Caring, Sharing, and Preparing: Advice from Amber

Anyone who knows me as a teacher knows that I LOVE to share!  I like to share my books (I have too many to count...my book app stopped counting at 1,000), my products, my resources, my ideas...anything that will be helpful to another teacher.  After all, none of it is any good if it is kept to myself.  Sharing is caring!

My hope is to share a teacher tip or idea with you each week.  I know this might not seem like much to those of you who blog often, but for me, it would be an improvement from the status quo.

Every morning, I greet each of my students at our classroom door.  Wherever they stand gives me a clue about how they want to be greeted:

number 5 = high five

heart = hug

hand = handshake

smiley face = just a smile (no touching)

After I greet each student, they get to do something fun.  Here is an example: the secret password.  They have to check the secret password and whisper it in my ear before they can enter the classroom.  (This week, I am using CVC words, but in the past, I have done numbers, equations, high-frequency words...)

Here are some other fun activities my students have done this year as they cross our threshold:

 * pop bubbles (I have done this from a wand and also from a bubble machine.)

* walk the red carpet (I have 3 red bathroom mats that I lay down.  In years past, I have also offered the students over-sized glasses, feather boas, and other fancy accessories.  Bonus - Pump up some music during this threshold activity!)

* crawl though a tunnel (I have one of those spring tunnels.) 

* answer a trivia question (I use a stack of 1st grade trivia cards that I found in Target's Dollar Spot.)

I used to have a slide for my Kindergarten students last year, but my first graders were too big for it.

I also used to have a blow-up limbo stick, but one of my Kinders popped it last year.  :(

Be creative with your threshold activities!  As long as your integrating that "joy factor" into your school day and putting a smile on your students' faces... mission accomplished.

Do YOU have any cool threshold activity ideas to share?  I would love to hear them!  Please comment below!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  :)