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You know that one person who always jiggles their leg under the desk?
That always annoyed me a little because I thought, “There has to be a more enjoyable way to get that energy out, like doodling or playing with a fidget
toy.”
Still, as someone who has a bit of hyperkinesia myself, I feel for them on a basic level.
Kindergartners also have a tendency to have the jiggly leg syndrome, only it’s their whole body which is usually jiggly.
They’re still mastering the art of concentration and learning, so they need both physical and emotional engagement. They may also be a little bit shy,
requiring non-traditional teaching methods to get them out of their shells.
And today, you’re going to learn about some of those methods. That way, you’ll know how to turn your jiggly little kindergartners into outstanding
English students.
Some educators think teaching kindergartners is more challenging for this reason, as they can’t use the traditional teaching techniques to holding their
kids’ attention.
However, teaching someone who doesn’t just want to sit down and slog through the material can actually be more fun! It gives you a chance to stretch
your own creativity and go back to your inner playful person.
Read on and I’ll tell you about some resources you can use to jazz up your class for the little ones while having fun yourself.
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Fail-proof Resources for Your Kindergarten Learners
Teaching kindergarten students requires you to strike that perfect balance between education and entertainment. You don’t want to overwhelm them
with too much information, otherwise, they’ll become bored and disengage—sometimes even becoming disruptive as a result.
But teaching kindergarten isn’t as hard as it sounds. Grabbing their attention is actually pretty easy. All you need is to be energetic and have some
good resources like the ones mentioned below.
1. Educational Music
I still remember the first song I learned in another language. It involved one sardine and two cats.
Needless to say, music sticks with kids for a long time. And for this reason, I think adding music is important when teaching young students, especially
kindergartners.
In short, music is versatile and can be worked into almost any type of lesson you teach.
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Choose from a variety of songs
There is a wide range of types of educational songs you can teach with, including…
Call-and-answer songs: For this type of song, you sing one phrase and your students answer back with another. Two of my favorites are “Down
by the Bay.” and “A Bear in Tennis Shoes.”
Songs with hand motions: These songs are great for memory, allowing you to combine music with physical actions. My all-time favorite is “Baby
Shark” because it’s fun, catchy and teaches students about family.
Singalong songs: Sometimes simple is best. Singalong songs are great because you don’t need to spend time teaching choreography or
assigning specific verses beforehand. Simply teach the lyrics to your students and sing together. Two of my favorite YouTube channels for
singalong songs are Sesame Street and Yo Gabba Gabba. If you’re looking for a song to match your kindergarten lesson, both of these channels
will have it—guaranteed!
Another good place to find songs and other teaching resources is FluentU. Great for creating an authentic language-learning
experience, FluentU allows you to teach students of all ages using real-world material. That means that your kindergarten
students get to learn English through songs and video clips of popular cartoons rather than a textbook dialogue. Not only is
this a more effective way to teach students, it’s more fun as well.
When practicing dialogue, the puppets (or stuffed animals) can be the ones talking. One rabbit says to another, “Nice to meet you.” If perceived as non-
threatening, puppets can also ease anxiety, as well as illicit curiosity.
Perhaps Mr. Turtle only speaks English and he is shy. The kids can talk to Mr. Turtle and say “Hello Mr. Turtle. You are nice. We like you.”
Or, maybe students will be so curious about your puppets that they’ll want to ask questions about them.
Additionally, puppets are perfect to use in role play exercises . If the kids are already enthusiastic about using puppets or stuffed animals, they can put
on a show. This is also a natural way kids play.
I notice the same behavior in my kindergarten students. They sometimes bring their toys to class and are eager to talk about them or show them. You
can channel that natural enthusiasm by asking students to make a puppet or bring a toy from home as their companion.
Set an example by bringing your own animal companion and introducing them:
“This is Mr. Wacky. He’s five years old. He’s a cat. He’s affectionate.”
If you want, you can include a list of description words for the students, to help them introduce their friends. For example: nice, cute, affectionate,
grumpy, happy, energetic, etc.
If they are complete beginners, you can include just the basic information, like: “This is Mr. Wacky. He’s a cat.”
Your puppet might be shy, and that can help make the students feel better about being shy themselves.
It could even be a turtle scared to come out of his shell, or another non-threatening animal.
Depending on the level of your students, these could be questions like: “What is your name?” and “How old are you?”
Later, when the puppet isn’t in class, you can ask questions about it like: “What color is Mr. Turtle?” and “Is he big or small?”
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If you’re looking to add more puppets to your classroom, check out The Puppet Store. There, you can find a variety of
puppets organized into categories like fairy tales, occupations, family members and more.
I really liked doing things with my hands, and it made concentrating so much easier. Plus, they smelled great, and I could mold them into shapes,
people and animals. My teachers allowed me to play with the wax during class while I was listening to a story or learning how to do math equations.
Do the same to your students by giving them molding wax or clay to play with. This will help keeps their hands occupied without disrupting the
classroom.
It helps with concentration when teachers talk for longer periods of time
Students find it fun and engaging
It helps children quietly get out their energy
You don’t have to go to the ends of the Earth to find a special kind of molding wax. You can simply use Silly Putty sold at your local
supermarket, or you can buy it online from Crayola’s website.
And if you really want to get creative, use Play-Doh instead. That way, students can choose from a number of different colors to play
with. You can even buy a 36-pack of assorted Play-Doh colors exclusively on Amazon .
4. Computer Games
As a student, I learned several things thanks to computer games—even in the relatively analog ’90s. I learned history with “The Oregon Trail ,”
geography with “Carmen Sandiego” and typing with “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.”
Think your little ones are too young for computers? Guess again! Even kindergartners nowadays are pretty screen-literate, and they probably already
play games at home in their spare time.
So, why not incorporate computer games into the classroom? That way, they can learn some English while having fun.
They take the emphasis off language and on to an objective, so students don’t feel as pressured to do rote learning
They use a format kids probably already interact with for fun
They allow students to use their body and mind, alleviating some of the natural fidgets
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Need some ideas for video games to play with the wee ones? Check out Crocodile Games on the website ESLGames+. There,
you can choose from a number of different games teaching basic vocabulary, numbers and other beginner topics your
kindergarten students should know.
A field trip into nature can be one of the most memorable experiences for young learners.
Get actionable
Students will want to run, jump and play anyway. Why not take advantage of it? You can use a list of about five action words and have kids perform
them. Try yelling out the following commands, for example:
Run!
Dance!
Walk!
Sit!
Jump!
Try to think about what made you excited when you were a child and incorporate that into your lessons. Also, make sure your activities are both
physical and mental with a side of engaging.
Soon your kindergartners will be dancing, singing and playing their way into speaking English on the daily.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos.
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