MOVING THE MORNING MEETING

Is your morning meaning (aka circle time) growing and growing and getting longer and longer? There’s limited time children can sit and pay attention, but this idea might help spark interest in your morning routine as you build skills. If you have 4 walls in your classroom, you could designate each wall for “My World,” “Math and Science,” “Word Wall,” and “Alphabet Wall.” No worries if everything is on one or two walls in your classroom. The key to the success is having children stand and move instead of having them sit. As children stand and face each wall or content area, you can engage them in some of the songs, movements, and interactive activities suggested.

My World
What? flag, US map, picture of President/Governor
                  poster of “Cheers and Celebrations”
How? Sing a good morning song, say the pledge, do a
                  handshake, review rules, etc.

Math/Science
What? calendar, weather chart, hundreds chart, daily schedule
How? Sing songs about the days of the week or the months.
                  Review your daily schedule.
                  Sing the weather song and have a “meteorologist” report.
                  Count, add boys and girls present, think of equations that equal
                  the date, etc.

Word Wall
What? word wall, flashlight, pointer, fly swatter
How? Sing, dance, clap, and cheer words. Make
                  sentences with words, play games, spotlight words,
                  spell words with sign language, etc.

Alphabet Wall
What? class alphabet, pointers
How? Sing alphabet songs and play letter recognition games.
                  Clap on consonants and jump on vowels.
                  Do Karate writing where children punch up high for tall letters,
                  punch in front of them for middle letters, and give a little kick
                  for letters with a tail.

Hint! Even if you don’t want to do all of the above activities, try breaking your morning meeting up this week with one or two active songs and you’ll be amazed at how it wakes up the brain.