A few years ago, I decided to implement a few NEW things in my daily classroom routine. Morning tubs was at the top of this list and I'm glad I did it! My
50+ Morning Tub Ideas A Morning Tub is a great way to offer a play-based opportunity for students to explore, create, and communicate. A non-threatening way to start the day, Morning Tubs help redu…
5 reasons to start the day with morning tubs in first grade. Morning tubs are hands on morning work activities to use with math manipulatives that get your first graders thinking and doing to start the day. This gives teachers time to take attendance and other jobs. Morning tubs will help you spiral your curriculum because you can use tubs to keep reviewing.
In my first fews years of teaching if you would have asked me what my favorite part of the day was I would have never said the morning. My morning routine used to be the opposite of calm with worksheets for morning work and kids constantly getting up to ask me to read them the directions. Once I shi
The beginning of the day can be stressful. You are trying to greet students as they walk in at different times, answer questions, help students unpack and settle in, all the while taking attendance and hot lunch count and listening to announcements to make sure you don’t miss anything important for the day. In the...
Looking for hands-on, easy to prep morning tub ideas for kindergarten? These activity ideas will transform your mornings from chaos to consistency.
This How To guide will teach you everything you need to know about using morning tubs in your preschool or kindergarten classroom!
Morning Tubs are the perfect way to start each morning in your classroom. It gives students the opportunity to work cooperatively with each other.
In my first fews years of teaching if you would have asked me what my favorite part of the day was I would have never said the morning. My morning routine used to be the opposite of calm with worksheets for morning work and kids constantly getting up to ask me to read them the directions. Once I shi
This How To guide will teach you everything you need to know about using morning tubs in your preschool or kindergarten classroom!
Are mornings in your classroom chaotic? Come read about the benefits of giving morning tubs a try in your classroom & download a free one!
Morning Tubs are the perfect way to start each morning in your classroom. It gives students the opportunity to work cooperatively with each other.
Morning Tubs (Ideas, Management, and More) 3 comments morning routine, morning tub ideas, morning tubs, morning work alternative, play, STEM materials I have been intrigued by the idea of morning tubs for the past few years. Starting the day with play based learning just seemed so developmentally perfect to me. However, it wasn't really a viable option for me until this year. And, let me tell you, they are the best. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links. For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit this link. This summer, I spent some time reading (and rereading) blog posts from The Brown Bag Teacher. I used her information and suggestions to formulate a morning tub system that works for me. I love that the kids start their day with a small chunk of time that lets them just be kids. They get time, right from the start, to interact and play. It's a great way to get that "out of their system" so they can focus on their learning. Morning Tubs Morning tubs are a hands-on alternative to morning work. Instead of completing a worksheet, or filling in an agenda, the kids are touching, creating, thinking, talking, sharing, and having a great time. Additionally, depending upon the kind of materials you put out, your students can work on their fine motor skills. Through play, they learn to problem solve and interact with their peers. It's a non-threatening way to ease into the day, which for some kids is huge. How I Manage Morning Tubs I have five table groups in my classroom. There are anywhere from 4 to 6 kids at a table group. Every day, each table group gets a new tub of materials. The students get 7 minutes to use the materials, and 2 minutes to clean them up and put them away. We have a few rules: No complaining about the materials in your bin. Work nicely: share materials, use kind words, and work together. Use the materials appropriately (no flicking or throwing materials across the room). The tubs can be used on the floor, so long as the whole group agrees. Use appropriate voice levels. Clean up within specified time. Here are a few more particulars: If a student doesn't like the materials at their table, they have the option of silent reading instead. While the tubs are in use, the students are expected to use "level 2" voices (table talk voices). If they are too loud, they could lose their tub. If a specific student is having a hard time sharing with the group, or being kind, they lose the privilege of using the materials the rest of the morning. When it's time to clean up, they must do so at a "level 0" (silence). If the class struggles with a quiet, and speedy, clean up they don't get morning tubs the following day. Voices aside, students are not allowed to throw materials into the tubs. They must place them into the tubs carefully, without making extra noise. The use of tubs has so many benefits, but ultimately, it is a privilege to get to use them. So, I do hold the students accountable. We have had days where the tubs were off limits so we could revisit expectations. How I Store Morning Tubs These are the 10 drawer rolling carts from Michaels. They are perfect for storing and presenting morning tub materials. The materials are placed in the drawers. Each morning, I remove a tray and place it at a table group. When it's time to clean up, the drawer is placed back into the cart. I numbered each