Advice animals tips
Give your kids visual cues to help them follow your directions.
Source: Mrs. Maya’s Kinders “I have my kids line up on numbers. They stay on the same number all year. This saves so much time. We can line up in less than 15 seconds. Their toes touch the number but don’t cover it so I can see it.” —Debbie N.
Get the wiggles out.
Incorporating brain breaks will help all of your students when they just need a break from learning!
Teach with centers.
Teaching with centers is one of the easiest ways to work through your curriculum while teaching kindergarten. And kids love them! Check out our kindergarten literacy centers for more ideas.
Combine multiple objectives into a single lesson.
Source: Childcareland Pre-K Teach children number sense and fine motor skills at the same time. The kids will love using the hole punch and will be improving their number sense at the same time.
Do proper assessments.
Teachers need to ultimately adapt their teaching to suit students’ needs. You want all of your students to be successful; that’s why these kindergarten assessment ideas are so important.
Keep your kids moving all day long!
Source: You Clever Monkey “Plan lessons/activities that last no more than 15 minutes, with some kind of movement activity in between. (Moving from the circle to the table counts, as does clapping a pattern, or head, shoulders, knees, and toes.)” —Anne H.
Use anchor charts.
Creating anchor charts for and with your students helps them learn and remember lessons about topics like friendship, shapes, counting, letters, beginning writing, and more.
Routine, routine, routine.
Veterans who’ve been teaching kindergarten for years said this again and again on our Helpline: Probably more than any other age group in elementary school, kindergartners thrive on their routine. “Plan fun and easy activities for the first week so you can keep focused on the routine.” —Sarah S.
Find fun ways to teach all of the routines your little ones will need to know all year long.
“For my lines in the hallway, I say ‘There’s a cloud with marshmallows falling down (wiggle fingers like they’re falling from above), everyone, catch a marshmallow!’ Pretend to catch and say, ‘now put it in your mouth and chew chew chew chew and keep your finger on your lips so it doesn’t fall out’ until you get to the cafeteria, playground, etc. They’ll walk around with their cheeks puffed up pretending to chew. Some might say they ate it, so tell them to catch another or it’s too big to eat the whole thing and keep chewing! I’ve heard teachers say ‘catch a bubble.’ It’s the same concept. When I need instant silence I say, ‘Catch a marshmallow!’ and there is quiet immediately.” —Heikel F.
Teach kids how to make friends.
Source: First and Kinder Blue Skies Some of your students will do this naturally. Some of them will need your help. How to be a friend is one of the most important lessons they can leave their first year of school with.
