A 1st Grade Morning Work Alternative
Why A Morning Work Alternative?
What Are the Procedures of a Morning Work Alternative?
When the timer goes off, I set the timer again for 2 minutes. Students know they have to work together as a team to clean up and be on the carpet by the end of the 2 minutes. If a table has not synergized, they lose the privilege of participating in morning tubs the next day. Three weeks in, this has never happened. My friends really treasure Morning Tubs.
What is the Teacher Doing During Morning Tubs?
Great question! During morning tubs, I always take Attendance on Infinite Campus and check the turn-it-in tray. Earlier in January when first introducing morning tubs, I spent a lot of time playing with my friends modeling kind social interactions. Now, if specifically asked or needed, I will join our morning-tub time, which I love doing. BUT 8 minutes, is just the right amount of time I need to read with a friend. My friends LOVE getting to new reading levels and it’s been a wonderful structure to encourage me to read with a friend each morning.
What Have Been the Benefits of Doing Morning Work Alternatives?
- My friends have started thinking outside the box with the materials. Base 10 pieces are logs and phonics dominoes are a card tower. All the ways they want to play with reading and math manipualtives during reading and math, they now have a devoted time to do so.
- Student walk in the door excited to get started. Morning tubs have minimized our morning routine. Students don’t want to waste any time making lunch choices, putting away their folders, or stowing their backpacks because they know their time is already limited.
- After playing and talking and laughing, my friends come to the carpet and are ready to learn. Our first Daily 5 choices have been out-of-the-world lately.
- We’ve become a *little* more flexible. While I love morning tubs (and my 1st graders do too), sometimes it isn’t possible. We need to start early or there has been a change in the schedule. When that happens, we’ve learned to say – “Oh well!” It’s a special treat when morning tubs happen, but not expected.
Where Do I Get the Tubs?
Several years ago I feel in love with this clip top Sterilite tubs. They make the PERFECT storage container…so much so that I wrote a whole post about them here. I use these medium clip-top bins for morning tub bins. They are much smaller than the large bins and SUPER deep. They are perfect for storing lots of manipualtives, cards, or materials. You can snag the labels FREE here.
What’s In Our Morning Tubs?
Our morning tubs are filled with lots of manipualtives (reading and math). While students are ‘playing’, they are also engaging with academic tools in a non-threatening way. They have the chance to explore new words with our phonics dice, they can make silly sentences with our sentence puzzles, create words with our letter tiles, conjure difficult math problems with the base ten pieces, and create 16-sided shapes with our geoboards.
Through Donors Choose I requested this low shelf that stores our morning tubs and indoor recess items. I love having one space where the bins are so students can grab them and go!
We have A LOT of building resources in our tubs. While this can quickly branch into “indoor recess” type of material, students still don’t have full recess range of freedoms. Additionally, when students build, create, and collaborate they are active, talking, and building relationships. We love Tinker Toys because we can create spinning and moving machines!
Interlox are also a class favorite. At first my friends struggled with them because their natural reaction is to build up. Students quickly learn that if they only build up, their towers will topple. By building wide and creating a strong base, students learn that they can create intricate buildings with these tools!
MagnaTiles are THE favorite material in our morning tubs. These magnetic building blocks are amazing and students can create almost anything they want. From 2D shapes to mazes to 3D masterpieces, MagnaTiles are pretty awesome! With that said, they are incredibly expensive (thanks, Donors Choose!) and they are a beast to clean-up. Still, childhood joy and excitement wins, so the MagnaTiles stay!
My 1st graders also LOVE Story Cubes. Each set of cubes has a different theme (verbs, ways to move, places to visit). Students role 2-3 of the dice and combine them into a story. These dice are perfect for adding excitement to writing and build a nice bridge to work on writing!
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse
While our classroom has been blessed with lots of Morning Tub choices from Donors Choose, yard sales, and family donations, I routinely use materials I am also using for reading and math. Just starting with Morning Tubs? Check out some of my go-to tub items! 
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Hooray for you for kicking the Morning Work habit! 🙂 Kids really need some settle in/social time. They do so much work during the day, don't they? That said, it doesn't mean that this time can't still be powerful. Your morning tubs look great! I rotate manipulatives, like Cuisenaire Rods, tangrams, small waffle blocks on M/W with book tubs (Todd Parr books, non-fiction, atlases and dictionaries (YUP!) on T/Th. Fridays are SciFri, with some kind of science inquiry/exploration that doesn't need any setup. They just jump in! (Ideas often come from The Curious Kid's Science Book by Asia Citro). Happy exploring!