drawer with vinyl numbers (see top photo). This helps me make sure that the drawers are placed back into the carts in the proper order. The square number tags are attached with velcro and are used to note which table group gets that particular tub of materials. Every day, the tubs go back into the rolling carts in numerical order (vinyl numbers) and the table group cards are moved to the next tub in the rotation. This means that the students get to use a variety of materials throughout the week and a few weeks will pass before they use the same tub again. This eliminates burnout and keeps the kids excited about the materials. What I Put in My Morning Tubs Anything I think the kids will love to use. I'm not picky, and neither are they. I have lots of building materials, as well as some materials that are meant to encourage imaginative thinking. Take a peek! Beads are perfect for fine motor development. Plus, they are fun. I use pony beads mixed with some animal beads. My kids use pipe cleaners to string the beads, but you could use lacing strings too! I also have some alphabet lacing letters. The kids love stringing together favorite words, especially their names. The drawer below the lacing letters features some felt pieces that I found at the Target Dollar Spot over the summer. I got some plain felt (off the bolt) from Hobby Lobby and cut it into 12x18 inch pieces. The large pieces of blue felt serve as a background, and are folded and stored at the bottom of the tub. The kids place the cute pieces from the Dollar Spot on the larger pieces of felt to build scenes. These plastic animals (and a few trees and fences) are a bigger hit with the kids than I thought they would be. They build scenes and engage in imaginative play. It makes my heart happy to see that. The drawer below the animals contains small tiles that the kids use to make words. I've had these for a while, and since they weren't seeing much action, I decided to put them in a tub. This Melissa and Doug building set is great. I found it on clearance at Target, but Amazon sells it as well. The kids work together to make all kinds of interesting creations. Plus, it's great for fine motor skills. Below the wooden building set are our snowflake blocks. These are lots of fun too! Currently the kids love building rainbow patterned wands. They often work together to make really long "trains" of blocks. These brain flakes (similar to the snowflake blocks) are fun and easy to use too. They are also great for fine motor skills while allowing students to be creative. I also put out snap cubes. These were some extra cubes I had on hand (left over from an old math program), so I put them in a tub. My students love using them to build tall towers, walls, and other creative structures. I saw these balance toys in the Target Dollar Spot over the summer, and decided to give them a try because the price couldn't be beat. I got two sets, and I'm glad I did. The kids really, really like them. You can find similar balance toys on Amazon. The dominoes are left over from when we used Everyday Math. They make for a great morning tub now! Finger puppets are a fun morning tub too. I was worried that my second graders would think they were too babyish, but I was wrong. They are perfect for imaginative play. The drawer below the puppets is filled with square tiles. Another math program "left over." The kids typically stack them or arrange them to make patterns or pictures. LEGOs...a no brainer. Kids love them. They build all sorts of things with them. I got mine at Walmart last year (Black Friday deal). Keep you eyes peeled for deals, they pop up around the holidays. Below the LEGOs are our building block bars. They're fun, colorful, and easy to use. Shown below is a gear set that I found at Costco. They are fun, and the kids really like them, but they are kind of big and actually take up two drawers. The magnetic blocks in the second drawer are fun too. These blocks tend to be really pricey, but I got lucky one day and grabbed this set on Amazon as a lightning deal. It isn't a huge set, but the kids love it and do build creative things. These hashtag blocks are super small but they let the kids be creative as they build. Plus, they work on fine motor skills. I found these in the Target Dollar Spot over the summer. And, I basically wiped out their entire supply when I bought them. Haha!! The foam pattern blocks are from our math program. The kids like to use them to create pictures and patterns. Where I Got My Materials Truthfully, I purchased most of them. But not all at once. I've accumulated things over time and have used them for different purposes in my classroom up until deciding to use them as morning tub materials. Many of these materials were once part of my "Fun Friday" stash. I just repurposed them into morning tubs. Some of the materials are from our current math program, or left over from previous math programs. In other words, they were things I had on hand that weren't really being used for much. My favorite places to find materials include: Amazon Target Dollar Spot Zulilly As soon as my own kiddo outgrows her toys, I plan to add many of them to my morning tub rotations. So, don't forget to raid your own kids' toy stash! Donors Choose as an option for getting materials like these in your classroom. Amazon even allows you to create a wish list that can be shared with your students' families. Also, don't be afraid to ask your own friends and family to gift an item to your classroom. Many times, our loved ones are willing to purchase something that we want/need for our classrooms. Click HERE for a direct link to my Morning Tub Ideas page on Amazon. DON'T FORGET IT, PIN IT! Share It:
Are your mornings in the classroom hectic? Help them to run more smoothly with these fun and engaging literacy morning tubs for the year!
