coloring! Since I was working with a mixed age group it was very interesting to see the children's various "scribbling stages". Lesson Reinforced: Scribbling is an essential part of a child's fine motor development. In fact, there are actually "20 basic scribbles" children must master before the formal writing stage Rhoda Kellogg- "20 Basic Scribbles" Helpful Tip: Keep your children's developmental age/ stage in mind when planning activities. Supervise and know your children. Crayon Melting What I did: I kept seeing different variations of this idea on Pinterest so I decided to try to make a crayon masterpiece of my own I grabbed a piece of canvas that the children had tossed to the side tore up some painter's tape to spell out my name hot-glued some crayons grabbed my hair dryer and quickly realized that... I should have left the wrappers on the crayons! "It may not turn out how you expect, but that's art for you" (Click here to see more crayon activities)
Use letter activities like alphabet collages or letter mats to help kids learn letter recognition and to reinforce letter-sound associations. Here are over 200 material ideas that you can use for your
Need effective emotional regulation activities for kids? Is your child struggling w big emotions, thoughts, feelings, & behavior? Read this!
This is a set of three simple activities about items commonly seen at Catholic mass. These activities were designed for young children and are meant to teach basic vocabulary. They feature easy-to-read fonts and include early sight words so your students can read along! Included: * "Things I See at Mass" mini book (three versions) * "Things We See at Mass" flip book * "Things We See at Mass" labeling pages Items included in this resource: altar, holy water font, candle, presider's chair, stole, cross, ambo, Book of Gospels, tabernacle, chalice, Body of Christ Please note: This resource features Catholic items commonly seen in most parishes. If you use a different word for an item or if you need me to make some other change for you, please let me know and I'll be happy to help! Please ask me any questions you have about this product using the Product Q&A below before purchasing. Please remember that your purchase is intended for use in one classroom only. If you intend to share with colleagues, please purchase additional licenses. Contact me for site licensing information. Thank you! ***************************************************************************** Here are more great resources! ★Kindergarten Summer Review Packet ★Kindergarten Writing Center Activities ★Read and Spot ★Kindergarten Literacy Night Pack ***************************************************************************** Follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter For product questions, comments, information, or requests, please contact me at [email protected]
Use these hands-on engaging crafts and activities as part of your all about me unit.
We are sharing 14 recreational activities for young children with visual impairments that you can try at home or in a school environment.
Social-emotional activities have never been more important for younger kids.
Toys for toddlers that encourage attention
12 interactive and fun games to teach self-control and build self-regulation skills for kids and teens. Strong skills for self-control are the foundation for success in and outside of the classroom.
It's not unusual for young children to need help with b and d reversals. If your child confuses b and d when reading and writing, then try this trick.
"Sharks have long been a fascination for many kids and adults alike. These mysterious creatures often get a bad rap, but they play an important role in our ocean's ecosystem. That's why learning more about sharks and how we can conserve their habitats is so crucial. With these free printable shark worksheets, young children can dive deep into the world of sharks. They'll learn all about the different parts of the shark, including the fin and gills, and discover how these structures help sharks survive. Additionally, children will gain a better understanding of the importance of shark conservation. So, get ready to explore the ocean with our shark worksheets and discover the wonder and beauty of these magnificent predators!"
Looking for the best show and tell ideas for kindergarten? You're in the right place. Besides ideas, we aim to provide a glimpse into all the benefits.
We play a lot of name games the first week of school, and this is one of my favorite name activities! It's fun for the class, brings lots of giggles, and practices phonemic awareness. Win win win! Go HERE to hear a sound clip of the song Willoughby Wallaby Woo. We use this song and change the lyrics to the names in our class. So fun! I usually sing "Willoughby Wallaby Wate".....and the class sings, "An elephant sat on Kate" and so on. Here is a printable that I use with my class. The students either draw their picture under the elephant....or I take their picture and they glue on their pic. They fill in the blanks to complete the page. It can be put on the wall for a display, or made into a class book. Click the pic to download! Hope you are having a blessed Sunday!
Our Muslim Homeschool uses affiliate links in posts and sidebar ads. Please refer to my Disclosure Policy for more information The following post is from Shannen at Middle Way Mom It just me, or do very few homeschooling methods refer to little ones being in the mix of a typical homeschooling day? One of the things
The Kindergarten artists and PreKinders also created some artwork inspired by Mondrian. The PreKinders glued down black lines creating squares and rectangles they then colored some of their shapes …
Learn how to teach piano to a 5-year-old step by step- even if your child has a hard time listening! The most important thing you can do is...
Apple themed songs and fingerplays for toddlers and preschoolers! Simple apple rhymes and songs you can sing with young children this fall!
