Arizona has passed an Act that, effective at the start of the 2026-2027 school year, is the Arizona Healthy Schools Act A.R.S. 15-242.01, prohibits public schools participating in federally funded or assisted meal programs from serving, selling, or allowing a third party to sell ultra-processed food on the school campus during the regular school day.

So, in a nutshell, the Arizona Healthy Schools Act prohibits schools from serving, selling, or allowing a third party to sell ultra-processed food on the school campus during the regular school day. This is a great step to helping our students make healthier choices, but it will take some getting used to. I’m sure Arizona isn’t the first to have standards like this, so you may be in the same boat as us so hopefully you will find this helpful as well or even if you’re just looking for some healthier class snack options.

We all know that it will be an adjustment that we will now need to make changes to our in-class birthday celebrations, reward systems if you use any type of food as a reward, whole-class rewards/parties, holiday parties, if your PTO sells items at lunch, even my literacy snacks.

The guidelines define ultra-processed foods as those with the following eleven ingredients:
potassium bromate;
propylparaben;
titanium dioxide;
brominated vegetable oil;
yellow dye 5 or 6;
blue dye 1 or 2;
green dye 3; or
red dye 3 or 40.

To help, I’ve made a list of 30 different items that adhere to the guidelines as listed above. We know that ingredients are always changing, so always be sure to double-check to make sure there have not been any changes. The snack ideas can be used as birthday treats or rewards in the classroom.

There are a ton of additional ideas that would work in the classroom, but this at least is something that can be quickly referred to if you’re looking for ideas, or this would be a great option to send home to your class as a list of items that can be sent in as birthday treats.

Click the green box below to download the free printable list of packaged snacks.

I hope this will be helpful to you to use in your classroom this year!

Jenette

The post Healthy Snack Ideas for the Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

Celebrating birthdays in the classroom can be fun and inexpensive! I have an easy Student Birthday Gift Idea for you to make this year a breeze!

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Celebrating student birthdays is always fun for them. I’ve already shared a whole blog post of different ways that you can celebrate birthdays in the classroom. Lots of great ideas there so make sure to check that out.

The Student Birthday Gift Idea that I’m sharing today is a super inexpensive idea that you can have ready to go at the beginning of the school year and store away until a birthday comes up.

Student Birthday Gift Idea

I made a birthday printable activity page which you can print double-sided to give them to do. Add a special fun pencil and you have a cute gift from you! It includes word scramble, coloring, a word search, and two mazes. Give it to them to do in class or at the end of the day to take home with them.

You can download the Birthday Gift Idea Free Printable by clicking the green box below!

You could also have your class make the birthday student a birthday book too! Such an easy and meaningful birthday gift idea for your students! You can check out the birthday book here.

I hope your students enjoy this fun little birthday gift!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Student Birthday Gift Idea appeared first on Primary Playground.

Bingo games are always a favorite with students! Putting together a bingo box before the school year starts will help give you peace of mind and be ready at a moment’s notice with a fun activity anytime you may need during the school year. Keep reading to find out How To Make A Bingo Box!

Making a bingo box can be a valuable tool that can be used all year long. We have a variety of bingo games, from letters, numbers, and shapes, to fairy tales, space, dinosaurs, to holidays and seasons. We have over 75 different options to choose from! Click here to check them all out now.

Pick the bingo sets of your choice that you can use all throughout the school year and build your own bingo box! Maybe you could even have 2 different boxes, one for learning and revewing skills, and another for class parties and different themes used throughout the school year.

Having the bingo box ready to go will be a lifesaver throughout the school year, and makes it easy for a sub to use in case you are out of the classroom. It is a versatile and effective teaching tool that promotes engagement, differentiation, assessment, collaboration, and reinforcement of learning in the classroom.

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.

How To Make A Bingo Box

Items that you’ll need:

• For my bingo box, I used a Portable Bankers Box that I picked up at Walmart.
• Hanging file folders
• Bingo sets of your choice printed.
• Manila folders -optional not required
• Laminator – optional not required but suggested
• Laminating pouches
• Sandwich bags
• Bingo Box Label -download for FREE further down in the post.
• Label maker -optional
• Tape
• Colored scrap paper for making paper bingo markers

First up, you’ll want to take the printed Bingo Box printable and trim off any white around the edges. You can use tape to attach it to your box. Next, you’ll want to add the hanging file folders to the inside of the banker’s box.

