Ditch the Morning Work, Start Using Morning Tubs in the Kindergarten Classroom!

Teachers are always in a hurry. It is just the way things go. We have a to-do list a mile long that just keeps growing and are constantly working to provide students will just the right activity to keep them engaged with the standards. Sometimes, this hustle turns into a stream of low-prep worksheets where students are coloring, cutting, and pasting, over and over again. 

No judgment here! These worksheets certainly have their place and can be such helpful tools. However, whenever there is an easy way to forgo the worksheet and implement some hands-on activity, you should go for it! 

One of these times exists right away in the morning! The first 20 minutes of the day in any primary classroom can look chaotic. You have students coming in in all sorts of moods, some need breakfast, some need you, and some just have a whole lot of energy. There needs to be a routine in place so that students have some structure to start their day. Sometimes morning work is used as an attempt to channel all this energy and make what is generally an unproductive 20 minutes turn into what at least pretends to be a productive 20. 

I am going to say something now that may really ruffle some feathers. 

Morning work is not always the best use of this time, and often, students aren’t really focused or trying their best on it anyway. For older grades, a quick few review questions will get their brains moving and bodies focused, for five-year-olds, that just not the case. 

Young students need the chance to move, to create, and to learn through hands on activities. The morning is an excellent time to do that! 

Morning tubs will change the dynamic of your classroom and provide students with a calming, developmentally appropriate way to start their day. 

What are Morning Tubs? 

Morning tubs are essentially bins in filled with various stem-focused toys and activities. Most of the time you already have everything you need in your classroom.

Think legos, blocks, connecting cubes, Lincoln logs, and even just crayons and paper! 

These open-ended activities will give your students a chance to get creative and use their hands right away! This is exactly what a five-year-old really needs to start their day, not quiet time sitting at their desk. 

This just sounds like indoor recess. Can it be more structured? 

Yes!! In fact, I recommend that it be. Just like anything in kindergarten, you’ll need to explicitly explain the expectations for morning tubs to your students before fully implementing them. Do not just put toys all around your room and say ‘Go play’. That’s not what morning tubs are for and will leave you with a messy chaotic room to start the day. 

Here are a couple ways you could structure this: 

1. Place one morning tub on each table or each desk. Whatever is on the student's desk is what they are going to use for the morning. They are in charge of putting it away when the time comes. You could have a few students at each tub or a tub for each individual student. 
2. Place 4 or 5 morning tubs around your classroom. Students can choose which tub they would like to play with that day. Once they pick, that is where they need to stay. They’ll be responsible for cleaning up that area when the time comes. 

A few things to consider: 

• I like to have a few at each tub rather than individual tubs. It’s less clean up and fewer supplies needed. It also gives them a chance to practice their social skills.
• If you go the individual tub route, they don’t need a huge bin! A full pencil box is enough. You’ll thank me when it comes time for clean up. 
• Make sure to set an expectation for voice level during this time. Do you want it silent? A whisper? Or are you okay with it being noisier? This is totally your preference. I typically went with a whisper. 

My class is so rambunctious and having a really hard time with this. What do I do? 

I have definitely been there. I have had classes that just can’t seem to handle having toys to start the day. Things got chaotic real quick and it was so frustrating! I knew they needed the social time, but also needed to find a way for it to be much, much, calmer. 

Here are a few things that helped me through it: 

• I tried a few different systems. We tried individual, small groups at desks, and around the classroom. We also tried a silent voice level. 
• We practiced. I carved out chunks in our day where we just practiced morning tub expectations. 
• When individual students still struggled to follow expectations, they sat at my table and used their morning tub individually until they could show me that they could follow the expectations. 

Remember, you know your classroom best. Do what works for you and your students! 

Morning tubs are an excellent, developmentally appropriate way to introduce stem activities and hands-on learning into your classroom every day. They are a simple alternative to those morning work worksheets you print daily! Once you get your routine set, you will LOVE the calm, creative environment they help to create in your classroom!