I have to say… I love mornings in the classroom!
Mornings provide such a powerful opportunity to start the day off in a positive and effective way for ourselves and our students!
What do mornings look like in my classroom?
When my students arrive at the classroom, they complete a daily check-in activity followed by their choice of a “Maker Bin”.
The Daily Check-In
I greet students at the door every morning with, “Hi! I am so glad you are here! How are you?”
Students point to a poster with different emotions and identify how they are feeling that day.
At their seats, they fill in a daily check-in form with just one sentence about their feelings that morning.
(Here is a preview of one of our February check-in activities.
Why do a daily check-in with your students?
Checking in with your students is invaluable!
Checking in can help you build better relationships, understand student home lives, and address big emotions at the start of the day.
This will lead to better classroom management and a better environment for all of your students.
Maker Bins
After my students complete their daily check-in activity, they get their choice of Maker Bin!
Maker bins are awesome building activities that allow students to get creative while learning.
Why offer these creative play opportunities in the morning?
Play and structured play are great for growing a child’s prefrontal cortex.
The prefrontal cortex allows them to be better plan makers, better problem solvers, and helps them regulate their emotions.
Structured play can also help children with goal setting, planning, and achieving their goals, as well as facing challenges and analyzing.
We all have two sides of our brain. The left hemisphere is the analytic side and the right hemisphere is the creative side.
Whenever you can help a child connect the two sides of their brain, it increases their ability to learn new things and opens their whole brain for learning!
Why would you want to do a Daily Check-in AND Maker Bins in the morning?
Through these activities, you can build relationships with your students.
You can make sure their basic needs are met, big feelings are addressed, and you can use this time to find out about your students’ interests.
You also give your students the opportunity to engage their whole brain through these structured play activities and get them ready to learn!
These bins can be created with any building materials you have available to you!
If you are looking for some awesome Maker Bin activities, I have created some bins that your students will absolutely love.
This bundle requires some prep, but it also includes a ton of “maker” options that will have your students excited for learning every morning!
Check out the Maker Bin Bundle here
4 Responses
Hi, i’m just wondering: do you buy your materials by yourself or school provides them?
Hi! Thanks for the question. It definitely varies between the items I have. Things like snap cubes, pattern blocks, etc, are provided by the school since they are also used with curriculum. However, I am also able to ask for items for the purpose of STEM/Morning Bins. It varies whether or not the school is able to provide them, but I figure it is always worth an ask! I also often check local buy nothing groups for blocks, legos, books (just for the classroom), and other school items that people often give away free.
Hi. Love you blog and your resources! I like how these resources take into consideration the emotional well-being of the students with the Daily Check-in and also gives them an opportunity for structured play with the Maker Bins. Well done!
Hi Kay! Thank you so much! That is so appreciated!