Click the green box below to download the free Bingo Box printable.

Next, gather all of your bingo sets, and laminate them at this time. If you can it’s worth the investment as you’ll be able to use the bingo sets for many years to come. Also, laminate the teacher calling cards. You’ll want to add these to a sandwich bag so they stay together.

When your bingo sets are ready, you can add them to a manila folder that you’ve labeled with the bingo name on it, or just add it to the hanging file. Those can be labeled as well. In each file , make sure you include the bingo cards and the teacher-calling cards.

Last you’ll want to take your colored scrap paper and cut a whole bunch of bingo markers. YAdd them to another sandwich bag and add an extra hanging file folder to put them in. You could do several different bags of different colors to use different ones each time.

And there you have your Bingo Box! You are now ready for a fun-filled easy grab-and-go activity to use all year long! Tag us on Facebook or Instagram if you make one of your own!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post How To Make A Bingo Box appeared first on Primary Playground.

Are you looking for a fun way to celebrate your students ‘ birthdays? I have 20 Birthday Celebration Ideas For The Classroom to make this year a breeze! Students LOVE celebrating their birthdays at school. I’ve gathered a bunch of fun ways to help celebrate their special day at school with their classmates.

A lot of these ideas can be done ahead of time so they are ready to go for the whole school year. I’ve separated them out so you can get prepared for the upcoming school year.

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.

Prep Ahead Of Time

• Put together a Birthday Basket, a special caddy of supplies that the birthday student can use throughout the day. Smelly markers, fancy pens, retractable multi-color pens, whatever you think would be fun!
• Give them a birthday crown to wear for the day.
• Grab a big pack of birthday cards and fill one out for each student. Add a sticker and set them aside to mail home to the students for their birthday, or you could just give it to them on their birthday in class.
• Make little birthday goodie bags or birthday cups for each student, hide them away for the year, and just grab them as you need them. Some fun items to include a full-size candy bar, a fidget toy, a fun pencil, a bracelet, and stickers.
• Play birthday bingo! This could be done on the student’s birthday, play a few games at the end of the day, or on Fun Friday afternoon. This is a fun one to play to celebrate your own birthday too! Print the game out and have it ready to play any time of the year.

• Make a birthday chair for your students to sit in on their birthday. Grab a folding chair that has a cushion seat. Remove the seat and cover the padding with birthday fabric to make a special birthday chair! A great investment for many years.
• Choose a birthday bookmark, and let them choose a book as a birthday gift. Ask for gently used books as donations, or use your Scholastic points to help with the cost.
• Grab a birthday seat back cover for the student to use for the day. It will last you for years.
• Get a pack of birthday certificates for each student ahead of time. On the student’s birthday, give them the certificate along with a movie-style box of candy.

During The School Year

• A visit to the treasure chest.
• Happy Birthday bookmark and a Blow Pop sucker.
• Add a mylar balloon from Dollar Tree to the student’s chair for the day. They can take it home with them.
• Have your class make the birthday student a Birthday Book! Print off the covers and writing pages ahead of time for the year so it makes it even quicker and easier for you. Simply have the students write something nice about the birthday student and either color or draw a picture. Put all the pages together, add a cover and you have a fantastic birthday keepsake gift for the birthday student.

• Choose a GoNoodle or short read-aloud for the class.
• The birthday student gets to be in charge of classroom jobs and is the line leader for the day.
• Let the birthday student wear a birthday cape and crown for the day!
• Wrap the top of their desk with birthday wrapping paper for the day to celebrate.
• Print this free birthday hat for the birthday student to wear. They can color it and everyone in the class can sign the back headband strap like signing a birthday card.

• Sing Happy Birthday! Of course, this can be done on its own or along with any of these ideas.
• The birthday student gets to take a few spins in the teacher’s chair!
• Make a birthday positive affirmations/ compliments poster. Add the student’s name to the middle of the poster. Blindfold the birthday student. Have each student come up and whisper something nice about the birthday student in your ear and you can add it to the poster. Such a fun birthday keepsake to take home.