This How To guide will teach you everything you need to know about using morning tubs in your preschool or kindergarten classroom!
Discover the benefits of kindergarten morning tubs along with activity ideas and tips for getting started using them in your classroom.
If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen my Facebook live video where I announced that I’m adding a Back-to-School Morning Work Pack to my Morning Work Tubs Bundle. I’m pleased to announce that the pack is completed and now available! Before you go on, if you are not ready to think about back-to-school ... Read more
Mornings seem to come way too fast! I know in my classroom that my kiddos need time to eat their breakfast and complete something at their desks before
Are mornings in your classroom chaotic? Come read about the benefits of giving morning tubs a try in your classroom & download a free one!
Math Morning Work simplifies your hectic morning classroom entry. Grab a FREE set of engaging, paperless tasks for your bins, and read more here!
This bundle of over 100 fine motor activities targets the development of fine motor skills in preschool and kindergarten students while also fostering independence and excitement about school. Fine motor skills in young children are a predictor of academic success, but many students begin school struggling in this area. Perfect for morning tubs, early finishers, or busy boxes, these Fine Motor Skills Task Boxes build finger strength, dexterity, coordination, and academic skills while giving you time to take care of some of the many other tasks that demand your attention in the classroom! What You Get: This bundle includes ideas and printable materials for 103 fine motor skills task boxes. Each task is designed to fit into a standard plastic pencil box and includes a printable label, picture directions, and other materials (such as work mats or task cards). Take a look at the preview files to get a feel for the breadth of the activities offered. You’ll find pattern block and connecting cube templates, playdough task cards, spinner and dice games, linking activities and tweezer activities, and so much more! This set also includes a bonus file of small labels for the sides of the fine motor boxes that can be used to help organize your boxes on a shelf. This bundle includes two resources that only contain material pulled from the other Fine Motor Task Boxes sets. The Cube Building Cards and Pattern Blocks Cards sets are included here for convenience but are not factored into the price or the page count as they are duplicates of activities included in other sets. How to Use These Activities: Once you get your students started with these task boxes with some initial instructions, they will be up and running and ready for independence! These simple fine motor activities can be used in the mornings when children first come to school, as a quiet break later in the day, or by individual students as they finish their other work. These boxes are perfect to grab during any of the times that you need students to be independent, engaged, and productive! To prepare these Fine Motor Skills Task Boxes, print and laminate the activity label and instructions as well as the printable activity materials. Attach the activity label to the outside of the box and the illustrated instruction card inside the lid. (You can use Velcro to attach the labels if you want to have the flexibility to easily switch activities throughout the year!) Place all listed materials inside the box. Each activity requires the inclusion of other classroom items such as manipulatives or basic classroom supplies (listed in the preview file). What Teachers Are Saying: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “These are AMAZING for my students and super easy to assemble! I️ have them in pencil boxes and my students do independent work with them and love doing their fine motor task boxes!” - Jennifer T. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Used for morning work activities to greet students daily. Students are excited to start the day with an activity that they can independently complete. Many of my students of goals for fine motor skills that can be addressed through these activities.” -Alexandra J. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This is such an amazing package! It covers many domains and there is seriously an activity for every student! They were so engaged and really loved how independent each activity was! Thank you so much for putting this together - definitely highly recommend it to ANYONE!” –Christina C. