Rules & Routines: Lining Up

 

During the first few weeks of Kindergarten, it is SO essential to establish rules and routines for the kiddos in your classroom.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting about some of the rules and routines that I teach my kiddos. 

One of the hardest things (I think) to teach Kinders is lining up and walking in the hallway.  For those that have never been in a school setting, it could be a new experience – especially doing it independently! Usually they’re with mom and dad while waiting in a line, right?

I use a drive through analogy with them.

Most have been through a drive through, right?! We talk about how cars can’t pass each other, and they have to wait patiently for the car in front of them to move.

My smarties made a connection to the line at the gate to the base.  They have driven through the gate SO many times, and know that cars can’t pass each other.  SO SMART.

This year, I also incorporated THE MOST AMAZING new product into our lining up routine.

Introducing…..Sit Spots!

I first saw these at the I Teach K conference this summer in Las Vegas.  They were created by a teacher! Joyce is the owner and has been a teacher and principal for 25 years! She knows her stuff and she is absolutely the sweetest person!

These colorful shapes (she has them in all sorts of colors and shapes – check them out on her website) Joyce uses them as a classroom “rug” in her classroom (one for each kiddo to sit on), but since I already had a rug, I immediately thought about using them for lining up.

They are a hook and loop type product and they’ll stick great to industrial carpet (low pile).  Here is the most awesome part – they can be vacuumed right over!!! No mad custodians!!  Once they’re down, they are stuck – kids can’t peel them up!  At then end of the year, you can pull them up – put them away for next year, and your custodians can clean your carpet like usual.  Joyce even lets you order a sample so you can try it out to see if it will work on your carpet. (Psst….  They’re only $1 each!!)

Okay, back to lining up – here’s what I did with them….

Since I want to incorporate learning whenever I can, I numbered one row (1-13) and wrote the letters A-M on the other set. It’s still a little tricky for kids to remember their number/letter when we are OUT of the classroom, but they line up so quickly when we are in the classroom – and there are NO arguments about where kids are in line.

I have personally found that it is easier for ME to walk in one very LOOONNNGG line.  Two lines were confusing for my kiddos.  So, I’ve trained the letter A walker to watch for the number 13 walker, and follow him when we leave the classroom. (I picked a very responsible kiddo!).

Lining up and walking in line is ALWAYS a work in progress – with a large class it takes a while to get this mastered :) 

I also use some fun songs and chants to help kiddos get ready for the hall.  Check out What the Teacher Wants for this collection of line up chants/songs.

Here are some more fun chants from First Grade Owls – LOVE the shimmy shimmy coconut one!

I also adore this idea for lining up:

From Mrs. Kopacz at Artistic Geniuses: At the end of the class a student from the helper table puts up the tables (named after shapes this year) that are clean and quiet first, this is the order we line up in. Boy do they clean up fast and you can hear a pin drop!

Here is another fun idea for walking in the hall from What Happens in First Grade.  She labels these poker chip type pieces with students names, grabs one as she walks out the door.  If that person is doing the right thing in the hall, he/she gets a little prize/treat!

This is super similar to my Mystery Person idea that I blogged about waaaay back in 2011!  I use the sticks from my lucky duck can, but I like having a dedicated “mystery walker” can!

Of course when we’re in the hall, we either have a “bubble” or a “marshmallow” in our mouths! 

So, What are your best tips and tricks for lining up and/or walking in the hall.  Please share! We can all add a few ideas to our bag of tricks!