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• Greetings: 

  • Proper eye contact & tone when speaking!

  • Props: pass a stuffed animal, thematic prop, balls, bean bags, *friendship flower (always available in the classroom)

  • Hands: handshake, pinkie shake, high-five, tap hands, knuckle bump, link elbows

  • Gestures: salute, peace sign, wave, hug

  • Spider Web: pass ball of yarn gently across the circle & each person continues to hold onto their strand of yarn 

  • Paper Airplane: gently toss paper airplane around the circle until each person has had a turn

  • Say "Hello" in Different Languages

  • Give a Special Greeting: "have a great day, be kind today, work hard today"

  • Name Songs 

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• Songs: ​

  • Finger-plays: includes (seasonal or thematic) rhymes, and increases fine motor skills

    • Finger-plays (e.g. 5 Little Pumpkins)​​

  • ​ABC Songs ​​

    • KidsTV123: *my favorite YT channel for songs!​

    • Pre-K Pages

  • ​Counting Songs
    • KidsTV123​
    • Living Montessori Now

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• Morning Message

  • Relate to current theme and post on the main teacher whiteboard or smart-board. Mix up the format daily. 

  • "Fix It": (e.g. the DOgc an ru.n)

  • Echo Read or Choral Read: sentences or passages

  • Sentence Stems: focus on specific vocabulary words

  • Find Letters and Words: *use highlight tape for non-digital resources

  • Utilize HFW (High Frequency Words): as often as possible

  • Counting story problems: add visuals

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• Movement Activities

  • Yoga, stretching, crossing mid-line with right-left movements

  • Cardio mats, exercise stations, balancing

  • Specific Movements: 

    • Show A Move (e.g. like walking in mud, bouncing like popcorn)

    • Move As If (e.g. you are a robot or a dinosaur)

    • Hokey Pokey

  • Specific Dances: 

    • Milkshake

    • Pop See Ko

    • Banana Banana Meatball

    • ​Freeze Dance

    • I'm a Gummy Bear

    • Trolls: Can't Stop the Feeling

  • GoNoodle videos include:

    • Brainercise, Breathe, Guided Dance, Stretch, Workouts, Class Routines, Indoor Recess

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• Engagement Activities

  • Popsicle Sticks: also called "fair sticks," to draw students' names randomly

    • Check out: The Teacher Tool Kit​

  • Mindfulness: for self-awareness, concentration, emotional understanding, coping, empathy

    • Check out: Happier Human​

  • Fun Circle Time Games

    • Check out: Early Impact Learning​

  • Interactive Academic Lessons​​

    • Teachers Pay Teachers Resources: *search & discover fun circle time activities & interactive questions

    • Calendar: use for a variety of counting & pattern activities

    • Target Maps & Brainstorms: for specific topics & themes

    • Pocket Chart Venn Diagrams: for compare & contrast, classification, sorting

    • KWL: "what I know, what I wonder, what I learned" for specific topics & themes

    • Read-Alouds & Retelling Activities: including digital read-alouds

    • Science Experiments

      • Check out: We Are Teachers​

    • White-board Writing: for a variety of interactive (Q&A) activities

      • Check out: Mini Dry-Erase Answer Paddles​

    • Hula Hoops: for sorting & venn diagram activities

    • Phonemic Awareness & Phonics Games: silent observation, I Spy, mystery bag/ box, asking and answering questions in complete sentences, card matching, sorting

    • Sight Word Games: give a sentence, spell with motion, sort & count the letters

    • Counting: count with charts, count forwards & backwards, count in a whisper voice or in different pitches

    • Songs: fingerplays, ABC songs, counting songs, videos

  • Interactive All About Me Q&As: use critical thinking questions 

  • Think, Pair, Share: offer unique topics & questions

  • Partner & Team Games: staring contest, mirror image, rock-paper-scissors, Simon Says, Doggy Doggy Where's Your Bone?​