Shake Down (Diep Nguyen)
(This is an
awesome brain break!)
Shake your right
hand five times as you count out loud.
Shake your left
hand five times as you count.
Shake your right
foot five times and count.
Shake your left
foot five times and count.
Shake your right
hand four times…left hand four times…right foot four times…left foot four
times.
Shake your right
hand three times…
Shake your right
hand two times…
Shake your right
hand one time…
Oh, yeah!!!!
Put the Baby to
Bed (Nitefa Jones-Pecou, The
Children’s School, Atlanta)
Now it’s time to
go to sleep. (Hold
up index finger.)
Put the baby in
the bed. (Open
palm and lay finger down.)
Cover the baby in
the bed. (Wrap
fist around finger.)
Kiss the baby
goodnight. (Kiss
finger wrapped up.)
“Waaaa.!” (Make the sound of a baby crying while
waving around finger.)
“Uh oh! Baby’s out of bed!”
*Ask the children
what you can do to get the baby to sleep.
*Add the
children’s suggestions to the song.
For example, “Feed the baby.”
Now it’s time to
go to sleep.
Feed the baby.
Put the baby in
the bed.
Cover the baby in
the bed.
Kiss the baby goodnight.
*Keep Adding the
children’s suggestions to the song and try to remember them all and create hand
gestures for them.
When you are ready
to stop, whisper the last verse.
The Twelve
“Joys” of Teaching (Christy, Sharon, & Terri Lynn from Martha R. Smith,
Jesup, GA)
Here’s a great
song to sing at your first faculty meeting when you go back to school.
On the first day
back to school my principal gave to me one book study.
2 ELP’s
3 Cases of head
lice
4 Picture days
5 Focus
walk-throughs
6 Angry parents
7 ADD kids
8 furlough days
9 RTI’s
10 Weeks of busy
duty
11 Fire drills
12 Staff meetings
THE (Kathleen Adair)
(Tune: “Shortnin’ Bread)
You can say the.
You can say the.
But you always
spell it
T – H – E.
Lookin’ Good
Cheer (Kipp DC: Discover Academy)
Top – ch (Make imaginary line across.)
Side – ch (Make
imaginary line down.)
Bottom – ch (Make
imaginary line on bottom.)
Brush your
hair. (Pretend to brush your
hair.)
Put on your chap
stick/lip stick.
Looking good!
Looking good!
Awwwh, YES!
*Marshmallow cheer
– Hands up! Pretend to take a big
bite.
Batman Cheer –
Hands up! Stick out arms and go
(da da da da da da da da) Batman!
Push Five
Handshake (Wynter McBride,
Athens, GA)
Hold your hand up
flat and push against the student’s hand.
Chair Bands
(Wynter McBride, Athens, GA)
Get Pilates bands
and cut them in half. (Target has
the best price.) Tie around the
front legs of the students’ chairs.
They can bounce their feet on these or push against them to release
extra wiggles.
Dropbox (Wynter McBride, Athens, GA)
Use Dropbox (free
app) to send photos from your smart phone to print.
Special Helpers
(Karen Butler, Brewton, AL)
Have “special
helpers” (stuffed animals) who look for good behavior or participation. Children get to keep the stuffed animals
at their desk for the rest of the day.
20 Questions (Jocelyn Boldizsar)
Play “20 Questions
Game” to develop:
*critical thinking
skills
*questioning
skills
*listening,
processing, and recalling skills
*introduce
descriptive words
3 Goals (Melissa Lane)
Each parent
creates 3 goals for their child at the beginning of the school year. The parents write them down and tell
the teacher how they will help their child reach their goals. Review the goals at the mid-year
conference and end-of-year conference.
This lets the teacher know what is important to the parents and
transfers some of the ownership for reaching the goals to the parent.
PVC Center
For those of you
with lots of parent volunteers, you can have a Parent Volunteer Center.
Ketchup Folder
Students keep work
they need to finish and “catch up” on.
The Little
Engine That Could… (Jackie
Daniel, Magill El., Loganville, GA)
At the beginning
of the year read the story of “The Little Engine That Could.” Talk about things that we can do like
the engine. Repeat, “I think I
can, I think I can…” Learn the
sight word “can” and have students set goals that they want to accomplish. For example, “I can write my name. I can write my numbers.” Each student comes up with a goal and
draws a picture of it. The students
dictate their sentences and make a class book of “I Can.” In January, have children look at their
goals from the beginning of the school year. If they accomplished that goal they make a new one. If they did not accomplish it then talk
about the progress they made. Make
a new book of goals in January. At
the end of the year check the book again and make goals for first grade.
Pass the Stomp (Sarah Poole)
Six or more
children join hands in a ring.
Child one lifts right leg and neighbor on their left lifts her left leg
at the same time, stomping together.
Continue passing the stomp around the circle.
The “Magic” Way (Theresa Watkins, The Children’s
School)
Do a finger play
activity or song with words.
Ex: “Ram Sam Sam” or
“Twinkle Little Star.” Do
the same activity without words and call it “the Magic way.”
Mrs. Buck Says (Donna Marie Buck)
Play the game of
“Simon Says” using the teacher’s name.
During the game there is no talking. If you don’t follow directions or if you make a sound you are
out. If you are out of the game
and make noise you won’t get to play the next game either.
Great website for
free Dolch words, phrases, games, activities, etc.
Lots of free
downloads.
Get Your Heads
Down (Wynter McBride, Athens,
GA)
Spray students’
papers with body spray. They’ll
get their heads down and start working!!!
Math
Manipulatives (Kathleen Adair)
Make your own rekenrek
tools with foam board, pipe cleaners, and red and white pony beads.
You can also make
a simple one with a pipe cleaner bracelet with 5 red and 5 white beads.
Draw a black line
down the center of a snack size zip bag.
Insert manipulatives (glass lobs slide easily) inside. Children can move the objects around to
discover different ways to make number bonds.
Pocket Book (Linda Milam)
Take a strip of
construction paper (4 ½” x 9”) and fold it as shown. Punch holes at the top and insert a pipe cleaner
handle. Cut the edge with
decorative scissors.
