How to Incorporate Play into your Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Grade Classroom // play based learning

We know that play-based learning can increase social emotional learning in our students and nurture so many great long term skills! In this video, I go over 4 different ways to incorporate play into your kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classrooms!
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If you happen to use any of these ideas at home or in your classroom, leave a comment below and let me know how they go! :) Also, if you share any of the games from Susan's Sunday Spotlight, please tag me on Instagram @susanjonesteaching so I can see!! You can also use the hashtag: #susanssundayspotlight
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You can see tons of other games for first-grade students below!
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Sight Words: bit.ly/SJTsightwordgames
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[@latanyacordice8447]

Hi! I love and appreciate your videos. I have used so many of them as a first 6ear teacher. I teach 2nd grade and recently our whole school has implemented a "Drop Everything and Play" day for 30-45 minutes every Friday. This is a time to incorporate those SEL skills you mentioned that students are desperately needing. I call it D.E.A.P after my beloved D.E.A.R for reading I had growing up. I set up a mixture of board games, card games, and academic games that students can choose to go to. They LOVE it!! I also swap out one day of outdoor recess for indoor recess. Students have access to lots of open-ended activities such as Legos, kinects, tangrams, etc. as well as puzzles, chalk, and the use of their iPad. I find that my students have learned how to really think of others during this time and really have grown in thier flexibility and ability to compromise and communicate with one another. Thanks for all you do for educators!

[@kimfalcone1747]

I wanted to bring play into my 2nd grade class bc some kids have lagging skills w working together and LOVE the SS connection and the vet w inclusive money changing and math on the invoice. This video really motivated me w ideas-so thank you!

[@kristinbrashaw4572]

I agree that play is so important! ❤️😁 Children learn so much by free choice play! ❤️😁 Thank you for your videos! ❤️

[@jennywolfe5601]

I teach 1st grade. We have center time for 30 minutes each day. I pick partners and assign each group either a math center or literacy center. I use a lot of your print and play games during this time. We have two 20 minute recesses every day so sometimes the kids ask to play in the room with legos, games, and drawing with markers.

[@kimberlydrake1617]

I teach first grade in Illinois. The last three years we haven't had time to do social play. Our days have been shortened due to COVID-19. ☹ I have seen a huge shift in the students this year. Their attention span is shorter than ever and they struggle with social interaction. On top of our shortened time, we are expected to teach our first graders like 3rd graders. We have to teach writing and math for almost an hour each! It is breaking my heart. One thing I am doing is taking nature tools outside during recess. We have sticks, acorns, pinecones, logs cut into "cookies", and large seed pods. There is a drainage ditch for rain. I let the kids play in it. They look for worms. They make dams, stepping stones with the cookies to cross the ditch. They pretend the caps of acorns are little bowls. I let them dig in the dirt and mud. Their negative behavior almost disappears during this time and they have so much fun. It is my favorite part of the day! Also, the kindergarten teachers at my school have always had social center time. Other kindergarten teachers in our district make fun of them for doing it too. 🧐🤔🤷🏼‍♀️ It is so GOOD for them. 💖 I can't wait until things go back to normal so I can incorporate social time again. 😌 🤞🤞🤞

[@moniquemesaplatz5202]

I teach first grade and every Friday is Free Choice Friday. When students come in, they do their morning "chores" and then they get to make a choice of an activity (playdoh, coloring, playsets, blocks, puzzles, legos, crafts). They love it! We also do Must Do/May Do during our stations time. I do have a small assignment as a "must do" but then they are assigned a station, and they choose what they would like to do. I have acadmic puzzles, creation station, math games, sight word games, magnet exploration, writing and book making, and we had a parent purchase a kid friendly microscope. I try to keep the activities pretty open ended since they can come up with some of the most creative ways to use my tools. I put small dry erase boards and markers. Students sit on the floor and play school or they sit back to back and describe an object to draw to their partner and see if their partner can draw it with only their verbal directions (our counselor did this as a lesson one time and the kids loved it, but this was totally something they chose to do). I usually have them assigned to a station because my students all want creation station or puzzles, so I rotate. It's been a game changer with my stations and I don't have to rotate them. They get a say in what they would like to do when they are complete.

[@CathyCawood]

Your videos are always great value. I teach one class a week to small groups of K to 3 Japanese kids who have returned to Japan after living abroad in English speaking environments. I always finish the 50 minute lesson with a game, but I've been looking for ideas to encourage speaking, especially for my younger students. This video has some great ideas. Thank you!

[@kristinbrashaw4572]

Yes, I enjoyed your video! ❤️I am teaching Young 5s/ Kindergarten this year! 😁 Yes, I have free choice centers each day! 😁 I also teach by having centers, games/ activities ( a lot are homemade) , hands on activities, songs, etc. 😁 So you see why your videos are so awesome for all of us! ❤️ Thank you for all of your videos! 😁❤️

[@cd3737]

Thank you for the wonderful videos they are really helpful. Will you making videos on English grammar nouns, adjective, verbs and adverbs ?

[@craftygrandma776]

I think in our classroom they only had room for a calming corner OR a Dramatic play area. The calming corner won. I would like to do some of these play center ideas on inside days and in place of a regular center day. maybe?

[@dianabarcelos9916]

Hi! I'm about to go from K to 2nd! I really DO NOT want to get rid of my dramatic play area but I just can't "see it" in second grade. Would love a video focusing on 2nd grade.

[@angelindehkee]

Thanks again for the beautiful lessons. Do you have any plans for grades four to six in some of these teachings

[@mariacortez7050]

I teach first grade and we have creation stations 3 days a week for play assigned station but everyone gets to be in all. Also we have funday Friday with free choice time.

[@jennifermiller3148]

Do you have any plans to make print and play games for 2nd grade? I still use the first grade ones, but would love some second grade skills as well!

[@carrieflinn4867]

I teach 1/2 split. I do morning choice bins every morning for 30 minutes. I put them into partners and they have a specific bin they get that day. It changes every day. I also have a okay kitchen with food that goes song with reading stations after they do those activities they get to play with the kitchen. I also have two easels that I put into stations and whenever they want to play with them.

[@carrieflinn4867]

I also do all kinds of academic games during math and reading stations.

[@chrismetafora6565]

In Grade K, I loved the marble run, like this one. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZOyc39pic6HrZY Grade 1 I loved the blocks.