New Kindergarten teacher: Quiet Activity?

Question

I am taking over mid year as a kindergarten teacher. The prior teacher had them napping 3 days a week, although the corporation does not allow it. I am going to give them the option of napping, or the option of doing a quiet activity. Right now I am going to have a painting easle and books open. Any other ideas?

I am also looking for different daily small activities like hot potato, or freeze dance.

Thanks!

Answer 1

They LOVE drawing, painting,and beading! NO PAPER MACHE!!!!!!!!! and but make sure everything is washable!

Answer 2

get a ball and get everyone in a circle and pass it around and whoever talks, throws bad, or dont catch the ball is out

Answer 3

a game thats fun is heads up 7 up when they put there heads down and and 5 kids are taggers and they tap the thumbs of the kids whos heads are down and the guess who tapped there thumb and if there right then they switch places

Answer 4

Puzzles, books, drawing/coloring, play dough, stickers, lacing cards, tracing stencils, chalk and chalk boards.  These are all quiet activities that can be rotated so that they do not get bored.  Once they get bored, then they have a hard time being quiet.  I like to play Simon Says and I Spy.

Answer 5

Guided imagry.  Tell them a story where they can imagine where they are (laying on their nap mats) some may nap but others will be interested in the advanture.  

Telephone ~ where they wisper a secret and see if it is the same story by the end of the line.

Statue ~ (like your Freeze Dance)

Hide and Seek (maybe outside game)

Write a story with Pictures (Pictionary) - cut out pictures from magazines to tell a story without words.  They paste it on a big sheet of easel paper.

Any type of ART is good.  Paper mache, drawing.

To keep the "roar" from getting too out of control.  Have 1/2 of the class do the quiet activity and the other 1/2 something else (even if it's a short nap).

Answer 6

Beading is a great activity for quite time.

Answer 7

Quiet activity for Kindergarten????

I teach third grade, I can only suggest reading to the little people. Kids love to be read to. If you have them draw, you'll have fights over the paints, crayons etc. asking them to tell a story works too, be prepared for them to tell you about things they do at home and sometimes private things like daddy walking around the house with no shorts on , had that experience when I first started.

Also mommy playing touch pee pee with her boyfriend on the couch.

Show and tell works for a short time , they will bore easily. Reading always worked for me. Some will even fall asleep then. Good luck.

Answer 8

If you have to ask these kinds of questions, you're not qualified to be a kindergarten teacher. Are you certified? Where did you get your degree?

And where are you teaching so I can make sure my child stays away from your school?

Answer 9

Coloring, puzzles,beading, Play-doh and lacing are all nice and quiet activites. We had "quiet toys" we would give out at nap time stuff they could do on their  mats.

Greg and Steve cd's are a must for every kindergarten teacher. Also Jean Feldmen CD's are good as well. Lake Shore learning company has an activity box that has games  for circle time.

Answer 10

My best advice is to mix it up.  I know of some kindergarten programs that give the kids the option of napping or watching an educational video or show on public television.  The show "between the lions" is a great prereading, phonics based show that I've seen used for this as well as reading rainbow.  If you aren't allowed to use the television then you have other options.  I teach a mixed age preschool so most of my kids nap.  Those that don't are required by the state guidelines to rest quietly for 30 minutes a day.  I have those who don't nap lay quietly for their 30 minutes and rest(we have classical music on)  Each child brings 2 books from the library area in our room to their cot at the beginning of nap to look at after their 30 minutes.  I also have a bucket of "cot toys" that are only brought out at naptime.  The quietest resters get first picks.  inside the bucket are a variety of small toys like small magnadoodles and etchasketches, stress balls, tangles, magnetic games like magnetic paperdolls.  Dollar Stores are great places to find things for kids to use.  magnetic letters and a cookie sheet work well.  I would guess that in a kinderagrten setting your could create a variety of activities and spread the kids out at desks or table spots and rotate them through the areas.  filefolder games work well for this too.  a great website for ideas on teachermade things to add is www.childcareland.com.  She has alot of ideas, free printables, and advice to share.  Also from there I would link to the top 100 early childhood sites.  Other great kindergarten sites are:

www.littlegiraffes.com

   www.pre-kpages.com  

www.kellyskindergarten.com

www.mrsdiminnie.com

The best teachers are scavengers meaning that they hunt around for the best ideas from others and incorporate them with their own unique twist.