I love your schedule, Mrs. Wyman. It sounds like your friends have a lot to look forward to!
I love the science ideas! When we did our solids/liquids unit earlier in the year, my students LOVED exploring small solids (rice, cornmeal, different types of beans) and bottles of liquids with varying viscosity. I appreciate the book recommendation too!
Catherine- This is great! When you posted about it on Facebook, I was immediately intrigued! I have a busy and very social group this year, and morning work isn't cutting it. I am both encouraged and inspired by this! Thanks for the post and expanding on the why of it!
I am going to try this! We have an 8:15 arrival and we have to be ready to switch for reading groups at 8:30. I've been looking for something meaningful to fill the time and this sounds perfect.
Just so I understand correctly- each group chooses a new tub each day?
Hi Katherine! Thanks so much for the note. Like you, it's a quick turn around but after we practiced, it really does work. After the first day, groups do choose their own bins but can only do each bin once a week…so very structured choice. 🙂
Just to follow up, we have been doing "morning tubs" for two days now. My kids love it! They unpack very quickly now too- I had issues with some friends chatting by the cubbies instead of unpacking. They are now the first ones unpacked and ready to start the day. 😉 Choices this week are pattern blocks, dominoes, geoboards, alphabet lacing beads, etc.
Thank you so much for sharing! We love this new start to our day.
I would love to try this in my classroom! How did you introduce this to the students? Did you just leave out a bin on each group's desk and tell them to have at it? Hah I can just picture my students walking in and wondering what to do. Any tips I would greatly appreciate!
Thanks!
Christy
Jumping in here because I just started morning tubs this week. I explained to students that each morning there would be a new tub at their table. I am just rotating tubs at this point. We went over expectations- staying at your table, sharing materials, cleaning up when the timer goes off, etc. and they caught on right away!
In hindsight I would probably model clean-up a little more explicity- not tossing dominoes into the bin from three desks away, checking the floor, putting things away neatly, etc. 😉 I will probably model this tomorrow!
I have been doing this for two weeks now (since I saw your post on Instagram). I love it and so do my 3rd graders. I find it is a great way to start our day. Thank you for the great idea!
What kind of tubs do you have for 3rd graders?
Hi Audrey! I’ve never taught 3rd grade (only K and 1) but I would suggest looking at more STEM materials and challenge types of activities. Putting this focus on it, would be so much fun and developmentally appropriate for your older students.
Which size Sterilite tub did you use for these? I have your math centers and bought those same tubs you use… now I want these too! I never thought I'd be teaching first grade, but your blog has really helped guide me.
I’d love the affiliate link as well for the play tubs!!!!
Hi Yvette!! These are the tubs I use for morning tubs. 🙂
Hi Yvette!! These are the tubs I use for morning tubs. 🙂 http://amzn.to/2cHH0CZ
Thank you so much for this. I love this idea. Like you have a class that struggles with social skills. It is probably my toughest group ever. I am constantly needing to change up the way things are done. I am hoping that I can incorporate this into my classroom. I have been sharing your blog with my team and have finally gotten them to start thinking about things differently.Your post on Guided Math was the subject of discussion in one of our grade level meetings a few weeks ago. You have really been valuable in helping me to show my other first grade teachers the importance of small groups, and not just in reading. I will also be sharing this idea with them. Thanks so much for all of the hard work that you do and sharing with us.
Love this post! We always begin our day with share circle, which I love, but my kids can get a little chatty in the time before we start. This is a great idea to fill those few minutes of downtime! I appreciate the Amazon links and am hoping you could provide a few more for the other things we see in the pictures (particularly the other phonics materials).
I've been doing something similar in my k classroom. We call it Arrival Activities. I change up the tubs at each table each day so they always have something new to explore and create and do after checking in with me first thing. It gives me a valuable 5-10 minutes to take attendance, check folders, etc … the children LOVE it! They learn to share, to create, to try new things, to make connections, to manage impulsivity, and to clean up. Lots of STEM and maker products or art materials change up the routine. So much independent learning happens during this time!
Your ideas brighten my path and confirm my instincts. Thanks
Hi Catherine, I couldn't agree with you more! I started something similar last year in my 1st grade classroom and also noticed a big shift. 🙂 You can take a peek on my blog if you like http://mrswintersbliss.blogspot.com/2015/05/social-time.html Christina
Just started Morning Tubs with my 2nd graders this past week. They LOVE it! Do you switch out all of the bin materials every Friday or do some stay for 2 or more weeks?
