A "soft start" is a simple way for students to ease into their school day work. Even with a soft start, the class can do their normal routines such as turning in homework or emptying backpacks. Then, instead of immediately doing a worksheet, they select a "put your mind at ease" activity to warm up their minds. These soft start ideas are calming, yet inquiry based activities that get the students mentally, emotionally and physically ready for the learning day. In addition, the students are able to chat and work together during all of the activities. This strengthens the sense of classroom community and empowers the class to problem solve and make their own choices. Check out all of the different ideas below that are easy to incorporate into your morning routines.
I can't get enough of these amazing Tangram Foam Shapes Manipulatives. This set of tangrams is a great soft start because it promotes spacial awareness as well as problem-solving skills. What I love is that they are made of colorful, pre-cut foam. There are 12 different puzzles to challenge and engage your students at the start of their day.
Idea By: Layla Henry
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Every teacher should have a set of these Connecting Gear Shapes Building Blocks. They are a great alternative for normal blocks. The possibilities are endless for what students can create with these! They come in a colorful set of 100, so several students can use this activity individually or as a team. This set is also great for students with sensory issues!
Idea By: Layla Henry
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Puzzles are always calming and make a great addition to any classroom. I have a set of the Wildlife Puzzles and Unicorn Puzzles available for our soft starts. The Wildlife Puzzles come in a set of 12, with four different puzzles to build while the Unicorn Puzzles come in a set of 12 with three different puzzles to create. They consist of 24 pieces and are easy to store since they come in an individual box about the size of a deck of cards. Puzzles are great for practicing spacial reasoning along with being a relaxing way to start the day.
Idea By: Layla Henry
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This next soft start is a combination of the individual mini puzzles and gear blocks. These manipulative blocks are actually puzzle pieces that let students create their own design. I have both the large Waffle Blocks and the smaller, Puzzle-Shaped Manipulative Blocks. Both sets allow students to manipulate the pieces and create a variety of shapes, both flat and 3D. They also help foster hand and eye coordination along with problem solving.
Idea By: Layla Henry
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For students who want more freedom to create, the Classic Dough Set will be a crowd pleaser. There are so many benefits to using this as a soft start including: helping with fine motor skills, prompting the use of their imagination, increasing curiosity with a fun, yet calming effect. This Classic Dough Set holds about a pound of dough in six different colors, which allows many students to choose this as a soft start.
Idea By: Layla Henry
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These Brain Teasers are one of the most popular soft start picks in my class. These mind benders perplex and engage the students in problem solving, while teaching them to strategize, think critically and persevere. There are six different Brain Teasers, each in a set of 10, which allows many students to use this soft start. As an extra benefit, there's a little paper with each brain teaser that shows you how to solve it, so you can easily differentiate this soft start.
Idea By: Layla Henry
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Another crowd pleaser are the Mini Bright Puzzle Cubes. This is the most difficult of the soft starts because it really challenges the students to think critically. There are so many benefits to this classic puzzle that make it an ideal soft start activity. The Mini Bright Puzzle Cubes help improve memory, and because they are so challenging, they will also have the students practice patience. The puzzle cubes come in a set of 12 and my favorite part is that there is absolutely no prep for this soft start.
Idea By: Layla Henry
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I offer a variety of activities that help grow my students curiosity and build their fine motor and problem solving skills. The first activity is the Peg Puzzle Set. Students can use the shaped puzzle pieces to navigate the two levels of pegs built into the board. They quickly learn to turn and twist the puzzle pieces to help them fit around the pegs.
Idea by: Kristen Poindexter
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The next activity helps students build letters and numbers using the various included parts. Each puzzle piece in the Peg Board Puzzle allows students to explore how letters, numbers, and shapes are formed.
Idea by: Kristen Poindexter
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The Fantastic Fish Building Blocks are a HUGE hit with students and adults! These fun fish allow students to build in almost every direction quickly using the interlocking notches on each fish. My students love that they slide together easily and stay connected so they can build huge creations! My students love all these activities and can't wait to come in each day and start building and creating!
Idea by: Kristen Poindexter
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I love all the building options that these colorful Pop Connectors provide! Students can build up, out, or sideways which helps promote even more creativity! The bright colors draw children in to creating and building!
Idea by: Kristen Poindexter
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