Classroom routines

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Routines in the classrooms are very important for children’s development. They help children to feel safe, comfortable and confident in the school environment but also to be organised and be independent. Research shows that children with regular routines have self-regulation skills, the building blocks of good mental health.

Routines should be clear and consistent. Creating and maintaining routines can also help us, teachers, manage the classroom.

3 things are essential for the ‘recipe’ to succeed!

  1. To integrate the routines into the daily schedule
  2. To stick to the routines,

          and, most importantly,

  1. To make routines enjoyable, in the form of e.g. games

I tried to encapsulate my experience with classroom routines and management in the following videos. These ideas helped me not only to ‘survive’ in the kindergarten, but also to make my life and the adorable cuties’ life easier and more pleasant. These ideas also work well with 1st, 2nd  and – why not? – 3rd graders.

You will find instructions on routines and classroom management (and other useful ones, I hope!) in the Tips section (Tip No5, Parts 1-7 is for classroom management).

Have a look here: 

TIPS

Pete the cat!

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He’s super cool, a blue furball remaining calm in the face of adversity: when his pristine, white shoes, his pride and joy, become red, blue, brown and, finally, wet, does he lose his calm? Does he cry? No, no, no! He just changes the words to his song!

That’s what makes Pete the cat so popular with kids and educators alike. Kids want to relate to such a cool type and teachers want to instil the abilities of self regulation and resilience to their students. This imperturbable blue cat is such an appealing role model for kids to relate to! (Come to think of it, why not for teachers, as well?)

Its main character’s upbeat, happy attitude, coupled with vivid colours and a memorable, repetitive ditty make the book a must-read, suited for primary students of all grades. I used it with first graders, and plan to use it not only with kindergarten pupils but older students as well!

There are a host of activities and resources that relate to the book, this delightful book, written by Eric Litwin (who brings bookwriting and music together!) and wonderfully illustrated by James Dean (not the actor, of course!)  and video.

I made this funny story prop to help pupils repeat the story (after we have read the book and watched the video). The rotating disc enables the impressive change in Pete’s shoes when he inadvertently steps in all kinds of colour-changing substances: the disc is separated in 4 quadrants (white, red, blue and brown.) The disc is covered by a green circle on top of which the cat is glued. The shoes are cut on the green surface (best cut with an exacto knife pen for more precision). All the layers are connected in the middle with the help of a split spin.

Here are some pics:

And here’s the end product, with velcro straps to hold the laminated images of strawberries, blueberries, mud and the bucket of water (found at kizclub Story Props)

Here’s how I used it with my 1st graders:

 

I will use some easy artwork as well from Pete the Cat Activities: Pete the Cat Rocking In My School Shoes: Coloring

Hope you will find this article useful (and not  CATastrophic!!! 😆 )

Little Red Riding Hood

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Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who wore a little hood of red velvet given to her by her grandmother … The much beloved fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood is ideal to teach to 1st graders (why not 2nd or 3rd or…?) Well known fairy tales provide both children and teachers with a familiar starting point from which to explore stories in a second language. A wide range of activities (from oral storytelling, dramatic play, book making, creating story props, designing masks and making story boxes to name but a few) can be used (have a look here for some ideas).  

Keeping early literacy fun and playful is essential. The foundations of good literacy skills dwell in comprehension and language skills, which are fostered best through listening to stories and retelling them in a fun way. Oral storytelling (with emphasis on opening and closing lines, along with formulaic phrases and repetitive structures) could be enhanced by the use of puppets. All the best-loved bits – particularly the lines children love to listen to could be practiced in a fun and engaging way.

One way to do easy puppets is to print the figures, have the students paint it, then cut them out and stick them to popsicle sticks.

Here is the template:

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/ddc53de97a3f72b1ff75344d86d000db.pdf

Another (more fascinating because of the game of shadows and light) is to try narrating the fairy tale with shadow puppets (see how to make a shadow puppet theatre here).

I have created a set of eleven silhouettes below: a girl, a wolf, a woodcutter, a mother, a grandmother, a house, a tree, and a bush with flowers, a bed, a mushroom and a hare.

Here they are:

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/house-woodcutter-tree.pdf

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/wolf-bed-1.pdf

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/mother-LRRH-granny-mushroom-flowers-hare-1.pdf

Watch this video for some help:

 

Use these templates to create your own shadow production of Little Red Riding Hood with your class! Make the room dark and have fun while practicing students’ narrative skills!

This is the little act I pulled together using the text from the PEAP material  :

 

Good Luck!

The very Hungry Caterpillar puppet

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This epic, timeless, much-loved favourite book for so many of us, illustrated and written by Eric Carle (first published in 1969) lends itself to soooo many enjoyable activities that I can’t honestly say if the students enjoy it more than teachers! In fact, there are so many that it is hard to pick just a few!

The ones I like the most, though, are the puppets which you can make and use to bring the story to life along with the students!

There are so many variations of it. Over the years in order to make the Very Hungry Caterpillar we’ve used  pom poms / paper chains / egg cartons / craft sticks (popsicle sticks) / bamboo skewers / construction paper for finger puppets

and

plasticine / self drying modelling clay / construction paper and a hole punch for the food.

This year in order to convey the undulating wave motion of a caterpillar I thought about doing it in the accordion-folded shape out of two even strips of green paper (preferably two shades of green).

This is how you do it: take the two strips and position them in a 90° angle. Glue the connecting papers together. Fold the bottom strip over the top and crease the fold along the edge. This will make the accordion fold tight! Continue this process until all the paper has been folded.

Then use red paper for the head, yellow and green for the eyes and a piece of pipe cleaner for the antennas. Finally, use a hot glue gun to add 2 chopsticks at the front and bottom of the accordion among the creases.