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “These task boxes are such a life saver in my Kindergarten classroom! I use them daily at the beginning of the year as a center students visit. I love how I can also use them as "early finisher" activities at any point in our day! It takes a bit of prep, but the product makes that easy! You just print, laminate, tape the instructions onto the box, and get the supplies! Definitely worth it in my opinion! Fine motor skills are so important, so I love how these activities build on those essential skills! The kids have a blast with these! Thanks for a great product!” –Stephanie P. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Whenever my students would finish their work at their rotations, they would always ask me what they could do now. These busy box tasks were the perfect solution!! Once the students finished the work at their rotations, they knew they could grab one of these boxes and do the activity inside. This cut down on my small reading group interruptions. The best part is that they could complete these activities independently.” –Kenda M. Why practice fine motor skills? Research shows that well-developed fine motor skills in young children are a predictor of academic success. It makes sense that children with dexterity and hand strength would be more successful in a classroom that requires writing and drawing, but researchers have found that the connection goes beyond that. Through a series of studies using longitudinal data that tracked students from kindergarten through eighth grade, researchers determined that strong fine motor skills in the early years of life help form connections in the brain that lead to greater academic achievement throughout the school years. Unfortunately, advances in technology have led many families away from traditional activities that promote fine motor development. The time that many children spend using computers, tablets, and smartphones is time that they are not spending building, drawing, and manipulating objects in the world around them. Many children are beginning school with a deficit of motor skills, both gross and fine. It is important for schools to give children many opportunities to build those skills. You may also like: ▶ Geoboards Task Cards ▶ Homework Choice Boards for Kindergarten: Family-Friendly Menus ▶ Early Finisher and Indoor Recess Activity Fun Boxes Bundle Please see the preview file for more detailed images. If you have any questions, email [email protected] or use the “Q&A” feature on this page. Let's keep in touch! Follow my store to be the first to know about sales and new resources. Thank you for shopping! Susan Jennings (My Happy Place) ___________________________________ Copyright © My Happy Place Teaching Resources Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Please purchase additional licenses if you intend to share this product.
This How To guide will teach you everything you need to know about using morning tubs in your preschool or kindergarten classroom!
Morning Tubs are a great way to allow your students to explore their creativity in your classroom. Check out these ideas for Morning Tubs.
Morning Work vs. Morning Tubs. I feel like there’s a constant back and forth over which option is “better” for little learners. But, I truly believe there is space and time in the classroom for BOTH of these awesome activities! So, here are my 3 reasons for using both morning work AND morning tubs w
Time to ditch the morning work and start social time! My students are much happier now that they have an opportunity to socialize and do fun morning tub activities.
Today it's all about monsters. Back to school monsters that is. It's such a cute and fun back to school theme!I wanted to share a sneak peek of my latest 6 Pack Centers packet, some read aloud ideas, along with a fun NO-PREP freebie! Those first few weeks back to school are nothing short of...
Brain bins are what I call morning tubs in my first-grade classroom. They include open-ended materials that my students use to explore, create, build, and-
5 reasons to start the day with morning tubs in first grade. Morning tubs are hands on morning work activities to use with math manipulatives that get your first graders thinking and doing to start the day. This gives teachers time to take attendance and other jobs. Morning tubs will help you spiral your curriculum because you can use tubs to keep reviewing.
Why I got rid of morning work and switched to soft start instead. Use morning tubs to start your day by building creativity and community.
Morning work that engages students in socialization, purposeful play, creativity, and problem solving, all while using engineering skills and STEM concepts. Included in this pack: 9 Morning Tub LABELS and IDEAS (materials are not included). Materials needed for each tub are very basic--cotton balls, small cups, straws, craft sticks, yarn, binder clips, blocks. I also have included how I manage morning tubs and store them. My students love this meaningful morning work, and I hope yours will too!