Monthly Birthday Celebrations

• Celebrate all birthdays once a month. Have everyone bring in their special treats on the designated day. Sing Happy Birthday to everyone and then all learn a new game to play outside.

End Of The Year Celebrations

• Wait until the last week of school and have a huge party for everyone! Play birthday bingo, have cupcakes and snacks, and play a few games. Everyone gets to celebrate their birthdays at the same time! This is a great option to include those with summer birthdays too!

Hopefully, you have maybe got a new idea or two to use in your classroom to help celebrate student birthdays! Do you have any other special ways that you celebrate in your classroom? Share with us in the comments below!

See you next time

Jenette

The post Birthday Celebration Ideas For The Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

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.

With the new school year quickly approaching, it will obviously look a lot different this year. Today I’m sharing how to put together Student Supply Boxes For Distance Learning.

These boxes can be used both distance-learning or inside the classroom. Ultimately you are creating a box of supplies for each student to use themselves. You can easily send them home to all of your students if you are distance learning or each student can have their own designated box in the classroom with all of the supplies they will need.

You can make a list and send it home for your parents to gather these items as their back to school list, or a lot of schools are giving their teachers a small distance learning budget and this may be a good option for you to spend the money to build these for the students. Another great option would be to set up a Donor’s Choose project. I’ve read that a lot of companies are matching distance learning projects. right now.

Supplies In The Box

• Pencil box
• Box of crayons
• Pair of id scissors
• 1 Glue stick
• 1 Expo marker
• 1 Pencil sharpener
• 2 1oz PlayDoh tubs
• 3 Pencils
• 10 Popsicle sticks
• 3 Paperclips
• 10 Clothespins
• 20 small manipulatives -we used foam stars we had leftover from crafts and 10 mini erasers.

This is a great time to grab these supplies since so many of them are on sale at Target and Walmart now for back to school.

Additional ideas that you can add

• A pair of dice
• A deck of playing cards

What do we do with the supplies?

I tried to think of all of the different things the students may need to use to practice different things throughout the school day. Here are some ideas of ways you can use the supplies for both reading and math.

You can use the clothespins for different clip card activities, It’s also great fine motor practice for them.

The popsicle sticks can be used to build letters. You can also use them to practice counting or practice tally marks. One can also be used as a guide while practicing reading to help follow along.

Use the paperclips and pencil together to create a spinner. Here are some fun activities we use with the spinner.

The Playdoh can be used to build letters, numbers, or shapes. It can also be used as math counters by rolling it into balls.

The manipulatives can be used to practice counting, to practice ten frames and numbers bonds too.

The Expo marker can be used on laminated sheets you may send home or have in the classroom that can be wiped down. You can also send home a small whiteboard for the students to use during an online virtual class meeting.

Everything that I listed above fits perfectly into the box for you to send home or store for student use in the classroom.

Can you think of anything else that I may have missed that you would add to the box? I hope this helps give you some ideas for the upcoming school year.

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Student Supply Box For Distance Learning appeared first on Primary Playground.

Fun Fridays are a great way to end a week as a reward for working hard all week! The kiddos deserve some time to socialize and play so I’m sharing 30 Fun Fridays Ideas.

You may like to stick to doing the same thing each Friday, or maybe like to choose 4 different things for each week of the month. Do what works best for your class and your students.

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30 Fun Friday Ideas

1. Break out the board games and let the kids play. So many good things can be learned from playing board games with others. From taking turns to learning how to lose gracefully. My favorite place to find inexpensive games is our local thrift store and garage sales.

2. Create a maker space area for them where they are free to create. MAKERSPACE: a place where we gather tools and materials to create, invent, tinker, design, fabricate, or otherwise enable individuals, a community, or a group to make something. The possibilities are endless for what the kiddos can and will create.

3. Cooking in the classroom. This is a favorite for me!

There are so many skills being taught when learning to cook. It’s a yummy way to practice following directions, sequencing, fine motor skills and so much more. Our cooking class bundle has a bunch of fun foods that you can easily make in the classroom.

