Hands-on School Day Starters – Get Kids Ready to Focus!
Winning coach, Mike Krzyzewski, uses applause to encourage his Duke University Men’s Basketball Team to win. Photo courtesy of www.wralsports.fan.com
Hi and welcome back to Attentionology for K – 5 Teachers!
Quick and attention-getting, like hands clapping, cheering us on to a win…
hands-on school day starters can help kids get ready to focus.
The win?
Success in school!
Put these hands-on school day starters to work in your classroom…
Lead Students in a Clap, Snap, Let’s Get Ready to Learn Cheer – Add a quick class cheer to your morning routine.
Instruct students to sit up and put their hands together to clap. Ask how fast they can then snap their fingers. Close the cheer with hands in the air and a call out – “Let’s Get Ready to Learn!”
Tell the class to be on the lookout each morning for your signal to cheer because it won’t come everyday; it will come as a surprise.
This in itself teaches focus.
Play Wake Up Little Cow! – Play Wake Up Little Cow as a School Day Starter with children in the early grades.
“Wake up Little Cow! It’s time to start the school day!”
Introduce Little Cow as early in the school year as possible by pointing out where Little Cow “lives” in your classroom. (A library shelf is a good home.)
NOTE: Any cuddly stuffed animal will work for this strategy; just change the activity name to suit your selection.
- Here’s how to play…Walk over to where you have placed Little Cow in your classroom.
- Lean over as if you’re talking to the animal and say, “Wake up Little Cow! It’s time to start the school day!” Ask the class to help you get Little Cow ready to focus by repeating what you’ve said to the animal. Then move Little Cow’s head and joyfully announce that Little Cow IS waking up and getting ready to focus!
Little kids love this simple, sweet school day starter. And, you can use Little Cow to promote good behavior, good spelling, good…whatever you choose her functions to be by having Little Cow “struggle” with tasks and inviting the class to help Little Cow do better.
Here’s a hands-on school day starter to catch the early morning attention of your third – fifth grade students…
Barbara Cleary has been serving as a resource to hundreds of educators for more than 25 years.
An award-winning writer, producer, teacher, and trainer, Barbara’s focus is on offering easy, fun tools and tricks that support K-5 curricula and assist teachers with classroom management.
