Holiday Activities and Freebies!
Have you ever come back to the classroom after winter break expecting to feel refreshed, only to feel like you’re behind already? The month of January in kindergarten can be challenging! From reteaching routines to reviewing academic concepts, there are a lot of important things to include in your January lesson plans. In this post, I’m going to share some tips and resources to help you have a successful month!
The kindergarten classroom is a very interesting place in January! Students have just come back from their first long school break. Since many students start kindergarten without having been to preschool, the winter break is the first large gap in their learning experience. Here are some specific challenges that you might see in your classroom in January:
Here are a few things that I have always tried to remind myself as I put together January lesson plans. I hope these tips are helpful to you, as well!
The first step is to really lean into your learning routine. Young kindergarten students thrive on consistency! The faster you can get back into the rhythm of morning work, centers, and other classroom routines, the easier it will be for students to transition back from winter break.
This might mean that you need to reteach some procedures and that’s okay! As you lesson plan, just give yourself some extra time between activities so that you can review the expectations of those learning routines. This small addition to your January lesson plans can go a long way in helping your classroom run smoothly in January and beyond!
In addition to reviewing your routines and expectations, it’s important to incorporate plenty of academic review into your January lesson plans. It’s common for students to lose a little bit of ground in their learning during long breaks from school.
By spending some time on math and literacy review in January, your students can strengthen their foundation for the new academic concepts you’ll be teaching the rest of the year.
Coming back to school and reviewing routines and academic skills might not sound like a fun way to start the new calendar year, but it can be! Just because the holiday season has passed, it doesn’t mean you can’t continue to have some seasonal fun in your classroom! In fact, incorporating some winter-themed activities into your January lesson plans can make it easier for students to transition back into the classroom after the break.
There are so many fun winter-related themes that you can incorporate into your January lesson plans! Whether you decide on snowmen or penguins, your students will appreciate having some seasonal fun in the classroom during the month of January. This can go a long way in preventing the winter slump that is so common after the holiday season!
Once you’ve decided on a winter theme to use in your classroom, try to incorporate as many hands-on activities and crafts as you can! Not only will this keep students engaged and motivated, but it will also give you the chance to review things like how to safely and properly use school supplies.
Since many students likely didn’t pick up a pencil during the winter break, crafts are especially helpful in January! As they cut and assemble crafts, students are practicing important fine motor skills and improving their coordination.
My final tip is to keep things simple! Even though it’s important to add some review, seasonal fun, and hands-on activities to your lesson plans, it doesn’t mean you should be spending hours upon hours finding and prepping these activities. Instead, you can simplify your lesson planning by looking for a done-for-you thematic unit for January!
As you probably noticed in this post, I have shared pictures from a penguin thematic unit that I have always loved to do in January. This thematic unit includes math and literacy practice, print-and-go activities that are perfect for morning work, hands-on activities for centers, and low-prep crafts! A thematic unit is one of my favorite ways to simplify lesson planning in January. It’s a super simple way to get learning back on track after break!
If you would like to add a fun thematic unit to your January lesson plans, I can save you a lot of planning time! This penguin unit is designed to be low-prep for teachers and highly engaging for students. It’s full of the literacy and math review that your students will need as they return to the classroom from winter break. You’ll also find hands-on activities and crafts that you can use to help your students get back into their learning routine.
You can find this unit in the A Spoonful of Learning shop and in my TPT store if you’d like to take a closer look!
Be sure to save this post if you’d like to come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite board of kindergarten ideas on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find these tips and resources when you’re working on your January lesson plans.
