Having a soft start to our day has so many benefits. I’ve noticed a huge difference in my kids from when we started our day with traditional morning work, to when I transitioned to a soft start to our day. They enjoy settling in, being creative, and having some time to transition into classroom mode. I love using morning tubs for our soft start, and I know a lot of teachers who love using morning tubs as well. They’re often used in the traditional way of having a table of students share a bin of materials. This works great for a normal classroom, but this definitely won’t work for social distancing! I realized the way that I manage morning tubs in my classroom is a little different, but perfect for social distancing guidelines!
How it works
In my classroom, instead of sharing one or two bins of supplies at a table, each student takes one pencil box that is filled with a morning tub activity. All of the supplies they need fit in the pencil box, and when it’s time to clean up, all of the supplies go back into the pencil box.
To follow social distancing guidelines this year, I’ll only have to make one change. Instead of choosing their own pencil boxes, pencil boxes will be labeled with students’ names. Each pencil box will still be filled with a morning tub activity. Students will use that activity for the week that they are in school (which will be 2 days because we are on a hybrid schedule), and then I will sanitize the activity, and switch it out for a new one. When they come back to school the following week, their pencil box will be filled with a new activity for them to explore.
By using individual student morning bins, I’ll still be able to give my students a soft start to the school day, and we’ll be mitigating the transmission of germs. Since the activities that I choose to put inside the morning bins are open ended, students won’t mind using them two days in a row because they’ll have a new experience each time they explore.
Inexpensive morning bin fillers
Interested in giving individual morning bins a try? Here are some small activities that can fit inside a pencil box:
-legos
-strips of paper and an individual hole puncher
-pattern blocks
-snap cubes
-popsicle sticks with velcro dots on the ends
-small puzzles
-play doh
-tweezers and pom poms
Ready to try?
Want to check out some already created individual morning bin activities? Click here or on the image below!
