Fall is one of my favorite times of the year in the classroom, because we get to do so many fun themes! One fall theme that we recently began exploring is scarecrows. We have had a BLAST with a week full of scarecrow activities and a free scarecrow craft, so I wanted to share some…
If you teach Pre-K or Kindergarten, then you know that teaching the alphabet is kind of a big deal! Teaching letters and letter sounds is a HUGE part of our curriculum. It can feel like there’s a lot of pressure to teach the alphabet the “right way.” After all, teaching the alphabet is a foundation…
If you teach the early grades, chances are you are working on names right now! Most years, the majority of my Kindergarten class comes in unable to even recognize their names. So needless to say, we are spending LOTS of time on name practice activities! These name practice ideas will help you work on names…
Learning how to use scissors is something we know we will have to teach every year. Many of our students come to us never having held a pair of scissors before! But how do we best teach students how to cut with scissors? Teaching students how to cut with scissors is an important fine motor…
One of the best ways to make Kindergarten math a little more engaging is to make whole group math games a part of your lessons. I love adding in jumbo dice when we play our whole group math games because it just adds a little something extra! You can use jumbo dice or inflatable dice…
At the beginning of the year, lining up in Kindergarten can feel a bit like herding cats. How to I teach my kindergarteners to line up without running, pushing, or complaining about where they are in line? Well, believe it or not, it doesn’t have to be complicated. There is one classroom management trick that…
Is there anything more iconic than a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom week in Kindergarten? This is one of my favorite weeks of all time because it gets my students so excited to learn! These chicka chicka boom boom activities will help make your week memorable! Reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Of course, we have to…
It has been said that play is the work of children, yet more and more, play is being pushed aside to fit in more academics. As free time is being taken out of the school day, teachers are wondering how to incorporate play in their kindergarten day. While creative free play is still a childhood…
Planning for the first week of kindergarten can be overwhelming. There are a million and one things to remember and do and, let’s face it, there is a reason people compare the first weeks of kindergarten to herding cats! But take a deep breath, because i’ve got you. These 5 tips are guaranteed to make…
Sensory bins are an amazing way to combine learning and play in preschool, Pre-k, or kindergarten. These free birthday themed sensory bin activities would be fun any time of the year! Why use sensory bins in the classroom? As their name implies, sensory bins allow students to use multiple senses to explore and learn. They…