It’s official: spring is here. Let’s all give a silent cheer! (Yippee!) Uh-oh, did I just hear a groan or two? Well, I understand. The arrival of spring means spring fever isn’t too far behind. And that means it’s time to dust off your springtime teaching tactics so you’ll be ready.
So what’s in your stash of springtime teaching strategies? Tell me I’m not the only teacher to offer her students five extra minutes of recess in exchange for their completed assignments! 🙂
Please share!
Diane
I love Spring because it means more time outside! We usually plant a flower garden when Spring arrives that then we watch it grow!
I also offer more recess time because they kids have been stuck inside so much this Winter!
I have older twos and they love to dance, so play fun kids dance music for 15 minutes. We dance with pom-poms and scarves. They love it!
I take the kids out more to shake off all that nasty Michigan winter. I also do a lot of science this year growing things, insects. etc.
WE plant flowers and use sidewalk chalk to write our spelling words. BUT it will be awhile before we can do any of this. We had early dismissal today due to a blizzard and will have a snow day tomorrow. We can expect up to 18″ of snow. It will also be awhile before my students go out and collect those pesky ladybugs again-which frequently escape from their classroom homes.
Oh by the way…the ladybug will be our official state insect thanks to a group of students in a nearby town!
We’re hoping Spring comes back soon to North Dakota!!
I have older threes and younger fours. We love to go outside and play games. Soccer is one of their favorite things to play. 🙂
Oh, how I wish I could send each of you some springtime weather! Here in North Carolina we’ve had a gorgeous week so far. I’m guessing it’s what I call a “spring teaser,” but it’s wonderful nonetheless. Sending you bright and sunny thoughts!
I love spring! I live in NC too and this week has been great! On Tuesday, I took the kids outside during snack time and read some of Junie B. Jones a Little Monkey Business-one of my favorites! Anyway, it was so nice, the students were fabulous and we all got to relax and listen to a chapter or 2 of this hilarious book!
Here in Oregon, we have many wet, rainy spring days, so I try to get my wiggly, restless preschoolers moving around indoors, even when we can’t be going outdoors as much as we’d like to.
During our carpet times, I send them off to all corners of the classroom to search for some specific item, (an animal with four legs or something purple) to bring back to the group before we count to 20 or finish singing “Twinkle Twinkle. Whatever comes to mind or fits our themes. It’s a challenge and fun for them, as well as being active, and it gets them all thinking. And I like it because it’s easy and quick for me, with very little preparation. I also send them off to hunt for items around the classroom that we can sort or group into different categories and then we place them on a big, felt Venn Diagram on the floor. Then I stick a little sign near them to label how we classified them. This is a great exercise for getting them thinking about descriptives and how things can be alike and different! Their parents really enjoy seeing the piles they’ve collected: “Things that we can ride” or “Things that are cold”.