Kindergarten Cafe
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Welcome to Kindergarten Cafe - your home for teaching ideas, activities, and strategies across all content areas! I am Zeba McGibbon and I love creating resources for teachers and sharing my teaching experience with others. Kindergarten Cafe is aimed for kindergarten, but teachers of Preschool-First grade can find resources here for their students!
Kindergarten Cafe
1w ago
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Episode Summary
This episode is a sneak peek at a workshop I did on what to do when a child cries all the time. We explore effective strategies for supporting children who cry frequently and the importance of recognizing crying as a form of communication in children. I offer tips on how to respond calmly and empathetically. This portion of the workshop introduces the concept of a “calm corner” or “control spot” in classrooms to help children regulate their emotions independently. We also discuss techniques like the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method and cognitive distract ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
2w ago
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Episode Summary
Today on the Kindergarten Cafe podcast, I explore the benefits of implementing writing goals to support young writers in kindergarten. Writing goals are instrumental in helping students focus on specific skills during the writing process, enabling them to track and improve their progress. These goals act as reminders for both students and teachers, allowing for personalized objectives tailored to individual needs and fostering a sense of accomplishment. Visual aids and regular check-ins further reinforce these writing goals, promoting accountabilit ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
3w ago
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Episode Summary
In this episode of the Kindergarten Cafe Podcast, we discuss the importance of having a dramatic play center in the classroom. Dramatic play allows children to try on different roles, understand social situations, and promote language development. It also integrates math and literacy and encourages children to take ownership of their learning. We share ideas for setting up a simple dramatic play center and discuss challenges with organizing materials.
In this episode, I share:
Why we want to have dramatic play in our classrooms
The benefits ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
1M ago
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Episode Summary
In this episode, we discuss teaching students self-regulation and impulse control strategies. We emphasize the importance of helping students recognize their body’s needs and provide specific strategies for calming down or getting energized. Introducing engaging activities like the opposites game and the bubbles challenge to promote impulse control. Overall, teaching self-control can lead to positive outcomes for students.
In this episode I share:
Teaching impulse control and self-regulation in kindergarten
Strategies for being the boss of your bo ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
1M ago
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Episode Summary
In this episode of the Kindergarten Cafe Podcast, we discuss teaching persistence to students by embracing challenges and reframing mistakes as opportunities for growth. I emphasize the importance of finding a balance between tasks that are too easy and too difficult, and I provide some recommended books and resources to promote a growth mindset and provide strategies for supporting students when they struggle. Overall, we encourage listeners to embrace persistence and share the podcast with others.
In this episode, I share:
Overcomin ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
2M ago
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Episode Summary
Do you have a block area? I think classrooms are slowly getting rid of them because they need space for more academics, or they don’t have time for play, but I have a whole chunk of the classroom designated for a block area. Hopefully, this podcast episode will inspire you to find space for a block area, even if it’s temporary. Think about all the benefits that come from it. Blocks are an amazing tool for students to use when playing, and there is so much amazing learning that can come from playing with blocks.
In this episode, I share:
Tip ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
2M ago
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Episode Summary
Today I would love to talk to you about how to work smarter, not harder, when it comes to math intervention with our kindergarten students. This would also be relevant for kindergarten, first, and second grade.
Math intervention is something that we definitely need to be always thinking about.
We want to think about how best to support the needs of our students. If kids are missing important skills, then we need to take the time to work with them in small groups and help them learn the skills that they’re missing so that they can be on targe ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
2M ago
Ever noticed how kids light up when they get hands-on with what they’re learning? Well, that magic applies to more than just math and science—it’s a game-changer for social-emotional learning activities too! In this blog post, we will talk about why throwing some role-play into the mix isn’t just fun for your students but it also helps them practice exactly what you are teaching them, right then and there. The good news is that adding in role-play scenarios to your social-emotional lessons doesn’t have to just be one more thing. Role-play can be the perfect ending to any social-emotional learn ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
2M ago
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Episode Summary
In this episode of the Kindergarten Cafe Podcast, we explore the excitement of the 100th day of school. We discuss traditions, advocate for a growth mindset, and share activities like crafts, counting exercises, and imaginative projects with 100 items. I also reveal a huge pet peeve of mine, something that really, really bothers me.
In this episode, I share:
Preparing for the 100th day of school
Shifting the mindset about the 100th day of school
Focusing on 100 days of learning, not just being smarter
Fun activities and projects for t ..read more
Kindergarten Cafe
2M ago
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Episode Summary
This is part 2 of a conversation I had back in November with a first-year kindergarten teacher during one of my coaching sessions. During this part of the conversations, we talk all about how to manage centers as classroom teachers.
In this episode, we cover:
The structure of centers
How I structure my reading, writing, and word work and make planning them easier
Giving students a choice of station to hold engagement
How often materials are switched out to keep students engaged
The ways in which to model writing and labeling for students
Ma ..read more