Materials
1. Make your own form entitled "Things to Do to Prepare for Group Time,"
"Things to Remember to Do," "From the Teacher's Desk," or whatever title
seems appropriate.
2. Divide the paper into five sections, one for each day of the week. Write the
names of the days of the week.
3. Under the title at the top, make three columns. Label them: "At Home," "In
the Office," and "In the Classroom." In the top margin write, "Week
Themes."
4. Make multiple copies of the form so that you will have one to use each week.
5. Use this form to jot down materials you need to locate, items you need to
bring from home, things you need to turn in to the office, things you need to
turn in for purchase, things you need to pick up from the office, and so on.
6. It's also a good idea to note when it's time to change a bulletin board, make
a class quantity of pages for the next week, cut out a craft project, fold and
staple little books, mix paints, or anything that will require preparation time
before group time begins.
Instructions
1. Put small quiet items and toys into plastic school boxes or shoeboxes to make
"rest time boxes."
2. During naptime, make sure all the children rest quietly for a period of time
on their mats.
3. After this period of time is up, let the children that are not napping get a
naptime box to work with quietly on their rest mats.
4. This activity allows the children who do not nap an activity to work on
independently.
More to do
Science: Make shoebox activities for other areas of the room, such as the
Science area. Put magnets, items to look at with magnifying glasses, and color
paddles with paper and markers into shoeboxes.