4. Watch GoNoodle videos. The kids can’t get enough of them.

5. Do a directed drawing project with your students. You can find many options out there but our favorite is using Art For Kids Hub. We’ve been drawing along with the family for YEARS now!

6. Learn about a different country each week. Try foods, do a craft, learn a game, learn some words. Offer for parents to come in and teach the class about a country whether it’s one they are from or just one they’d like to share about. Use sight-up genius for the parents to sign up so they know what countries have been taken.

7. Choose different science experiments to do as a class. Some of our favorites are making a rainbow in a jar, making slime, and elephant toothpaste.

8. Stem bins or stem activities as a class. Can your students build a bridge for the bears to cross with 10 popsicle sticks and 2 snap blocks?

9. When the weather is nice, have a bubble day. Make your own bubble solution, paint with bubbles, and read bubble books.

10. Extra recess. You can never go wrong with extra recess when the weather is nice out!

11. Teach life skills. Practice shoe typing, teach proper manners at the table, how to set a table, how to wrap a gift. So many great options that some of the kids may not get help at home with.

12. Have a guest or mystery reader come in and read a story to the class.

13. Play bingo! This is seriously a favorite. Whether you want to review something your class has been learning about or just for fin bingo we have you covered with all of our bingo sets.

14. Create stories or puppet shows using puppets or story popsicle stick puppets. Have them put on a show for the class.

15. Make a class book. We have this fun class cookie cookbook to use during the holiday season.

16. Do yoga as a class. Our favorite one to use is Cosmic Yoga. She takes the kids on a whole adventure using yoga.

17. Do an author study. Choose an author, read several books by them, do a craft and make a snack to go along with one of the books you read. Eric Carle is a favorite for us. Here is a snack idea to go along with his books that we’ve shared.

18. Have a flashlight Friday. You can purchase small flashlights at Dollar Tree or Walmart for a dollar to hand out to the kids. Turn the lights off and have them use the flashlights to read. Encourage them to bring blankets and stuffed friendS to read with.

19. Play minute to win it games. These are always so fun to play. Set up 5 different games and have them rotate through them. Here are some of our minute-to-win-it game ideas for fall, winter, spring and a donut theme.

20. Free play-play-based centers. Just let them play. Think blocks, Legos, puzzles, dinosaurs, dollhouse, dramatic play areas, Lincoln Logs.

21. Take a nature walk or a scavenger hunt. Look for different things they’ve been learning about. You could look for different colors, shapes, letters, or numbers.

22. In the warmer months, have a Freeze Pop Friday and bring in special freeze pops for them to enjoy outside.

23. Do a craft to go along with a book that you read that week. Here’s a chameleon craft that we did to go along with The Mixed-Up Chameleon.

24. Ask an older grade, 3-5 to become reading buddies with your class. Have them come and read with your kids and then make a craft or snack together to go along with the book.

25. Have a dance party! Who doesn’t want to dance on a Friday afternoon?!

26. Paint with watercolors or paint with paints using the easel

27. Set up special centers to go along with the theme that you’ve been teaching that week. Make them different than your regular daily centers. For example, if you have been working on an apple unit, have a craft center, a stem center, have them stack 10 apples up top using play-doh, a science center testing whether apples sink or float, and a snack station where they can make an apple snack. Encourage parents to come in and help with centers for the last hour of the day.

28. Make a snack based on the letter of the week they’ve been learning about. We have a huge list of snack ideas to go along with each letter here.

29. If you have involved parents, have them take turns signing up to come in and real to the class and then do a project or have a snack to go along with the book they read. 30.

30. Break out the shaving cream. This is a huge hit with the kids. Spray some shaving cream onto their tables or desks and have them practice writing letters, numbers, their name, or sight words. It’s great for a little extra fine motor practice while having fun!

Whew! That’s the end of my 30 Fun Friday Ideas. Do you have any other fun things you like to do with your class on Fridays?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post 30 Fun Friday Ideas appeared first on Primary Playground.

After giving your class directions and sending them off to complete the assignment you’ve given, how many times are you asked the same questions over and over again? Can we work with a friend? Where does this go? That’s where using Visual Direction Cards In The Classroom is a lifesaver!

