I think that most teachers would agree that there is never enough instruction time in the classroom. Programs and events can take up a good amount of teaching time throughout the year. On the other hand, there are times when you may finish a lesson earlier than you had intended. Sometimes physical education, art, or music may have been cancelled for that day. In that case, many times you are looking for something to do. You may not always be ready with another lesson because you did not get a chance to make copies or just prepare in general. Here are some time fillers that I have used over the years.
First of all, you definitely want these time fillers to be constructive and educational. Some times I will put on a video if gym, art, or music was cancelled that day. I do not just want to put on any Disney movie. I make sure that it is an educational video. I usually put on Science movies of things that we have learned or are going to learn.
After my class packs up for dismissal time, we usually have about 10 – 15 minutes left before the buses are called. In this case, I may put on a Disney movie. I have found that this controls the noise level at the end of the day. Many times the kids are so hyper from sitting all day long and they tend to get up out of their seats. Some may even start wrestling and touching each other. To avoid this, I put on a video which I think really calms them down before going home.
The easiest thing to do when I finish a lesson early is just to have the class look at books. The kids enjoy this tremendously. I never hear them complaining about looking at books. Some times I will read them a story, but they do enjoy more looking at books themselves or with a friend.
At times, I will sing songs with the class. Around Halloween time, we just practice the songs that we are going to sing for the assembly. October is also fire safety month and there are a number of songs that the kids can learn. At Christmas time, we may practice the songs that they are going to sing for the program. In May or June, we practice our graduation songs.
This is a good time to practice listening skills. You give the class a sheet of paper and have them listen to what the teacher is telling them to do.
Children even at this young age love word searches. I also give these to my class to do around certain holidays. They enjoy doing it.
You can also buy a Kindergarten book that contains worksheets on different topics. Always have some ready and copied in case you need it for that particular day.
I have found that all of these are fun time fillers, plus the children are still learning.