Do you need a new morning routine in your classroom? Are you feeling like your patience is being tested from the minute your students walk into your room? 5 years ago, I changed my classes morning routine by starting the day with a soft start and will never go back to our old morning routine. My students are now excited about our morning routine, have time to connect with one another and start the day on a positive note.
What is a soft start morning routine? A soft start is a way to ease your students into the day while keeping a structure and routine in your class.
What benefits do you see from soft start mornings? This morning start gives my students time to connect with one another and gives me, the teacher, extra time to connect with students, too. This time has been crucial to building relationships in my classroom and has been one of the reasons why my students have built close, positive relationships. This time helps me see who might have not had a good morning before coming to school, or who might be having a hard time easing into the day. I am able to check in with my students more at the beginning of the day with soft starts. I have noticed that my class’s day starts off on a more positive note and there is a lot more joy going into the day.
What activities do you allow students to do during your soft start? I give my students 3-4 different soft start activities to choose from every day. These activities include reading, computer time, drawing, whiteboards, board games (Connect 4 and Blocksrock are favorites), math games and stem bins. I try to keep most of the same activities throughout the week and swap out one of the activities here and there. You will quickly discover which activities are your students favorites. Stem bins always seem to be a student favorite in my class!
How and when can I get started with soft start mornings? You can get started tomorrow! Soft start mornings are easy to start, don’t take much preparation and can be started at any time of the year. I recommend that you start by talking about your expectations with your students for soft start mornings before you begin them. For example, in my class, students could sit around the room, but they had to find a spot and stay there. Also, students needed to complete the daily prompt for the morning meeting before starting the day. Having these expectations up front will help your soft start morning routine be structured and something that everyone enjoys (even the teacher).
Soft start mornings may be exactly what your class is needing! Don’t be afraid to jump in and just try them out. If you are looking for something to help you get started with setting up a structure and displaying your new morning routine, click the button below to check out my Morning Choice Slides that I have used daily to show my students our soft start choices and routine. These slides are editable and easy for you to make work for your class!
