Good morning! This year I decided to completely change what my students do in the mornings. Last year I was overwhelmed by constantly having to find something online, make copies, and guide students through their morning work. I felt that what I was having them do wasn't as meaningful as it could have been and that I was wasting a lot of paper! So after lots of research from some of my favorite teachers and bloggers I decided to make my own edition of fine motor practice, stem bins, and morning tubs.
Why play-based learning? Especially at the beginning of the school year it is crucial for our students to have practice with their fine motor skills. These skills contribute to their ability to hold their pencil, trace lines, cut paper, etc. In addition to building fine motor skills, play-based learning builds creativity and social skills. They are building their physical, emotional, and social skills through the interactions they are having with their peers and with the activities you provide. These blog posts were helpful for me when I began thinking about using play-based learning as my morning work. Each teacher puts their own spin on morning tubs. Check out some of their ideas and activities with the links below.
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| Little Minds at Work by Tara West - Explore Tubs! |
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| Fun in First by Jodi Southard - My Morning Routine |
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| Bonnie Kathryn Teaching - Kindergarten Morning Tubs |
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| The Brown Bag Teacher by Cathryn Reed - A 1st Grade Morning Work Alternative |
What do I do? First, I purchased 6 white plastic dish pans from Dollar Tree to house my activities. Each tub has a label on it that I printed from TpT on Astrobrights paper. These can be accessed with the links below through the picture and affiliated amazon link.
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| These labels are on my morning tubs and the cubby that the tub is stored in. This makes for easy clean up with my students. These labels are FREE from Catherine Reed - The Brown Bag Teacher! They are beautiful printed on Astrobrights! |
Next, I choose which activities I was going to put in my first set of morning tubs. I wanted to pick materials that many of my students were familiar with. In order to keep my tubs an INDEPENDENT activity I have to fill them with engaging materials. So here are my first 6 morning tubs:
1. Threading
2. Geoboards
3. Beads and Pipe Cleaners
4. Sorting
5. Bristle Blocks
6. Legos
Then, TRAIN THEM. You cannot welcome your students on Monday morning with your tubs laid out, ready and expect students to know what to do. I found this easiest to teach them is by modeling each tub specifically. The do's and the don'ts! I also showed my students how to clean up each tub, how it should look on the inside and how it should look in the cubby. We practice and watched one another choose a tub, choose a seat, and start working right away. My students are allowed to work in groups of 4 and sit anywhere in the classroom. Throughout the day, after lots of modeling, we practiced our morning tubs for 3-5 minutes several times.
Last, give them a go! My students still needed guidance, which is expected on the first day. I am still learning what works best in my classroom. As I change them out I will keep you updated! I'm excited about how these will help my students and allow for social play in the classroom. Good luck to all who are trying morning tubs in their classroom this year! Comment below with your activities and how it's going so far.
