TK - First Grade
Developmental Characteristics
Physical
Enjoy long periods of free play
Developing eye-hand coordination
Enjoy small group cooperative play
May require rest after high-energy play
Improved body coordination; yet still can fall easily
Social Emotional
Eager to receive adult praise
Enjoy dramatic play
Eager to engage in new activities/adventures led by involved adult
Eager to identify with older children
Enjoy exploring new materials and equipment
Can be easily frightened by novel or strange events
Prefer play in small groups
Like responsibilities they can handle
Learning to cooperate with others, but may at times display selfish behavior
Cognitive
Understand language better than they speak
Are interested in present; vague concepts of past/future
Eager to learn
Ask many questions
Define things by their use
Developing a sense of humor
Communicate best within a small group of peers
May need guidance of adult when starting a new task
Week 3: Team Problem-Solving Games (TK-2)
Students play Team Freeze Challenge — moving around the room and stopping like statues on "Freeze!" to solve a quick group challenge together — then play the Human Shape Challenge, using only their bodies to form shapes or objects called out by the teacher, working in partners, small groups, or as a whole class.
Week 2: Tattling vs Reporting (TK-2)
Students watch and discuss a live skit where a student immediately tattles on the teacher for accidentally taking the wrong backpack, then play the Tattling vs. Reporting Scenario Game — moving to a red (tattling) or green (reporting) side of the room for each scenario and brainstorming how to solve the tattling situations independently.
Week 1: What is a problem? (TK-2)
Students take turns playing an online memory matching game as a class (practicing patience and silent helping), then color Bluey character puppets while watching a Bluey clip paused at key moments to discuss the problem and feelings, before a group of students reenacts the scene using their finished puppets.
Week 4: Big vs Small Problems (TK-2)
Students play the Big or Small Sorting Game — physically moving to one side of the room labeled "Big Problem" or the other labeled "Small Problem" after each scenario is read — then act out calm reactions to small problems (taking a breath, saying "it's okay," picking things up) reinforcing that a small problem deserves a small reaction.
Week 3: Breathing Strategies (TK-1)
Students practice several breathing techniques together — the crocodile, smell the rose/blow the candle, heart hands, and the Balloon — with volunteers leading the class in their favorite, then cut out and glue 3–5 calm-down strategies onto a personal Calm-Down Toolbox worksheet to decorate and take home.
Week 2: Freeze Games (TK-2)
Students play Freeze Dance — dancing freely to music and freezing their bodies completely still each time the music stops — then play a Movement Game where the teacher calls out a specific movement to do while the music plays, stopping and holding their pose each time the music cuts out.
Week 1: What is Self-Control? (TK-2)
Students play Self-Control Charades — taking turns acting out scenarios with their face and body while classmates identify whether it calls for a calm or silly body — then draw themselves having a calm moment at school on a worksheet, thinking about their hands, feet, face, and posture.
Week 7: Community Empathy (TK-2)
Students play Kindness Freeze Dance — dancing freely until the music stops, finding a partner, and performing a called-out kindness action (high five, handshake, smile, or compliment) before the music restarts — then design and decorate a Kindness Coupon promising one specific kind act they'll do for a friend or family member.
Recognizing Empathy (TK-2)
Students toss a ball around the circle, each giving a personalized compliment to the classmate they throw to, then practice the Feelings Signal Game — listening to short scenarios and identifying how the person in each scenario might feel through discussion, acting out, or feelings cards.
Week 5: Kind Words (3-5)
Students play Kind Words Echo — repeating compliments back in calm, loud, and silly voices — then write or draw a compliment for a classmate or family member on a Compliment Card to give away.
Week 5: Kind Words (TK-2)
Students play Kind Words Echo — repeating compliments back in calm, loud, and silly voices — then write or draw a compliment for a classmate or family member on a Compliment Card to give away.
Week 3: Walking in Someone’s Shoes (2nd-5th)
Students play Shoe Shuffle — removing one shoe, mixing them in the center, then guessing whose shoe they picked up and discussing similarities and differences with that person — then decorate a shoe outline with personal clues (favorite color, something they like, and what makes them feel happy or calm).
Week 3: Walking in Someone’s Shoes (TK-1)
Students play Shoe Shuffle — removing one shoe, mixing them in the center, then guessing whose shoe they picked up and discussing similarities and differences with that person — then decorate a shoe outline with personal clues (favorite color, something they like, and what makes them feel happy or calm).
Week 2: Feelings Charades (2nd-5th)
Students play Emotion Freeze Dance — dancing freely until the music stops, then freezing in a full-body pose matching the feeling called out — then color a Feelings Wheel, choosing their own color for each emotion section (happy, sad, mad, scared, tired, silly).
Week 2: Feelings Charades (TK-1)
Students play Emotion Freeze Dance — dancing freely until the music stops, then freezing in a full-body pose matching the feeling called out — then color a Feelings Wheel, choosing their own color for each emotion section (happy, sad, mad, scared, tired, silly).
Week 1: What is Empathy? (2nd-5th)
Students play Feelings Face Shuffle — making the facial expression that matches each emotion called out (happy, sad, surprised, scared, etc.) — then look at 4–6 pictures of children and discuss what feeling each child is showing and what might help them.
Week 1: What is Empathy? (TK-1st)
Students play Feelings Face Shuffle — making the facial expression that matches each emotion called out (happy, sad, surprised, scared, etc.) — then look at 4–6 pictures of children and discuss what feeling each child is showing and what might help them.
Week 7: Confidence Through Kindness (1st-5th)
Students pass a ball around the circle, each sharing one kind action they can do that day while classmates cheer, then decorate a paper crown with drawings and words representing their own kind actions before wearing their finished Kindness Crown.
Week 7: Confidence Through Kindness (TK-K)
Students pass a ball around the circle, each sharing one kind action they can do that day while classmates cheer, then decorate a paper crown with drawings and words representing their own kind actions before wearing their finished Kindness Crown.
Week 6: Celebrating Growth (1st-5th)
Students take turns walking around the circle in a Confidence Parade — striking a proud pose while classmates clap and cheer — then decorate a personal Confidence Certificate with their name and an affirmation about something they've accomplished to take home.