I will be the first to admit, I am not a real fan of mornings. I don’t enjoy my alarm clock, I love my bed, and usually don’t want to leave it. The thought of being an 8 year old and having classwork as soon as I walk through a door did not feel right. Therefore, we started soft starts. Soft starts are a great time for students to ease into the day by picking an activity that they want to do in order to “warm up their bodies and brains” before our morning meeting time begins. Soft starts give students choice which empowers them, builds their ownership in learning and of the classroom, and is a great way for students to build relationships within our room.
In soft starts, students have a variety of choices to choose from. Some of these choices include:
- Coloring Books/Pages, Coloring Materials, Beads, Etc.
- Magnatiles (I use this version because it is way cheaper than Magnatiles and just as strong/fun!)
- Dream Builder Magnetic Blocks
- Hashtag Blocks
- Brain Flakes
- IQ Builder Toys
- Play 22 Builder Toys
- Straw Constructor Toys
- Imagination Magnets
- Imagination Patterns
- Square Up!
- Brain Builders
Students will come into the classroom, put their materials/things away, and pick a soft start bin. Students keep the bin they pick for the entire time to avoid students picking out a bin, putting it away, picking another, and so on. Students typically have about 15 minutes before morning meeting starts to build and/or create before our day begins. Students are responsible for putting all of the materials back into the bin they got it from and storing it where it belongs. I have learned that having distinct bins and distinct places for where the bins belong has helped us keep our materials neat and organized. I set a timer for 14 minutes and display it on our Smartboard. Students know when the timer goes off, they have one minute to clean up, put their items away, and join the rug for morning meeting.
We love starting our day with soft starts and I could not recommend doing them enough! Let me know what questions you have about soft starts below!
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