10 Morning Activity Ideas for the Start of School
Morning activities are a fantastic way to start the school day. They should be fun, engaging, play-based, full of fine-motor development, and allow your students to ease into the busy school day. Morning activities are essential for creating a happy and safe classroom for little learners to strive for! I have shared ten fantastic ideas for morning activities, including a download to FREE labels that you can use to organise your morning activities, making this part of the day easy and straightforward.
1. Car Mat
This is a super simple activity, and students could create their own car mat all day! All you need is paper on a roll or large butcher’s paper, toy cars and a tub of textas, crayons and pencils.
I usually start the ball rolling by drawing the first road, some trees and a landmark. However, it will take a little while for your students to turn this into their own detailed and colourful maze of roads, monuments and even people!
2. Match the Initial Sound – TPT Resource
This activity develops students’ awareness of letters and sounds. I like to laminate the pages and have a sensory tub full of coloured rice and magnetic letters. Students look at the picture, say the matching word, identify the initial sound and find the matching letter in the sensory tub. You can find this resource in my Teachers Pay Teacher Store – click here!
3. Fine Motor Patterns – Freebie
This one is an absolute favourite of mine! You can use rocks, pebbles, pompoms, glass stones or even buttons! Students simply place the objects along the line. Talk about great fine motor practice! Download the FREE template from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store here.
4. Blocks
Blocks are a routine morning activity in my classroom! I either have Duplo, wooden blocks or Lego out for kids to build and play together. Having an activity to start the day that encourages communication and sharing is another reason to love morning activities!
5. Toys, Vocab Words & Books
Whenever I have toys in the classroom, I also include vocabulary words and books to match! It must be the teacher in me! Our favourite toys are bugs and dinosaurs. To keep everything together, I have large tubs that keep the toys, words and books.
6. Play Dough Mats – TPT Resource
Playdough is fabulous for fine motor development, and incorporating the individual name, alphabet, and number recognition is a winner in my book! I like to keep rotating the three different mats for my morning activities. Click here to purchase these playdough mats from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.
If you want to read more about how I use play dough in the classroom, click here!
7. Puzzels
Puzzles are a crowd-pleaser – students will head straight for the puzzle table every time you have it out!
Jen Jones over at Hello Literacy has a fantastic puzzle table freebie that lists all the skills students are working on when doing a puzzle. You can download it for free on Teachers Pay Teacher – click here!
8. Picture Storybooks
Whether you lay some books on a table or invite students to read in your classroom library, picture storybooks are a calming morning activity that allows students to slow down before starting the school day. At my school, we have before-school care and a time before the doors open in the morning when students play outside. It is essential to have space and time for students to reset their minds before diving straight into the school day.
9. Scissor Practice – Cut and Paste Sheets – TPT Resource
Scissor practice is another great activity for fine motor development. I like to rotate the different pictures so students can return to this morning’s activity each time there is a new page to complete. This activity also incorporates colouring in and gluing. You can find these printables in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store – click here!
You can read more about this activity and how I use it in my classroom here.
10. Roll and Cover Number Sense Game – TPT Resource
Finally, we have an activity for the number lovers! These Roll & Cover mats are used all day, every day, in my classroom! However, they are also a great morning activity as students can work on them independently, and they develop their number sense in a fun way. Students simply roll a die and cover the number on their board. They can also play with a partner and see who covers their board first. You can also find this resource in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store – click here!
Setting Up Your Morning Activities
I use Ikea Trofast tubs for my morning activities and keep them in the same area of my classroom. That way, I can easily find them when it is time to swap out an activity. I like to rotate the activities weekly. However, I sometimes keep a particular activity going over a few weeks. This is especially important for those students who find separation in the morning difficult. If I know that one of my little learners loves a specific activity, I ensure I have that as a morning activity option.
We set up our morning activities together at the end of the school day. This is vital as it allows me to explain any new activities or go over expectations for activities. For example, we must stay at our table when playing with play dough!
Morning Activity Labels
This year I have decided to label my morning activity boxes with individual labels that match the labels for where they belong on our shelving. This will help my students know where the boxes go when it is time to pack up. I have shared these labels as a FREE download. If you would like your own copy – click here.
Comment below if you have a morning activity that your students LOVE! I am always looking for ways to change things.
Teach big and change the world!
Tess
