I believe in routine in my classroom. I find routines so important as they make my classroom management just that much easier. My morning routine is no different. I used to do a morning worksheet. Students came in and got their duotang out with their morning worksheet of work, but honestly, it wasn’t ever anything that had much value. I gave my students busy work with little value. It gave me a chance to greet my students and get papers organized.
As I grew as a teacher, I realized I wanted the start to the day to be more meaningful to my students. The first change I made came when I attended the TRIBES program workshop. It opened my mind to the idea of building more community in my classroom. After this I started building in Community Circle more and more into my morning routine.
The second morning routine I added was more recent. I have been toying with the idea for a long time, but was able to fully realize it this last year. It is Soft Start with intentional play. Yes, I teach upper elementary students and yes they still love to PLAY!
Community Circle Morning Routine
Every morning, we meet as an equal group. All members of the class, students and teachers (and educational assistants), meet and reconnect. Our meetings can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the topics discussed. Students are able to share exciting news or troubles. It is a time to share about what is coming up in our day and for everyone to ask questions or air concerns. Community Circle is key to building community and creating a class of learners who support one another.
For more information about how I started to use Community Circle go here. If you are interested in more details about how to run Community Circle in your own classroom please visit my TPT store.
Soft Start Morning Routine
This is my new journey. But has been on my mind for a long time. The reason is simple. I really truly feel that older kids need to play more. Play develops many important skills: self regulation, sharing, decision making, negotiation, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving etc. If given more opportunities to play, maybe kids will continue to develop those essential life skills. Kids these days are over scheduled with structured activities, and when they are home they are often tethered to a screen. They do not have much opportunity for open-ended, kid driven play. And it is this open-ended, kid driven play that is important for the development of those essential life skills.
It was a bit of a journey this year starting Soft Start with my students. Not for the kids — they loved it! But for the teachers. Managing it and making it meaningful and intentional was the challenge. Read more about the journey here. Now I have a plan and know how to make it meaningful. By linking play to the core competencies and doing some teaching around this idea is key to its success. You can get these soft start teaching activities here in my TPT store.
Bundle and Save!
If you are interested both of these routines, I have bundled them in my TPT store. Trust me in that these two ideas have reformed my teaching and the relationship I have with my students. It is a thorough shift in thinking when it comes to mornings, but a valuable one. Why just do busy work when you can be intentional about the growth of your student’s core competencies and your classroom community in your morning routine!
♥ Cassandra