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These visual direction cards will help your students see and remember what you want them to do while building independence. These cards will help eliminate repeated questions about the directions they have been given.

Simply print, laminate, and attach a magnet strip to the back for the easiest use on your whiteboard.

There are several different cards for each of the questions.

What supplies do I need?: scissors, glue stick, pencil, glue, dry erase marker, markers, watercolor paint, clipboard, post-it note highlighter, reading book, math binder, science journal, writing journal, STEM log, daily take-home folder, headphones, computer, tablet

Where does this ?: turn in bins, in my daily take-home binder, in my take-home binder, on my desk, in my mailbox, in my science journal, in my math binder, in my writing journal, in my backpack, in my math journal, in my STEM log, in my science journal, hand to the teacher

Where can I work?: at my desk, at my center, on the carpet

Can I work with a friend?: do it by yourself, collaborate with a buddy, share ideas but complete your own work, complete with the group.

You can find these Visual Direction Cards For The Classroom in my TeachersPayTeachers store.

Do you have any other tips or tricks you use to help your students follow and remember directions?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Visual Direction Cards In The Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

Volunteers can be an invaluable resource for teachers! You may have the volunteers but wondering, how do I use them in the classroom? It can be overwhelming when you have people volunteering but don’t know what to have them do for you. I’m going to share how to use those volunteers in the classroom.

There are all types of parents and grandparents that would love to help but just don’t always know how or aren’t able to come in during the school day but are still willing to help.

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Volunteers in the classroom

• Make copies
• Laminate
• Hole-Punching/binding student work to make books
• Assist students with a craft project
• Put together book orders
• Help with math or reading centers
• Help in the school garden
• Assist/monitor students on the computers or iPads
• Put flyers in folders/cubbies/mailboxes
• One on one help with students that need extra help
• Be a room parent and set up class parties
• Organize/level books in the classroom library
• Prep center activities
• Sharpen pencils
• Taking down/hang up bulletin boards
• Taking down/hanging up student work
• One on one reading with students
• Guided reading groups
• Assist with lunch (huge help in the first 2 weeks of school with kinders).

Volunteers from home

• Cut laminated materials
• Donating items to the classroom
• Separate Scholastic magazines (why do they send them that way?)

Your once in a while volunteers that work full-time

• Be a guest/mystery reader
• Chaperone field trips
• Donating items to the classroom
• Help room parent with class parties

Now that you have a ton of ideas of different ways to use your volunteers, make sure to check my post about how to get your classroom ready for volunteers.

And if you’d like even more guidance and printables to help you along with the process, you might like our parent volunteer pack.

Do you have any other ideas of ways to use volunteers in your classroom?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post How To Use Volunteers In The Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

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.

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Designate a volunteer area

Choose a special spot in your classroom to make your volunteer area. When you have your curriculum night, you can introduce the area to all of the parents so if they do come in during the school year, they’ll know exactly where to go to find out what needs to be done that day. It doesn’t have to be a large area, just enough room to put a few things they’ll need.

What’s in the volunteer area?

Set up an inbox where they can find out the instructions for the day and a completed box for items that you’ve asked them to completed. Ie cutting, laminating, copying. Explain to your volunteers that this is where they can go to find out what is needed during their visit to your class that day so there is no need for them to interrupt the class as they come in.

Create a supply caddy for your volunteers to use. I like to use one with a handle so if they will be headed to the copy room, they can easily carry it with them so they’ll have any and all supplies they would need with them so there’s no running back and forth.

Some things I like to have in my volunteer supply caddy at all times is:

Post-it notes so they can write me notes

Pencils, pens, Sharpies

Scissors

Stapler

Staple remover

Extra roll of tape

Paper clips and binder clips

Copy clips

Create copy clips. When you need things copied, use the copy clips by easily clipping them to the papers you need to be copied. Want them collated and stapled? Attached those clips too.

Small Groups

If your volunteers will be coming in to help with small groups. Set them up another volunteer inbox. You put your guided reading groups book and worksheets in the box together. Or do you want your volunteer to work with a small group of students by playing a literacy game with them? Put the game in the box with a note attached with the names of the students they will be playing with today.

