Daily Hang Ups (Wendy Merrifield)
Draw large T-shirts on poster board. Take photos of students doing daily activities. Write the activity, time, and glue the picture to the T-shirts. Next, hang a clothesline across the top of one of your bulletin boards. Clothespin the T-shirts in order to the line. As you move through the day, turn over each shirt so the students can see their day get shorter and shorter. When you get to the last T-shirt do an “end of the day” dance!!!
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.
Ketchup Folder
Students keep work they need to finish and “catch up” on.
Letter Substitution
Substitute the letter you are working on for directions at transition times. For example: B –“Bine bup bor bunch.” The kids have to figure out the real directions.
Morning Baskets
Here’s a great idea for “morning baskets” that the children can do each morning when they arrive at school. Each teacher in their kindergarten team makes 7 different buckets with 4 different activities for math and reading. They rotate these each week at the tables in their classrooms. They have a set for the beginning of the year, middle of the year, and end of the year.
Nursery Rhyme Club (Janie Moore)
Challenge your students to learn 8 nursery rhymes and say them in front of the class. Create a poster where they can sign their name and give them a membership card to the “Nursery Rhyme Club.”
Body Spelling
For tall letters put your hands in the air. For midline letters stick your arms out by your sides. If a letter goes in the basement, touch your toes.
Open Mic Friday
Every Friday during “Writer’s Workshop” give children a play microphone and let them read one of their stories to the class.
