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As educators, no matter what is going on in our personal lives, or with our health, we have to muster up everything we've got to give to our kids.

Realistically, we are all humans. With relationships, families, friends, health, finances that aren't always as picture perfect as our social media profiles appear.

We are humans, who sometimes have crappy days, that make it seem impossible to face the world, but we do it anyways because +/-27 little lives depend on us.

Our kids are humans too. They may not be adults, with adult problems, but they live with adults who have adult problems. Worse, some are facing adult problems.

Back to my crappy day. I had a graduate class tonight. They started the class like many teachers who follow Morning Meeting do. We had an icebreaker where we shared about our summers. We played a team-building game. We were told our objectives for the day. Then we jumped into work - a lecture followed by a group project.

You can empathize with how I felt listening to everyone else's amazing summer stories. You can relate to how much I didn't feel like playing a game. You can guess how much I learned from lecture. You can imagine how hard it was for me to concentrate on our group project.

What did I need in the first 15 minutes of my graduate class? Space and choice. Space to be independent and choices to make to get my brain off of my crappy day and ready for learning. For me this would look like mindfulness, reading, starting an authentic conversation that wasn't dominated by a list of questions we had to ask each other.

Are we providing this space for our kids? Do they have these choices for how to prepare their brain for the big day ahead? Or are they spending their first 15 doing a worksheet at their desk? Are they sad, listening to their peers' great adventures from the weekend with their happy families? Are we asking them seemingly not, but actually really sensitive (and trivial) questions like: What did you have for dinner last night? What is your favorite television show? What is your favorite iPad game? Where did you travel over the summer? What camp did you go to? What emotions are we causing our kids to have by being forced to answer or listen to other kids answer this questions?

This leads me to a topic I feel especially passionate about. The most powerful and important 15 minutes of my day - not a stellar mini-lesson or a rockstar conference - the soft start that kept my kids running out of their doors and into my classroom every morning.

Here's what a typical soft start looked like in my classroom:
I greet kids and families at the door. Kids are literally running into the classroom to Finally, we meet as a community on the rug. Our meetings always look different and are typically run by the kids. Someone might have a new agreement to propose or problem to address. Someone might ask to share and get feedback on a project they have been working hard on. Sometimes we tell stories-stories about growth mindset kids used, peer problems kids resolved, stories about each other and things that happen at home. We talk about our day - any changes that we need to make, any goals we hope to accomplish. unpack so they can get started (some don't even waste time to take their coats off). A group of kids sit in a group on the rug, telling stories. At the floor table, kids huddle around a book that someone has brought from home. One friend works independently on his hybrid dinosaur creator, built from magnatiles. Other "A fifteen-minute soft start is an investment in the overall seven-hour outcome. Kids will accomplish more 'net learning' if they start that day in the driver's seat." friends gather around the table, drawing and painting. A friend asks to lay down in the cozy corner because she didn't get enough sleep last night. Another friend is crying after departing from his grown-up, and gets comforted by friends. In the library, kids are using books and iPads to continue their Subway inquiry. Kids teach each other how to make things. They read together, write together, play a game. Snacks are available for kids who didn't get breakfast. Work is engaging and productive, cross-content standards are being met, and for this fifteen minutes, conflicts are rare. I can read the energy of my kids and plan for more body breaks or community building if necessary. Kids have opportunities to do things that they would not have in any other part of our day. On many days, the work my kids are doing amazes me, and I let it last a little bit longer. I take minutes out of other parts of my schedule, like the meeting time that follows, because I know what they are doing is more important than anything else I have planned.
You may have read my previous post about flexible schedules. As you are thinking about the first thing on your schedule, consider starting your day like this. Stop printing mindless worksheets. Know that some kids had crappy nights or crappy mornings and won't be ready to be social. Morning meetings have benefits (which can also be found in soft starts), but aren't right for every child. Take the pressure off of yourself to teach from bell to bell.

If you are thinking, How can I fit this into my day?do yourself a favor and read this post by Kristine Mraz: https://kinderconfidential.wordpress.com/2013/12/08/fitting-it-all-in/

I'd like to end with one of my favorite quotes by Harvey "Smokey" Daniels in The Curious Classroom:

UPDATE: Check out my new post about launching and growing soft starts here: More on Soft Starts

Thank you to Kristi, who first introduced me to soft starts. I am the luckiest to have administrators, Adele Schroeter and Nekia Wise, who support soft starts and kid-centered decisions. Thank you to Smokey Daniels, who devoted a chapter to soft starts in The Curious Classroom (which you should read immediately, if you haven't yet). You can get it here: http://www.heinemann.com/products/e08990.aspx

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Today was a crappy day. As educators, no matter what is going on in our personal lives, or with our health, we have to muster up everything we've got to give to our kids. Realistically, we are all humans. With relationships, families, friends, health, finances that aren't always as picture perfect as our...

