Wake-up Work or Morning Work....however you like it!

After greeting those eager firsties at the door in the morning it is time to unpack. We work really hard to set up those routines at the beginning of the year. We practice, practice, practice and then practice some more! Finally we're rolling and we can start to add to that simple morning routine so the kiddos get some independent settle in time.

After all of the unpacking we settle into our calendar job. The calendar jobs are another very simple but consistent routine to encourage independence which strengthens self esteem. There is a purpose to this "busy work". Always be ready to defend your pedagogical choices with knowledge.

We use a simple blank calendar and a weather graph. The weather graph satisfies two standards in first grade: science- tracking weather, math-organizing data. We choose to include daily simple review pages inside our calendar. I've done a lot of different things over the years. It really depends on your class. I've used number of the day pages, handwriting pages, journal pages and math fact practice pages. Now I'm using review pages from a variety of sources. My kiddos need a lot of practice with reading and following directions so right now it is a good fit!

Here is what our March calendar looks like.....

(Yes the 1st is in the wrong spot on this one!)

If you're interested in a simple calendar I have this one here in my TPT store.

Thanks for stopping by!
Kristin

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