Volunteers can be a huge lifesaver in your classroom. Getting your classroom ready for volunteers set up ahead of time before the school year starts, will save you a ton of time later when you’re busy with students and make things run smoothly all year long. THIS ARTICLE WORKS WELL WITH Designate a volunteer area Choose a special spot in… Read More
The Best Read Alouds For Back To School
Reading aloud creates a classroom community and is a great opportunity to help model good behaviors at the beginning of the school year. Books are my thing so I wanted to compile a list of tried and true AND some new picture books to use in the first couple of weeks of school. I’m sharing The Best Read Alouds For Back… Read More
Free Printable First Day Of School All About Me
Welcome the students back to school and find out a little bit about them! This free printable first day of school all about me gives your students an opportunity to tell you all about themselves. From things about their family, what they are good at, what they’re nervous about and so much more. It is a valuable tool for gaining… Read More
The Best Lunch Bags For Teachers
Do you bring your lunch to school? In the teacher’s lounge, the question comes up often, what is the best lunch bag for teachers? Before you go back to school shopping for yourself, check out the best lunch bags for teachers and some of my favorite lunch box supplies to go in those lunch bags. this article (and most) on… Read More
Back To School Donation Tree
With back to school comes a whole list of items we’d love to have for our classroom. It’s helpful if we are able to send home a suggested supply list but sometimes there are extra things that would be great to have donated to the classroom. So for meet the teacher night, make a back to school donation tree and… Read More
Literacy Snack Empathy Read Aloud
this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of. clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way. I’m always looking for new ideas and ways to help teach empathy to little learners.For this week’s… Read More
6 Mini Crock-Pot Lunch Ideas
this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of. clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way. Have you seen these amazing little personal-sized mini crock-pots? It is on my list of must-haves for… Read More
25 Class Callbacks-Attention Grabbers
Do you use callbacks or attention grabbers with your class? Today I have 25 Class Callbacks-Attention Grabbers. I think they’re important and work well. Some classes do well with changing to a new phrase every month or so and some classes are better with sticking to the same all year long. You’ll find what fits your class best and may change from… Read More
Uppercase and Lowercase Puzzle Match
My kids love puzzles! Today I’m sharing a new center to help the students practice their letter fluency, a free printable uppercase and lowercase puzzle match. It’s perfect to use during small group practice or individual center time. THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH To Play Print the free printable uppercase and lowercase puzzle match below. Cut and laminate the pieces…. Read More
Literacy Snack Alphabet Tree Read-Aloud
this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of. clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way. This time of year is all about introducing the alphabet! For our Literacy Snack Alphabet Tree Read-Aloud… Read More
The Best Pandora Stations For Primary Classrooms
A few years ago, I’d walked into a friend’s classroom in the morning, and she had classical music playing as the students walked in each morning. It had such a calming effect on the students and helped them settle in quickly for the day. I thought I need to use music more! I’m sharing the best Pandora stations for primary… Read More
Literacy Snack Kindness Read Aloud
This week we’re focusing on sharing kindness. It is such an important thing to practice in the classroom and there are a ton of fantastic and fun ways to do that! For this week’s Literacy Snack Kindness Read Aloud. we’re reading, The Jelly Donut Difference, by Maria Dismonday. “Leah and Dexter are brother and sister. They don’t always get along…. Read More
Free Printable Birthday Hat
I love celebrating birthdays! At our school, kids are still allowed to bring in a treat to share on their birthday but it has to be prepackaged. I wanted to add something special for the kiddos on their day but keep it low cost for me, so I made this free printable birthday hat for them to wear. THIS ACTIVITY… Read More
Literacy Snack Courage Read Aloud
this article (and most) on primary playground, does contain affiliate links that we do earn a commission off of. clicking these links does not cost you any extra but helps our website to keep great articles and freebies like this coming your way. It’s back to school time and I’m excited to start sharing my weekly literacy snacks with you… Read More
Free Printable Alphabet Tree Center
I LOVE using the book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when teaching letters. I couldn’t resist wanting to turn it into a fun literacy center, so I’m sharing a free printable alphabet tree center today. It’s a fun way that the kids will be able to correlate the story with the letter activity they are working on. THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL… Read More
Free Printable Cool Cat Award
The other day I shared my Pete the Cat painted rocks for the classroom. Today, I’m sharing with you a free printable cool cat award that can be given along with placing the rock on their desk, or when you take the rock back at the end of the day. THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH It’s an opportunity to write… Read More
Free Printable Alphabet Match
Learning their letters is a big deal to the little ones. Why not make it a little more fun with these hands on free printable alphabet match pages? This and many articles on Primary Playground contain Amazon affiliate links. These links make shopping easier for you, don’t cost you to use them, and help us to keep these great articles… Read More
Free Printable Meet The Teacher Bingo
Meet the teacher night is always an exciting time! You get to meet all of your new students and the kids, they are so excited to meet you and see their new classroom. It can also be a very hectic time trying to talk to all of the parents at the same time. I created a free printable meet the… Read More
Painted Rocks As A Classroom Incentive
I remember way back when I was in second grade and my teacher used quiet critters in our classroom. I remember sitting there trying so hard to be quiet, just waiting for her to pass by and hoping she would gently place a quiet critter on my desk. It can be the smallest thing in your classroom that makes a… Read More
Back To School Student Gift
It’s always exciting getting to meet your new students for the year at meet the teacher night. It gives the new students a chance to see a little piece of their classroom and their teacher for the new year and gets them excited to come back to school. To start the relationship off on a positive note, I’ve put together… Read More