Join us in this episode of the Kindergarten Cafe podcast, where we dive into the enchanting world of the Chick Life Cycle Unit, a magical experience for students and educators alike. We explore the journey of hatching chicks in the classroom, from sourcing eggs to nurturing the hatchlings. I share personal experiences and educational insights, guiding you through each stage of the chick life cycle. From egg anatomy to post-hatch care, valuable lessons in patience and observation are woven into the episode. And don’t forget the emotional impact of saying goodbye to the chicks! 

• Classroom Preparation
• Egg Incubation Process
• Hatching Day Excitement
• Hatching Challenges
• Post-Hatching Cleanup
• Saying Goodbye to the Chicks

• An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston
• Chick Life Cycle BUNDLE!
• Free Chick Life Cycle Page

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
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• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

In this episode, I chat with Melysa, a Pre-K teacher, discussing the essence of child-led teaching. Melissa shares insights on balancing play and curriculum, incorporating student interests into learning, and the magic of letting children explore and discover. She highlights the importance of fostering curiosity and independence, showcasing the beauty of child-led exploration in creating meaningful learning experiences for young learners.

• Balancing play-based learning with boxed curriculum
• Collaboration between pre-k and kindergarten teachers
• Importance of unstructured time for social-emotional development
• Intentionality behind letting children play
• Letting kids problem solve and develop independence
• Recognizing and extending children's interests

• Starting Purposeful Play in Kindergarten? Outstanding!

• Instagram - @prek.spot
• Website - www.pre-kspot.com
• Podcast - Pre-K Spot Talks
• Book Club

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

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 distractions to assist children in managing overwhelming emotions and developing self-regulation skills. 

• Addressing children's crying
• Best strategies for upset students
• Importance of the calm corner
• Distractors for calming down

• What To Do When a Child Cries All The Time: A Kindergarten Cafe Workshop

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

In this episode of the Kindergarten Cafe podcast, I go into the foundational aspects of teaching addition to kindergarteners. Emphasizing the progression from concrete objects to abstract representations, I want to stress the importance of utilizing diverse strategies like counting all, counting on, and drawing to foster understanding. We also discuss engaging activities such as dice games and Play-Doh addition to make learning interactive and effective. By encouraging flexibility in problem-solving approaches and demonstrating the relevance of mathematical concepts, I aim to support students in mastering addition skills.

• Foundation in Counting
• Teaching Addition Strategies
• Hands-On Addition Activities
• Practice with Dice Games
• Solving Problems with Drawing

• Addition and Subtraction Games
• Addition and Subtraction Class Book
• Kindergarten Math for the WHOLE YEAR
• Free Addition/Subtraction Bingo
• If You Were a Plus Sign by Trisha Speed Shaskan

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

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 accountability and enhancing students' writing abilities across various skill areas.

• Implementing writing goals
• Making writing goals specific
• Using writing goals in small groups
• Involving students in writing goals
• Examples of writing goals

• Supporting Beginning Writers
• Free Writing Folder Cover

• Teaching Writing in Small Groups Bundle

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

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 promotes 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. 

• Why we want to have dramatic play in our classrooms
• The benefits of dramatic play for our students
• How you can set up dramatic play in your classroom

• Dramatic play bundle

• Top Five Play Based Learning Must Haves
• Starting Purposeful Play in Kindergarten? Outstanding!
• Setting Up Classroom Play Areas
• Why is dramatic play important?

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

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.

• Teaching impulse control and self-regulation in kindergarten
• Strategies for being the boss of your body
• Individualized movement breaks and calming strategies
• Using games to build impulse control skills

• 8 Easy Impulse Control Activities for Kids
• Easy Self-Regulation Strategies  
• Strategies for ADHD Students

• Impulse Control: Social Emotional Learning
• Social Emotional Learning BIG BUNDLE!!
• FREE Body Break Images

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

In this episode, I share ways to teach students about water through engaging activities. From the changing states of water, to conducting fun experiments on absorption, sinking/floating, and melting. These experiments encourage the students to make predictions and challenge their expectations.

• Students' initial ideas and misconceptions about water
• Importance of addressing student misunderstandings
• Play-based exploration with water and different materials
• Activities for absorbing, repelling, changing states, sinking, and floating

• Water Unit
• Science Units Bundle

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

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.

• Overcoming the fear of making mistakes
• Teaching persistence: embracing challenges and learning from mistakes
• Books and resources to promote growth mindset and persistence
• Cultivating a classroom culture of persistence and growth mindset

• Persistence: Social Emotional Learning
• Social Emotional Learning BIG BUNDLE!!
• Suggested Read Alouds
• ClassDojo Videos

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/

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.

• Tips for creating and managing a block area
• The benefits of a block area for students
• Making the most of limited space in the block area
• Encouraging creativity with additional materials in the block area
• Keeping the block area engaging and simple

• Top Five Play Based Learning Must Haves
• Starting Purposeful Play in Kindergarten? Outstanding!
• Setting Up Classroom Play Areas
• Why is dramatic play important?

• Block Area Ideas Cards

• Instagram - @kindergartencafe
• Facebook - @kindergartencafe
• Website - www.kindergartencafe.org
• Tik Tok - @kindergartencafe

Mentioned in this episode:

Caring Critters Books

Felipe the Feeling Frog: https://www.kindergartencafe.org/felipe/