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Write at the Start: No More Morning Worksheets

Imagine you get to work and right after you sign in, you are given a packet of work to do. The packet includes an editing sheet of sentences where there are mistakes in capitalization and punctuation. It also includes an article to read with comprehension questions. You've been given no context for the article or time to talk with anyone to activate any background knowledge you have on the subject. It's Monday morning and you are desperate to talk to your colleagues about something that happened over the weekend, but your principal says, "No talking- start your work!" and you have to sit in your chair and begin completing these worksheets. Would you feel welcomed? Would you feel joyful about the day and week ahead? Would your curiosity be sparked? Would this be how you choose to start your day of work?

For many students, school begins this way. After unpacking, they are given morning work to do and it is expected to be done in silence. Some students have multiple morning worksheets to do. These are not authentic tasks based on students interests or passion. There is no choice involved in this work. No one sees it but the teacher who may or may not even check it.

I realize that I'm most likely preaching to the choir here, that those of you who read teaching blogs each day most likely are not beginning your day like this. But you may have a colleague who has always done it this way and doesn't see the harm in this type of morning work. Or you may have a child in your life who goes to school and is given a packet of work each day to complete. My hope is this post can be shared with educators who begin the day with worksheets to help them envision a different way the day can begin.

In the book, The Curious Classroom, by Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, he writes, "When we begin handing out worksheets or spewing information the second kids walk through our door, are we contributing to what Stanford psychologist, Emma Seppala (2016) calls "toxic stress"? It's worth considering what is really the best way for kids to begin their school day"(60). Daniels also states, "We don't have to teach the whole class from the opening bell. The first chunk of the day/class can be personal choice time- quiet, industrious, and maybe even shoeless. When we let kids find their own way into the day, we activate their curiosity and sense of self-direction, mind-sets that serve learners well in the formal inquiries that follow" (59).

Beginning the day with student-directed choices has become known as "soft starts." Chapter 4 in The Curious Classroom is dedicated to this topic of beginning the day with "not rigid, but gentle, individualized, and peaceful beginnings, driven by personal choice, not ordained by someone else's agenda or requirements" (61). Aliza Werner, a friend and fellow third grade teacher in Wisconsin, has dubbed her soft start as "Spark and Shine." Her students begin the day with many different options including building, painting, reading, writing, and creating. Aliza has shared with me that she will never go back to any other start to the day. Our conversations have helped me think through how I can implement more of a soft start in my classroom with creative options for students.

While there are many reading and STEAM possibilities for a soft start without worksheets, I will focus here on ways to use writing to ease your students into the day, while exciting them about their learning and sparking creativity. Not a worksheet in sight!

Card-making station: Students often come into the classroom, letting me know it's a parent's birthday or a sibling's special day. Sometimes they talk about a wedding they went to or they let me know someone in their family is sick. Making cards for people in your life is an authentic and purposeful way to begin the day with writing. There is a real audience and a real need to get the message right, to punctuate, to spell words correctly. It also encourages kindness and thoughtfulness.

Digital writing: My students love Buncee and enjoy writing poems, stories, and sharing information on this platform. Students can also share their ideas via Google Docs and Slides.

Free writing: Paper and pencils are sometimes all that is needed for a student's creativity to shine! Last year, one of my students created a character that he featured in over 20 books he wrote over the course of the year. Giving students the time and materials is sometimes all that is needed for a student to develop a stronger writing identity.

Wonder Journal: Each day, my class shares a fact of the day. I find most of these facts on the Snapple website. Students can use the fact of the day to inspire questions or they can write about anything they are wondering about in a Wonder Journal. (This could be digital or a real notebook).

Inspiring Quotes: In addition to a fact of the day, one of our class jobs is the Chief Inspiration Officer (CIO) who selects the quote for the day. Students can read through inspiring quotes and copy down one that inspires them. They can illustrate it and create their own quote collection. I have the 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Precepts by R.J. Palacio and have printed some motivational quotes and placed them in a binder. We share them each day here.

Word play games: Growing up, I loved games like Boggle and Scattergories. Students don't always have experience playing board games. This could be a fun option to build vocabulary and also learn the social skills involved with taking turns and winning and losing.

Book reviews: Students can write a script for a book review and then create a video review. This can be shared on Buncee, Flipgrid, or Padlet. Other digital options for book reviews could be a class Google Slides, a Padlet, or a blog post. If digital options aren't readily available, you can have students create a review on paper and place them in a binder near your classroom library.