Start a new routine in the morning and try Morning Tub Activities. Kids will engage in independent, hands-on activities and have fun reviewing and learning.
Morning Tubs are the perfect way to start each morning in your classroom. It gives students the opportunity to work cooperatively with each other.
Start a new routine in the morning and try Morning Tub Activities. Kids will engage in independent, hands-on activities and have fun reviewing and learning.
There are so many ways to use literacy morning tubs. Your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-grade students will love these hands-on February morning work literacy bins! Your class will be involved in fun and engaging literacy activities. Interested in the Morning Tubs Literacy Bundle? Click here. *These are the same activities found in the larger February Morning Tubs, including literacy, math, fine motor, and critical thinking. If you have already purchased the 2nd grade, 3rd grade, or 4th grade morning tubs, please DO NOT purchase again. Other Ways to Use February Literacy Morning Bins literacy centers small groups partners independent work fun Friday remediation enrichment intervention early finishers morning work **Click on the preview for more information about these February Literacy Morning Tubs. You might also like: See all my digital "Let's Learn About" units for Social Studies and Science. Click here to see more February activities. Thank you It pays to become a follower! You'll get an e-mail when I load a new product. It will remain on sale at 50% off for the first 48 hours. Have a wonderful and blessed day, Cynthia
Fine Motor is so important in an Early Childhood classroom. Strong Fine motor skills help to strengthen those little finger muscles needed for writing stamina. Students without writing stamina will write less then their peers, not because they do not have the ideas, but because they will fatigue before they can write their ideas. They ... Read More about Fine Motor Tips and Tricks
A few years ago, I decided to implement a few NEW things in my daily classroom routine. Morning tubs was at the top of this list and I'm glad I did it! My
What are morning tubs? Fun, hands-on activities that are designed for your students to work on independently at the start of the day.
Morning Tubs are a great way to allow your students to explore their creativity in your classroom. Check out these ideas for Morning Tubs.
Well hello there! I am back with an all new set of explore tubs!!! I mentioned back at the beginning of the new school year that I would be swapping out read to someone for “explore” during my daily five! I really felt that I needed to bring back some more hands-on activities AKA “fun”...
Morning work tubs are the perfect way to kick off the learning for the day. These activities are loaded with hands-on, engaging ideas to make learning FUN!
Morning tubs help create a consistent routine in kindergarten. Check out these answers to some frequently asked questions about morning tubs.
Time to ditch the morning work and start social time! My students are much happier now that they have an opportunity to socialize and do fun morning tub activities.
Are you looking for a new morning routine? These themed Morning Tubs are an entertaining and engaging way to start the day. This year-long bundle of morning tubs includes 120 independent literacy and math activities that are perfect for children around the ages of 4-6. By purchasing this bundle, you are saving 50% off the price of the individual sets of morning tubs. What's Included: ✎ Back To School Morning Tubs ✎ Apple Morning Tubs ✎ Fall Morning Tubs ✎ Halloween Morning Tubs ✎ Thanksgiving Morning Tubs ✎ Christmas Morning Tubs ✎ Winter Morning Tubs ✎ Valentine's Day Morning Tubs ✎ St. Patrick's Day Morning Tubs ✎ Easter (Bunnies and Eggs) Morning Tubs ✎ Spring Morning Tubs ✎ Summer Morning Tubs Please see the PREVIEW above for an idea of everything included! Information For You: Each time you give feedback, TpT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases. Follow me and be notified when new products are uploaded. New products are 50% off for the first 24 hours they are posted. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or use the Ask a Question feature. Thank you!
Are mornings in your classroom chaotic? Come read about the benefits of giving morning tubs a try in your classroom & download a free one!
Morning work tubs are the perfect way to kick off the learning for the day. These activities are loaded with hands-on, engaging ideas to make learning FUN!
Share these fun preschool shape sorting mats with early learners! Great for morning tubs and math centers too!
Looking for hands-on, easy to prep morning tub ideas for kindergarten? These activity ideas will transform your mornings from chaos to consistency.
