Introducing morning tubs to your students doesn’t have to be complicated, especially if you use open-ended activities. When I first started using morning tubs, I thought I would need to introduce each activity and manipulative to my students, but I quickly realized that part of the point of using open-ended activities was so that my students could be creative and come up with their own ideas of how to use the materials. Instead, it was my job to explain and model the procedures for using morning bins, rather than what to do with the materials themselves.
How to Introduce
On the first day of school, I put pattern blocks and pattern block mats on each table for my students to use. My students who went to preschool are familiar with pattern blocks and are ready to dive right in. Those who have no preschool experience see what the others are doing, and figure it out pretty quickly.
We continue to use pattern blocks for the first few days, and then I introduce morning tubs when I have a few minutes during the day. I like to store my morning tubs in pencil boxes so that my students can take one and bring it to a spot in the room where they want to work. I label the pencil boxes with a picture of the activity that is inside. We practice taking a pencil box off the shelf and carrying it to a spot in the room.
We also talk about what to do if there are no morning tubs left with the materials they were hoping to use. We practice choosing another pencil box or asking a friend if they can build together. Lastly, we practice cleaning up our morning tubs- putting all of the materials back inside the pencil box, closing it, and putting it back on the matching shelf.
Then, we are ready to start using morning tubs in our classroom! We review and practice routines as needed, but my kids always surprise me with how responsible they are. Of course, there will always be bumps in the road, but we problem solve as we get there!
Using a Visual
It’s always helpful to use a visual when you introduce a new routine. You can use this one above, or make a similar one with your students.
Still not sure if morning tubs are right for you? Check out this blog post to read more about the WHY behind morning tubs!
If you’re ready to dive right in, I’ve done all of the work for you! Here are the morning bins that we’ve been using in my classroom for the past few years!
