Little Playful Learners
If you believe that learning should be hands-on, theme-based, high-interest, and FUN, you’re in the right place!
The best digital resources for kindergarten and early elementary classrooms! Whether you’re teaching virtually or in the classroom, digital resources can boost learning for students and make your job a lot easier. In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite tried-and-true learning websites and apps. Some are free, some come with a low price …
Sight word practice CAN be fun with these hands-on ideas! Last week, I shared a bunch of great ways to use sight word flash cards (read the post here). As I was writing that post, I kept thinking of all kinds of other ways I’ve had my students practice sight words, so I that’s what …
Yes, you CAN have fun – and still learn – with flash cards! Sometimes it feels like teachers are constantly reinventing the wheel – always trying to find new manipulatives, games, and engaging ways to get kids excited about learning. Don’t get me wrong…I’m a total sucker for a lot of those novel things, but …
Tips and Tricks to Make Virtual Learning a Success! It’s no secret that during distance learning, students spend a lot of time in front of a computer or tablet. There’s really no way to avoid it, but there are some things you can do to make your virtual meetings more engaging and interactive. In this …
Are you a teacher that uses Seesaw for distance learning? Are you looking for some incredible Seesaw hacks that will make your life easier? Maybe your district has chosen Seesaw as their distance learning platform, or maybe you struck out on your own and discovered for yourself the pure awesomeness that is Seesaw. Either way, …
This FREE Weekly Lesson Plan Template for Seesaw is going to change your life! I’ve been a fan of Seesaw for several years now, but I didn’t really know the power it held until I started using it for distance learning. Up until last spring, I pretty much only used it to share pictures with …
Create a Classroom Culture that Reduces Unwanted Behavior When we talk about classroom management, teachers often focus on how to change unwanted behaviors. But really, the focus should be on prevention. There are lots of ways that teachers can stop behaviors before they happen, and one of the most effective ways is creating a positive …
I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon and start creating my must-have read-aloud book lists because I’ve got a little secret to share with you: I have a bit of an obsession with children’s books. They make me SO happy! Any of my former coworkers would tell you how absolutely giddy I got whenever the …
Make classroom management easier with these organization tips! Classroom management begins even before the first student steps foot in your room. The way you organize your classroom can have a huge impact on how your days will go. Looking back on my first couple years of teaching, I can see that the way I had …
I don’t know about you, but centers have always been my favorite time of day in kindergarten. And now, suddenly, they’re going to have to look completely different due to social distancing in the classroom. That’s what this post is all about: ideas for socially distanced centers that still engage kids! In my classroom, I …
There has been A LOT of talk recently about what school will look like with all the social distancing requirements that have been put into place. But with all these rules, how are teachers going to make students feel like they’re part of a classroom community? The lack of ability to gather on the rug …
Not only can you survive the first week of kindergarten, you can ROCK it! Read on to see what my lesson plans looked like for the first week of school last year. You’ll find lots of links to resources (even some FREEBIES) and great activities to make the first days a success. The number one …
Here’s the final set of FREE Question of the Day activities and we’re going down to the farm this week! There are so many fun ways to incorporate the farm theme into learning activities – and tons of great books out there too. This week is always one of my favorites! If you haven’t read …
It’s dinosaur week at our school! There are so many fun things you can do with a dinosaur theme, and this week’s Seesaw Questions of the Day are no different. I think my students are going to love completing these daily tasks! Every year, I have a handful of kiddos who just can’t get enough of dinosaurs, …
Our theme this week is ocean animals, so this week’s Seesaw Questions of the Day feature sharks, octopuses, starfish and more! I don’t know about you, but I love the colors of the oceans – all the blues and greens make me feel so happy. To be fair, most of the ocean I’ve seen has been through …
This week’s Seesaw Questions of the Day are all about insects. If you’re not familiar with Seesaw, you can read more about it on their website. It is such an amazing tool – I’ve used it in the classroom for a few years, but I never knew all the cool features it had until I …
In this post, I’m sharing the second set of Questions of the Day that I’ve created for use in Seesaw. To find out how my team of kindergarten teachers uses these questions, hop over to my original post about our distance learning plan. Then check out these Spring-themed activities and get them all for free …
This post showcases the first set of Question of the Day for Seesaw. They’re more a academic in nature than the ones we posted the first week of distance learning, which were meant to help students get acquainted with the tools they’ll need to use in Seesaw activities. You can read more about those (and …
Updated July 24, 2020 During distance learning, we all had to get pretty creative with how we delivered instruction. As my school district started making a plan, one of the biggest questions my team of kindergarten teachers faced was, “How do we take attendance?” We wanted to keep it simple. We knew that parents of …
Updated August 1, 2020 Last March, on a Sunday morning, Minnesota governor Tim Walz announced that every school in the state would transition to distance learning to slow the spread of COVID-19. He gave schools two days to close their doors to students and two weeks to develop a distance learning plan. In my district, …
A few years ago, I stumbled across the book How Big is a Million? by Anna Milbourne and Serena Riglietti and I completely fell in love with it. It’s the story of a penguin named Pipkin who wants to find out how big a million is. Along the way, he discovers 10 fish, 100 penguins …
Do you ever have students who start moving before you’re finished giving directions – like as soon as they hear the first step, they think it’s time to go? It used to happen in my classroom ALL. THE. TIME. Then a few minutes later, I’d have a little sweetie asking, “What do I do next?” …
Today I’d like to share some fun games that you can play with your little learners that will help them develop skills in critical thinking, literacy, and math. And the best part is, you don’t need any materials at all – you can do them anywhere, anytime! Whether you’re a parent driving your kids to …
The best part about these monthly playlists is that every song is 100% appropriate and (hopefully) it's not the kind of children's music that makes you want to bang your head against a wall.