If you’re looking for even more guidance and all of the printables shown above you can find them in my Parent Volunteer Pack in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

I hope you have gotten a few good tips to use for Getting Your Classroom Ready For Volunteers to start off a new successful year!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Getting Your Classroom Ready For Volunteers appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 ask for those extra things you wished you could have.

There are so many parents out there that are more than happy to help donate items for your classroom, they just don’t know what you really need. Putting out these apples, allows you to really get the items specifically needed for your room.

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Back to School Donation Tree

To make the donation tree, I took inspiration from the book, The Giving Tree. I created an anchor chart by drawing a tree similar to the cover of the book.

Then simply download, print, and cut out the apples of items you wish to have in your classroom.

Tape them onto the anchor chart so the students or families can easily remove them to take home with them to remember to purchase the item.

In the download, I’ve also included blank apples that you can edit to add any additional items that I didn’t include. You can download the apples for free from my TeacherPayTeachers store below.

What are some items that are on the top of your wish list for your classroom?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Back To School Donation Tree appeared first on Primary Playground.

Do you have a paraprofessional who works in your classroom with a student or two? As you know, these people have a very important job and can be a tremendous help to us in our classroom.

Did you know that Wednesday, April 3rd is Paraprofessional Day? I wanted to make sure our wonderful paras are recognized for all of their hard work so I came up with a simple, inexpensive gift idea to give each one of them.

Supplies

Candy of your choice – I stacked 4 candy bars on top of each other

curling ribbon

scissors

hole punch

free printable tag you can download at the bottom of the post

Assemble

To make these quick and easy gifts, I simply stacked the 4 candy bars on top of each other, I chose a Recess’s Cup for the bottom to use as a nice base. Download, print and cut out the free printable paraprofessional gift idea tags. Punch a hold in one corner. Use ribbon to wrap the candies together and tie. Slide one end of the ribbon through your hole you punched on the tag and tie again.  Then curl the ribbon

Such a simple gift idea, but it is sure to put a smile on their face to show you thought about them and appreciate all of the hard work they do each day!

You can download the free printable paraprofessional gift idea tag below.

Do you have paras in your classroom each day?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Paraprofessional Gift Idea appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 year to year.

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If you haven’t used callbacks in your class before, you simply say the teacher phrase,

“Crew!”

and the students stop what they’re doing and respond back with

“Aye aye captain!

Sometimes the students will surprise you and come up with a new callback on their own that you can try out. Or it’s fun to change callbacks for the different holidays.

I created a free printable with the 25 class callbacks so you can easily choose a new phrase to use.

Or print it and put it on a clipboard hanging up in your classroom. Attach a clothespin to the callback you’re currently using. You can then put it in your sub-notes when needed so they can easily see what callback you are using and be able to get the attention of your class just the same.

Grab your free printable 25 Class Callbacks-Attention Grabbers below.

What are your favorite ways to get your class’s attention?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post 25 Class Callbacks-Attention Grabbers appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 classrooms that I’ve found.

First, I do not pay for Pandora. It is $5.50 a month if you’d like to subscribe. It would be ad-free for you and you do have the benefit of skipping as many songs as you’d like and replaying different songs.

To keep it friendly for the classroom without paying, you can do two things to help. First, you can turn off and remove explicit content from your Pandora account. Below is a Youtube video to show you how to do that.

Second, is you can add an ad blocker to your computer by going to the web store and choosing a free ad blocker. It makes it so you can listen to Pandora without any ads in the classroom.

Music can be used in so many ways throughout your day. Have music playing as your class comes in, maybe after lunch as they come in from recess to relax for a few minutes and reset for the afternoon. How about some instrumental music during writing time during morning work or math boxes and more upbeat songs during clean up or getting ready to go home time?

Now to the good part!

the best pandora stations for primary classrooms

The Piano Guys – this is a family favorite that we listen to at home as well, a lot of current songs that are played using the piano, cello and violin.