Hello! I change them out every 2-3 ish weeks, although sometimes I just change out 1-2 tubs each week – whatever I have time or ideas for!
What do you change them out with? I do morning buckets as well, rotating buckets each day. I have 4 buckets for 4 groups, and I allow “Free Choice Friday’s” where they pick a bucket themselves. My other question, how often to you keep each manipulative in rotation?
Typically I change out materials on Monday mornings. I’ll keep something in for 1-3 weeks but at least 2-3 tubs are new each week. Things reappear in our morning tubs at least 2-3 times a year!
I have a very active group of hands on boys this year. I can't wait to try this with them next week. I am tired of the morning work pages and having to correct all of them. I think this is a great idea and more meaningful!
I LOVE this idea 🙂
Love this! Would like to try this when we return from spring break, but my kiddos choose their own seat each day. Trying to think how to manage this , w/o more work.
I came here for a different post but this caught my eye. Fantastic! I'm actually going to use this idea for getting my homeschooled kids to the table in the morning. One is always ready before the other and gets bored/cranky while waiting (even just a few minutes). I used to have some sort of seatwork ready while they were waiting – something fun that just got the mind working but this is even better! And I love the phonics blocks – I had never seen those before but perfect fun practice for my 1st grader. Thanks!
I have been reading your posts for about 2 hours now and I'm in love. Thank you for all the great advice! Many of it can "trickle" down to Kindergarten so I love i! I want to use so many of your resources for next year! Than you so much!
Emily Peterson
K4/K5 Classroom Teacher
Milwaukee, WI
I LOVE this idea. My question is, do they try to continue to play with the base 10 blocks and other manipulatives in the same fashion as they do in you tubs when it comes time for math? How many tubs did you introduce at a time? I think I may want to try this in the next year in my own first grade class!
Thanks for a great idea!
I saw a list in the post, but do you find that you struggle with coming up with things to put in the bins as the year progresses?
I love this! Thanks for such a detailed post.
Wow! What a great idea! Thanks, I may use this in my sped K and 1st grade classroom this year!
Where are your sight word dominoes from? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS WONDERFUL IDEA! Can't wait to start it in August with my kiddos!
I love having active morning work. Our students eat breakfast in our rooms so we have about 20 minutes that students need to be “entertained”. I have it set up as Math Monday – I rotate math games each week, Team Tuesday – some type of teamwork game floor puzzles are a favorite!, Word Wednesday – reading based games/activities, Think Thursday’s – problem solving games and activities, and Finish It/Free Choice Friday – students finish missing work if needed or they can have free choice time to play a game of choice with friends of their choosing. My kids love the variety.
I remember my teachers doing this when I was younger!! not all of it and exactly this was, but the general ideas of it. Awesome idea!
I just sat down to start outlining what I intend my day to look like for the new year. Last year I struggled with the first 10-15 minutes of the morning as my students settled in and I got attendance and papers together. It always seemed a little crazy and doing “work” felt like a daily struggle. I’m so happy I stumbled upon this post. I am most definitely going to use morning tubs! Thank you for being so detailed!! Best of luck in your new year!
I absolutely LOVE this. I use it in preschool and I will definitely try it with my elementary students this year. Thanks for sharing.
I love this! Could you tell me how many kids play per bin? We have tables of 4 so would they share one bin? Do they stay at their own table or are they allowed to go to another table? Thanks so much!
There are 4-6 students at each of my tables. Students must stay at their tables since I have picked their spot specifically (who I want them to build relationships with).
Is this something you would start right away on the first day? I would like to model the use of the tubs – expectations, etc. So if not – what is an example of something you would use on the first day? Our school will not be having a sneak peak this year (new school) – so the first day is bound to be very chaotic with supply delivery, teachers meeting us for the first time, etc. Any recommendations?
Hey Sherry! Typically the first few days of school we do foam shapes with shape mats. This is simple and doesn’t have to be explained. I like to start Morning Tubs the first full week of school once I can explain procedures!
Do you have indoor recess runs as well?? What do those entail?
Since Morning Tubs take place before school starts, yes we also have indoor recess on tough weather days! During indoor recess, students get choice of their tubs, their locations, and there are more choices. During indoor recess, we have Go Noodle, art station, larger building toys, and I pull out my class-set of board games. Additionally, during indoor recess, students can trade centers any time.
