Kindergarten Classroom Management Ideas
What do you think of when someone says “classroom management”? If you are like most teachers, you probably think of a classroom behavior plan. But classroom management involves so much more than that! I like to think of classroom management as everything that is done in order to help the classroom run smoothly and efficiently. It’s procedures, behaviors, transitions, organization and so much more! In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite Kindergarten Classroom Management ideas and tips.
5 Kindergarten Classroom Management Ideas
In order for a classroom to run smoothly, behavior needs to be taught and practiced from the first week of school, just like any academic skill. This can be done through a variety of whole class rewards, consistent routines, and other tools. The nice thing about whole class management plans is they can be changed up whenever needed! Here are some of my favorites:
1. Mystery Words
One of the most important things to me when it comes to classroom management is creating a plan for supporting classroom behaviors as a whole. Personally, I’m not a big fan of rewarding individual students’ behaviors. Mystery words are one of my favorite whole class management plans. The students work together to earn a specific reward, but they don’t know what it is until they earn it!
You can choose a reward that is really simple, like earning extra recess. It can be something that requires a little more prep, like a a popsicle party. You can choose the reward based on the time of year. We all know those times of the school year that are super busy! Those are the seasons when no-prep rewards are best.
After you pick a reward, print out letter cards to spell out the prize and cut them apart. Stick them to your whiteboard so everyone can see the cards, but not the word! When you see a class behavior that you want to reinforce, like everyone getting in their line quickly and quietly, walk over to the board and flip a card over to reveal a letter! You don’t have to reveal them in order either, actually it’s more fun not to! The class knows that they just got a step closer to their class reward.
Before you know it, students are reminding each other of what to do in order to earn more letters. They’re working together for a common goal and it’s fun to watch them guess what the reward will be as we flip over more letters.
You can create your own mystery word cards or find ready-made cards in my Classroom Management bundle. It includes 15 rewards for your students to earn whenever you need to use it throughout the year. Simply print, cut, and hang them up!
2. Behavior Bingo
Another effective classroom management tool is a behavior bingo board. This tool is perfect for when your class needs some extra practice and reinforcement on a specific behavior but it can be used for general behaviors too!
Here’s how to use it: Hang the bingo board up and let your students know what behavior they are practicing. When you see your class showing the target behavior, draw one of the bingo cards. (It’s also really fun and exciting to let a student choose a card too!). Then you can cover that space on the bingo board with a sticker or magnet. Once an entire column is filled, the students earn that reward. I like to use the bingo boards before a holiday or school break because we always need extra help focusing on our behaviors during those weeks.
You can grab these FREE Behavior Bingo Board to use in your classroom. It includes a list of rewards and an editable PRIZE poster so you can adjust the prizes if the ones included don’t work for you.
Free Behavior Bingo Classroom Management Tool
3. Visual Direction Cards
I think one of my biggest tips for having your classroom run smoothly is to display visual expectations. Kindergarteners are given a lot of tasks to complete throughout the day, but following multi-step directions can be really difficult for some students.
Many times, you will notice your students are off task and disruptive simply because they don’t remember what they’re supposed to be doing! This is when visual direction cards are so helpful! When you use verbal directions PLUS visual directions, students have a resource they can use as a reminder of what they should be doing when they forget.
You can keep the number cards displayed on the side of the board. Then, when you are going over an activity, you can add a corresponding visual direction card next to each number. Review the directions as a class one more time as a reminder. You can ask, “What do you do first?” and have the students respond as you point to the first card. Go through all of the directions and then refer back to the cards if your students need help remembering what to do.
These cards can also be used to provide visual directions with center activities. You can print them out half-size and stick them in a center so your students have a visual reminder of what they need to do.
4. Early Finisher Activities
Another key to effective kindergarten classroom management is for students to know what to do when they’re done with their work. Early finisher activities are a must-have for a kindergarten classroom to run smoothly! They don’t have to be complicated! In fact, there are a lot of low-prep activities that you can keep on hand to help students stay engaged in meaningful tasks while they wait for the next classroom transition.
You can even set up an early finisher station in your classroom with a variety of task choices. Once you’ve had a chance to teach students about the different activities, students can be independent in grabbing something to work on when they’re finished with their assigned task. To make it even more engaging, students can choose a popsicle stick from a cup to decide which of the station activity they will do!
5. Transition Task Cards
Transition time can make or break your classroom management! As your students transition from one activity to another, it’s helpful to give them something to think about. This can keep their minds engaged and ready for your next instructions. I found that simple questions were perfect for this! However, it can be tricky to come up with these questions on the spot, so I created some transition task cards to keep on hand.
As an example, you could print off transition task cards and put them in a bin by your classroom door. Then, when it’s time to line up for recess, you could grab a card and ask the students to think of an answer to the question as they are getting in line. Then, once everyone is lined up, you could invite some students to share their answers. The class loves to listen for someone who thought of the same answer they did!
6. Classroom Songs
Finally, music is an important part of kindergarten classroom management! There are so many ways that you can keep students engaged and on track by singing simple songs with them. Students are often more responsive to directions when they are included in a fun song. This can cut down on transition time, behavior redirection, AND extra chatter.
Kindergarten Classroom Management Printables
If you’d like to put together some classroom management tools for your classroom, I can help you save a lot of time! I have created a bundle of Classroom Management Printables that you can use to keep your daily routine running smoothly all year long. If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this bundle, just click below to find it in my shop.
Classroom Management Bundle
Save These Kindergarten Classroom Management Ideas
Be sure to save this post if you’d like to come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite Pinterest board of kindergarten ideas. You’ll be able to quickly find these classroom management ideas for your kindergarten class whenever you need them!