Blogging: Many teachers worry that blogging will take a lot of class time. The truth is, blogging doesn't really take much instructional time after it is initially taught and launched. For me, blogs are a place for students to share their stories whenever they can. This can be outside of school or during free moments in the classroom. Morning time is the perfect chance to share a story from your weekend or something on your mind by blogging about it. For more resources on blogging with your students, check out posts I've written about blogging: Diving into Kidblogs and Make your Mark By Blogging.

I think presenting many different options over time and allowing students to follow their interests is key. This is not about assigning students to a specific station and forcing them do the work there. It's showing possibilities and then allowing students choices in what they select. It's fostering self-identity as a writer by allowing students the opportunities to write what is meaningful for them at the start of the day.

Smokey Daniels posits, "Looked at over a whole day of school, a fifteen-minute soft start is an investment in the overall seven hour outcome. Kids will accomplish more 'net learning' if they start that day in the driver's seat." (77). Imagine how different you would feel starting your day writing something of your choosing, for a purpose that mattered to you. Imagine how collaborating with others on a project might energize you.

Teachers, give up the old worksheets! Save yourselves hours of photocopying and checking papers where kids joylessly fix errors in punctuation and capitalization. Drudgery has no place in our classrooms. Let kids write and create for real reasons and purposes and let it begin at the start of the day!
Some more resources on Soft Starts:
Our new co-author, Kelsey Corter, wrote Please Stop the Morning Work on her personal blog, Small Steps.

Last week, I wrote What Does Morning Work Look Like? on my personal blog Courage Doesn't Always Roar. (You can see this topic has been on my mind!) The comments were helpful and full of good ideas.

How have you used writing to create a soft start for your students? Please share your ideas in the comments!

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Write at the Start: No More Morning Worksheets

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Imagine you get to work and right after you sign in, you are given a packet of work to do. The packet includes an editing sheet of sentences where there are mistakes in capitalization and punctuation. It also includes an article to read with comprehension questions.

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Have you ever tasted an Arab taco?

When was the Arab taco invented?

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Which type of currency exchange rate system does the U.S. use?

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Which of the following is usually NOT a factor in determining currency exchange rates?

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Based on information from the Wonder, what was Lou Castro known for when he was alive?

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Where do okapis live?

What do okapis eat?

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How do writers make a Wonder?

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Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease | Wonderopolis

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Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease

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The Curious Classroom: 10 Structures for Teaching with Student-Directed Inquiry

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Curious about inquiry? Hundreds of thousands of elementary teachers are. Smokey Daniels travels the country supporting well planned and organized inquiry teaching, and he gets these two questions most often: Where do I find the time? What are some simple ways I can try with my kids? The Curious C...

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Harvey "Smokey" Daniels - Teacher, Author, Consultant

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Soft Start Mornings

Just like adults, students need a time to adjust in the morning. I am sure most of you start the day with a cup of coffee or have a routine that helps get you ready for the day. Why don't we do this for students when they arrive to school?

Soft start mornings is probably not something new, it may just be a new name for something that you already do. It is a time set aside in the classroom when students arrive for them to have a few minutes of choice before starting the academic part of the day.

We would like to share how we implement soft start mornings in our upper elementary classroom. We have found this to be extremely beneficial for a smooth start to the school day. Students love the routine and we know it helps them get focused for the day.

Listed below are the many choices you could have for students for soft start mornings. Pick and choose which ones you think would be successful with your students. You may want to start with five choices and then build up if your students can handle it.

Learning Apps

There are many great free learning websites that our students love. One is called Prodigy. This is a very interactive math game for students and is aligned with the Common Core Standards. It allows you to get reports on your students as well. Another is called Freckle (formely Front Row). This online game covers ELA, math, science and social studies. Students have also loved CODE as they can learn how to code.

Calendar Activities

If students want to learn about wacky holidays that are celebrated in the United States each day, they can read the daily calendar activity. There is a description of each day, and three to five activities that students can do to celebrate the day. Your students will want to check this out.

Building Station

Providing students with a place to use their hands could be beneficial for those kinesthteic learners. Legos and Kinex are perfect for this. Having different types of manipulatives that students can maneuver with their hands is a great way for some to start the day.

Puzzles

Puzzles are a great way to start the day too. We have on hand United States puzzles, smaller puzzles for individuals, and then bigger community puzzles that students can continue to work on over the course of the week. You just have to find a place to keep the pieces and incomplete puzzle.

Coloring Pages

Who doesn't love to color? Having simple coloring pages available along with crayons, colored pencils and markers can be a great way for students to start the day. You can even find those more challenging coloring pages that adults are now using as well.

Genius Hour

Probably the favorite activity of our students in the morning is working on their Genius Hour p assion projects. Genius Hour is a time when students can learn more about a passion that they have and really dive deep into answering a guiding question that they have about the passion. You can read more about Genius Hour by clicking on the photo below.