Instrumentals for Studying –  instrumental music only so the voices won’t distract the students

Disney (Children’s) – a lot of popular Disney songs the kids know and love

The Mozart Effect –  a mix of nice instrumental music

Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star (Children’s) Radio – an rockin’ instrumental/lullaby station with songs from artists like Billy Idol, The Beatles and Avalon

Soundscape – instrumental music with a mix our environmental sounds – think a classical piece with rain falling in the background

Jack Johnson (Childrens) Radio – a lot of your traditional Jack Johnson music with other encouraging songs mixed in from other similar artists

Greg and Steve Radio – a mix of traditional kids songs

Kids Bop – “kid-friendly” versions of hit singles re-recorded by session musicians

Beats For Studying – similar to the Piano Guys stations, a lot of instrumental, piano, and violins

Classical Goes Pop – a lot of fun, upbeat, current instrumental music like Lindsey Stirling

Vitamin String Quartet –  well known popular rock, pop and country songs instrumental style

I hope you were able to find a new station or two to try out in your class! Do you have any other favorites you’d add to the list?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post The Best Pandora Stations For Primary Classrooms appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 WORKS WELL WITH

Simply print out the hat, and have the birthday kid color it in. On the back strap, I left it blank. It would be fun to have all of the students sign their names on it, like a card for the birthday kid. During morning work would be a good time to do this, so they get to wear their hat all day and have everyone they pass by tell them Happy Birthday. It makes them feel so special.

During the last 15 minutes of the day, set aside time to have their birthday treat if they bring one in. It makes the celebration quick and easy.

You can download the free printable birthday hat below.

How do you handle birthdays in your classroom?

Jenette

The post Free Printable Birthday Hat appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 a little note to the student. They can take it home and show it off proudly that they got to have Pete the Cat sit on their desk with them that day.

Maybe you want to thank them for having a nice and clean desk. Or for how well they’re doing with practicing their sight words. Everyone likes a little recognition from time to time.

You can download the free printable cool cat award by clicking the green box below. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Cool Cat Award appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 teacher bingo to help familiarize the kids with the classroom and to help give them something to do while speaking to different parents.

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

There are all kinds of fun things on the bingo card from, I know where to put my backpack, to I found the restroom and I found my mailbox. It’s almost like a treasure hunt for the kids to walk around and mark off everything they’ve found. If the kids get a bingo, they can show you the card and receive a special treat.

I’ve made it available both in color and black and white and the best part is that it’s editable!

You can download the free printable meet the teacher bingo from my TeachersPayTeachers store by clicking the green box below.

Another great option to set out for meet the teacher night is these donation apples. There are so many parents out there that are more than happy to help donate items for your classroom, they just don’t know what you really need. Putting out these apples, allows you to really get the items specifically needed for your room.

What are some of your meet the teacher must-haves? Share with us below!

See you next time!

Jenette

The post Free Printable Meet The Teacher Bingo appeared first on Primary Playground.

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 big impact on our students everyday. I decided I wanted to do something similar to these quiet critters but with a different spin on it. With painting rocks such a huge craze right now, I decided to use painted rocks as a classroom incentive.

You only need a few supplies to make these cute rocks.

Supplies needed

Paint Pens -these are the ones I use

Acrylic paints

paint brush

Rocks – you can find some out on a walk or you can buy a bag of rocks from Home Depot.

Clear coat spray paint

To make the rocks start by washing them and letting them dry thoroughly to make sure all the dirt is gone and the paint will stay on nicely. Next is the fun part, painting! I am by no means a good at drawing or painting, but with a little help from our friends at Art for Kids Hub, I was able to create these cute Pete the Cat designs.

The possibilities are endless with what you can add to your rocks. Maybe you have a monster theme and you want to paint some monsters, or even encouraging words like keep up the great work.

After the paint has dried, make sure to use to a clear coat on the rocks so they’ll be sealed and hold up to the wear and tear of the classroom.

It doesn’t matter how great or bad you think they look because in the kids mind, they see Pete the Cat and they couldn’t be any more happy about that!

Using the painted rocks as a classroom incentive is a fun twist to add and something the kids will be so excited about.

What will you paint on your rocks?

Jenette

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The post Painted Rocks As A Classroom Incentive appeared first on Primary Playground.

Do your students have desks or tables in your classroom? These duct tape desk drawers have been an absolute lifesaver to keep their desks organized. You only need a couple items to make these or to ask each student to make one and bring it in at the beginning of the school year. No need for pencil boxes this way!

