Make learning the cool thing to do in your classroom with fun, age-appropriate lessons and activities for kindergarten.
Find activities for holidays, favorite kindergarten Youtube videos, literacy centers and ideas to make learning come alive.
Don’t just teach with worksheets – bring the hands-on, engaging, and play-like fun into your classroom!
You can create literacy centers that last all year long. This is how I set up, organized and displayed the work created by my students from our pokey pinning literacy center. The pokey pinning center focuses on using fine motor skills to poke out simple sight word based sentences. I’ll also mention how it lasts…
Simple is my style. So when you find a game or tool that is simple and can be used for many things – it’s a keeper in my book. One of my favorite examples is a game called “flashcard flash.” It only takes 3 colored pieces of craft foam or construction paper and you’re set…
As a big fan of year-long literacy centers, I don’t really know how to use anything else. {Nor would I want to} Here is how I put together an ABC center, expectations, and the standards. This center, like most of mine, uses hands-on materials and includes student choice. This is a fantastic recipe to make a…
Learning to spell kindergarten sight words, let alone read them can be quite challenging for beginning readers. Here is a fun, kinesthetic way to help teach kindergarten sight words. Simply turn your students into letters of the alphabet and let them form the letters with their bodies! Building movement into lessons yields far better results…
If you like to take a cute end of the year class photo, here is a simple and quick idea. This class photo for the end of the year is easy to put together. Run some construction paper through your printer or copy machine and you’re set to go! Grabbing a class photo is a…
Create your own pointers for your kindergarten classroom. Here are 5 easy, outside-of-the-box pointers that make reading just a little bit more fun. Pointers are a handy tool we often use as primary school teachers to literally point to things. Think of it as an extension of your arm to point to things in a…
Pete the Cat is the go-to book for many kindergarten and elementary classrooms. Here are free Pete the Cat activities, freebies and books listed all in one place so you won’t have to go digging to look for them. These resources were all free at the time that I found them. There are printables for back…
You’d think I like writing about the kindergarten bathroom. Not really. It’s just that using the bathroom during school plays a big part of getting the year off to a good start in kindergarten. I like to teach my expectations of how we use the restroom in our classroom with students through a procedures book…
In kindergarten, we celebrate the end of the school year by counting down the days together using the alphabet. Here is a fun classroom photo idea to show off the bright future of your students at the end of the year. Plus, there is a free photo overlay you can use to make your own….
The first day of school is almost overwhelming with new procedures and things to learn in kindergarten. No, that would be a lie to say *almost* because it definitely is overwhelming. It’s just a big, exciting day with tons to pack in… in the most creative, energetic, playful, movement-oriented ways of teaching how to “do…
Literacy centers make up the huge portion of my 90 minute reading block. If you’ve read any of my thoughts on kindergarten literacy or kindergarten reading centers then you know that I only use centers with very little maintenance or upkeep. One of the first centers I implemented is the classic library center. I say “classic”…
Using computers in kindergarten means lots of new skills to learn. Here are the types of things that helps kindergartners be successful, basic skills needed and tips for teaching kindergarten students. I like to use kindergarten games to teach standards rather than just teaching keyboarding or computer skills. Yet, there is a lot that students…
There is so much wrapped up into the first day of school in kindergarten. A kindergarten first day is important to teachers, students, and parents! Here is what I do ahead of time to prepare for just the first day. These preparations help me keep myself on track the first day of school since we…
Writers workshop in kindergarten can be made easier and headphones can help. I have found that using headphones during my writers workshop time helps my kindergarten students concentrate better, reduces noise and adds a “hook” of interest. Writers workshop time can be super-productive with the help of some old headphone sets. Here is how I…
Here is the next step in investigating painted lady butterflies in kindergarten. I previously laid out how I like to order the larva and my tips for investigating and allowing them to grow. This is the last section of the three part series. Ordering and setting this unit up Investigating and housing the larva and…
Here is the next step in investigating painted lady butterflies in kindergarten. I previously laid out how I like to order the larva and my tips for making the process go smoothly. Since it’s one of my favorite things I do in a year, I want to be sure to do it justice in this three part…
Teaching kindergarten is so unique and well, pretty awesome – if you ask me. But, don’t just take my word for it. Check out this slew of creative, fun and helpful teaching kindergarten ideas and activities from other kindergarten teachers that were shared with me from our online show n’ tells. You’ll find teacher tools, end of the year activities,…
Has it been short of forever since I shared about our literacy centers? Working smart is what I like to think I’m doing, when I share with you that my philosophy on bringing learning and playing together happens during literacy centers. I like to create centers that offer choice and keep repeating the same standards with different…
Accomplish kindergarten word work Common Core standards with manipulative learning. Playdough, magnets, and dry erase markers give kindergarten students the repeated practice they need to get proficient at segmenting, blending and substituting sounds at any position in a cvc word. Word work won’t feel boring when you use manipulatives, it’ll feel more like play. In…
Celebrate Dr. Seuss books and the fun of reading with this activity for kindergarten. Create a class book that records whether or not students like green eggs and ham. This activity for kindergarten is just one of twelve Dr. Seuss activities for kindergarten that I recommend. Do you like to have your class taste green…
You can use math journals to give students opportunities to write about their thinking and ditch worksheets once and for all. I loved using math journals in my classroom and here’s why. I hope to highlight two of my favorite reasons why using math journals is awesome with snapshots of student work. A little background Here…
How can a kindergarten teacher find the time to assess? {Really! How is it possible when most of our testing is done one-on-one?} Can I tell you that I don’t have the answer for everyone. What I can share are the solutions that work for me. Each of our classrooms runs differently and we are…
Beginning sounds, rhyming and CVC segmenting and blending are key skills when learning how to read and write. But where do we grow from there? How can we keep a literacy center the same and yet build on those skills already mastered? How can we keep a literacy center the same and yet build on…
Sometimes allure is in a name. When I read books on how to create literacy centers and run guided reading groups my first year of teaching, I liked a lot of what I read. But I wanted to find a “hook” to get my kinders into their activities and get them to read and write!…