The caterpillars (two, one smaller and one bigger, since it will gobble up all that food!) will stretch and fold like real ones!

Now, your own Very Hungry Caterpillar is ready to give you and your students countless opportunities for fun and learning!

 

Here’s how my little students played with the caterpillar (and produced small parts of the story!!!)

 

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar

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Eric Carle’s work is loved and admired throughout the world. It’s not only his ingeniously crafted children’s stories but his iconic collages and artistry that have fascinated children and adults alike.

For more than 50 years (since it was initially published in 1969) The Very Hungry Caterpillar has ‘nibbled’ its way into everyone’s hearts and has become one of the top selling children’s books of all time, translated into 66 languages worldwide. The story of the helpless, small, insignificant caterpillar which turns into a beautiful butterfly sends out a message of hope.

 

I tried to bring the story to life with simple materials:

For the caterpillar:

spongy foam cupoid (I found in the packaging of something!)

bamboo chopsticks (from Chinese takeaway food!)

roll of green sewing thread

little green pom pom balls

googly eyes for crafts

acrylic paint

hot glue gun

 

 

 

For the food:

kids plastic toy food (whatever I kept from my girls!)

self drying modelling clay (for the food items I couldn’t find…) OR playdough/plasticine

For the background:

coloured cardboard paper (blue for the night, brown for the tree, green for the leaves, white for the sun, various colours for the butterfly- I used a plush caterpillar)

watercolours

scissors (the background is something of a collage)

A little bit of imagination and … bish bash bosh! bada bing bada boom! Voila! Your Hungry Caterpillar storytelling set  is ready!

Mind you, my little silly rendition of the story took a lot of time and effort after all! The plan is to have the students create and then act out the story! I’m sure they’ll love it!

Here is the end product!

 

And this is the day I used my Hungry Caterpillar box in class:

hungry caterpillar

5 Little Froggies

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An easy and fun craft – activity for 1st graders based on the song ‘5 Little Froggies’!

After we teach the song (described in http://rcel.enl.uoa.gr/peap/taksi/kyklos-b/numbers-1-5#material ) and encourage children to make the accompanying moves with us, we hand out the first photocopy, folded in two, and sellotaped at the edges. If we want to help 1st graders we can cut the shape of the well hole before we give it to them, as it will be rather challenging for those little hands to handle their scissors around the hole.

Now, it’s time to perform the song seated!

We sing the song and when we come to  ‘…and down he fell’, one froggie goes into the well! You’ve guessed right! All froggies end up in the well! Which is a good thing, as we know they won’t be lost, safe in the paper well pouch!

Children love it and they get to keep the well and froggies to use and play throughout the year!

Here are the templates:

EFFECTS (2)

Make your own Zoo with paper rolls from the loo!!!

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A nice way to keep your 1st graders happy and engaged when you have taught them the wild animals ( tiger, giraffe, panda, lion, zebra, etc)!

Supplies needed:

Paper rolls (regular or bigger)

A4 paper or cardboard paper

Crayons or coloured pencils

Scissors

A wide box

Pipe cleaners

Stapler

Glue

Your fantasy!!!

I have created some templates which we use in the beginning. But then, once the kids get the hang of it, they can use their own ideas and create their own versions of the animals! They can really get very imaginative and creative!!!

Here are some templates:

OR, you can create a whole forest!

Extra supplies for the forest:

A big sheet of thick cardboard paper

Green crêpe paper

Cardboard paper in various colours

Don’t forget the basic ingredient: your fantasy!!!

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‘A party in the jungle’ puppet theatre No. 2

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This is my version of the ‘A party in the jungle’ using an empty cereal box.

I made my own small puppet theatre based on the idea of the Halloween one by Kids English Theatre (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZPQMy6cZBQ)

Here’s what I did: I took a box of cereals. I used a green background to convey the idea that it’s a jungle. I cut the figures carefully from the PEAP material (http://rcel.enl.uoa.gr/peap/taksi/kyklos-b/party-jungle?fbclid=IwAR06F3sPtRRn93ZTuoVWyVb47l32MiqLH-QgLUqZNufn2uPlQ7f-UOde04Y#material).

I stuck the image of the elephant and Leo on another piece of paper and added the missing parts as best as I could. I used the PEAP flashcards for Leo (http://rcel.enl.uoa.gr/peap/taksi/kyklos-b/fun-animals?fbclid=IwAR0-n-EXV0RA_J1icO7RtUlMNDSOX3ht0qv_UH8bUrodoExy3aPR1nquew0#material)

Don’t throw away the remaining bits of paper! You can use them in your green background.

Special thanks to my younger daughter, Kate, who was my very patient helper!

Well, hope you find it useful… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bydhWjRH9io&fbclid=IwAR143qf9AgWBPbWoc1un1Qe0n0VfyqO4e56vNdnBruNQyjuc_mp_lq4qigg

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‘A party in the jungle’ puppet theatre No. 1

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I tried to find an engaging and enjoyable way to teach 1st graders the jungle animals and Leo’s birthday… So I went around the house looking for the props and things to help me with my quest! Mind you, my daughters are not that young anymore, so it was more difficult to gather all the stuff I needed (I have left almost all my puppets at school…)

Well, OK, the parrot is not that much of a parrot, the yo-yo is a spinning wheel, the banana is a plastic corn and my zebra is yellow and blue (!!!) but I managed to get the meaning through! It was fun for the kids, who asked for a second and a third time! The cardboard theatre is something I had from a series of Greek fairy tales with puppets on which I added ‘the African jungle’ banner. I guess it’s not that difficult to make.

I’m sending you my video in case anyone finds it helpful !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkMKZMVcneA

This is the ‘performance’ on WeBex!