Materials

A fun roll of duct tape of your choice

A small box flat – the best ones I’ve found to fit our desk are actually wine flats that I get from Trader Joe’s. If you call them and ask them to set them aside for you they are more than happy to.

Scissors

Instructions

It’s a simple project. You’ll just cut several strips of duct tape to completely cover the box. It ends up making the box much more sturdy and stands up to a whole school year in the desks. Sometimes we’re even able to get 2 years out of them.

The drawers keep everything nice and corralled in the top section of their desk. It makes my organized loving heart happy!

Hope this helps keep your students a bit more organized this year!

Jenette

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Do you use a treasure box in your classroom? It can sure get expensive keeping it full all of the time! I’m sharing how you can use treasure box coupons for the classroom treasure box instead of toys and trinkets.

My treasure box is a small wooden box that I found at Hobby Lobby. I think it was about $9.00 after using a coupon. You could also use a shoe box decorated, a jar or even an envelope. I created 40 different coupons to fill my treasure box with. There’s everything from read a book to the class, to write with a pen for a day, to bring in a stuffed animal.

When you print the coupons, you’ll want to laminate them so you can use them over and over again. You can rotate the coupon options out from time to time as well. You may want them to have an option of not wearing shoes in the spring but not in the winter. It’s fun for the kids to find new options in the box!

Another way to use the coupons is to print the coupons in black and white and put them in separate envelopes. Have the student bring you their choice and give them a black and white coupon to use when they choose and then put the laminated one back in the box. Have them write their name on the back of the coupon so no one else can use it.

There are just a couple of options in the coupons that will cost money if you choose to use them. Scratch and sniff stickers, pencils, piece of candy, mini erasers, nothing that is going to break the bank. Yay!

There is a whole additional page of coupons that you can edit and add your own ideas as well.

I’ve also made a version that works with teaching virtually too. You can find those here.

What’s your favorite thing to have in your treasure box?

THIS ACTIVITY WORKS WELL WITH

Jenette

The post Treasure Box Coupons For The Classroom appeared first on Primary Playground.

20 indoor recess ideas

1. Playdough – you can never go wrong with playdough. Here’s my favorite homemade recipe I use.

2. Go Noodle – get those kiddos up and moving getting all those wiggles out!

3. Puzzles – good ‘ole fashion puzzles. Such good work for their brains. Goodwill is my favorite place to find them!

4. Art for Kids Hub– I’ve been using art for kids hub for years now. I even do it a few times a week at home during the summer with my own kids. I can’t say enough good things about his family!

5. Rainy day bingo –  Bingo is always a HUGE hit with my kids. Play with a large group or a small group.

6. Hopscotch- Let the kids get up and moving playing indoor hopscotch.

7. Kahoot – tons of different possibilities here!

8. Cosmic Yoga –  we LOVE LOVE LOVE cosmic yoga! I use this all of the time!

9. Minute to win it games – Make a tub of items that you’d need to play the games so you’re always ready! Here are a few ideas I’ve shared in the past.

10. Make a kid-friendly dance list and have a dance party or freeze dance!

11. Building blocks – these Melissa and Doug wooden blocks have lasted me forever and are still in fantastic shape.

12. Adventure To Fitness – This is a fantastic one that takes you on fitness adventures! 

13. Coloring books- You can never go wrong with coloring books.

14. Pattern blocks – the kid always amaze me with what they can create with the pattern blocks

15. Legos – I’m all about hand-me-downs and finding them at garage sales!

16. Play free choice centers

17. Balloon volleyball – blow up a balloon, make a line on the floor with some tape for the net and play volleyball!

18. Watch a show – Our favorites are Sid the Science Kid, The Magic School Bus, and Super Why

19. Ipads – play educational games on iPads or even Chrome books if you have them available.

20. Play a game – Hot Potato, Telephone, Simon says, Who’s Missing or Head’s Up Seven Up are our favorites.

Do you have any other fun indoor recess ideas you’d add?

See you next time!

Jenette

The post 20 Indoor Recess Ideas appeared first on Primary Playground.