Allowing students to just write about anything can be a great start to the school day for some. They can decide to write on their own or even create a story with their friend. This choice may be the perfect fit for some of your students. We have a FREE resource that will give you tons of ideas for students to choose from.

Daily Work For An Entire Year

We have created a daily work bundle that will take your students through 36 weeks of school. Each day has a focus. Monday has a writing activity. Tuesday has trivia. Wednesday has a famous quote. Thursday contains thinking and logic puzzles. Friday finishes off the week with fun facts. This can easily be a station to choose from each day.

Reading

Probably a favorite choice for many of our students has been to choose a book and read. Students have chosen to read alone, or with a partner. We are lenient on the book selection because we want this to be a time of enjoyment in reading for the students.

Strategy Games

A great way to get their brains working is to offer strategy games. We use games like checkers and mancala. We also have sudoku puzzles available for students to solve either alone or with a partner. Students also love to solve mysteries if you have any short mystery books like Encylopedia Brown in your class library.

Homework Help

If you set up a homework help time during soft start, students cannot use this as a time to do the work that was assigned the day before. It can only used to help each other out on a concept that is difficult.

We hope that you will begin to implement soft start mornings into your upper elementary classroom. We would love to hear your students' reactions and how you feel too!

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How to Implement and Be Successful at Soft Start Mornings

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In this blog post you will learn about how to implement and be successful at soft start mornings in your elementary classroom.

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Good bye morning work, hello soft start.
Why soft starts?
Because we should offer our students the same type of entry into the work day that we would like. When I get to school, I like to get my things put away, say hi to a teacher or two, check my email one last time, and ease into the day. What if the only thing greeting me at school in the morning was extra work that my colleagues who arrived on time did not have to do and a reminder not to talk to anyone?

This post contains affiliate links which means Amazon tosses me some change whenever someone makes a purchase through one of these links and allows me feed my book habit!

Soft starts offer a bridge between the whirlwind of arriving to school and the social, mental, and academic demands of the day. We give students the opportunity to transition to a school environment and build community with their peers. It offers a welcome into the school day that an expectation of silence and morning work do not.

Here's a peek at my morning tubs from last year:

I swap out some of the tubs from time to time to keep it fresh. Legos, blocks, and Play-doh are always stocked because those get used faithfully every day.

The only rules are no more than four people to a tub and clean up after yourself. I've seen some complicated systems for assigning students to tubs, but I think offering students free choice is important. So much of their day is structured, we can let them have a voice and choice easily with soft start.

I use the Ikea Trofast system for storage. You could use tubs from Target or even oversized Ziploc bags for storage. Here are some of my favorite materials for our morning tubs:

Plastic Animals

I rotate between these dinosaurs and some wild animal toys I got from Walmart.

Wooden Blocks

I use these Melissa and Doug wooden blocks. I was worried my 3rd graders would think they were too babyish, but I was wrong!

Legos

Legos were one of my most expensive to buy. Wait for a Black Friday deal. That's the cheapest way to get them.

My Little Ponies

I grabbed these on super clearance from Target, and they get used every day.

Brain Flakes

I'm not really sure what they're building with these Brain Flakes, but they're really happy while they do it.

Webkinz

I got a set of Webkinz from eBay, and once they took a trip through the washing machine, they were good to go!

Town Play Set

I almost didn't buy this wooden play set from Melissa & Doug that I found at Costco. Surely second graders wouldn't like this, right? Wrong. I'm so glad I grabbed it. It gets played with daily.

Magnatiles

These magnet tiles are so fun to play with. A friend and I were stalking them on Amazon this summer, and she let me know when they were a deal of the day.

Play-Doh

This tub gets used every. single. day. I just added a second tub because so many students wanted this one in the morning. I usually buy the Play-Doh at Walmart for 50 cents, but sometimes Target has it on sale. I got these lunch trays from Amazon to save my rug and keep the Playdoh clean.

Puzzles

I actually picked these 24 piece puzzles up for a non-fiction reading lesson. The kids LOVED them. I'm headed back to Dollar Tree soon to pick up some more because they're crazy for them. I put a symbol on the back of each. That way, if they get mixed up (and they do), they're easy to sort out.

Snowflakes?

I have no clue what these snowflake like connecting discs thingies are really called, but they're a lot of fun to play with.

If you're ready to get started, try asking parents for donations. Facebook is a great place to ask, too. People are always cleaning out kids' rooms. Our neighborhood has a great Facebook group that people post gently used toys in.

If you're a public school teacher, Donors Choose is a great resource especially for STEM type building materials. Haven't used Donors Choose before? Use this link to set up your first project and get matching donations during your first week.

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Why I got rid of morning work and switched to soft start instead. Use morning tubs to start your day by building creativity and community.