I love your posts! I started this year with morning tubs and it has been fantastic for kindergarten! The kids are learning independence, responsibility for the supplies, and social skills while giving me time to welcome my students in the room, check folders, and take attendence. This was such a great idea!
I do not do the morning tubs but I allow my kiddos to play math games when they come in (many arrive at 7:45 yet school doesn’t officially start until 8:05) we have practiced and they are doing awesome! I think I am going to add some of these into the mix as well! Thanks for the awesome ideas!
I would love to start this in my classroom! I also teach first grade.
Can you give more info on the beads, marbles and dice? How are these being used? What are the kids doing?
Hey Lisa! I’ve shared more about those tools here: http://brownbagteacher.com/morning-tub-ideas/
I am a little late to the morning tub game, but I plan on implementing them soon! Students are allowed to be dropped off at 7:30, however school does not start until 8:00. Each elementary student is given free breakfast if they choose. Most of my students eat, but not all. I plan on giving students this time after they eat to do morning tubs!
WOW! What a great idea. Our school has an in class breakfast program and about 80% of my students either eat a school provided breakfast or bring something from home. This makes it almost impossible for any type of morning work. I think this is just what I need. QUESTION: Did you have any problems with your students transitioning from playing with these items to using them as learning tools?
Honestly, I haven’t. Early on I established that during morning tubs, the materials are tools for play and exploring. During math/reading, they are tools for learning. If we get mixed up then they have to stay tools for learning and that’s no fun!
Where did you get the word tiles that have the beginning letter at the end?
Hey Katherine! They are called Phonics Tiles and can be found on Amazon. 🙂
I love these ideas. I teach Kindergarten and use morning tubs to help develop fine motor skills. All of my tubs have a fine motor focus for developing pencil grasp, hand strength, dexterity etc. When time permits we also do some finger gym exercises when tubs are packed up. My kids love it and they get a chance to have a chat while I’m marking the roll and doing any last minute prep. They unpack much quicker and quieter so they can get more time with the tubs and are ready to listen and learn when they get to the mat after pack away time.
I’m a new teacher and I love your blog! I teach first grade this year too and try to use some of the things I see here, although as a new teacher I think you understand how difficult it might be.. I love this idea on the place of morning work! So is it basically “educational game”? I have a ton of word and math games I suspect I could use for this!!
I Love everything that you do! What do the kids do if they cannot participate in morning tubs because they didn’t clean or argued?
They can make our traditional morning tub choices – reading, writing, completing classroom tasks (assigned by me).
I love the fact that your morning tubs are quick and also geared toward helping your friends improve their social skills. I think with the amount of testing that kids undergo nowadays we tend to push play aside for the sake of getting to everything in our pacing guides or lesson plans. So I love your few minutes a day to give the kids time to play and work on their social skills. Thanks for sharing!
I introduced flexible seating and the morning tubs this year. Love both but they don’t have aassigned seats so they can select a center and then write it on a card so they are sure to swap each day. Still some issues with sharing and interacting nicely but it’s been a great alternative andnsomething I hope to expand on next year.
As a parent, as well as a teacher-in-training, this post makes me feel like crying. My son just finished first grade and he hated that morning work worksheet so much. He is one of the most naturally curious, enthusiastic people I know, but he now thinks of himself as someone who is always bored. “Other people get excited. I’m more like Garfield,” he says. But this is NOT who he is – this is just how school has made him feel. The crux of it all was the morning work. He dreaded getting up because he had to school, and dreaded going to school because of the morning work. Then there would often be discipline and emails home from the teacher because he wasn’t focusing on the morning work. After that, he says, the day got better – but as his parent, I say that’s a lot of very rough mornings. It’s summer and we’re trying to help our son have a “detox” with hands-on activities and social, artistic fun to renew his curiosity, and it’s already helping him be so much more like his old self. I wish I had engaged with his teacher more on the morning work issue, though. I thought it was just a modern necessity – every classroom seems to have it, and I thought I’d be a squeaky wheel for suggesting that my kid couldn’t or shouldn’t be asked to do what every other kid seems to be finding success with. But morning tubs? So brilliant, so worthwhile, such a clear and meaningful alternative. You are showing me that there is nothing sacred about the morning worksheet. I think my son would have thrived in your classroom. Thank you for your great work.
I love my morning tubs, I have close to 25. Almost all of them are a different type of “building” motor skill activity, and my class loves them. I changed the name to morning brain boxes so my administration will understand a little more the concept! :o).